real life 2022 FIA World Rally Championship

[Rallycameraman]

I'm quite jealous of my friend right now. So far he has seen Mikkelsen and Ogier driving the 2017 Polo, Meeke and Breen in the C3 WRC and Ogier and Tanak in the new Fiesta :'(

[SRD_SimVansevenant]

If I'm not mistaken, drivers usually don't test the cars from the different manufacturers before making a decision to move to one of them, right?
I can't remember the last time that happened. I mean for an official seat, not private entries.
Usually they get an offer, sign the contract and then start testing, don't they?

[Dytut]

SimVansevenant said:

If I'm not mistaken, drivers usually don't test the cars from the different manufacturers before making a decision to move to one of them, right?
I can't remember the last time that happened. I mean for an official seat, not private entries.
Usually they get an offer, sign the contract and then start testing, don't they?

Wel most of them aren't 4 time world champions in their prime ;-)

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Or at the very end of the season.  Certainly a new precedent being set here.

[sqdstr]

I have to say it's giving me mixed feelings that he's testing 3 out of 4 2017 spec cars before deciding, ofcourse it's normal for the manufacturers to try everything to get him in their team. But on the other hand it's giving him an edge over the other drivers to know a bit how the cars will behave, so he'll know where others might struggle and take advantage of that. But then again others will have more experience with that one car they've been testing with all year.
Just my opinion.

[tbtstt]

Well Ogier's decision should give us a pretty good idea as to the best 2017 car so far. I wonder how much more development each of the teams can do now with the start of the next years Championship already approaching?

[pigloaf]

tbtstt said:

Well Ogier's decision should give us a pretty good idea as to the best 2017 car so far. I wonder how much more development each of the teams can do now with the start of the next years Championship already approaching?

Yup. Thankfully he won't get a test in the Hyundai at least - fingers crossed they've got a really strong car.

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Some of his choice will also come down to development ability, how good the team is, is the car close, do they have a plan to continue with strong development that he can help with and get the car to fit around him.

[dwkGravey]

Kind of on topic:

I'm trying to subscribe for another year of WRC+, but the "Pay Now" button isn't doing anything. I cancelled my sub and am trying to sign up for another 12 months with the BF2016 promo code, as I do every year (don't auto-renew me for full price when you offer 20-30% off promos at the end of the year, WRC), but "Pay Now" does nothing when I click it. I've tried multiple payment methods and browsers. I sent them a support message, but was wondering if anyone here has had that issue?

[Dytut]

wrcplus was kind of quirky for me aswell, I ended up following a link from facebook to the store page to be able to use the promo code.

As for silly season with Ogier, I kind of feel like he'll go to M-Sport. Looking at the pictures and videos of him testing I keep getting the feeling that he likes the Ford the most.

[dwkGravey]

Dytut said:

wrcplus was kind of quirky for me aswell, I ended up following a link from facebook to the store page to be able to use the promo code.

Thanks. I saw others commented on that Facebook post about having the same problem, so I left a comment too. Hope they can resolve it soon. 

[pigloaf]

do you need to create a new account or can you just cancel your current subscription and setup a new one?

[versedi]

You can just cancel, i've been asking support last year and they told me I don't have to create new account to use promo code. 

[SRD_SimVansevenant]

tbtstt said:

Well Ogier's decision should give us a pretty good idea as to the best 2017 car so far. I wonder how much more development each of the teams can do now with the start of the next years Championship already approaching?

They won't be able to develop the cars that much more before the start of the season.
During the season they can still try and improve it but it'll probably be limited.

Also having tested the cars, he has knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses might influence his decision indeed. I wonder if he has specific information about certain strengths of the cars he tested. He tested the Ford for half a day. You can learn quite a bit in that time frame. If he has that information and the car he picks for next year lacks in that specific area, he might use that information to improve his new car. That would be scandalous but we've seen similar things before in motorsport. Conspiracy in the making, imagine that!

