The 2017 Rallying thread

The 2017 Rallying thread

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Discussion

Slippydiff

14,742 posts

222 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
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Allyc85 said:
Lappi confirmed in the 3rd Toyota for the European rounds, while Mikkelsen will attend a Hyundai test on Friday. The latter being very interesting with the team having 3 contracted drivers for 2018.
Like Sordo a lot, but possibly time for him to step aside. No great fan of Paddon, jury is still out as to whether he's the real deal. But a Hyundai WRC team featuring Andreas Mikkelsen and Neuville with either Sordo or Paddon would be a worthy challenger for the WRC crown.

Late last year/early this I voiced concerns as to whether MSport would be able to build a car good enough for SO to mount a title winning campaign. The debacle with SO's car in Corsica was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote those words. It'll be interesting to see if Ogier's presence can galvanise MSport into producing a reliable, fast car capable of allowing him to take the '17 WRC crown...

GravelBen

15,654 posts

229 months

Wednesday 19th April 2017
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ArnageWRC said:
Finnish team sign another Finnish driver.....what a surprise....
Team wanting to be competitive sign young driver showing a lot of potential who has already tested the car... what a surprise. wink

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Thursday 20th April 2017
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Headline in rally section of this week's Motorsport News.....

"TOYOTA

Offers top-flight lifeline to Mikkelsen.

Norwegian winner is on the verge of joining Japanese line-up".


That didn't happen then.

Perhaps Tommi thought he was a Finn......confusedhehe


GravelBen

15,654 posts

229 months

Friday 21st April 2017
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My photos from Otago Rally: https://flic.kr/s/aHskYjECjR

A few samples...

DSC_3308 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_3341 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_3740 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_4063 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_4031 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_4708 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_5082 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_5337 by Ben, on Flickr

DSC_5529 by Ben, on Flickr

fttm

3,665 posts

134 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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The first Kelly pic is classic Escort stance , top effort GB .

RyanTank

2,850 posts

153 months

Sunday 23rd April 2017
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Slippydiff said:
Like Sordo a lot, but possibly time for him to step aside.
Similar thoughts here regarding Sordo. Maybe he's given notice of his retirement at the end of the season to Hyundai bosses so they've made the move to secure Mikkelsen now before he gets snapped up for next season with another team?

SO clearly isn't happy in the car with M-Sport, and his driving talent cant make up for failing parts for much longer. It seems to me as the 2017 Fiesta is still somewhat in development mode for parts on it compared to the other garages. the hydraulic issue affected all 3 cars over the course of the weekend to some degree didn't it?
Maybe M-Sport was expecting to have the 1st half of the season as full speed testing for the car with a reliable assault on the 2nd half events to take a good charge at the '18 season. but the sudden departure of VW left them the option to fill it with the Champion, but with a not quite so ready car.

RyanTank

2,850 posts

153 months

Wednesday 26th April 2017
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So seems by Hyundai's twitter feed, Mikkelsen's test was a one off test - taken from their account - "Interesting for our team to have a different point-of-view on our 2017 car from one of the leading #WRC drivers. This is a 1 off opportunity which fit in our test schedule and doesn’t change our point-of-view w/ regards to our current driver line-up".

all seems quiet everywhere with regards to the WRC, especially when you consider Argentina starts tomorrow!

Allyc85

7,225 posts

185 months

Friday 28th April 2017
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Evans leading in the Dmack Fiesta, Ogier with damage, Meeke and Breen out for the day with accident and gearbox damage! Quite a morning in Argentina!

Alex Langheck

835 posts

128 months

Friday 28th April 2017
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If it wasn't obvious before, then it should be by now; that the C3 has a major suspension/ handling issue. Another off after hitting a bump and being launched....Meeke got away with it in Mexico, but again has retired due to an off - but again, I'd put it down to a car issue, not a driver error.

Allyc85

7,225 posts

185 months

Friday 28th April 2017
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Having now seen the incident it is a weird one for Meeke, almost like that bizare shakedown crash he had in Poland a couple years ago. Apparently the other teams have noted how low the C3 is in comparison, with 1 commenting Citroen had turned up with a WTCC car.

Evans lead now up to 53 seconds biggrin

O/A After SS8/SS18:
1 EVA
2 ÖST+52.8s
3 NEU+1m2.6s
4 OGI+1m7.2s
5 TÄN+1m9.1s
6 LAT+1m31.5s
7 PAD+3m37.4s
8 BER+4m1.9s

GravelBen

15,654 posts

229 months

Saturday 29th April 2017
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The Citroen certainly seems to get spat off bumps quite unpredictably in a way the other cars don't, its a bit odd. Whether its a ride height issue or something else I don't know.

Think the WTCC car comment was made at Monte, they were running it very low there.

