The 2017 Rallying thread

[epom]

tyrrell said:

So Meeke has binned it again it just gets worse

P45

[RyanTank]

Slippydiff said:

Who's this Nuville bloke ? Thierry's half brother

must be


Meeke's cocked that corner up. perhaps he expected to drift into it a bit more? but over braked himself and cliped the barrier square on right in the centre of the wheel. maybe an inch or two less or slightly less lock and it'd be a glancing blow and maybe a puncture? one or two other drivers clipped the barriers and got away with it last night.

That said, a handbrake 90 r like that should have a bale or barrel on the apex, or anything other than a blunt flat edge. Meeke's pissed away any chances on a mikey mouse stage. I'd be very surprised to see him in Citroen colours next year, and think possibly the deal with Andreas in place of Kris is already in place

Here's hoping he smashes the times today, all be it in vain after starting +10 minutes on his time card.

Thierry just understeered and got away with it! - https://www.facebook.com/rallyemag/videos/10155700...


BRC related. It comes as no surprise to me that the season finishes up next year on Wales Rally GB. The organiser of the BRC is Clark of the Course for WRGB. And a field of another 30 R5 cars is just what WRGB needs Its going to be difficult to track who's where in the R5 cars unless the BRC run as a stand alone category and not chucked in with the WRC2 cars. Interested to see the entrants for that round too as they will be doing the full event and not the cheaper National Event.

[thepawbroon]

DelicaL400 said:

I see news of the 2018 BRC and National Tarmac championship have been greeted with the usual tumbleweed in here

Never mind, it's not long until the Mull targa/sprint.

Working hard to get those Mull regs out by the end of August!

[DelicaL400]

RyanTank said:

Its going to be difficult to track who's where in the R5 cars unless the BRC run as a stand alone category and not chucked in with the WRC2 cars.

They'd be breaking their own rules about seeding in order of anticipated performance if they did that? Or is it not as dangerous to do that at WRC level with loads of spectators as it is at a small clubman event?

Yeah, no surprise about RGB but a shame for the organisers of the Scottish/NG Stages after all the work they had to do to accommodate the BRC. Didn't they try having RGB as the final round a few years ago - I don't remember it being a huge success.

[RyanTank]

I've no idea how the BRC cars will fit in with the seedings. There's obviously the R5,R2, and N class cars to accommodate into it from just the BRC category. Its gonna have to be split between WRC2 - JWRC Classes??

Had a chance to catch up on the feed of SS1 Germany and my got it was tight in some bits, even Paddon commented at stage end that some sections weren't big enough for the bigger 2017 cars.
But looking at his corner entries he was just too tight and undercooked the corner. He was obviously gutted.

[lucido grigio]

How much compo does ADAC have to pay out to the wine growers ?

Seems everybody went grape crushing today.

[Allyc85]

Neuville out for the day after breaking his suspension! That's 3 big mistakes this year that could cost him his best chance of the title!

[GravelBen]

Allyc85 said:

Neuville out for the day after breaking his suspension! That's 3 big mistakes this year that could cost him his best chance of the title!

It wasn't a 'big mistake', if any mistake it was a small one but with very unlucky consequences.

Ogier and Tanak both made bigger mistakes yesterday and got away with only a few seconds time loss.

[Allyc85]

I should have worded it as a "costly mistake" really, all of them have been very small.

1 more stage for Tanak to hold on. While he has ridden his luck it's a great performance to be 30 seconds ahead of Ogier on tar!

[Alex Langheck]

Neuville's damage was strange - possibly more to do with his off into the vines the day before?? You don't normally knock a wheel off whilst taking a cut through a grassy corner. He seemed adamant he hadn't hit anything.

[Allyc85]

Brilliant win for Tanak, maybe it won't be so bad for M-Sport if they can't afford Ogier's wages next year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97yakLhHwVM

27 seconds in!

[greeny12]

Allyc85 said:

Brilliant win for Tanak, maybe it won't be so bad for M-Sport if they can't afford Ogier's wages next year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97yakLhHwVM

27 seconds in!

The official coverage just never, ever gets across the speed, noise, drama and sheer balls-out bravery of WRC in the way these unofficial clips do. It's maddening really.

[epom]

Allyc85 said:

Brilliant win for Tanak, maybe it won't be so bad for M-Sport if they can't afford Ogier's wages next year!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97yakLhHwVM

27 seconds in!

