The 2016 WRC has been quite the game so far, looking quite unlike the previous three years in some ways, yet sounding comfortably familiar in others. There have been the usual mix of outstanding individual performances and own goals. Intra-team sniping and unexpected empathy. Astonishing success and epic fails. And as the 2017 season with its changes and challenges heaves into view, this is as good a time as any to cover off a few of the highs, lows and the head-scratchingly unexpected. So let's have at it...
Six Different Winners In Seven Rounds
Finally the tedium of seeing a single marque and a single driver in the "Win" column virtually every round has gone. Regardless of your particular preferences for driver or make, you must still agree that 2016 has been a pleasant departure from the predictability of the past 12 years.
So far we have seen two wins from Ogier, and one win each from Latvala, Meeke, Paddon, Neuville and Mikkelsen. And while the main VW team has three wins to its credit over the two wins from the Hyundai #2 team, Citroen's semi-works effort and the VW2 team victory, the appearance of some machinery sans the VW logo in the winner's circle generates hope that this season will end a lot closer than we've seen for a very long time. Gotta be good for the sport
Way To Push Privateers Out Of The Sport
Ignoring the weirdness surrounding the stewards' decision to penalise Martin Prokop for a gearbox seal infringement which had been present on earlier events (mainly choosing to ignore said weirdness because Martin had already announced his intention to pull back from the WRC to go play in the Dakar and indulge in other pastimes, so it was already moot and the penalty was overturned anyway), the proposed 2017 season regulation that will ban most if not all "gentlemen drivers" from piloting the new-spec cars, is seen by most as a given.
If a privateer team such as Bertelli's fuckmatie squad cannot get their hands on the same spec vehicle as their opposition, they'll have two thirds of three fifths of stuff-all chance of being in the match at all. The FIA/WRC have subsequently let it be known that they're considering imposing their restriction on a case-by-case basis, rather than a blanket ban.
However, without a so-called "Super Licence" style qualification programme in place, the ad-hoc nature of the WRC's proposed regime seems to invite potential unfairness and cronyism. Let's hope they see the merit in a more formal qualification plan if they confirm the implementation of the pseudo-ban.
The '17-Spec Cars Will Be Deadly In The Wrong Hands?
Apparently so.
Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking that surely that also applies to the '16 spec weapons (which mysteriously avoid being banned from privateer use). And you would be correct. Presumably then, you'll be even more dead after mishandling your 2017-spec WRC car, than with the 2016 jobbie. Even though the aero packages, track enhancements and electronic centre diffs of next season's models are expected to make the beasts easier to drive at pace than the current versions.
The vexed question of how the galactically less-skilled WRC2 bods will bridge the newly-embiggerated gap to '17-spec divinity, has forced the WRC steering committee to consider yet another class of competition, this time between WRC2 and WRC, (WRC2+ maybe? Or WRC Minus?) using all the pre-'17 spec WR Car cast-offs that the constructors no longer want or need. Hmmm... not sure that's going to appeal to the likes of VW and Hyundai.
Whatever they decide, the whole notion of the 2017-spec cars being death-traps for anyone but the WRC elite, smacks of bovine effluent. The regs as revealed thus far suggest a measured increase in performance rather than a return to Group B arms-race lunacy.
Can you say "overreaction"?
Jut Like That Old Time Rock 'n Roll
Jari-Matti Latvala looked for all money like he had Argentina in the bag on the Saturday with a demonstration of pace that reminded the unbiased observer of the JML of old. A pity then that the nearly-irresistable force that is the VW Polo R WRC met the immovable object of a largish piece of bedrock in the Finn's driving line with the result that the Polo lost that bout and JM-L lost the rally.
The car's front right strut was smacked upward, piercing the top-mount and bonnet, and destroying the Polo's steering. The spectacular rolls that followed finished the job for the unfortunate crew. Up to that point, he was a shoe-in for the top spot, but instead of scoring his second victory of the season, he was out and history records that Paddon took his first ever WRC win. It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, as my Mum would say.
Following his Argentina victory, Paddon was in buoyant mood for Portugal, setting quick times and looking strong for a good placing. Unfortunately for the Kiwi, on the second running of Ponte de Lima, his pace was his undoing. Unknown to the WRC contenders, following the first loop, a large hole had opened up on the racing line. This menace was obscured until the drivers were upon it, so all the leading WRC cars were at risk and each one in turn had a moment.
In Paddon's case, his greater speed launched the i20 through the air and into collision with the raised rockface on the inside edge of the road. The impact spun the Hyundai around and it exited the track backwards down a bank, flipping before landing back on its wheels.
The crew evacuated the car just in time to avoid being immolated in a subsequent fire ignited by the i20's hot exhaust, and the Hyundai was totally burnt out. A very big consequence for what was really a tiny misstep. Ott Tanak had the same experience with a very similar result, although with the help of the Kiwi crew, spectators and marshalls, they saved the Fiesta from the flames. Only Mads Ostberg's slightly slower pace had prevented his demise at the same spot.
Tanak was lucky that his Fiesta RS WRC survived, but his luck took a turn for the worse two events later in Poland while leading the rally by 18 seconds over Andreas Mikkelsen. With just two stages left, a puncture robbed him of his first win at the WRC top level, a victory that all who saw his performance agreed would have been a just reward for an outstanding drive over the rally's three days.
One can but commiserate with the Estonian and his DMACK team that they came so close. And M-Sport's Malcolm Wilson must have been gutted in missing out on the Fiesta's first rally win since 2012, a result that the Cumbrian firm sorely needs. At least the pace Tanak showed in Poland will give them great heart for a decent placing in the similar conditions of Finland.
The Resurrection Of Thierry Neuville
The Belgian has seen his fortunes change for the better as the season has progressed and the Hyundai squad has accordingly reaped the benefits of his improved performance. Especially as far as the Motorsport N team is concerned.
So far, both wins for the Korean manufacturer have been by the #20 entry, which, against expectations, have given the N team a healthy points boost. Not what M. Nandan would have preferred, I'm sure, but the same applies to Mikkelsen's win for the VW second team so not so disadvantageous as it seems at first glance.
So far this season, Neuville has bagged 61 points, currently sitting in 7th place which you might have thought unlikely viewing his performances at the conclusion of the 2015 season. So what's changed? According to Thierry, they've finally given him a competitive car.
A mechanical glitch here and there, a wee fuel miscalculation and the occasional less than perfect tyre choice have all conspired to disguise quite how much the Belgian has improved in 2016, but improve he did. A first, a third, a fourth and a sixth all contributing to his renaissance in the World Rally Championship.
