2007 WRC prediction thread

[Daniel]

Post your predicitons here.

I think Citroen will be fast out of the box like they were with the Xsara, I think Subaru will improve a bit but Petter will be so hungry for success that he'll overdrive it for a few events and I suspect that Loeb and Gronholm will be taking the lions share of wins between them if Subaru are still rubbish.

Loeb for the championship too http://games.exetel.com.au/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

[DonJippo]

I think Citroen will be fast out of the box like they were with the Xsara...

They were? Maybe on black stuff...but not on gravel. It's a new car so may take a while to get it really running even with that one year testing they have had.

[Daniel]

They were? Maybe on black stuff...but not on gravel. It's a new car so may take a while to get it really running even with that one year testing they have had.

Well Sebastien managed to come second in the championship in 2003 in their first year so it couldn't have been that bad. They also took the manufacturers title that year too. I think the problem that year was more Sebastien lacking experience rather than the car lacking speed or reliability. But we shall see.

[Tomi]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.
Else I belive that next season will be much like this one was, Bosse and Loeb fighting for the win but behind them, there is an impressive bunch of Ford drivers who will finish before Sordo atleast on gravel, that on other hand gives more space to Hirvonen also to attack more than this year. Other drivers I think will be in top 5 regulalarly is Stohl and Petter.
About the new Subaru it's too early to predict anything, better wait and see, but I have a feeling that they have to hire the "invisible man" and others like that to get attention like they did this year.

[Daniel]

[quote="Tomi"]I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.[quote]

I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

[Daniel]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.
Else I belive that next season will be much like this one was, Bosse and Loeb fighting for the win but behind them, there is an impressive bunch of Ford drivers who will finish before Sordo atleast on gravel, that on other hand gives more space to Hirvonen also to attack more than this year. Other drivers I think will be in top 5 regulalarly is Stohl and Petter.
About the new Subaru it's too early to predict anything, better wait and see, but I have a feeling that they have to hire the "invisible man" and others like that to get attention like they did this year.
I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

[Tomi]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.


I guess it all depends how much of the C4 is carried over from the Xsara and how much is brand new.

Yes but still, it's a new car, about the xsara, they have years of experience, and i dont think it's clever to build 2 cars that are the same. It take time to find setup for different conditions, but better wait and see.

[Daniel]

I too think Citroen will be fast right out, but this time is different from last one, less testing, now i belive it will have some reliability problems.

Yes but still, it's a new car, about the xsara, they have years of experience, and i dont think it's clever to build 2 cars that are the same. It take time to find setup for different conditions, but better wait and see.
Very true. But unlike teams like Ford and Subaru they have the money and resources to do it.

Does anyone have any idea how much time, money and effort Suzuki are putting into their WRC effort? I hope they are more of a team like Ford, Peugeot or Citroen who make a decent effort rather than being like Skoda, Seat, Hyundai and others who seem to only have a passing interest in the WRC. The WRC needs at least 3 or 4 good teams to get back to where it was 4 or 5 years ago.

[Tomi]

No idea about Suzuki, but I hope they are serious and dont panic if they wont be competitive in a few years, good they did join anyway. Will be interesting to see who they will sign to drive and develope.

[quicksilver]

Did they announce what rallies they are planning to do next year or will we just have to wait and see?

[Daniel]

Well I think Finland was one of the rallies that was mentioned. Could be wrong

[harvick#1]

Loeb will win it again with Citroen, Sordo may pop in a win as well.

Gronholm will once again be Sebastien only fight for the title.

Subaru can't get much worse so they'll improve hopefully.

[MikeD]

I will also put my money on Loeb. He is simply a level above Grönholm - both in terms of speed and fewer driver errors.

And the new C4 will be very fast. No doubt about that.

[Integrale]

I think it's going to be more tight than this year: Solberg with BF Goodrich rubber, Loeb with a new car and Grönholm is always fast. We'll have to see if the C4 is fast straight out of the box, that's the main question for 2007. If it is, I don't see anyone stopping Loeb, he's just a class of his own. Pity we'll have to wait until Mexico, because Monte, Sweden and Norway are.. well.. events for specialists.

I'm very anxious to see coverage of the new events like Norway, Portugal and Ireland. Those should be very good rallies.

As for myself, I hope Duval finds a good drive. It's really a shame that the greatest Belgian talent of this generation drives with a privateer Skoda. But I know he f*cked up for himself too.

[viper_man]

I cant wait to see what the Irish rally will be like.

I think the most important things for next season are all Loeb related, Ill be interested to see if he is fully recovered from his injury for next season and how the C4 stands up. I just cant see it being the same kind of machine as the Xsara was.

[Tom206wrc]

Hi,

I'm back as the former forum is down... ;)


On the paper(that means theorycally), Marcus Grönholm could have an advantage next year, as his car won't be new...but one never know what the real life is made of !! :p :

[Daniel]

I cant wait to see what the Irish rally will be like.