Fab, thanks for that.

[Rude-boy]

Allyc85 said:

I wish Meeke could also go for more than a Rally without binning it. Unreal..

So do I.

Such a shame. Really thought that he might have got the crashing bug out of his system, a nice long contract and lead driver at a team that has been at the right end of the pack for many years and generally everything you need to make a real go of a title tilt.

But no, crash, after crash, after crash. Even when he won he still crashed.

They say that you can't make a slow guy fast, well this is a fast guy that you can't stop crashing.

Very sad but i doubt that anyone will want to pay him to crash their cars for them again after this last episode.

[bananachips]

Didn't really notice till this weekend, but Thierry adjusts his glasses an awful lot while driving.

[Slippydiff]

Alex Langheck said:

Neuville's damage was strange - possibly more to do with his off into the vines the day before?? You don't normally knock a wheel off whilst taking a cut through a grassy corner. He seemed adamant he hadn't hit anything.

+1

I saw the comments in the brief interview with Michel Nandan after the incident as a taciturn admittance that the car was at fault, be that something left loose, or something poorly designed/engineered. ie the problem wasn't as a result of Neuville's actions.

If I were an Ogier hater I'd be saying he's acting like a petulant child because he's having to work hard for the championship. But I think Ogier's a class act, and in all honesty MSport haven't given him the car he needs or deserves this year. Maybe knowing that Ogier wouldn't have chosen to have a one year contract ? or indeed go to MSport at all, has forced Wilson to hedge his bets and give Tanak and Evans the cars they want/need to be competitive ?

There was a brief shot of Ogier and Wilson chatting in the service area pre the first Saturday morning stage. Neither looked happy and Ogier's body language looked a cross between pissed off and rather unimpressed/hostile. Clearly next years pay negotiations are proving tough. If my sources are to be believed, Wilson is a tight and avaricious individual, more concerned with lining his own pocket than that of his drivers. I'll be shocked if Ogier's there next year.

If I were Hyundai/Nandan I'd be cutting Dani or Hayden loose (I know Dani's father is very wealthy and paid for Dani's drive in his early days with Citroen, so there's every chance he's paying Hyundai some money too) but they'd be crazy to miss out on Ogier, and the dream team of him and Neuville together would be awesome for the sport.

Andreas Mikkelsen very effectively made Meeke (and dare I say it, Breen) look second rate last weekend. I do feel for Meeke, he's clearly in a bad place right now, but as the old Finns used to say, on Mickey Mouse stages, there's little to be gained by really pushing, but everything to be lost. Amen to that Kris.....

Pleased for Tanak, I love his sense of humour (when things are going well !!) is this the start of a renaissance for MSport, or just another of their flash in pan moments ?

[lucido grigio]

I avoided this thread ,mostly ,until I saw the ch5 highlights tonight.

Meeke ,words fail me ,didn't realise he broke it on the opening stage.

Neuville ,quite unlucky to break the NSR on a nothing corner.

Good win for Tanak ,he's becoming a serious contender for a championship.

As for Ogier and next season ,I've read he would stay at M sport if ford came back as a works team and on the show tonight it

was suggested he might also retire ,whether champion or not.

Looks to me like a big French flounce ,so the Fiesta isn't as good as the Polo which just was invincible for 4 years but taking your

toys away just seems extreme when the Fiesta is still good enough to win ,just need to work it a bit harder.

[df76]

lucido grigio said:

Meeke ,words fail me ,didn't realise he broke it on the opening stage.

Was great to see Mikkelsen doing the business in the Citoren.. really showed what the car is capable of (in the right hands).

[bananachips]

df76 said:

lucido grigio said:

Meeke ,words fail me ,didn't realise he broke it on the opening stage.

Was great to see Mikkelsen doing the business in the Citoren.. really showed what the car is capable of (in the right hands).

Meeke was going well in Corsica and would have won hands down had the car not failed mind.

[Allyc85]

The possibility of Ogier retiring is a new one to me, hadn't heard that one. In a way it wouldn't surprise me with the birth of his kid, and Tanak generally being the faster driver these days!

As for Meeke I wouldn't be surprised if he was dropped. Even though his tiny mistake was no different to Neuville's in Sweden, I fear it is one too many!