real life 2020 FIA World Rally Championship

[juu1ius 5]

dwkGravey said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

Toyota will win Manufacturers and Drivers next year with ease sadly.

I wouldn't rule out Ogier in the C3. At this point I wouldn't rule out Ogier on a bicycle TBH.

Mads have shown that it's a fast car, it just need a great French driver and team will unite behind him. Ogier will be again main title contender.

[Dytut 91]

Loeb pretty much just went in the Citroën and was quite fast, so Ogier in that car is definitely a title contender. Tänak in the Toyota looks to be fastest, so I think he's the one to beat. Neuville will try his best, but I fear he'll have to overdrive that i20 if he wants to keep up and will most likely start crashing out again. If Hyundai manages to develop the car a bit more he might still have a chance.

Meeke is a far outsider to get involved in the title fight, but I doubt he'll be able to outpace Tänak. 

Heard some strong rumours about Paddon in a new car next year, anyone know more? I'd guess he's off to M-Sport. 

Wonder if Citroën will give us some news on their potential third car next year. Will it be shared between Breen and Ostberg (and Loeb?), or will they cut Breen from the team? If I was to choose between them I'd go for Ostberg, he's shown more reliable speed. 

[Riggs 1,669]

Meeke's role will be more for the manufacturer title than anything else. It'd be interesting to see Paddon in Ford.
Breen is more likely to be axed.

[bogani 765]

AIPacino said:

Meeke's role will be more for the manufacturer title than anything else. It'd be interesting to see Paddon in Ford.
Breen is more likely to be axed.

Saw 'Meeke' and instantly misread role for roll. 

Sorry  :D

[pigloaf 262]

Yea rumours are Paddon and Breen to Ford alongside Suninen. Would be interesting to see those two compete in the Fiesta. It's not exactly a lineup that screams titles tho (from a die-hard Paddon fan). Wonder if they're making up for Ogier's wages over the last two years?  :D

I still think Hyundai should suck it up and pick between Paddon and Sordo. And by that I mean pick Paddon.

[Dytut 91]

edgenz said:

Yea rumours are Paddon and Breen to Ford alongside Suninen. Would be interesting to see those two compete in the Fiesta. It's not exactly a lineup that screams titles tho (from a die-hard Paddon fan). Wonder if they're making up for Ogier's wages over the last two years?  :D

I still think Hyundai should suck it up and pick between Paddon and Sordo. And by that I mean pick Paddon.

To be honest, I believe both Paddon and Breen could do with a fresh start of sorts in a new team. I think the Fiesta will actually fit Paddon better than the current i20.

[function9 0]

I understand whatever sponsorship money a driver can bring with him is crucial for M-Sport. But, I don't know. I feel like if Wilson can do it, I would give Evans one more season/shot. He's already invested how many years in him? Paddon, Evans, and Suninen I think would be pretty solid considering.

I like Breen and he can be quick, but he still get flustered rather easy sometimes, albeit less than his IRC days. Especially if the Fiesta is going to be lagging behind on raw pace, I can see him getting into trouble trying to constantly over drive it.

[RodgerDavies 949]

I'm with you, I think all things being equal put Evans in the WRC seat. But I'm aware they may not be equal. If that's not possible, I hope he gets several rounds in the new R5 in WRC2 Pro.

I'd still be surprised if Paddon isn't with Hyundai next year; if he loses the Hyundai NZ backing it would seem a shame.

[Dytut 91]

Still a bit confusing about what's keeping Hyundai. Sure, Breen would be an option for the third car, but can he really outpace Paddon? If that's what they're discussing, that is. Might be internal discussions of letting Mikkelsen share car with Sordo and have Paddon go full season for all we know. That'd make some kind of sense, seeing how Mikkelsen has been outperformed by both Sordo and Paddon, but we know that Sordo isn't interested in a full season.