Apart from that, I support Hyundai and I've never really been a fan of Ogier. I can't deny the skills he has but I never liked the fact that he's selfish and has a bit of an ego. He's the Nico Rosberg of WRC, isn't he?
One thing I did appreciate and was quite surprised by, was when he put Tanak on his shoulders after the Polish round.

[FMaiso99]

SimVansevenant said:

tbtstt said:

Well Ogier's decision should give us a pretty good idea as to the best 2017 car so far. I wonder how much more development each of the teams can do now with the start of the next years Championship already approaching?

They won't be able to develop the cars that much more before the start of the season.
During the season they can still try and improve it but it'll probably be limited.

Also having tested the cars, he has knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses might influence his decision indeed. I wonder if he has specific information about certain strengths of the cars he tested. He tested the Ford for half a day. You can learn quite a bit in that time frame. If he has that information and the car he picks for next year lacks in that specific area, he might use that information to improve his new car. That would be scandalous but we've seen similar things before in motorsport. Conspiracy in the making, imagine that!

Apart from that, I support Hyundai and I've never really been a fan of Ogier. I can't deny the skills he has but I never liked the fact that he's selfish and has a bit of an ego. He's the Nico Rosberg of WRC, isn't he?
One thing I did appreciate and was quite surprised by, was when he put Tanak on his shoulders after the Polish round.

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

[versedi]

Fedemaisonnave said:

SimVansevenant said:

One thing I did appreciate and was quite surprised by, was when he put Tanak on his shoulders after the Polish round.

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

You pretty much told all about Ogier. He's fast. He's incredible when it comes to tactics, setting up the car. But there are faster than him, and you have to remember he pretty much developed his car from scratch. We'll see what happens when there's a car that some1 developed for him.
Please don't take this post as an offence to Ogier - it is none, I just think in my humble opinion that the time it all occured was very good for him, and I just wanted to point out the other side of the medal (same like there is for everyone of the current or previous drivers). 

[FMaiso99]

versedi said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

SimVansevenant said:

One thing I did appreciate and was quite surprised by, was when he put Tanak on his shoulders after the Polish round.

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

You pretty much told all about Ogier. He's fast. He's incredible when it comes to tactics, setting up the car. But there are faster than him, and you have to remember he pretty much developed his car from scratch. We'll see what happens when there's a car that some1 developed for him.
Please don't take this post as an offence to Ogier - it is none, I just think in my humble opinion that the time it all occured was very good for him, and I just wanted to point out the other side of the medal (same like there is for everyone of the current or previous drivers). 

Mate Ogier can go for the victory in all the rallys, whereas the rest can't, then Neuville also can but be close if he is inspired.
That is why he is the best.

[versedi]

Portal urheilulehti.fi has written that Ogier rejected the offer from Toyota and is currently negotating with Wilson. 

[versedi]

Some really wise words:
https://www.drivetribe.com/p/YHbcZR1sRAO_ex_Pr2ePMw/M9TqtJx4Th62D8J-WzFPpA

[KingOfCoins]

If WRC should adapt anything from WRX it would to remove all that homologation garbage. If an independent team has the money and time they shouold be able to make their own rally car. It would open up so many more brands who might not be interested enough to do a full programme.

[SRD_SimVansevenant]

versedi said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

You pretty much told all about Ogier. He's fast. He's incredible when it comes to tactics, setting up the car. But there are faster than him, and you have to remember he pretty much developed his car from scratch. We'll see what happens when there's a car that some1 developed for him. 

The comparison between Ogier and Rosberg was about their similar personality.

Also Ogier is the quickest mostly because of his car as was mentioned by Versedi. He's the one that developed the car from scratch to suite his driving style the best. Also VW started the development of the Polo quite a bit earlier than the other manufacturers could. Mikkelsen and Latvala were barely involved in the development 4 years ago but managed to tweak it to their satisfaction. Same goes for Loeb with his Xsara/C4/DS3 and Mäkinen with his Mitsubishi Lancer in the late 90's. Loix couldn't get to grips with the Lancer because it was built around Mäkinen who had a completely different driving style.

