What can we expect from the new Subaru WRC ?

[Sulland]

Will the new S14 be right up with Ford and Citroen right out of the box ?

Will this be the car that gives the Subaru team the right tool to fight for victories again.

[N.O.T]

i think we are only going to get minor improvments......i doubt the car will be a winner.

[Corny]

No.. At least not this year :D

but that's what I think

[playmo]

Same here, BUT if it has at least a little more speed, then the retirements will be from higher places on the leaderboard than 5th or 7th :)

Corny, is it Capirossi?

[Daniel]

Couldn't be much worse :)

[pantealex]

S14 WRC will win 2009, no wins in 2008.

[Corny]

Corny, is it Capirossi?
No ;)

[gloomyDAY]

No, the S14 isn't a magic cure. The drivers will need time to settle and be competitive against Ford and Citroen. Subaru's aim is to get into the top of the podium once the car comes out to rally. I'm just not sure if that is going to be possible, but I certainly hope that the S14 can lead to some wins in 2008.

I am expecting a full charge for both titles in 2009!

[fastboy]

I think the new car will be ready to go straight out of the box,and will win at least 3 rallies this year.But If this car does not win this season it definately won't next and that will probably be the last we see of Subaru.

[pettersolberg29]

I don't know if any of you have looked at the 2009 WRC Calendar, but the events all really suite Subaru, and Petter especially.
If the car is even only a slight improvement on the 2007 version, I'd expect Subaru to challenge for the Manufacturer's title, as Petter as lead driver will win events like GB and Norway for example, and with Chris as a very close 2nd driver, the future looks bright - not bleak - to me!

[Daniel]

What?!?!?! Chris is clearly doing better that Petter at the moment and next years rallies are no better for the Subaru than the ones it's underperformed on for the last 3 years

[Nenukknak]

Well this car certainly is make or break for prodrive. And I agree that if this car isn't competitive out of the box, that means able to win rallies this year, than they won't in the future. And it indeed could be the end for Subaru in WRC, at least it will be for prodrive.

[pettersolberg29]

Chris is doing better than Petter this year, but only because Petter has been unlucky.
In MC I admit Chris was impressive,but Petter still got his best ever finish there.
In Sweden, Petter was consitent and impressive. Chris was on-off and showed he still has a lot to learn.
In Mexico, Chris again was good, but without a dog and a rare caliper problem, Petter would have third.
If Petter had got third in Mexico, no-one would be raving about Chris anymore than Petter. I'd be willing to put my house on Petter getting more points by GB than Chris.

[Glee]

As always:

Blood, sweat and tears...

[Daniel]

Chris is doing better than Petter this year, but only because Petter has been unlucky.
In MC I admit Chris was impressive,but Petter still got his best ever finish there.
In Sweden, Petter was consitent and impressive. Chris was on-off and showed he still has a lot to learn.
In Mexico, Chris again was good, but without a dog and a rare caliper problem, Petter would have third.
If Petter had got third in Mexico, no-one would be raving about Chris anymore than Petter. I'd be willing to put my house on Petter getting more points by GB than Chris.
Fact of the matter is Chris has showed more drive than Petter. He drove to third in the Monte. Subaru's best finish on the Monte for a few years. Petter just looks to be losing his drive and although he may well do better this year than Chris I think he's well past his best and next year Atkinson will be ahead of Petter.

If you have a look at the points margins at the end of the last 3 seasons you'll see Chris is getting more points and improving every season and Petter is standing still.

[N.O.T]

Daniel you are arguing with a guy named pettersolrberg29 about peter solberg....do you really think its worth it ???

[ST205GT4]

He has you there Daniel.

Still give it a go. I'm interested to see if you can win the unwinnable argument :)

If the new Subaru isn't fighting for first within 6 months or so, it would not surprise me in the least to see Subaru cry "enough!" and pull out altogether.

[Helstar]

I hope Subaru won't pull the plug anyway... we need to keep all cars and hope for new manu to enter, not the other way round !

And yes I can see Petter very unlucky, I think he needs at least 1-2 strong results to get confidence and moral thus deliver what he can really give.

But before there were the other faster cars, now also Chris ahead (and sometimes even private Subaru ^^), it's not going to be easy.

[Daniel]

Daniel you are arguing with a guy named pettersolrberg29 about peter solberg....do you really think its worth it ???

Probably not :p

[Gard]

No ;)
S14 will not win this year I think. Hopefully I'm wrong

Corny. Is it really someone that has beaten both rainey and stoner?
Could it be that aprilia test guy lucchi or what was his name

[pettersolberg29]

It is worth the argument :)

All I'm saying is that Petter still deserves to be the lead driver for Subaru, and this season I believe that Petter has a better chance of winning a rally than Chris.
And in 2009 I still believe that Petter will be lead driver, as the new Subaru needs someone more experienced to take it through its first full season.
In 2010, then I agree Chris should be lead driver, however Petter will still be good enough for the 2nd seat.
What Petter needs most is confidence. Chris is on a high after two podiums in three rallies, while Petter's has been crushed by Mexico's events. If Petter can get a top 3 in Argentina, I'll think a lot of you will be eating your words! ( i.e. Daniel ;) )

But this is off topic - we can expect the Subaru to win races this and next year - FACT

[koko0703]

I really hope the new Subaru will bring a long-waited win but realisitcally it won't be easy. For this season, S14 will be totally new to Subaru from the bottom to top, so the reliability problem will definitely be there. So I'm more interested in the speed of the car than the final standing. If the car can put up competitive times against Citroen and Ford at the early stages of the events, there is still hope for the next year to be a title contender. If not, I don't see Subaru in WRC in 2010.