Unfortunate for Paddon losing so much time with that soft roll on SS2 from getting caught in a rut, showing good pace aside from that. Tough conditions for everyone with the rough as guts roads though.

Dmack and/or Evans have obviously found something that works, very surprising speed.

Edited by GravelBen on Saturday 29th April 02:05

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Saturday 29th April 2017
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Would be great if Elfyn can hold on and take a win.

Allyc85

7,225 posts

185 months

Saturday 29th April 2017
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With his lead down to 11.5 seconds I have my doubts! Either way it should be an epic last day!

Edit: Hadn't realised about Meeke..

https://twitter.com/eWRCresults/status/85841426648...

Edited by Allyc85 on Saturday 29th April 21:19

Allyc85

7,225 posts

185 months

Sunday 30th April 2017
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It's a shame that having British drivers fighting for wins, in one of the most competitive championships in years, with the most TV coverage we've had doesn't create more interest really. If only they renamed the cars to Group B..

Can't believe how close it was for Evans in the end, but to finish 1m 24 ahead of Ogier despite 2 punctures, a lost diffuser, a spin and no brakes for half of Sundays first stage is quite a performance!

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Sunday 30th April 2017
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Without spoiling,just looked up the result......frown

Will watch highlights on 5 tomorrow.

Alex Langheck

835 posts

128 months

Sunday 30th April 2017
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Allyc85 said:
It's a shame that having British drivers fighting for wins, in one of the most competitive championships in years, with the most TV coverage we've had doesn't create more interest really. If only they renamed the cars to Group B..

Can't believe how close it was for Evans in the end, but to finish 1m 24 ahead of Ogier despite 2 punctures, a lost diffuser, a spin and no brakes for half of Sundays first stage is quite a performance!
Ally - I'm afraid the horse has bolted; rallying just doesn't capture the average UK motorsport fan anymore. Apart from maybe the Monte; then when all the other series start, the interest drops off. It's the same on a few other forums.

As for this event, so close for Evans, but yesterday lunchtime, Neuville was about 1 minute behind....That's were Evans lost the event, not today. Was his pace on Friday solely down to road order? Or a combinaton with the DMack tyres?

GravelBen

15,654 posts

229 months

Sunday 30th April 2017
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In-car from Meeke's second crash... yikes

https://twitter.com/CitroenRacing/status/858792383...

giveitfish

4,030 posts

213 months

Monday 1st May 2017
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Gutted for Evans, hope he gets another chance at a win in the future. Am looking forward to seeing this one on TV though!

sanf

673 posts

171 months

Monday 1st May 2017
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Alex Langheck said:
Allyc85 said:
It's a shame that having British drivers fighting for wins, in one of the most competitive championships in years, with the most TV coverage we've had doesn't create more interest really. If only they renamed the cars to Group B..

Can't believe how close it was for Evans in the end, but to finish 1m 24 ahead of Ogier despite 2 punctures, a lost diffuser, a spin and no brakes for half of Sundays first stage is quite a performance!
Ally - I'm afraid the horse has bolted; rallying just doesn't capture the average UK motorsport fan anymore. Apart from maybe the Monte; then when all the other series start, the interest drops off. It's the same on a few other forums.

As for this event, so close for Evans, but yesterday lunchtime, Neuville was about 1 minute behind....That's were Evans lost the event, not today. Was his pace on Friday solely down to road order? Or a combinaton with the DMack tyres?
I was utterly gutted after the power stage, just so close. Evans did an amazing job on the Friday, making hay while the sun shone. Road position and tyres did help. But 1st stage Saturday he fastest again......after that it was all downhill, with many problems.

Puncture
Misheard pace note....lead to half spin.

After lunch he was on the pace again....but then the hard landing damaged the diffuser and over the last 2 stages on Saturday with an ill handling car he haemorrhaged time, to a flying Neuville. Interesting to note that Ostberg also lost his diffuser.

Even on Sunday.....stage 1, no brakes for half the first stage, but he managed to limit the damage to 1.5s. However stage 2 on Sunday which was twisty meant an overheating engine so the power was turned down to help avoid damage - and this was the stage when most time was lost. He did a great job on the final stage, but the bump on the bridge was enough to cost him the 0.7s.

When the tyres and car are running well, he has shown a great turn of pace, hopefully the first win will come this year, although Tanak can't be that far off one either.

On the right event the winners could now come from; Ogier, Tanak, Evans, Latvala, Neuville, Paddon, Meeke and maybe even Sordo. Breen is progessing nicely too.

This year - the cars are awesome, and the competition is building up so well. It's interesting to see Ogier struggle a bit, but still leading the championship.

Having now got over Evans losing the win, I can't wait for Portugal, it's such an epic season.....and my entries in for my next club event....happy days woohoo

lucido grigio

44,044 posts

162 months

Monday 1st May 2017
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I completely forgot to watch the highlights......frown

Just turned over for +1 coverage.