It has quite an influence on things. I'm not saying he's not a worthy Champion, but it would've been a lot harder if he didn't have a car that was built around him. He might've ended up with 175 points instead of 268.

I'm pretty sure that next season will be quite an interesting one. If Neuville can finish on the podium regularly during the first half of the season and drive the second half as he usually does, we might see him catch that top spot at the end of next season. Ogier is always a top contender for the crown, but don't forget Meeke. He's the one that developed the C3 WRC for the most part and he's proven his speed. I hope Latvala will have better luck next year, although if he joins Toyota I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll see Mikkelsen on the stages because he deserves an official seat, no question about that, and he'll probably finish second or third in the end then. Paddon will end up just below the top 3.

Prediction:
1. Neuville
2. Ogier
3. Mikkelsen
4. Paddon
5. Latvala

I had some spare time on my hands so I rambled on a bit. 

[FMaiso99]

SimVansevenant said:

versedi said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

You pretty much told all about Ogier. He's fast. He's incredible when it comes to tactics, setting up the car. But there are faster than him, and you have to remember he pretty much developed his car from scratch. We'll see what happens when there's a car that some1 developed for him. 

The comparison between Ogier and Rosberg was about their similar personality.

Also Ogier is the quickest mostly because of his car as was mentioned by Versedi. He's the one that developed the car from scratch to suite his driving style the best. Also VW started the development of the Polo quite a bit earlier than the other manufacturers could. Mikkelsen and Latvala were barely involved in the development 4 years ago but managed to tweak it to their satisfaction. Same goes for Loeb with his Xsara/C4/DS3 and Mäkinen with his Mitsubishi Lancer in the late 90's. Loix couldn't get to grips with the Lancer because it was built around Mäkinen who had a completely different driving style.

It has quite an influence on things. I'm not saying he's not a worthy Champion, but it would've been a lot harder if he didn't have a car that was built around him. He might've ended up with 175 points instead of 268.

I'm pretty sure that next season will be quite an interesting one. If Neuville can finish on the podium regularly during the first half of the season and drive the second half as he usually does, we might see him catch that top spot at the end of next season. Ogier is always a top contender for the crown, but don't forget Meeke. He's the one that developed the C3 WRC for the most part and he's proven his speed. I hope Latvala will have better luck next year, although if he joins Toyota I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll see Mikkelsen on the stages because he deserves an official seat, no question about that, and he'll probably finish second or third in the end then. Paddon will end up just below the top 3.

Prediction:
1. Neuville
2. Ogier
3. Mikkelsen
4. Paddon
5. Latvala

I had some spare time on my hands so I rambled on a bit. 

Are you belgian? BTW,  don't you think it is too early for giving predictions?  You put Andreas on 3rd place,  but he doesn't even have a car for next year. 

[SRD_SimVansevenant]

Fedemaisonnave said:

SimVansevenant said:

The comparison between Ogier and Rosberg was about their similar personality.

Also Ogier is the quickest mostly because of his car as was mentioned by Versedi. He's the one that developed the car from scratch to suite his driving style the best. Also VW started the development of the Polo quite a bit earlier than the other manufacturers could. Mikkelsen and Latvala were barely involved in the development 4 years ago but managed to tweak it to their satisfaction. Same goes for Loeb with his Xsara/C4/DS3 and Mäkinen with his Mitsubishi Lancer in the late 90's. Loix couldn't get to grips with the Lancer because it was built around Mäkinen who had a completely different driving style.

It has quite an influence on things. I'm not saying he's not a worthy Champion, but it would've been a lot harder if he didn't have a car that was built around him. He might've ended up with 175 points instead of 268.