I think the most important things for next season are all Loeb related, Ill be interested to see if he is fully recovered from his injury for next season and how the C4 stands up. I just cant see it being the same kind of machine as the Xsara was.


Why not go there next year ;) Just a short drive to the ferry for you I'd be guessing?

[A.F.F.]

My prediction is that Latvala will surprise us all, even bigger than he did in Wales.

[Captain VXR]

It will be close but I want Solberg to get his second title

[Simmi]

I still think Loeb will win straight out of the box on the Monte. Luckly for us all we wont have that long to wait before we find out.

[Finni]

Why wouldn't be Citroen fast from the start? To me it seems that Ford has been exactly as fast whole year and now Citroen has done much more work on C4 than what Ford did on -06 Focus before Sweden. I also suspect that C4 will be quite reliable instantly (altough possibly not as invulnerable as Xsara after years). Loeb is obviously most likely championship candidate. But it will be interesting to see if he as consistent with C4 as he was with Xsara.

Grönholm is Loeb's challenger number one. Ford is now very reliable (the car was invulnerable after Germany under both drivers and we know that Grönholm certainlu put some pressure on it!). There is though few questionmarks. Can Grönholm be as consistent as Loeb? Can he drive the seasons with only one major error (this year he did two undeniable major error whereas Loeb did one). Other questionmark if Grönholm can keep his speed level as he will be 39 year old. His sharpest top-speed with his age is already excpetion in modern age of rallying.

I believe that Subaru will their most obvious problems. But it will be still questionmark if Subaru can be really par with Ford and Citroen in terms of speed. But I believe that Petter will be at least almost equal to Loeb and Grönholm on gravel. Also Petter's asphalt pace will be at least relatively competitive as they are now on Michelins. Afterall Petter will loose his championship chances due to reliability problems in early season.

Hirvonen will put some pressure on top-drivers on gravel but I suspect that he will not be par with top-two or top-three. But in some races Hirvonen can match paces of top-boys.

Sordo will continue imporving on gravel. But in rally long he cannot keep up with top-boys. On tarmac Sordo will probably take his first wrc-win.

[Finni]

One thing is obvious: Next year will be much more exiting than this year. There will be more drivers near to top-boys. And asphalt races are vry interesting because now also Subaru will be competitive - altough probably little bit behind Ford and Citroen.

[A.F.F.]

Not to mention more drivers than this year :up:

[Simmi]

Will S2000 take off next year?
The Corolla looked decent enough at the weekend in Wales but you cant judge a formula on seeing a single car a few times.

[A.F.F.]

I think so, at least partly. Peugeot will be homologated early next year and Fiat already is. I believe will be seeing them also in WRC events. :up:

[escortg3]

I will also put my money on Loeb. He is simply a level above Grönholm - both in terms of speed and fewer driver errors.

And the new C4 will be very fast. No doubt about that.

Agreed

[alleskids]

In Monte carlo the Citroen C4 can surley compete for the win, because tarmac was/is the basic for Citroen, and Loeb has something magical in Monte Carlo, but on gravel the C4 lacked a bit speed, were the Focus is almost unbeateble. In the two snow rallies Marcus is even harder to beat. The big questionmark will be Subaru on BF Goodrich. How bad were the tyres and how bad was the car ?
1 Gronholm (on reliability)
2 Loeb (he wil be close to Marcus)
3 Hirvonen (the beter leutenant on gravel)
4 Sordo ((number 2 on tarmac)
5 Solberg (because the Subaru wil surley score bette ron the BF Goodrichs)

[noel157]

Weakest link in the Citroen team will not be the C4, it'll be Sordo. Ok, couple of gearbox problems but he seems to have lost all his confidence. He's got to show good times on all surfaces next year.

[Tom206wrc]

What predictions do you make about Mattslow Wilslow next year ?? :p :

[Simmi]

2 points/2 stage wins

At least then he probably will defy my expectations.

[N.O.T]

My prediction is that basically we will see a replay of this year....If the C4 works then Loeb will cruise to another championship like the previous years....I cannot see any other apart from the two to challenge for victories, maybe Sordo on Tarmac.

Subaru must work miracles to manage and be competitive, and i cannot see it happening....BF will give them some speed but thats it.

Maybe we are going to have more privateers to challenge for the spots 4-10...but again i cannot see anything exciting about that.

Lets wait and see......

[jens]

IMO Grönholm is the main favourite next season, but of course Loeb can never be underrated. There have been rumours that although C4 is good on tarmac and should score wins, then gravel rallies is its weakness. We'll have to see that one out.

What concerns Sordo, then for a rookie it is very tough to drive a full season consistently well. He'll improve next season - maybe a win on asphalt and first podiums on gravel.