At the half-time drinks break, Thierry has shown that he's going to challenge the leaders in the second half. A new, more positive attitude, a faster car, a boost in confidence and the desire to improve his value for the silly season approaching have come together to make him more competitive, more results-focused than we've seen for a while.
Whether or not Thierry is doing this with the team in mind, the benefits to Hyundai Motorsport GMBH will be tangible. But will he stay with the team for another three years? Doubtful. Particularly because much interest has already been expressed by the other teams toward the Belgian and he's heading into the prime years where he'll command the highest salary.
Still, you never know - Hyundai is serious about their WRC ambitions and they're well-funded, so in a bidding war they will be competitive. If they believe their future requires Neuville, then don't count them out. But my gut tells me that the rocky road that is the Hyundai/Neuville relationship has seen too much ego puncturing to navigate easily. We'll know in just a few weeks time, I think...
The Silly Season Arrives Early This Year
So having touched on the topic of factory seats, now seems as good a time as any to take a deeper look. Let's start with VW - because they're the easiest.
Ogier, Latvala and Mikkelsen are all confirmed as driving for Volkswagen Motorsport in 2017. Whether the rules mandate a three car team or the current two-team structure, there will be no driver changes for next season.
However, VW team boss Capito has suggested that their World Champion might retire from the sport should the start order not be changed so that the Frenchman is no longer disadvantaged. Unlikely, given that changes are mooted, and Ogier still has unfinished business in the WRC. But good for talking points...
Hyundai has yet to finalise their lineup for 2017. Paddon is contracted to the end of 2018, Sordo has signed anew until the end of 2018 but Neuville has yet to commit. Hyundai boss Nandan has let it be known that his preference is to have the same crews as for the past two years, meaning Thierry is welcome to remain, but it's up to the Belgian to choose his home for the next two seasons.
Right now, the possibilities are for Citroen and Hyundai to provide berths but there's an admittedly faint possibility that M-Sport could also be in the frame. Toyota-Gazoo looks unlikely at this point in time though.
My bet? Neuville will join Meeke at Citroen. We shall have to wait and see...
Citroen has been adamant that they won't be running a third car in their 2017 campaign. With Meeke confirmed for 2017 and 2018, there will be just a single space for three prospective candidates for the second seat. Neuville, as mentioned, LeFebvre or Breen.
Breen is seen as a bit of an outside chance, talented but not yet a sure bet. Being French, LeFebvre is a favourite to score a place in the French squad - in addition to his speed, the Frenchman has the inside running due to the historical preference by Citroen to promote their countrymen.
If Neuville bags the second drive though, it's not at all unlikely that PH would run a semi-works team for LeFebvre, and perhaps even another car for Breen.
TMR-Gazoo is the big mystery. Here are the drivers who won't be in the 2017 team:
Loeb. Petter Solberg. Mads Ostberg. Thierry Neuville. So, besides Juho Hanninen, Makinen's current favourite, who else might headline the Toyota team's efforts in 2017? So far, the probables seem to be from a trio of talented newcomers to the WRC; Suninen,
Lappi and Tidemund.
Who'll get the seats? It's a coin-flip I'm afraid.
And last, but never to be counted out, M-Sport is developing a 2017 spec car based on the yet-to-be-released 2017 model-year Fiesta. So don't doubt for a moment that Wilson will enter at least two cars next season. But there's a catch...
DMACK tyres apparently approached M-Sport with a deal for next year. What form that deal takes is unknown but speculation is rife that in turn for M-Sport using DMACK's tyres exclusively, the tyre maker will fund a two-car WRC challenge in '17.
But this is where it gets complicated - both Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans were dumped from M-Sport's 2015 main squad and were replaced by Mads Ostberg and Eric Camilli. It seems likely that the DMACK deal would require Tanak and Evans to take over the main team seats from Ostberg and Camilli, leaving both of those latter drivers either out of a job, or at best, in a second string M-Sport team. Not a happy circumstance for either driver.
But what if M-Sport doesn't go for the DMACK deal?
DMACK could run its own team again, this time with both Tanak and Evans, in whatever car they can negotiate. And that isn't necessarily a Ford. In fact, Citroen has the head start in development to be in a position to build six cars prior to the Monte - one each for Meeke, Neuville, Lefebvre, Breen, Tanak and Evans if they so wished.
There's no doubt that the Citroen Racing firm would be able to run three cars if it felt the need, and the semi-works PH Sport team could do the same. Or Citroen could stick to two cars while PH Sport could run a team with Tanak, Evans and Lefebvre.
Of course, DMACK have a history with M-Sport - Tanak in the Fiesta RS WRC and Evans in the R5 version - so it's entirely possible that they'd stick with the Cumbrian constructor. Probable, in fact. But so far it's certainly not a given.
Like I said, the silly season is early this year.
Showing posts with label Evans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evans. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
WRC '16 - A Mads Mystery
There's a universal adage that reads something like this...
"If you're not going forward, you're going backwards".
It's a truism that could have been written for Mads Ostberg. You see, the popular Norwegian driver has always been there or thereabouts when it comes to pace, with moments when he really looked the business behind the wheel of whatever rally weapon he happened to inhabit at that time. But the WRC doesn't stand still as clearly demonstrated in the results achieved by the current crop of talented stage-winners. It's not enough just to be quick - you have to be challenging for the stage win. Or the rally win.
Sadly, Mads isn't in that category. Despite his speed and consistency, Mads hasn't looked like a winner all season. Why is that? In a word, "stagnation". He has reached a plateau in his performances while most of his competition have improved. And there are also a clutch of guys whose experience and skills have yet to reach the rally-winner level, but who are already threatening to out-perform Mads in speed on a consistent basis.
That sounds really dire, I know, but is it as bad as it sounds? Well, that depends on Mads. This WRC ace thing needs more than natural ability and big cojones. It takes practice and an awful lot of hard work - just ask the Paddons, Breens, Evanses, Camillis, Tanaks and Mikkelsens (to name a few) of the WRC world. They're not sitting back, confident in their ability and expecting to be victorious. They're doing their utmost to improve - on every event.
Paddon is a classic example. Two seasons ago, he was seen as fortunate to have gained a foothold in the WRC, a surprisingly competent antipodean who punched above his weight and a bit of a David to virtually everybody else's Goliath. No longer.
The Kiwi's consistent and rapid gains in speed and skill have impressed every team boss in the WRC and the greater mass of the skeptical rally supporters worldwide. Yes, Hayden possesses the native talent to be competitive, but it's also due in large part to his unquenchable thirst to improve himself - to strive to be the best.