I'm pretty sure that next season will be quite an interesting one. If Neuville can finish on the podium regularly during the first half of the season and drive the second half as he usually does, we might see him catch that top spot at the end of next season. Ogier is always a top contender for the crown, but don't forget Meeke. He's the one that developed the C3 WRC for the most part and he's proven his speed. I hope Latvala will have better luck next year, although if he joins Toyota I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll see Mikkelsen on the stages because he deserves an official seat, no question about that, and he'll probably finish second or third in the end then. Paddon will end up just below the top 3.

Prediction:
1. Neuville
2. Ogier
3. Mikkelsen
4. Paddon
5. Latvala

I had some spare time on my hands so I rambled on a bit. 

Are you belgian? BTW,  don't you think it is too early for giving predictions?  You put Andreas on 3rd place,  but he doesn't even have a car for next year. 

Yes, I am Belgian but that has nothing to do with it. I try to be objective. There's an explanation for it.
You're French, if I'm not mistaken, and I know French people are really proud of their nation and its people.
Does this have any influence on your reasoning?

Hyundai have proven that they can deliver a very quick car that runs without too many hick ups in the early stages (their car was new this season). Neuville is the best of the rest so far. Also I said that he might be crowned Champion but only if he's able to score points for podium places in the first half of the season as well as the second half. He's only been able to score very well after the 5th round this year having some technical issues or making a mistake between the Swedish and Portuguese round. Scoring 8 point in 4 rallies is not good enough.

We don't know what to expect from Ogier. Will he feel completely comfortable in his new car or will it take a few rallies to adjust to it on snow and gravel because he didn't help develop it? Also will the car be a solid performer or will it have teething problems? That last bit goes for all manufacturers obviously.

I put Mikkelsen in 3rd but only if he has an official seat. If he hasn't, you just scratch his name off the list.
It's never too early to predict something because predictions aren't facts. It's what I think will happen and not what will actually happen. 

[FMaiso99]

SimVansevenant said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

SimVansevenant said:

The comparison between Ogier and Rosberg was about their similar personality.

Also Ogier is the quickest mostly because of his car as was mentioned by Versedi. He's the one that developed the car from scratch to suite his driving style the best. Also VW started the development of the Polo quite a bit earlier than the other manufacturers could. Mikkelsen and Latvala were barely involved in the development 4 years ago but managed to tweak it to their satisfaction. Same goes for Loeb with his Xsara/C4/DS3 and Mäkinen with his Mitsubishi Lancer in the late 90's. Loix couldn't get to grips with the Lancer because it was built around Mäkinen who had a completely different driving style.

It has quite an influence on things. I'm not saying he's not a worthy Champion, but it would've been a lot harder if he didn't have a car that was built around him. He might've ended up with 175 points instead of 268.

I'm pretty sure that next season will be quite an interesting one. If Neuville can finish on the podium regularly during the first half of the season and drive the second half as he usually does, we might see him catch that top spot at the end of next season. Ogier is always a top contender for the crown, but don't forget Meeke. He's the one that developed the C3 WRC for the most part and he's proven his speed. I hope Latvala will have better luck next year, although if he joins Toyota I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll see Mikkelsen on the stages because he deserves an official seat, no question about that, and he'll probably finish second or third in the end then. Paddon will end up just below the top 3.

Prediction:
1. Neuville
2. Ogier
3. Mikkelsen
4. Paddon
5. Latvala

I had some spare time on my hands so I rambled on a bit. 

Are you belgian? BTW,  don't you think it is too early for giving predictions?  You put Andreas on 3rd place,  but he doesn't even have a car for next year. 

Yes, I am Belgian but that has nothing to do with it. I try to be objective. There's an explanation for it.
You're French, if I'm not mistaken, and I know French people are really proud of their nation and its people.
Does this have any influence on your reasoning?