Hirvonen will be again #2 in Ford with a couple of minutes per rally behind Grönholm. Probably will have a season like he had this year - several podium places and maybe a win. And a fight with Sordo in the WDC - is it for 3rd or 4th spot, depends on the competitiveness of Subaru.

And Subaru is of course the dark horse. Very tough to predict anything for them, but I hope that they'll do well and bring more excitement to the top and Solberg manages to win at least one rally. Also that Atkinson will at last realise his talent (why not even a win in front of his home crowd or Japan - rallies that really suit him).

Tough to predict anything for the others. A podium place or two is probably maximum to whoever of them.

[pflugi]

What's going to be much more interesting next year is who will be the M2 "champion." If there really are going to be 6-7 M2 teams, then it will surely be more exciting. Will kronos still fare as well with Pons and someone else, or will one of the Ford teams have a bunch of good finishes?

Why doesn't the FIA institute an M2 manufacturer champion? Maybe they don't want to really reward teams for only doing 10 rallies?

[viper_man]

Why not go there next year ;) Just a short drive to the ferry for you I'd be guessing?

Where abouts is it? Ive got relatives in Cork in southern Ireland.

(and Skegness is on the east coast, so its a bit of a long trip!)

[Daniel]

Where abouts is it? Ive got relatives in Cork in southern Ireland.

(and Skegness is on the east coast, so its a bit of a long trip!)

Well if you take the ferry over to Dublin you could visit them and then drive up to the rally. It's based around Enniskillen and Sligo which is basically on the border between north and south :)

What's wrong with big long trips?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Ranger]

I'd like to think Gronholm will win and stay in the WRC for one or 2 more years after '07.

But almost like a recurring bad dream, I think that Citroen will be closer to the Ford than some people think. And with Loeb at the wheel it may just be like this year again, hopefully closer than 35 points though (which was the effective WDC margin this year).

[spudrsca]

I've read that Duval could possibly drive with omv bozian team.
He could also be driving a mitsubishi.

[1LM1]

Like many of you, I find the next season very promising:

Hirvonen is now capable of great things, Sordo has got more experience now (not enough to compete with Hirvonen on gravel yet though !), Pons has improved a lot, Stohl knows the 307 very well now, Latvala has just shown how talented he was. All of them should be even faster next year.

As for the performance of the C4 on gravel, I expect the first gravel rally to be difficult for Citroën because the set up of the Focus will be almost perfect right from the beginning. After that, I expect the C4 to be better than the Xsara on gravel before the mid season (if Citroen work in the right direction).

Otherwise there are many good news: Suzuki is arriving with a great effort. They will enter some rallies in the second part of next season. Mitsubishi M2 team and other new M2 teams are announced. Some promising battles expected in the Super 2000 categorie with the arrival of the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 (for exemple, Vouilloz really wants one of it and could enter some WRC events with it I suppose), etc.


As for the battle Loeb/Gronhölm, I expect it very close all year (if the C4 is as good as I hope). Keep in mind that Gronhölm knows the Focus very well and will be even better than this year.

[1LM1]

I've read that Duval could possibly drive with omv bozian team.
He could also be driving a mitsubishi.


I like the idea. A team Stohl/Duval would be good for OMV Peugeot Norway.
If that happens, I can't wait to know who will score the most points during the season between those two.

[Brother John]

I think that Citroen will be closer to the Ford than some people think. And with Loeb at the wheel it may just be like this year again.

C4 and Loeb, of course they will be fast, but will they be reliable?
Will Loeb feel themselves good in a smaller car?
Can he keep that car on the road like he did with the Xsara?
The behaviour of smaller cars is IMO more unforeseeable en we will see more off´s.

I read here on this thread more things that are not logical IMO!

Why doesn't the FIA institute an M2 manufacturer champion?

Why must they have an extra championship for just 2-3 teams?

Before people say things like that they must think of the impact!
The F.I.A does already so much crazy thinks.

[Larry_Japan]

I think 2007 will sadly see Harri Rovanpera step down... not an entirely voluntary retirement, but he does not want to driver the Fabia (which he hates) any more, and there are no other paid drives available to him.

[bennizw]

I have had confirmed that Markko Märtin has signed a deal with Mitsubishi for 12 WRC events next year. This is from very secure sourches.

[1LM1]

C4 and Loeb, of course they will be fast, but will they be reliable?
Will Loeb feel themselves good in a smaller car?
Can he keep that car on the road like he did with the Xsara?
The behaviour of smaller cars is IMO more unforeseeable en we will see more off´s.


The C4 is not smaller. It's bigger !!
But there are indeed differences of handling between the two cars (and some similarities) according to Loeb himself.

[1LM1]

I have had confirmed that Markko Märtin has signed a deal with Mitsubishi for 12 WRC events next year. This is from very secure sourches.