So he invests as much of his free time as he can in improving his skills. On tarmac, on gravel, in analysing conditions, in car set-up, learning from the performances of his rivals and probably most importantly, in being honest with himself as to his weaknesses and asking for help to overcome them. In a sport where ego is a huge component in motivation and success, the sort of self-analysis Paddon applies in his chosen career is key to the rate at which he has improved in his time in the WRC. Hard work trumps innate ability sometimes. And asking for help is rare at this level of competition.
But back to Mads - at the half-way point of the WRC season, the Norwegian's performance is neatly summed up by his place in the drivers' championship. Sixth overall compares poorly with the 3rd place he held after seven events last year. Yet the M-Sport lead driver has consistently voiced his satisfaction with his driving, despite the lacklustre times he's been posting. How can that be?
Mads has hinted at times that the Fiesta RS WRC is not capable of delivering more, that he has felt content with the performances he's putting in but the car is limiting the times they can achieve. Which may or may not have seemed a realistic interpretation until Rally Poland, where Ott Tanak, in a virtually identical vehicle, led the rally for three days, losing the victory only through time lost to a puncture and relegating the Estonian to second overall. But Tanak's performance across the event certainly undermines Mads's theory of the car being the limiting factor.
It's time for Mads to face the fact that he's slower because everybody else is now quicker. If he wants to get a factory seat in 2017, something that must be in serious doubt right now, then he will have to prove that this stagnation he's exhibiting is temporary and that he's capable of improving his own performance to once again match or better still, exceed, that of his peers. It's time for Mads to put in the required effort.
He's been a well-liked and respected competitor for ten plus years - it would be a shame to see him leave the World Rally Championship at this point in his career.
"If you're not going forward, you're going backwards".
It's a truism that could have been written for Mads Ostberg. You see, the popular Norwegian driver has always been there or thereabouts when it comes to pace, with moments when he really looked the business behind the wheel of whatever rally weapon he happened to inhabit at that time. But the WRC doesn't stand still as clearly demonstrated in the results achieved by the current crop of talented stage-winners. It's not enough just to be quick - you have to be challenging for the stage win. Or the rally win.
Sadly, Mads isn't in that category. Despite his speed and consistency, Mads hasn't looked like a winner all season. Why is that? In a word, "stagnation". He has reached a plateau in his performances while most of his competition have improved. And there are also a clutch of guys whose experience and skills have yet to reach the rally-winner level, but who are already threatening to out-perform Mads in speed on a consistent basis.
That sounds really dire, I know, but is it as bad as it sounds? Well, that depends on Mads. This WRC ace thing needs more than natural ability and big cojones. It takes practice and an awful lot of hard work - just ask the Paddons, Breens, Evanses, Camillis, Tanaks and Mikkelsens (to name a few) of the WRC world. They're not sitting back, confident in their ability and expecting to be victorious. They're doing their utmost to improve - on every event.
Paddon is a classic example. Two seasons ago, he was seen as fortunate to have gained a foothold in the WRC, a surprisingly competent antipodean who punched above his weight and a bit of a David to virtually everybody else's Goliath. No longer.
The Kiwi's consistent and rapid gains in speed and skill have impressed every team boss in the WRC and the greater mass of the skeptical rally supporters worldwide. Yes, Hayden possesses the native talent to be competitive, but it's also due in large part to his unquenchable thirst to improve himself - to strive to be the best.
So he invests as much of his free time as he can in improving his skills. On tarmac, on gravel, in analysing conditions, in car set-up, learning from the performances of his rivals and probably most importantly, in being honest with himself as to his weaknesses and asking for help to overcome them. In a sport where ego is a huge component in motivation and success, the sort of self-analysis Paddon applies in his chosen career is key to the rate at which he has improved in his time in the WRC. Hard work trumps innate ability sometimes. And asking for help is rare at this level of competition.
But back to Mads - at the half-way point of the WRC season, the Norwegian's performance is neatly summed up by his place in the drivers' championship. Sixth overall compares poorly with the 3rd place he held after seven events last year. Yet the M-Sport lead driver has consistently voiced his satisfaction with his driving, despite the lacklustre times he's been posting. How can that be?
Mads has hinted at times that the Fiesta RS WRC is not capable of delivering more, that he has felt content with the performances he's putting in but the car is limiting the times they can achieve. Which may or may not have seemed a realistic interpretation until Rally Poland, where Ott Tanak, in a virtually identical vehicle, led the rally for three days, losing the victory only through time lost to a puncture and relegating the Estonian to second overall. But Tanak's performance across the event certainly undermines Mads's theory of the car being the limiting factor.
It's time for Mads to face the fact that he's slower because everybody else is now quicker. If he wants to get a factory seat in 2017, something that must be in serious doubt right now, then he will have to prove that this stagnation he's exhibiting is temporary and that he's capable of improving his own performance to once again match or better still, exceed, that of his peers. It's time for Mads to put in the required effort.
He's been a well-liked and respected competitor for ten plus years - it would be a shame to see him leave the World Rally Championship at this point in his career.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
WRC '15 - Canny win? Corsican...
That heading above must be the most appalling headline ever written, and for that you have my apologies. As to what took place in that picturesque island during the Tour de Corse though, you can blame the weather. Torrential downpours that caused the cancellation of two of only nine stages that comprised this year's event, and played havoc with the natural order of things.
How you felt about that depended on your perception of what defines a good WRC rally. There are those who miss the days when men were men, rally stages were as much about surviving the conditions as they were about winning by a few tenths of a second, and the tougher the challenge, the better. Then there are those who like their events neatly packaged for the spectator, fast roads and plenty of ancillary entertainment to keep one amused. And in the middle of all this, there are plenty of folk who swing both ways.
But finding a formula that suits everybody is a pretty daunting task.
However, through its adoption of a very few unusually extended stages, which the weather further reduced to just seven, the Tour de Corse achieved the seemingly impossible. An endurance style event that didn't require the spectators to clock up hundreds of kilometres each day, ran on asphalt but with all the water, mud, detritus and road damage that a fan of the old formats could possible wish for, yet with some shorter stretches of relatively undamaged wet and dry tarmac for the sprint-style afficionados to nod contentedly about.
And all down to nature adding its secret ingredient "rain" to the mix. Very effective.
So to the event. Robert Kubica and Seb Ogier shared the scratch honours on SS1, with the rest of the WRC top tier entrants more or less in order behind those two. Not entirely though, as Thierry Neuville clipped a bridge with his i20 and broke the rear right upright, retiring for the day. And rookie Dutchman Abbring had his i20 up in 7th place, just three spots behind the fastest Hyundai driver, Dani Sordo.
SS2 was cancelled because the deluge that had descended on Corsica had caused flooding, washouts and slips and they rendered the planned stage impassable in places. So the drivers and sundry spectators trundled off to SS3 which, while affected by the surface water and grunge scattered about by passing rally cars, was at least passable. Not that anybody was particularly happy with the conditions, except for one Elfyn Evans.