Hyundai have proven that they can deliver a very quick car that runs without too many hick ups in the early stages (their car was new this season). Neuville is the best of the rest so far. Also I said that he might be crowned Champion but only if he's able to score points for podium places in the first half of the season as well as the second half. He's only been able to score very well after the 5th round this year having some technical issues or making a mistake between the Swedish and Portuguese round. Scoring 8 point in 4 rallies is not good enough.

We don't know what to expect from Ogier. Will he feel completely comfortable in his new car or will it take a few rallies to adjust to it on snow and gravel because he didn't help develop it? Also will the car be a solid performer or will it have teething problems? That last bit goes for all manufacturers obviously.

I put Mikkelsen in 3rd but only if he has an official seat. If he hasn't, you just scratch his name off the list.
It's never too early to predict something because predictions aren't facts. It's what I think will happen and not what will actually happen. 

Im not French, my country dont even have WRC drivers, not even WRC2, not even WRC3, not even DDFT, my s**t country is Argentina, I cheer for Thierry also but the championship for him would be really difficult, also you forgot about Kris Meeke with a Works Citroen that really Will be a title contender,  but next year will be completely  different  to 2016, we don't have any clues  about how fast  are the cars  compared between them,  we just know  that the Yaris is the worst  one,  so we just don't know. 
PS: I don't like Ogier, but I recognize he is the best,  I like Young drivers and Scandinavian  drivers,  like Teemu Suninen and Esapekka Lappi,  also I am a huge fan  of Ott Tanak

[Jepsertti]

SimVansevenant said:

versedi said:

Fedemaisonnave said:

He isnt the Nico Rosberg of WRC, actually Ogier is the best driver in the WRC, nobody can challenge him, it is really difficult to attack him dont exceeding the limits.
Instead Rosberg is the champion because of good luck and if I make a list Rosberg would be 7th or 8th in the Ranking if not lower, but if you are in a Mercedes you can't be lower than second and you finish all the races, congrats you are the champion.

You pretty much told all about Ogier. He's fast. He's incredible when it comes to tactics, setting up the car. But there are faster than him, and you have to remember he pretty much developed his car from scratch. We'll see what happens when there's a car that some1 developed for him. 

The comparison between Ogier and Rosberg was about their similar personality.

Also Ogier is the quickest mostly because of his car as was mentioned by Versedi. He's the one that developed the car from scratch to suite his driving style the best. Also VW started the development of the Polo quite a bit earlier than the other manufacturers could. Mikkelsen and Latvala were barely involved in the development 4 years ago but managed to tweak it to their satisfaction. Same goes for Loeb with his Xsara/C4/DS3 and Mäkinen with his Mitsubishi Lancer in the late 90's. Loix couldn't get to grips with the Lancer because it was built around Mäkinen who had a completely different driving style.

It has quite an influence on things. I'm not saying he's not a worthy Champion, but it would've been a lot harder if he didn't have a car that was built around him. He might've ended up with 175 points instead of 268.

I'm pretty sure that next season will be quite an interesting one. If Neuville can finish on the podium regularly during the first half of the season and drive the second half as he usually does, we might see him catch that top spot at the end of next season. Ogier is always a top contender for the crown, but don't forget Meeke. He's the one that developed the C3 WRC for the most part and he's proven his speed. I hope Latvala will have better luck next year, although if he joins Toyota I'm not sure. Hopefully we'll see Mikkelsen on the stages because he deserves an official seat, no question about that, and he'll probably finish second or third in the end then. Paddon will end up just below the top 3.

Prediction:
1. Neuville
2. Ogier
3. Mikkelsen
4. Paddon
5. Latvala

I had some spare time on my hands so I rambled on a bit. 

I agree with the points you made but my predictions would be:

1. Meeke
2. Neuville
3. Ogier
4. Paddon
5. Tänak (or Mikkelsen depending on his next year's plans)

I predict Meeke will be the champion if we only take pure car performance into account, because judging by the YT videos we've seen from tests so far I have to say that the C3 WRC looks like the most balanced and quickest car. But oh well, it's quite hard to judge it from a video so who knows!