2018 World Rally Championship

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Caught the highlights last night. Big fire there for Breen and what about both Ogier and Neuville throwing it away? Tanak is now really in it and I can see him ending Ogier's streak. Seems to me Neuville and Ogier have maybe been too busy concentrating on each other

Looks like being a tight finish to the season - which is great for us

Originally Posted by S griffin

So Ogier looking to move to Citroen and Meeke looking to return with Toyota. Will be interesting if that does happen

If Ogier does move to Citroen then who gets the M-Sport seats? Meeke had the choice of Citroen or Toyota a while back - he chose the wrong option!

In other news Petter Solberg will be competing in Spain in one of the new VW Polo R5 cars.

[S griffin]

So good to see VWs are up and running, it's a shame they didn't stay on after 2016, so hope they are there next season

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by S griffin

So good to see VWs are up and running, it's a shame they didn't stay on after 2016, so hope they are there next season

It's the R5 car that Solberg is using - the WRC spec Polo is dead and buried. The R5 cars are all customer cars so in theory a money maker (much like the TCR cars). I suspect we'll see a few out in WRC2 next year. I don't know how much the Polo R5 has in common with the Fabia R5? In theory they could share quite a bit.

I caught up on some more of the Turkey coverage last night - some of those stages were brutal! Good event though I think - something a bit different and not just "another gravel rally".

Some interesting comments from people about where they'll be next season:

Neuville - confirmed at Hyundai.
Ogier - talking to Citroen, M-Sport hope to keep him (but I can't see that) - says he wants a winning car and a team that has budget.
Latvala - says he'll be in WRC, just needs to decide which team (so presumably has options).
Lappi - says he has options - Toyota and Hyundai at least.
Meeke - apparently talking to Toyota

So it looks like there will be plenty of movement - Hyundai and Toyota seem to be the best seats (Citroen still way off the pace and M-Sport are light on budget compared to the others). Toyota would probably be happy to keep their current lineup, Citroen desperately need a top line driver - as will M-Sport if Ogier leaves.

[GasperG]

M-Sport is dead if Ogier leaves

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by GasperG

M-Sport is dead if Ogier leaves

They definitely need a top line driver - if Ogier leaves they'll have to bring in someone else for sure. They can't go into next season with Evans and Suninen as their driver pairing.

If you look at the drivers that are available who do you think should be top of M-Sports list? Ostberg, Latvala, Mikklesen, Meeke, Lappi, Paddon and Sordo are at least theoretically available. As much as I like Breen (does anyone else seem to enjoy themselves so openly?) I don't think he's a step up on what they already have. Is there anyone who's likely to step up from WRC2 into a works drive?

[crossfades]

According to Finnish state media Lappi might be leaving Toyota for Citroen with Jari Huttunen replacing him. Latvala would probably remain with the team.

https://yle.fi/urheilu/3-10411095

[chunder]

Latvala needs to be gone now, he is being battered by the new breed.

Msport have been around for a long time and were doing just fine before Ogier, his Red Bull money and his speed helped them to win titles. But That is what Ogier buys you, at least he did move (forced) unlike Loeb.

Ogier was always likely to go back to Citroen, take Red Bull with him. Unless Msport can get Tanak or Neuville (who have both been there already) they might fall back.

I can see Meeke going there maybe. And the young Finn, Suninen looks very quick

[S griffin]

Yes, Ogier isn’t a one trick pony like Loeb, he can win in different cars. And Latvala has really been a disappointment the last few seasons

[NaBUru38]

Standings after Turkey:

1. BEL Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), 177
2. EST Ott Tänak (Toyota), 164
3. FRA Sébastien Ogier (Ford), 154
4. FIN Esapekka Lappi (Toyota), 88
5. FIN Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota), 75
6. NOR Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai), 75
7. ESP Daniel Sordo (Hyundai), 60
8. FIN Teemu Suninen (Ford), 54
9. GBR Elfyn Evans (Ford), 53
10. NZL Hayden Paddon (Hyundai), 49
11. NOR Mads Østberg (Citroën), 48
12. IRL Craig Breen (Citroën), 47
13. GBR Kris Meeke (Citroën), 43

[52Paddy]

What a mad state of affairs we're facing going into the few last rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if Tanak continues to further his in-roads into the championship battle and have a three-way fight going into the last round. Happy days - just what we wanted!

As for silly season: interesting movements there too. I'm looking closely at Breen and hoping that he'll land a drive somewhere at least and that Lady Luck at least visits him for one rally before the season is out. It's just so disappointing to see Breen constantly hampered by bad luck when he's just trying to carve out some consistent results and prove his worth. Poor chap.

So many possibilities for 2019 and even the end of this season. More manufacturers is all I could humbly request ;-)

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by chunder

Latvala needs to be gone now, he is being battered by the new breed.

Sad to say but you're right - he was "the next big thing" whilst he was at Ford but he's never really kicked on and has now been overtaken by the next generation.

Originally Posted by chunder

Msport have been around for a long time and were doing just fine before Ogier, his Red Bull money and his speed helped them to win titles.

They've been around a long time but not won anything for a long time before Ogier arrived (Ok - I'll grant you they were 2nd a lot behind Loeb ). Unless they get a top line driver in to replace Ogier they'll struggle.

Originally Posted by chunder

Ogier was always likely to go back to Citroen, take Red Bull with him. Unless Msport can get Tanak or Neuville (who have both been there already) they might fall back.

I can see Meeke going there maybe. And the young Finn, Suninen looks very quick

Citroen is an obvious match for Ogier although he did stipulate he wants a winning car so Citroen have got work to do to convince him. Neuville has signed with Hyundai and surely Tanak is number 1 at Toyota so the M-Sport seats wouldn't be appealing. As you say I could see Meeke there - but that's not necessarily going to work for consistent results. Suninen looks like a good prospect but needs experience.