M-Sport's young Welshman won the stage by 10 seconds over Hyundai's Abbring, who in turn beat Stephane Sarrazin and who led Bryan Bouffier - not really the names you expect to be troubling the writers of leaderboard info.
One whose name could realistically be expected on the board in elevated position is the 2015 World Champion, Sébastien Ogier. Following a puncture and more than a minute's time loss, the frenchman's Polo R WRC died from gearbox woes on its way to service and Ogier dropped to 87th overall following his retirement and subsequent Rally 2 restart. Quel horreur!
Even previous Corsica winner, Dani Sordo, languished in lowly 19th. I don't know if these oddities in position can be directly attributed to the Corsican weather bomb, but in the absence of any other explanation, I'm going with that theory.
SS4, a planned repeat of SS2, was also cancelled, and Saturday's leg began with SS5 instead. The day dawned with blue skies and gentle breezes, the storm front having passed and in the process of saturating other bits of the European continent. But the legacy lived on in Corsica to the delight of nobody involved in the rally, with road surfaces alternately dry, greasy, muddy, wet and gritty. Evans led as the stage began but 36.5km later, Jari-Matti latvala had taken 20 seconds from him and the Welshman's lead had dropped to 1.7 seconds.
So the natural order of things began to assert itself once more, with the fastest five on SS5 comprising Latvala, Mikkelsen, Ogier, Meeke and Sordo. One slight oddity was the sixth place of Hayden Paddon, who had so little experience competing on tarmac, any tarmac, that he was treating the Tour de Corse as a practice session for the upcoming Rallye de España. Clearly the pre-event asphalt coaching the Kiwi took on the week before the TdC was paying dividends, although as usual, Paddon was quick to point out that he had plenty of work to do.
SS6 completed the second day and the crews headed for bed with a somewhat different leaderboard than that of Friday evening. Latvala now led Evans by just two seconds, who in turn had a lead of 29 seconds over Mikkelsen. Meeke had moved up to 4th, Abbring had dropped to 5th, with Ostberg leading tarmac rookie Paddon by 20 seconds. Bouffier and Sarrazin preceded Tanak and Sordo, with Rally 2 drivers Neuville and Ogier in 37th and 24th places respectively.
Unusually for a WRC event, the final day turned out to be the longest, courtesy of the stage cancellations of the previous days. So there was quite a lot to play for, for a welcome change.
Individual battles loomed large with the relatively small margins of time between various competitors, the top three places being particularly interesting, so this was going to be very exciting. The Latvala/Evans fight particularly so. When the smoke cleared, Latvala had completed a storming run over SS7, beating the Ford Fiesta of Evans by a healthy 15.6 seconds, but the Welshman held his second place with a great drive of his own to keep third-placed Mikkelsen at bay with a 21 second buffer.
Meeke, who was by then unable to catch Mikkelsen and unlikely to lose 4th place to the speedy Abbring, did just enough to consolidate his position. Abbring's lead over Ostberg was a solid 16.5 seconds making Mads's task in overhauling the Dutchman increasingly dificult. But tarmac rookie Paddon took 19 seconds off Mads, moving himself to within 2.3 seconds of the Norwegian and signalling his intention to grab 6th position for his own. VW's Ogier won the stage and moved himself up to 19th place in the process, while Neuville was down in 32nd spot, having managed only 9th quickest time.
SS8 was one for the Hyundai boys, Dani Sordo on scratch some 2.3 seconds quicker than Ogier. Ogier's 2nd fastest time moved him up to 15th overall. But surprise of the stage was the third fastest time from Paddon, equalling Jari-Matti's time and bumping Ostberg one place in the process. Not such good news for Abbring though - he left the road and was unable to regain it, having to retire as a result. A disappointing end to a superb drive up to that point. Neuville's 8th fastest looked seriously poor for an experienced WRC competitor with a reputation as a tarmac specialist, his 25th overall placing totally underwhelming.
Abbring's retirement elevated the drivers behind him one place, so Paddon inherited 5th place with Mads 6th, now 6.2 seconds behind the Kiwi. Asked at stage end what had happened for him to lose so much time to Paddon, Ostberg could only reply that he himself had driven well and could do no more. Recognising the futility of risking all for a top podium spot, Evans chose to defend his current station against Mikkelsen, driving accordingly while dropping another 16 seconds to Latvala.
At stage end, Latvala led Evans by 32.7 seconds, while Mikkelsen had closed the gap to 2nd to just 9.8 seconds. There was still a lot to play for with the power stage yet to run.
The result is history. SebO won the power stage, grabbing the three points on offer even though he didn't need them. Kubica showed his speed once more, with a great 2nd fastest while Jari-Matti nabbed the third spot. Dani Sordo finished 4th fastest and ended the rally 7th overall, a disappointing result as far as the Spaniard was concerned and he rued the puncture that had cost him a couple of minutes earlier in the event. Mikkelsen, Meeke and Evans were the next fastest WRC regulars, with Ostberg, Paddon and Neuville rounding out the top ten.
So another well-driven win to Latvala, who kept his nose clean and pushed when he needed to, offering more proof of his skills and relevance to the world championship. Evans's performance on this tough event was outstanding. Had it not been for the superhuman stage time from J-ML where he got within 1.7 seconds of the Welshman, it seems likely that Elfyn would have mounted the top step of the podium. As it was, that result was his career best effort and it goes a long way to compensating for the lacklustre recent performances from the Welshman. And his tarmac chops are without doubt.
Andreas Mikkelsen completed just 3.2 seconds behind Evans, rewarded for his efforts by the third podium spot. A great drive from a very promising competitor. A win must surely be close. Compatriot Mads Ostberg, on his first drive following the recce accident in Australia, thought he'd driven well and seemed continually puzzled as to why his times didn't reflect his impressions of the crew's performance, but to be beaten by Hayden Paddon whose experience on tarmac was virtually non-existent prior to this event, must be rather deflating. Sixth overall is not a bad result by any means, but one can't help thinking he should have finished higher.
Kris Meeke, in his usual self-effacing way, drove the rally the way he needed to and seemed quietly pleased with the result - a fourth place and a bucket of points for his team's constructor championship hopes. Citroen overtook Hyundai by a single point and I suspect that the celebrations and relief at the Citroen after-match function were mightily enjoyed. Kris can be happy with his efforts in Corsica.