[Dytut 91]

So if I understand it correctly Kajetan Kajetanowicz will run a WRC'17 Fiesta in 2019 courtesy of M-Sport Poland. From what I can gather not for a full program, so most likely a few rallies. 

[juu1ius 5]

Dytut said:

So if I understand it correctly Kajetan Kajetanowicz will run a WRC'17 Fiesta in 2019 courtesy of M-Sport Poland. From what I can gather not for a full program, so most likely a few rallies. 

I don't even understood if it's only local Polish rallies or in WRC?

[tbtstt 2,435]

juu1ius said:

Dytut said:

So if I understand it correctly Kajetan Kajetanowicz will run a WRC'17 Fiesta in 2019 courtesy of M-Sport Poland. From what I can gather not for a full program, so most likely a few rallies. 

I don't even understood if it's only local Polish rallies or in WRC?

If that car runs at local events (and is driven competently) it should destroy everything!

[juu1ius 5]

tbtstt said:

juu1ius said:

Dytut said:

So if I understand it correctly Kajetan Kajetanowicz will run a WRC'17 Fiesta in 2019 courtesy of M-Sport Poland. From what I can gather not for a full program, so most likely a few rallies. 

I don't even understood if it's only local Polish rallies or in WRC?

If that car runs at local events (and is driven competently) it should destroy everything!

Mads sold his Fiesta WRC '17 to Estonia and it drove local event in October. Driver had only one day of testing and he won the rally by one minute. It was still awesome sight.

[Dytut 91]

juu1ius said:

Dytut said:

So if I understand it correctly Kajetan Kajetanowicz will run a WRC'17 Fiesta in 2019 courtesy of M-Sport Poland. From what I can gather not for a full program, so most likely a few rallies. 

I don't even understood if it's only local Polish rallies or in WRC?

I had to go by the facebook translated text so I have no clear idea either :-) But it was shared on facebook by the WRC facebook page so I assume it's for WRC event(s).

[lindbergtommie 77]

I think it’s a one-off for rajd barborka, if i remember correct he did it last year as well in a new spec Fiesta? 

[Dytut 91]

https://twitter.com/PontusTidemand/status/1067520396273037312

Not saying where he's headed, but I'd guess off to VW for the WRC2 Pro season. Might be a seat at M-Sport though.

[RodgerDavies 949]

VW have implied they're not doing WRC2 Pro fully next year, they certainly aren't intending to enter the works team in Monte or Sweden. Although I don't think the rules for it have been agreed yet (with 8 weeks to go before the season starts...), so who knows? Maybe they'll only need to do 5 rounds to count. I hope VW do though.

My guess is he's off to Citroen or Hyundai, for an R5 season with a couple of WRC events in there too.

[Riggs 1,669]

https://www.autosport.pt/ralis/wrc-sebastien-ogier-testa-em-almodovar/

Ogier is already testing the C3 in Portugal.

[pigloaf 262]

Citroen down to 2 cars and Mads dropped  :o
That's proper mud.

[F2CMaDMaXX 516]

Had to pay for Ogier somehow.           

[dwkGravey 0]

edgenz said:

Citroen down to 2 cars and Mads dropped  :o
That's proper mud.

Unlike

[Riggs 1,669]

Third car's gonna be Loeb in a few races.                                 

[bogani 765]

F2CMaDMaXX said:

Had to pay for Ogier somehow.           

Thought that was already sorted when pulling the Peugeot RX plug. 

[RallyDriven 398]

Citroen keep claiming they’re taking it seriously yet keep running a two car team. Granted, With Ogier it’s more of a 2.5 car team, but it still seems strange

[RodgerDavies 949]

They can still take it seriously; they've got two reliable drivers and can add a third car later in the season if they're in a title hunt; why commit to it now? Admittedly poor for the manufacturer title, but you'd rather have Ogier + one other than Ostberg + two others.

Hope Mads finds a WRC2 Pro drive though, he's been excellent this year.