[Tom206wrc]

S14 WRC will win 2009, no wins in 2008.



Woud Solberg P. be patient enough ?? :mark:

[leno]

My opinion is next 3 years are for SUBURU when S14 comes out it will be winning car from the begining. I dont know why, this is just my feeling

[Halvis]

I haven't been following so closely lately - so my question is; is it confirmed when this S14 get's it's debut?

[pettersolberg29]

No - it hasn't.

I think it is expected to be debuted in Finland - good chance for a win, and not a car-breaking event (unless you fancy a bit of treespotting!)

[Tomi]

No - it hasn't.

I think it is expected to be debuted in Finland - good chance for a win, and not a car-breaking event (unless you fancy a bit of treespotting!)

Lol, no chance to win for sure.

[Woodeye]

No - it hasn't.

I think it is expected to be debuted in Finland - good chance for a win, and not a car-breaking event (unless you fancy a bit of treespotting!)

I can assure you that Finland is not a good chance to win for a new car.

[Daniel]

I can assure you that Finland is not a good chance to win for a new car.
With 2 non-Finns on board.

[MJW]

I can assure you that Finland is not a good chance to win for a new car.
Remember how close Ari came in 1993 in the original Impreza?
There is a lot riding on S14's success, and the engineering resources are being directed here now. OK you could say Prodrive should have done this with the last few years cars, I am convinced the Prodrive F1 frolic was a significant cause of the "performance" of the rally cars.
Personally I expect S14 to be "right" & from the start.

[Daniel]

Remember how close Ari came in 1993 in the original Impreza?
There is a lot riding on S14's success, and the engineering resources are being directed here now. OK you could say Prodrive should have done this with the last few years cars, I am convinced the Prodrive F1 frolic was a significant cause of the "performance" of the rally cars.
Personally I expect S14 to be "right" & from the start.
Yes but Ari is a Finn

[MJW]

Markko Martin beat the Finns? I would not bet against MM driving in Finland, if indeed NORF is the debut event.

[Daniel]

Markko Martin beat the Finns? I would not bet against MM driving in Finland, if indeed NORF is the debut event.
Hasn't Markko stated plenty of times that he doesn't want to drive competitively again?

[MJW]

I dont think he will drive competitively long term, I just thought he might be present for the debut event, as it will be "his car"

[Daniel]

I dont think he will drive competitively long term, I just thought he might be present for the debut event, as it will be "his car"
You might not remember but his co-driver died a few years ago. If he didn't want to drive before I doubt he'll want to drive now and although I wish he'd come back I respect his decision.

[Tomi]

the thing is that in Finland the driver need a car he can trust 100%, if the cars debute is in Finland I dont belive Atkinson has that trust yet.

[MJW]

You might not remember but his co-driver died a few years ago.
I have a good memory of that awful September day.
I was thinking along the lines that maybe, just maybe he would change his mind and see the fruits of his development driving. Who knows maybe Tommi Makinen could be tempted out of retirement? But seriously winner of NORF 2008 is going to be JML. To me there is no doubt of that fact.

[Daniel]

the thing is that in Finland the driver need a car he can trust 100%, if the cars debute is in Finland I dont belive Atkinson has that trust yet.
Yes Finland is a confidence rally :) You won't win if you're not 100% sure of the car being good.

[N.O.T]

about the subaru i think finland is the worst possible rally to debut the new car with the current lineup.

About Martin...even if he returns he will struggle to beat sordo on gravel.....he stayed out of the picture for too long, its hard work to come back at top level after such a long wait.

[leno]

I think it is possible for markko to drive in finland as 3rd driver debuting new impreza

what the cake is lie???????

[SubaruNorway]

Markko has driven several times since the accident so i don't think at least a one off is totaly out of the question.

[Tom206wrc]

With 2 non-Finns on board.



They could employ Sebastian Lindholm like Suzuki did last year on RAC... :p :

[Tom206wrc]

...
But seriously winner of NORF 2008 is going to be JML. To me there is no doubt of that fact.



No way, it'll be Sébastien Loeb, for the first time :p :

[DonJippo]

No way, it'll be Sébastien Loeb, for the first time :p :

Nope it's going to be a fight between JML and Mikko, JML being #1 at the finish ;)

[koko0703]

Markko has good memory of Finland, and if he's interested in one-off, it must be Finland. So I don't totally rule out Markko's one-off appearance as the 2nd nominated driver with Chris in S12B as 3rd driver. Well that's only if S12B turns out to be competitive and give Chris a chance to stay in the fight for the driver's title until Finland.

[AndyRAC]

Nope it's going to be a fight between JML and Mikko, JML being #1 at the finish ;)

Sorry, you're all wrong, the 1-2-3 :

Wilson
Rautenbach
Pons

Don't say I didn't tell you.......