Yet again, Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard finished a rally as the highest-placed Hyundai crew, which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that he's the third-ranked driver in the Korean team, and mostly unable to contribute constructor points. It's difficult to avoid concluding that the Hyundai squad will be re-shuffled next season. The thing that energed most clearly about Paddon during the Tour de Corse, is that his self-analysis and commitment are exceeded only by his ability to continually improve. That is a rare and precious gift, and the WRC team bosses will be in no doubt about what that means for the future!
Sordo drove a fine rally and did his reputation no harm at all with his competitiveness and focus. It was only a puncture that prevented his challenging for a podium, and the Spaniard will have cemented his tarmac role in the Hyundai team for next season. The superb efforts on the gravel in Australia have elevated his stocks in the eyes of many as well. However, the same cannot be said for Hyundai lead driver Thierry Neuville. Thierry has finally admitted that his driving has not been up to the standard his role in the team demands and his disappointing season so far has harmed his reputation and his opportunities. He needs to excel in Spain or I fear for his career in the WRC.
Ott Tanak, another who like Paddon lacks any competitive distance on tarmac, confessed early on that he was struggling to find confidence or rhythm on the Corsican stages. Although his times were sub-par for a driver with well recognised speed, he brought the Fiesta home in 10th, picking up a point along the way and storing the experience for the future. Right now, tarmac is not his friend, but he's a determined young man and we'll see an improvement in Spain for sure.
Pity that the Tour de Corse had more than 20% of its stage distance cancelled, because we could have had even more competitive drama to enjoy. But it was still enjoyable enough and the marathon format certainly didn't put a dampener on procedings - it was the storm that pulled off that trick.
Catch you all in Spain...
How you felt about that depended on your perception of what defines a good WRC rally. There are those who miss the days when men were men, rally stages were as much about surviving the conditions as they were about winning by a few tenths of a second, and the tougher the challenge, the better. Then there are those who like their events neatly packaged for the spectator, fast roads and plenty of ancillary entertainment to keep one amused. And in the middle of all this, there are plenty of folk who swing both ways.
But finding a formula that suits everybody is a pretty daunting task.
However, through its adoption of a very few unusually extended stages, which the weather further reduced to just seven, the Tour de Corse achieved the seemingly impossible. An endurance style event that didn't require the spectators to clock up hundreds of kilometres each day, ran on asphalt but with all the water, mud, detritus and road damage that a fan of the old formats could possible wish for, yet with some shorter stretches of relatively undamaged wet and dry tarmac for the sprint-style afficionados to nod contentedly about.
And all down to nature adding its secret ingredient "rain" to the mix. Very effective.
So to the event. Robert Kubica and Seb Ogier shared the scratch honours on SS1, with the rest of the WRC top tier entrants more or less in order behind those two. Not entirely though, as Thierry Neuville clipped a bridge with his i20 and broke the rear right upright, retiring for the day. And rookie Dutchman Abbring had his i20 up in 7th place, just three spots behind the fastest Hyundai driver, Dani Sordo.
SS2 was cancelled because the deluge that had descended on Corsica had caused flooding, washouts and slips and they rendered the planned stage impassable in places. So the drivers and sundry spectators trundled off to SS3 which, while affected by the surface water and grunge scattered about by passing rally cars, was at least passable. Not that anybody was particularly happy with the conditions, except for one Elfyn Evans.
M-Sport's young Welshman won the stage by 10 seconds over Hyundai's Abbring, who in turn beat Stephane Sarrazin and who led Bryan Bouffier - not really the names you expect to be troubling the writers of leaderboard info.
One whose name could realistically be expected on the board in elevated position is the 2015 World Champion, Sébastien Ogier. Following a puncture and more than a minute's time loss, the frenchman's Polo R WRC died from gearbox woes on its way to service and Ogier dropped to 87th overall following his retirement and subsequent Rally 2 restart. Quel horreur!
Even previous Corsica winner, Dani Sordo, languished in lowly 19th. I don't know if these oddities in position can be directly attributed to the Corsican weather bomb, but in the absence of any other explanation, I'm going with that theory.
SS4, a planned repeat of SS2, was also cancelled, and Saturday's leg began with SS5 instead. The day dawned with blue skies and gentle breezes, the storm front having passed and in the process of saturating other bits of the European continent. But the legacy lived on in Corsica to the delight of nobody involved in the rally, with road surfaces alternately dry, greasy, muddy, wet and gritty. Evans led as the stage began but 36.5km later, Jari-Matti latvala had taken 20 seconds from him and the Welshman's lead had dropped to 1.7 seconds.
So the natural order of things began to assert itself once more, with the fastest five on SS5 comprising Latvala, Mikkelsen, Ogier, Meeke and Sordo. One slight oddity was the sixth place of Hayden Paddon, who had so little experience competing on tarmac, any tarmac, that he was treating the Tour de Corse as a practice session for the upcoming Rallye de España. Clearly the pre-event asphalt coaching the Kiwi took on the week before the TdC was paying dividends, although as usual, Paddon was quick to point out that he had plenty of work to do.
SS6 completed the second day and the crews headed for bed with a somewhat different leaderboard than that of Friday evening. Latvala now led Evans by just two seconds, who in turn had a lead of 29 seconds over Mikkelsen. Meeke had moved up to 4th, Abbring had dropped to 5th, with Ostberg leading tarmac rookie Paddon by 20 seconds. Bouffier and Sarrazin preceded Tanak and Sordo, with Rally 2 drivers Neuville and Ogier in 37th and 24th places respectively.
Unusually for a WRC event, the final day turned out to be the longest, courtesy of the stage cancellations of the previous days. So there was quite a lot to play for, for a welcome change.
Individual battles loomed large with the relatively small margins of time between various competitors, the top three places being particularly interesting, so this was going to be very exciting. The Latvala/Evans fight particularly so. When the smoke cleared, Latvala had completed a storming run over SS7, beating the Ford Fiesta of Evans by a healthy 15.6 seconds, but the Welshman held his second place with a great drive of his own to keep third-placed Mikkelsen at bay with a 21 second buffer.
Meeke, who was by then unable to catch Mikkelsen and unlikely to lose 4th place to the speedy Abbring, did just enough to consolidate his position. Abbring's lead over Ostberg was a solid 16.5 seconds making Mads's task in overhauling the Dutchman increasingly dificult. But tarmac rookie Paddon took 19 seconds off Mads, moving himself to within 2.3 seconds of the Norwegian and signalling his intention to grab 6th position for his own. VW's Ogier won the stage and moved himself up to 19th place in the process, while Neuville was down in 32nd spot, having managed only 9th quickest time.
