- Sebastien Ogier
- Andreas Mikkelsen
- Ott Tanak
- Hayden Paddon
- Jari-Matti Latvala
- Thierry Neuville
- Kris Meeke
- Robert Kubica
- Mads Ostberg
- Dani Sordo
But I'm going to say I was thoroughly impressed with M-Sport's Ott Tanak. The young Estonian kicked butt, as our American cousins would phrase it, and only some injudicious application of loud pedal saw him fail to finish higher on the podium than his already impressive third overall.
And giving it excessive jandal is a crime that I find I'm increasingly ready to forgive.
The title of this post, for those who didn't notice or have forgotten, is "Pushing in Poland". Pushing, as regular readers of this blog will know, is a euphemism for driving with the brain's caution centre turned off, and in Poland, there was much such driving. Most but not all performed by the aforementioned Mr Tanak. Who then, were the other miscreants?
Glad you asked...
M. Ogier, for one. Whatever faults he has, driving slowly isn't one of them. It's simply not in his nature. The loose gravel surface that he was faced with for most of the event proved no impediment to the Frenchman. He knew that to win in Poland, he'd have to limit the time lost sweeping loose gravel away, and the only way to accomplish that would be to drive as fast as the Polo R could go.
So he did that. For three days. And made nary a mistake in doing so. Even when his first place finish was assured, he kept the boot in and collected those extra three power stage points that he didn't even need. That performance, to me, virtually defines the word "push". Or it would, had it not been for the sterling efforts of Ott and Raigo. M. Ogier certainly understands the concept though...
Norway's answer to rallying divinity is of course Andreas Mikkelsen. The Norseman's dedication to his craft is epic, evidenced by his position as second overall in the WRC. Another driver who isn't short of courage, Andreas dogged his teammate Ogier throughout the event, piling on the pressure where he was able and positioning himself within a few scant seconds of the lead for the whole three days of Rally Poland.
In the end, only a couple of almost inconsequential errors kept him from taking that first top podium step. If there truly is a Viking spirit, Mikkelsen has it in spades. When he says he was pushing, you can rest assured that he was going at speeds that would even frighten the manure out of his legendary seafaring ancestors.
So, to Ott Tanak. We'll probably never know what M-Sport gave him for breakfast over the weekend but whatever it was, the Estonian metabolised it into utter performance. Six fastest times over the duration of the event got our attention. The manner in which he threw that Fiesta RS WRC around the Polish scenery held us spellbound. He was really, really spectacular. Even his competitors expressed their awe at the display of bravery and commitment.
What is even scarier, and swayed this writer's decision in awarding him the Drive of the Rally, is that had he dialed back his aggression a gnat's or two, his brakes and consequently his tyres would have enabled him to pick up another two, maybe three scratch performances and put him in contention with Ogier and Mikkelsen for the top spot. It wasn't to be, but surely he'll know better in future events.
Lastly, Jari-Matti Latvala was the fourth exponent of the push in Poland. He didn't quite reach the heights achieved by his VW teammates but he wasn't a long way off either. Sadly for the Finn, some unforced errors again undermined his progress and his battle, instead of being for first, unfortunately was instead with the on-form Tanak for the bottom step of the podium.
It was always going to be a tight battle, with the seesaw position swapping over a very few seconds of separation between them, but in the end, Latvala knew that a big push was needed if he was to complete the VW 1-2-3 that the team wanted so much. As is well known now, Jari-Matti took a risk by carrying extra speed into a bend in the power stage and was unable to keep his Polo on the island.
The resulting collision with a tree wrecked his radiator and the repair time cost the Finn 40 seconds in late penalties, elevating Hayden Paddon into fourth. The Kiwi, enjoying another quick and safe run after his second place in Sardegna, was the fastest Hyundai home, beating both his more experienced teammates and the new recruit, Kevin Abbring, into the bargain.
It'll be a very interesting Rally Finland I'm thinking...
KUBICA KORNER
Well what can one say? RK drove quickly and consistently all event, putting in some great times and enjoying the adulation of his legions of Polish fans. It's encouraging for the likeable Pole that his performance against his pacenotes has clearly improved and that can only mean better results in the future. That and his revamped team now make his prospects in WRC look a whole lot brighter.
All the best to the Polish contingent for Finland. It's an event that should allow the crew to shine.
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