RallyDriven 398 Posted March 12, 2018 Ogier gets 10 second penalty on powerstage for missing a chicane, and has therefore lost his 4 bonus points, and everyone else should have gained a point.I really enjoyed following this rally through all live, managed to catch a lot of it over the weekend. Typical that I went to the toilet just as Meeke rolled on Sunday! Last year my internet kept buffering during the ps so I got fed up and turned it off just before Meeke had his car park moment! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted March 12, 2018 I dunno about Meeke being in a rut. He still placed above someone as talented as Loeb. Both of them suffered unintentional time loss, sometimes its costly, sometimes it isn’t. Ogier though, he’s a different type of driver. He drives with his head. Keeps safely within reach & then capitalises on the inevitable mistakes of the other drivers. He’s tactical & clever Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RallyDriven 398 Posted March 12, 2018 KevM said: I dunno about Meeke being in a rut. He still placed above someone as talented as Loeb. Both of them suffered unintentional time loss, sometimes its costly, sometimes it isn’t. Ogier though, he’s a different type of driver. He drives with his head. Keeps safely within reach & then capitalises on the inevitable mistakes of the other drivers. He’s tactical & clever Meeke will continue to win rallies, but I don’t think he is a championship winner. Most drivers are quick enough to win rallies, but Ogier and maybe Neuville are the only ones smart and consistent enough to win the championship. Look at previous seasons, we’ve had loads of different rally winners, but Ogier has still won the title by being smart and taking whatever points he can get. However, I do feel this year is thierry’s, but it will definitely be close! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevM 44 Posted March 12, 2018 Meeke overdrives to keep up. He’s fast buts he’s always at 11 tenths. Ogier is in his opponents heads and can control a Rally. He can lead from the front, or pressure from behind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted March 12, 2018 It's going to be interesting to see how the season pans out. Mexico was a show of force from Ogier, while Thierry gave way to frustration and anger instead of the hard determination he's shown the last year. For the good of the championship I really hope someone in the rest of the pack behind wins in Corsica and make it more of a three horse race than just Ogier and Thierry. They're starting to get a gap now. We have 4-5 drivers of whom someone ought to step up as a title challenger in Corsica and Argentina. I'd guess Tänak will push hard to catch up now, he sure has the speed for it and most probably also the consistency for it. Mikkelsen still struggles with finding that real speed in the car, Meeke is hardly consistent, Latvala seems to be in a slump, and Lappi is just a bit too inexperienced yet. So Ott is the most probable of the chasing pack imho. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RallyDriven 398 Posted March 12, 2018 Loeb might push them, but I feel all he will be doing is taking points away from championship contenders like Ott, Meeke and Andreas. We’ve still got a LONG way to go in the championship remember, so much can happen. It can only take one puncture to completely change a season Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 12, 2018 KevM said: Meeke overdrives to keep up. He’s fast buts he’s always at 11 tenths. Ogier is in his opponents heads and can control a Rally. He can lead from the front, or pressure from behind Meeke does overdrive a lot. That mistake could have put him way further down the order. Neuville is one of the most consistent but he does get angry too fast. Your goal should be to win rally's but you need to think of the championship and that is what some forget I guess. I will be cool to see Seb and Seb go head to head again in France. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scyy 0 Posted March 12, 2018 Seems to me either Ogier has gotten fully to grips with the Fiesta or they have really upped it's speed on gravel. I have a feeling we might see a bit more of a dominant Ogier again this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 13, 2018 I don't think Ogier should have got that penalty. 10 Seconds is kind of overkill if you ask me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted March 13, 2018 Scyy said: Seems to me either Ogier has gotten fully to grips with the Fiesta or they have really upped it's speed on gravel. I have a feeling we might see a bit more of a dominant Ogier again this year. Read somewhere that they'd done a lot of work to get the Fiesta faster in gravel, since Ogier felt he couldn't keep pace last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingOfCoins 286 Posted March 13, 2018 Scyy said: Seems to me either Ogier has gotten fully to grips with the Fiesta or they have really upped it's speed on gravel. I have a feeling we might see a bit more of a dominant Ogier again this year. Oh god, I hope not. I'm so tired of this french Sebastien domination that plagued the WRC for the past 15 years. What annoys me even further is that the field behind Ogier is actually quite matched. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 13, 2018 Its really no ones fault for this domination. All the teams have built really good cars. Seb is just one of the best drivers. What is funny if you look in different motorsports you will most likely find a Seb. F1, Indycar, WRC, and they are all champions. It comes with the name I guess. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KingOfCoins 286 Posted March 13, 2018 I know. I just really don't like domination in any sport really. Well except for the winter Olympics of course but that's mostly for patriotic reasons Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juu1ius 5 Posted March 14, 2018 It was far from domination by Ogier - Toyotas were strugeling with starting positions and overheating engine, Neuville was cleaning the road whole weekend and Meek was Meek. And that 10s penalt was more then deserved. Cutting corners is gray erea, BUT if it's done deliberately you may get punished. Before PS stage Ogier asked from auxiliary judge what would happen if he cuts the chicane and he was told that marshal will be involved. He gambled for it and got the penalty - i don't get what the issue is, he lost PS points, not his 1st place. He already created one precedent last rally... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scyy 0 Posted March 15, 2018 juu1ius said: It was far from domination by Ogier - Toyotas were strugeling with starting positions and overheating engine, Neuville was cleaning the road whole weekend and Meek was Meek. And that 10s penalt was more then deserved. Cutting corners is gray erea, BUT if it's done deliberately you may get punished. Before PS stage Ogier asked from auxiliary judge what would happen if he cuts the chicane and he was told that marshal will be involved. He gambled for it and got the penalty - i don't get what the issue is, he lost PS points, not his 1st place. He already created one precedent last rally... I'm not saying Ogier completely dominated Mexico but compared to last year where he could barely win a stage time on gravel there is a marked improvement in speed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 18, 2018 We could see the return of the Safari Rally in 2020!http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/march-2018/safari-start/page/5302--12-12-.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpa 303 Posted March 18, 2018 DiRTKiNG808 said: We could see the return of the Safari Rally in 2020!http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/march-2018/safari-start/page/5302--12-12-.html I read somewhere that FIA and WRC Inspectors will be present at this year's Safari Rally to check if it has necessary requirements. It wouldn't be the Safari adventure you might remember (I don't - I was born one year before the last WRC edition :(), but I'd still love to see it back in the Championship Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 19, 2018 Same here. I wasn't old enough to notice the Safari Rally but I have seen awesome videos and heard some of the amazing things about the legendary Safari rally. Sure it will not be the same, but I still look forward to the return of Africa to the WRC calendar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwkGravey 0 Posted March 19, 2018 No yellow house jump at Rally Finland this year. Just in case you thought the chicanes last year were bad enough.https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/134907/finland-revamp-removes-famous-stageIn Dirt Rally terms, they'll be using Kakaristo, but not Kontinjärvi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpa 303 Posted March 20, 2018 dwkGravey said: No yellow house jump at Rally Finland this year. Just in case you thought the chicanes last year were bad enough.https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/134907/finland-revamp-removes-famous-stageIn Dirt Rally terms, they'll be using Kakaristo, but not Kontinjärvi. I don't think this is right for the organisers. I mean they had more than enough trouble keeping the average speeds in the limits with the old cars. With WRCplus it was almost obvious they would have exceeded the limits. It's in the rally's DNA to feature fast and flowing stages and the governing body should accept it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dytut 89 Posted March 20, 2018 The whole average speed limit is silly to begin with. I can understand that they want to limit high speeds since high speed crashes are the most dangerous which is bad publicity, but with the tools we have today to measure speeds it'd be a better measure to limit the amount of time they're at dangerous speeds. For example limit a stage to having maximum 15 seconds in continous speed above 170km/h or something similar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 20, 2018 Dytut said: The whole average speed limit is silly to begin with. I can understand that they want to limit high speeds since high speed crashes are the most dangerous which is bad publicity, but with the tools we have today to measure speeds it'd be a better measure to limit the amount of time they're at dangerous speeds. For example limit a stage to having maximum 15 seconds in continous speed above 170km/h or something similar. I say as a rally driver you know what you could get into so I say remove all of the average speed stuff and chicanes and let those rally cars fly! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwkGravey 0 Posted March 23, 2018 At least they sorted out the power stage shens:https://www.motorsport.com/wrc/news/new-power-stage-rules-set-for-corsica-1017625/“WRC stakeholders and Commission members were asked to vote on a simple change which meant any time penalties taken on the final day of an event would make the crew ineligible for any bonus points.” Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiRTKiNG808 15 Posted March 23, 2018 CRACKING DOWN!!! I hope Finland is still super exciting. Its one of my favorite events on the calendar. Hope the changes don't affect the overall feel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
juu1ius 5 Posted March 24, 2018 https://twitter.com/GosiaZya/status/977164779814088705 all candidate WRC locations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