SS8 was one for the Hyundai boys, Dani Sordo on scratch some 2.3 seconds quicker than Ogier. Ogier's 2nd fastest time moved him up to 15th overall. But surprise of the stage was the third fastest time from Paddon, equalling Jari-Matti's time and bumping Ostberg one place in the process. Not such good news for Abbring though - he left the road and was unable to regain it, having to retire as a result. A disappointing end to a superb drive up to that point. Neuville's 8th fastest looked seriously poor for an experienced WRC competitor with a reputation as a tarmac specialist, his 25th overall placing totally underwhelming.
Abbring's retirement elevated the drivers behind him one place, so Paddon inherited 5th place with Mads 6th, now 6.2 seconds behind the Kiwi. Asked at stage end what had happened for him to lose so much time to Paddon, Ostberg could only reply that he himself had driven well and could do no more. Recognising the futility of risking all for a top podium spot, Evans chose to defend his current station against Mikkelsen, driving accordingly while dropping another 16 seconds to Latvala.
At stage end, Latvala led Evans by 32.7 seconds, while Mikkelsen had closed the gap to 2nd to just 9.8 seconds. There was still a lot to play for with the power stage yet to run.
The result is history. SebO won the power stage, grabbing the three points on offer even though he didn't need them. Kubica showed his speed once more, with a great 2nd fastest while Jari-Matti nabbed the third spot. Dani Sordo finished 4th fastest and ended the rally 7th overall, a disappointing result as far as the Spaniard was concerned and he rued the puncture that had cost him a couple of minutes earlier in the event. Mikkelsen, Meeke and Evans were the next fastest WRC regulars, with Ostberg, Paddon and Neuville rounding out the top ten.
So another well-driven win to Latvala, who kept his nose clean and pushed when he needed to, offering more proof of his skills and relevance to the world championship. Evans's performance on this tough event was outstanding. Had it not been for the superhuman stage time from J-ML where he got within 1.7 seconds of the Welshman, it seems likely that Elfyn would have mounted the top step of the podium. As it was, that result was his career best effort and it goes a long way to compensating for the lacklustre recent performances from the Welshman. And his tarmac chops are without doubt.
Andreas Mikkelsen completed just 3.2 seconds behind Evans, rewarded for his efforts by the third podium spot. A great drive from a very promising competitor. A win must surely be close. Compatriot Mads Ostberg, on his first drive following the recce accident in Australia, thought he'd driven well and seemed continually puzzled as to why his times didn't reflect his impressions of the crew's performance, but to be beaten by Hayden Paddon whose experience on tarmac was virtually non-existent prior to this event, must be rather deflating. Sixth overall is not a bad result by any means, but one can't help thinking he should have finished higher.
Kris Meeke, in his usual self-effacing way, drove the rally the way he needed to and seemed quietly pleased with the result - a fourth place and a bucket of points for his team's constructor championship hopes. Citroen overtook Hyundai by a single point and I suspect that the celebrations and relief at the Citroen after-match function were mightily enjoyed. Kris can be happy with his efforts in Corsica.
Yet again, Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard finished a rally as the highest-placed Hyundai crew, which wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that he's the third-ranked driver in the Korean team, and mostly unable to contribute constructor points. It's difficult to avoid concluding that the Hyundai squad will be re-shuffled next season. The thing that energed most clearly about Paddon during the Tour de Corse, is that his self-analysis and commitment are exceeded only by his ability to continually improve. That is a rare and precious gift, and the WRC team bosses will be in no doubt about what that means for the future!
Sordo drove a fine rally and did his reputation no harm at all with his competitiveness and focus. It was only a puncture that prevented his challenging for a podium, and the Spaniard will have cemented his tarmac role in the Hyundai team for next season. The superb efforts on the gravel in Australia have elevated his stocks in the eyes of many as well. However, the same cannot be said for Hyundai lead driver Thierry Neuville. Thierry has finally admitted that his driving has not been up to the standard his role in the team demands and his disappointing season so far has harmed his reputation and his opportunities. He needs to excel in Spain or I fear for his career in the WRC.
Ott Tanak, another who like Paddon lacks any competitive distance on tarmac, confessed early on that he was struggling to find confidence or rhythm on the Corsican stages. Although his times were sub-par for a driver with well recognised speed, he brought the Fiesta home in 10th, picking up a point along the way and storing the experience for the future. Right now, tarmac is not his friend, but he's a determined young man and we'll see an improvement in Spain for sure.
Pity that the Tour de Corse had more than 20% of its stage distance cancelled, because we could have had even more competitive drama to enjoy. But it was still enjoyable enough and the marathon format certainly didn't put a dampener on procedings - it was the storm that pulled off that trick.
Catch you all in Spain...
Sunday, August 24, 2014
WRC '14 - The sea-change continues...
As catalogued a couple of posts back, there were signs that the top order of WRC was undergoing a significant change, and the German round of the 2014 WRC has delivered more evidence that the championship is not the foregone conclusion it had appeared to be in the first half of the season, at which time VW's dominance in drivers and hardware was all but assured. Instead, SebO's relentless roll toward another championship victory stalled on the final stage of the German event's first day.
Ogier's problem arguably arose from the delayed start of the 8th special stage, with cold tyres and brakes a side-effect of the delay. 7.5km into the test, the VW pilot's late braking into a tightening right-hander left him with no room for correction and the Polo left the road. Although the car was virtually undamaged by its off-road odyssey, the crew were unable to regain the stage due to terrain and they were forced to retire.
At the time of their accident, Ogier/Ingrassia had been trading fastest stage times with Latvala/Antilla* the French crew having had a 3.7 second lead over the Finns up to that point. However the excursion and retirement hit Ogier with an automatic 10 minute penalty, so when he returned on Saturday under Rally 2 regulations, it was with the likelihood that he would finish the rally with no points other than any he might score on the power stage - not ideal, and giving teammate Latvala a huge boost in drivers' championship points. Game on!
While not wishing to labour the point, this had been the first time that the reigning world champion has had to pay for his risk-taking since he retired on Rally Sweden. And 'risk-taking' is not an exaggeration. On basically every event this season, Ogier has been captured having a "moment" that he was lucky to have survived with nothing more serious than a few dropped seconds, while competitors suffered much greater hardship as a result of basically identical indiscretions.
It's tempting to assume that Ogier has some level of car control that his opponents do not and that's how he's managed to avoid the consequences of his errors, but the tiny margins involved between saving and losing at these speeds suggest that luck has been an ally to the Frenchman on many occasions. But Friday's incident shows that it's not to be counted on. Ogier is supremely quick and brave, but as we are seeing now, these are qualities that Jari-Matti Latvala also possesses in equal measure. Make no mistake - Ogier is under very real pressure now.