[BertMk2]

Ogier signs with Citroen:

https://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/sept...4--12-12-.html

Apparently he wants to win a championship with a 3rd different manufacturer.

M-Sport need to grab themselves one of the other top line drivers or they're in big trouble next year.

[S griffin]

Well, the Citroen needs to be improved on this season's one, otherwise even Ogier will struggle with it

[tbtstt]

Just saw the story on Facebook. I think Ogier is mad to move to Citroen, but fair play to him for trying to spread his wings. His departure makes the 2019 driver line up more difficult to guess as well.

As said M-Sport need someone to front the team now. Could this be a chance for a final hurrah from Meeke?

[NaBUru38]

Citroën is pouring money again into motorsport. It's risky, but not mad.

[crossfades]

Most exciting move in a while I think. Hopefully he will get the car on the right track.

Even if he is the best driver after the Loeb era and on par with Loeb, I still think his championship win with M-Sport last season was not as special as others think. Not to minimize Ogier but it was still the best car, something even Neuville confest to.

Personally I think it was a bigger achievement by M-Sport to build such a good car considering they were privateers really. On the other hand, a win this year would confine Ogier as a legend even more since M-Sport and Ford isn't the ones to beat at the moment.

Winning at Citroen would truly be extraordinary, both because it would be a win with a 3rd manufacture and with a team that has struggled hard.

[Alex Langheck]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Citroën is pouring money again into motorsport. It's risky, but not mad.

They've obviously found the money from somewhere. Maybe the board would only free up more money if a 'top line driver' could be signed?

Conversely, Ford Performance weren't willing to provide M-Sport with £$£$£$£ as WRC doesn't fit their marketing, etc
They are more concerned with US based series; Nascar, IMSA, etc plus the WEC GTE-Pro Ford GT's..

As a result, Ogier has decided to move to a team/Manufacturer with the financial resources to compete. Will be interesting to see what happens.

[NaBUru38]

PSA has had its finances fixed, so they can invest again in motorsport.

[Alex Langheck]

Dayinsure Rally of GB starts tonight - anybody off spectating?

[tbtstt]

Originally Posted by Alex Langheck

Dayinsure Rally of GB starts tonight - anybody off spectating?

Yeah, heading up to Wales tomorrow, planning to kip in the car then spend the day on Myherin.

[BertMk2]

Looks to be typical Welsh murky, slippy conditions so far. Tanak out in front, Neuville 5th and Ogier 8th (gearbox issues).

[BertMk2]

Disaster for Tanak - retired from a very healthy lead - not 100% sure on what the cause was but it's possible it was a broken radiator after a heavy landing - which is back to the problems they had previously. I thought they'd got those issues sorted on the Toyota.

Anyway, Ogier has now taken over at the front after a great day whilst Neuville has dropped back after spending time in a ditch. The top 4 are covered by less than 14 seconds so it's still game on for tomorrow.

[S griffin]

What a rally, glad the final stage got underway after waiting for ages watching it live on C5.

Big shame for Tanak, hope he can come back in the next round. Neuville just keeps in the lead of the title. Nice to see Latvala back on form, just couldn’t keep Ogier behind him, shows how open the series is in that he hasn’t won for more than a few rallies

[tbtstt]

Only got back a few hours ago and just catching up now. Annoyingly I set the live show to record but, because of the delay, the live coverage starts as the scheduled recording time finishes, so it cuts off! Will catch the Channel 5 highlight show later in the week.

I had a fantastic day spectating on Myherin. Watched the International class run in the morning, walked a couple of miles down the stage to watch the National cars run, then headed back up the (endless!) hill to see the International cars second pass.

The 2018 WRCars are just astonishing to watch. Absolutely precision from all the top drivers and incredible speed. Really enjoyed seeing the WRC2 cars as well, I might be on my own, but the R5 class has massively increased my interest in WRC2 (and a lot of National Championships).

Felt so bad for Tanak when I heard the news of his retirement, very impressive surge from Latvala later on, real shame he couldn't hold off Ogier. Championship standings have closed slightly, though it's a real shame that Ott couldn't take the win and level things out even more.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by tbtstt

I had a fantastic day spectating on Myherin. Watched the International class run in the morning, walked a couple of miles down the stage to watch the National cars run, then headed back up the (endless!) hill to see the International cars second pass.

I've not been to see Rally GB in the flesh - knowing where to watch from is the big problem for me - I don't want to be stuck in a spectator pen with an obstructed view, I want clear view (and photo opportunities) so a bit of stage knowledge would be useful. Also realistically how much can you see in a day? One stage? Two stages?

Originally Posted by tbtstt

The 2018 WRCars are just astonishing to watch. Absolutely precision from all the top drivers and incredible speed.

The latest generation of cars certainly seem to be a big step up on the previous cars - they look much more aggressive and they have the speed too.

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Really enjoyed seeing the WRC2 cars as well, I might be on my own, but the R5 class has massively increased my interest in WRC2 (and a lot of National Championships).

I'm with you on this - the R5 class has been a real success, there seems to be a good variety of cars available now as well - it was a bit Fiesta heavy at one point. The cars look good, sound good and have enough performance to make them good to watch too (the Skoda is my favourite of the bunch).

Originally Posted by tbtstt

Felt so bad for Tanak when I heard the news of his retirement, very impressive surge from Latvala later on, real shame he couldn't hold off Ogier. Championship standings have closed slightly, though it's a real shame that Ott couldn't take the win and level things out even more.

Tanak dominated the event up until his retirement - that'll be a tough one to take and he has dropped away in the championship now - but of course as we've seen it only takes a DNF for the whole thing to change again.