2021 Rallying Thread (WRC, ERC and national rally)

[Slippydiff]

Allyc85 said:

Unfortunately the last thing he was told before leaving service was to finish, and not in the trees.

Greensmith has been painfully slow so far, I hope he can grab at least a couple points with others misfortune.

Anyone else getting up for SS3 tomorrow?

Quite possibly, but TS is in good company, Tanak last year, and to a lesser extent Greensmith too.
Malcolm can't have it both ways, I mean whose going to sponsor a car/s that never gets any TV coverage because it's running in 10th place ...

The car's clearly quick, though the jury is still out on Greensmith, I'm not a massive fan from what I've seen of him in a WRC car last year, but learning the new Pirellis on an event such as the Monte (even with some pre- event testing) will be a baptism of fire for many I'd imagine.

Will definitely be up at 5.00 in the morning to see SS3 !!

[Skylinecrazy]

Looks like the big 4 have become a big 5. Seb will be back on the pace tomorrow now his brake problem is fixed.

TS is in good company, but it’s still no excuse. You can’t win a rally on stage one.

[Skylinecrazy]

5am is almost worth trying to watch these two trying to fill an awkward 5 minutes

[Active75]

Ogier looks very confident after SS5. Evans says the shiny looking tar caused him to be cautious of ice. Looking at the splits it seems all the other leaders have done the same maybe. Roads very dry below the snowline.

[Skylinecrazy]

I don’t remember ever seeing splits like this in modern WRC. Will be interesting tomorrow when Seb is last on the road.

[Active75]

It seems that several drivers having one studded tyre on the rear, and with gravel being thrown up by Ogier theres a few issues.

[Slippydiff]

Sordo over 2 minutes adrift
The Hyundai’s look completely out of sorts, Neuville no doubt hamstrung by new co-driver.
Fantastic save by Tanak

[Skylinecrazy]

I think Hyundai’s problem is tyre choice. Studs on gravel/tarmac is a recipe for unpredictable for grip. Ott in third isn’t bad, and it’s a long old championship.

[Active75]

Stage 6 very tricky. Rain and Ice about 10 mins in. Only Toyota chose studded tyres. 2 spins for Ogier. This will be interesting

[Skylinecrazy]

Kalle going backwards...

[Ardennes92]

Evans going forwards

[Slippydiff]

Treacherous conditions on sub-optimal tyre choices. Bloody heroes the lot of ‘em.

[Skylinecrazy]

Ardennes92 said:

Evans going forwards

Really?

[Active75]

Easy to say as a keyboard spectator, but Ogier just looks like he has more confidence in his car and tyres. A comment was made about Evans driving position which is quite forward, whereas Ogier seems to sit back and down further. I wonder if that makes his feel for the cars balance easier?

Mikkelsen in the Skoda is doing pretty well in WRC2 as is Formaux, who has not been rallying long.

[Slippydiff]

Active75 said:

Easy to say as a keyboard spectator, but Ogier just looks like he has more confidence in his car and tyres. A comment was made about Evans driving position which is quite forward, whereas Ogier seems to sit back and down further. I wonder if that makes his feel for the cars balance easier?

Mikkelsen in the Skoda is doing pretty well in WRC2 as is Formaux, who has not been rallying long.

Most laid back driver (both mentally and physically) has to be Neuville. I've always struggled to see how he can be so relaxed when driving.

Evans driving position looks incredibly uncomfortable and unnatural (but there again, so did Francois Delacour's) though Evans position looks plain weird. It doesn't seem to stop him from driving incredibly quickly though !!

Always liked AM, looks like he's on a mission. I just hope he doesn't bin it.

Interesting too to see Dani Sordo's finally found some speed, things must be bad when you can lean on the car more/better when it's on Winters rather than Super soft slicks ...

[Skylinecrazy]

Funny you mention Neuville being relaxed. He’s also the most likely to make a mistake under pressure of the ‘big 4’ imo.

Can’t see Evans holding off Ogier tomorrow as both stages have been ran for a number of years now and Ogier knows them well. (Sellonet is a great stage - we go every year..)

Good to see Taka & Sordo getting back on the pace - just hope Taka doesn’t bin it...

Massively disappointed with Gus, he’s received a lot of criticism leading up to the event, and it’s well deserved imo. Losing to his teammate in a car the category below is quite frankly embarrassing.

[Active75]

Snow is forecast for all stages tomorrow. Could give Ogier an even bigger advantage. Or could cause all sorts of upsets!

Looking at Greensmith and his throttle and brake use; he is on the brakes longer than the others, then pushes hard to make up, probably causing a loss of balance.

Alpine A110 in 24th and most still going.

[Slippydiff]

Skylinecrazy said:

Funny you mention Neuville being relaxed. He’s also the most likely to make a mistake under pressure of the ‘big 4’ imo.

Can’t see Evans holding off Ogier tomorrow as both stages have been ran for a number of years now and Ogier knows them well. (Sellonet is a great stage - we go every year..)

Good to see Taka & Sordo getting back on the pace - just hope Taka doesn’t bin it...

Massively disappointed with Gus, he’s received a lot of criticism leading up to the event, and it’s well deserved imo. Losing to his teammate in a car the category below is quite frankly embarrassing.

I have to admit I can forgive Neuville binning it occasionally, his pace is hugely impressive, and I love the way he drives.
Being the bridesmaid and never the bride must be incredibly frustrating.

As a driver he is so quick, he just needs that final bit of consistency to enable him to take a WRC title. Some of the blame for that lack of consistency has to be laid at the foot of the team and the car they’ve provided him with.
It was a shame to see him lose the plot and have a wobble 4-5 years ago, but the team gave him a good bking and he got his st together. In process he seems to have matured into genuinely nice bloke too.

[Allyc85]

Amazing how many rally youtubers there are, which live close to the event

https://youtu.be/zEU00sdG9hw

https://youtu.be/emA3gt7yR5A

https://youtu.be/3g3dLqEhj6Y

https://youtu.be/P44DcNXtDKk

[confucuis]

Enjoying the rally so far, good battle up front. I've love for Evans to do it or someone besides Ogier (and even Toyota).

I liked the live coverage, I got to watch it on my lunch break but Christ they need to stop cutting away from the live action to interview the drivers. We're watching to see racing, not interviewing!