So Saturday's stages seemed to be a comfortable run for Ogier with little need for the Frenchman to take any risks, and offering the prospect of his being able to keep his powder dry for Sunday's power stage. But it wasn't to be - as first WRC car through Stage 8, the VW driver smacked the Armco barrier just a little over a kilometre into the test, damaging both car and barrier, the latter so badly that the organisers were forced to abandon the stage entirely. Driver and co-driver were taken to hospital for precautionary examination.
It was rumoured that the Polo might restart under Rally 2 for a second time on Sunday, however inspection of the car revealed rollcage damage and the organisers refused permission for Ogier and Ingrassia to continue. All in all a significant impediment to the World Champs' 2014 title aspirations.
There was a considerable amount of media comment about this being so uncharacteristically Ogier in that he wasn't predisposed to make such mistakes, but clearly those commentators hadn't been paying attention. As brilliant as he is, it was clear to anybody who cared to look that Seb had made errors in all his recent WRC events but had the great good fortune to survive them without major damage or significant time loss.
Not so in Germany, and it seems less likely now that the World Champion will still bring his previous, seemingly unshakeable confidence levels to future events.
VW's Jari-Matti Latvala, on the other hand, is in deep renaissance mode, the days of doubt and caution replaced with confidence and optimism as he consistently out-gunned his French teammate over the course of the rally. His skills behind the wheel of the VW Polo are no less than Ogier's and the stage times confirm that.
Even though sealed surfaces are far from being his preferred ones, you'd never guess that from the performance the Finn has delivered at Rally Deutschland. He simply won the majority of the specials and absolutely deserved to take maximum points and the trophy.
A fantastic performance from possibly the best driver in the WRC right now. A brilliant effort from Latvala and Antilla that would have helped their Championship chances immensely. But an off in the first stage on Sunday destroyed the Finn's chances for the win and suddenly Meeke and Neuville were battling for the top step on the podium instead.
Citroen's Kris Meeke has carried on where he left off from Finland, mixing his raw speed with a mature attitude and in the process eclipsing his more-fancied teammate Mads Osberg into the bargain. Meeke and Nagle have driven another impressive event, finishing in the top three places on every stage bar three (the very model of outright pace and consistency) and fully deserving of a 1st place podium finish.
It wasn't to be. A collision with a wall only 2km into SS16 had the Citroen DS3 driver stopped and effectively his chances for a well-deserved result vanished.
It was apparent that Meeke has the chops to be championship contender in '15, and his speed on the sealed German stages - which he last encountered at WRC level in 2011 with Mini - was proof of that potential. M-Sport's Malcolm Wilson has his eye on the Northern Irishman for next season as a possible replacement for Mikko Hirvonen whose own performance has been disappointing this season. Mikko's 5th place finish in Germany is certainly well below his potential.
Elfyn Evans showed a good turn of speed over all three days, beating M-Sport lead driver Mikko Hirvonen's times regularly and showing excellent progression. Team boss Wilson has been very complimentary about the young Welshman's performances this year and has confirmed that he will have a place in M-Sport's attack on the WRC crown in 2015. A wonderful opportunity for Evans and co-driver Barritt that must seem to them like a dream come true. Their fourth place overall is just reward for their performance this weekend.
WRC new boys Hyundai fielded lead driver Neuville with tarmac specialists Sordo (last year's Rally Deutschland winner) replacing Hanninen and Bouffier, another up-and-coming talent, replacing WRC rookie Hayden Paddon for this event. Following a comprehensive rollover accident on shakedown and a twenty hour rebuild, Neuville regained his confidence and pace across the three days to narrowly beat Sordo to first place on the podium.
Sordo had the worst of the conditions encountered on the wet Saturday stages, being overtaken by teammate Neuville but holding on for a fine 2nd overall at rally's end. Bouffier, who promised much, never seemed to be quite comfortable in the i20 and his times didn't live up to expectations. On Saturday, a coming together with a hinkelstein on the Panzerplatte stage demolished the Hyundai's front suspension and Bouffier was out. However, stellar work by the Hyundai service team enabled the duo to rejoin the rally under Rally 2 for the final day's stages but an off on the power stage ended his rally.
Still, the Korean marque has shown continuous improvement with each event, and it would have been unwise to dismiss the possibility of a win before year's end. Nandan, team boss for Hyundai Motorsport, has consistently described the 2014 strategy as a learning period, but I suspect he would be absolutely delighted to measure that progress with a WRC win, regardless of the team's "development" status. A first place and a second place overall has to be nirvana for the Korean team.
So, wow. With this kind of action on the WRC, are the governing powers really intending to mess about with the formula?
KUBICA KORNER
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my fascination for the Polish ex-F1 pilot as he re-imagines himself as a WRC champion contender. Despite the appalling rally injury that effectively destroyed his Formula One career, the Pole has shown he can put up competitive special stage times against the world's best. Unfortunately, his native pace is not matched by his pacenote skill and that has in turn led to an excess of retirements through crashing and damaging his Lotos sponsored WRC Fiesta.
Sadly, Rallye Deutschland has seen yet another such display. The Polish crew rolled off Stage 3 following a mistake by Kubica and although spectators came to the crew's rescue, the Lotos Fiesta WRC lost four minutes. Not a good beginning considering they had only completed two specials at that point.
Day 2 brought better results, including a brace of stage wins which would have improved Kubica's confidence greatly, and he continued to set decent times while avoiding mistakes. At the close of day 2 the Lotos Fiesta WRC had moved up into tenth place. But before the start of the first of Sunday's stages, the gearbox on his Fiesta failed and the Pole retired from the event, a rather unfair development and certainly not Kubica's fault.
To their credit, the team have been concentrating on perfecting their pacenotes in anticipation of a better year in '15, but clearly there is much still to be done there and one must question whether Lotos will have the patience to stick with the team. Personally, I hope they will...
*A shout out to VW team boss Capito for allowing his drivers to compete for the drivers' championship - a great gift to the WRC!
Ogier's problem arguably arose from the delayed start of the 8th special stage, with cold tyres and brakes a side-effect of the delay. 7.5km into the test, the VW pilot's late braking into a tightening right-hander left him with no room for correction and the Polo left the road. Although the car was virtually undamaged by its off-road odyssey, the crew were unable to regain the stage due to terrain and they were forced to retire.
At the time of their accident, Ogier/Ingrassia had been trading fastest stage times with Latvala/Antilla* the French crew having had a 3.7 second lead over the Finns up to that point. However the excursion and retirement hit Ogier with an automatic 10 minute penalty, so when he returned on Saturday under Rally 2 regulations, it was with the likelihood that he would finish the rally with no points other than any he might score on the power stage - not ideal, and giving teammate Latvala a huge boost in drivers' championship points. Game on!
While not wishing to labour the point, this had been the first time that the reigning world champion has had to pay for his risk-taking since he retired on Rally Sweden. And 'risk-taking' is not an exaggeration. On basically every event this season, Ogier has been captured having a "moment" that he was lucky to have survived with nothing more serious than a few dropped seconds, while competitors suffered much greater hardship as a result of basically identical indiscretions.
It's tempting to assume that Ogier has some level of car control that his opponents do not and that's how he's managed to avoid the consequences of his errors, but the tiny margins involved between saving and losing at these speeds suggest that luck has been an ally to the Frenchman on many occasions. But Friday's incident shows that it's not to be counted on. Ogier is supremely quick and brave, but as we are seeing now, these are qualities that Jari-Matti Latvala also possesses in equal measure. Make no mistake - Ogier is under very real pressure now.
So Saturday's stages seemed to be a comfortable run for Ogier with little need for the Frenchman to take any risks, and offering the prospect of his being able to keep his powder dry for Sunday's power stage. But it wasn't to be - as first WRC car through Stage 8, the VW driver smacked the Armco barrier just a little over a kilometre into the test, damaging both car and barrier, the latter so badly that the organisers were forced to abandon the stage entirely. Driver and co-driver were taken to hospital for precautionary examination.
It was rumoured that the Polo might restart under Rally 2 for a second time on Sunday, however inspection of the car revealed rollcage damage and the organisers refused permission for Ogier and Ingrassia to continue. All in all a significant impediment to the World Champs' 2014 title aspirations.
There was a considerable amount of media comment about this being so uncharacteristically Ogier in that he wasn't predisposed to make such mistakes, but clearly those commentators hadn't been paying attention. As brilliant as he is, it was clear to anybody who cared to look that Seb had made errors in all his recent WRC events but had the great good fortune to survive them without major damage or significant time loss.
Not so in Germany, and it seems less likely now that the World Champion will still bring his previous, seemingly unshakeable confidence levels to future events.
VW's Jari-Matti Latvala, on the other hand, is in deep renaissance mode, the days of doubt and caution replaced with confidence and optimism as he consistently out-gunned his French teammate over the course of the rally. His skills behind the wheel of the VW Polo are no less than Ogier's and the stage times confirm that.
Even though sealed surfaces are far from being his preferred ones, you'd never guess that from the performance the Finn has delivered at Rally Deutschland. He simply won the majority of the specials and absolutely deserved to take maximum points and the trophy.
A fantastic performance from possibly the best driver in the WRC right now. A brilliant effort from Latvala and Antilla that would have helped their Championship chances immensely. But an off in the first stage on Sunday destroyed the Finn's chances for the win and suddenly Meeke and Neuville were battling for the top step on the podium instead.
Citroen's Kris Meeke has carried on where he left off from Finland, mixing his raw speed with a mature attitude and in the process eclipsing his more-fancied teammate Mads Osberg into the bargain. Meeke and Nagle have driven another impressive event, finishing in the top three places on every stage bar three (the very model of outright pace and consistency) and fully deserving of a 1st place podium finish.
It wasn't to be. A collision with a wall only 2km into SS16 had the Citroen DS3 driver stopped and effectively his chances for a well-deserved result vanished.
It was apparent that Meeke has the chops to be championship contender in '15, and his speed on the sealed German stages - which he last encountered at WRC level in 2011 with Mini - was proof of that potential. M-Sport's Malcolm Wilson has his eye on the Northern Irishman for next season as a possible replacement for Mikko Hirvonen whose own performance has been disappointing this season. Mikko's 5th place finish in Germany is certainly well below his potential.
Elfyn Evans showed a good turn of speed over all three days, beating M-Sport lead driver Mikko Hirvonen's times regularly and showing excellent progression. Team boss Wilson has been very complimentary about the young Welshman's performances this year and has confirmed that he will have a place in M-Sport's attack on the WRC crown in 2015. A wonderful opportunity for Evans and co-driver Barritt that must seem to them like a dream come true. Their fourth place overall is just reward for their performance this weekend.
WRC new boys Hyundai fielded lead driver Neuville with tarmac specialists Sordo (last year's Rally Deutschland winner) replacing Hanninen and Bouffier, another up-and-coming talent, replacing WRC rookie Hayden Paddon for this event. Following a comprehensive rollover accident on shakedown and a twenty hour rebuild, Neuville regained his confidence and pace across the three days to narrowly beat Sordo to first place on the podium.
Sordo had the worst of the conditions encountered on the wet Saturday stages, being overtaken by teammate Neuville but holding on for a fine 2nd overall at rally's end. Bouffier, who promised much, never seemed to be quite comfortable in the i20 and his times didn't live up to expectations. On Saturday, a coming together with a hinkelstein on the Panzerplatte stage demolished the Hyundai's front suspension and Bouffier was out. However, stellar work by the Hyundai service team enabled the duo to rejoin the rally under Rally 2 for the final day's stages but an off on the power stage ended his rally.
Still, the Korean marque has shown continuous improvement with each event, and it would have been unwise to dismiss the possibility of a win before year's end. Nandan, team boss for Hyundai Motorsport, has consistently described the 2014 strategy as a learning period, but I suspect he would be absolutely delighted to measure that progress with a WRC win, regardless of the team's "development" status. A first place and a second place overall has to be nirvana for the Korean team.
So, wow. With this kind of action on the WRC, are the governing powers really intending to mess about with the formula?
KUBICA KORNER
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my fascination for the Polish ex-F1 pilot as he re-imagines himself as a WRC champion contender. Despite the appalling rally injury that effectively destroyed his Formula One career, the Pole has shown he can put up competitive special stage times against the world's best. Unfortunately, his native pace is not matched by his pacenote skill and that has in turn led to an excess of retirements through crashing and damaging his Lotos sponsored WRC Fiesta.
Sadly, Rallye Deutschland has seen yet another such display. The Polish crew rolled off Stage 3 following a mistake by Kubica and although spectators came to the crew's rescue, the Lotos Fiesta WRC lost four minutes. Not a good beginning considering they had only completed two specials at that point.
Day 2 brought better results, including a brace of stage wins which would have improved Kubica's confidence greatly, and he continued to set decent times while avoiding mistakes. At the close of day 2 the Lotos Fiesta WRC had moved up into tenth place. But before the start of the first of Sunday's stages, the gearbox on his Fiesta failed and the Pole retired from the event, a rather unfair development and certainly not Kubica's fault.
To their credit, the team have been concentrating on perfecting their pacenotes in anticipation of a better year in '15, but clearly there is much still to be done there and one must question whether Lotos will have the patience to stick with the team. Personally, I hope they will...
*A shout out to VW team boss Capito for allowing his drivers to compete for the drivers' championship - a great gift to the WRC!
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