Yes !

[1LM1]

I think 2007 will sadly see Harri Rovanpera step down... not an entirely voluntary retirement, but he does not want to driver the Fabia (which he hates) any more, and there are no other paid drives available to him.

Yes, the driver deserves congratulations for his brilliant career in WRC (he is not out yet though and I would love to see him again next year). I appreciate him a lot. When he was at Peugeot, I was amazed how fast he was in Finland, Sweden and some other gravel rallies like RAC.
He hated asphalt rallies but he is among the very good one WRC actors.

[WRC1]

I have had confirmed that Markko Märtin has signed a deal with Mitsubishi for 12 WRC events next year. This is from very secure sourches.

wow thats great news!! is there any info with wich team?? I mean the mitsubishi works or some satelite team??

regards

wrc1

[1LM1]

With Markko Martin back, the Mitsubishi M2 team is a real candidate for the "M2 title".

Bozian, Stohl and M2 Ford teams, watch out !

[bennizw]

It seems it will be a works backed Mitsubishi team for drivers with large sponsors and money. I guess they are working to make the same deal for Carlsson in this team.

[Brother John]

@bennizw ,No problem , you don´t have to be sorry to me! I´m not a Moderator!!! :laugh: ;) Your thread has been removed.

Back to topic! it is good to see Markko Märtin again but I want to see him firstly @ work again!

[ST205GT4]

I predict that Subaru will pull out of the WRC at the end of 2007 due to another un-competitive season.

[StevoEvo]

I don't think they will pull out, but maybe run an M2 team for 2008 for Petter, and take a years sabatical to develop the new model for a full works comeback in 2009. Something similar to what Citroen has done this year and also Mitsubishi, but they took longer lol

[Tom206wrc]

I like the idea. A team Stohl/Duval would be good for OMV Peugeot Norway.
If that happens, I can't wait to know who will score the most points during the season between those two.



Do you really think that without Henning in the team anymore, Peugeot NORWAY will still sponsor it ??? ;)


Peugeot Austria(or Belgium) added to OMV would be logical in that case though... :p :

[StevoEvo]

Any news on Kris meeke being in the 2nd Kronos?
Or Guy Wilkes in a SX4........ Need some brits in the WRC
Also posible seats in Subaru M2 team
http://www.crash.net/news_view~t~Howarth--Subaru-keen-to-run-M2-team-but---~cid~4~id~137688.htm

[Jaanus]

Meeke thinks about quitting his rally career before it even started really. The reason, lack of money.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/general/story.jsp?story=717777

Also Suzuki has dropped Wilks and PGA for next year so they will not be driving in JWRC(unless they pay for it with sponsors) or the SX4 WRC car.

[StevoEvo]

Nice of Suzuki do drop them like lead weights after all the time and effort they put into the S1600 campaign. They must have new blood for the SX4 car then. Perhaps a couple of low budget Japanese drivers looking for a break......

The article by Kris Meeke sounds like a cry for help lol, think he's feeling a bit sorry for himself...bless. Looks like the next batch of GB drivers aint gonna happen as Wilson Jr is a waste of time and money.

[Daniel]

Nice of Suzuki do drop them like lead weights after all the time and effort they put into the S1600 campaign. They must have new blood for the SX4 car then. Perhaps a couple of low budget Japanese drivers looking for a break......

The article by Kris Meeke sounds like a cry for help lol, think he's feeling a bit sorry for himself...bless. Looks like the next batch of GB drivers aint gonna happen as Wilson Jr is a waste of time and money.
A waste of his fathers money if anything. Believe me Malcolm's not going to shell out that much money for a Meeke or a Wilks.

[StevoEvo]

lol no can't see it,,,,anyway Wilson Snr is into his scandinavian drivers at the mo.
Wilson Jnr is prob crap cos it's in his genes to be crap, just like Snr was in the 6R4 and just there to make the numbers up, "but credit where it's due he did win the BRC" and Snr is a likable person and he had a wicked Michelin Cossie, but thats about it lol.

[AndyRAC]

With the current profile of the WRC in Britain at the moment there is absolutely no chance of any British driver getting sponsorship. You can't really blame companies for not sponsoring, the WRC is just not high profile enough. You can blame DR/F1A/ISC for that,...

[Daniel]

With the current profile of the WRC in Britain at the moment there is absolutely no chance of any British driver getting sponsorship. You can't really blame companies for not sponsoring, the WRC is just not high profile enough. You can blame DR/F1A/ISC for that,...
I'd say football is probably largely to blame as well.

[AndyRAC]

I'd say football is probably largely to blame as well.

You're probably right there. But look at it from a large company, where are they going to get exposure? The T.V isn't great, look at the radio and papers, virtually no coverage, I mean even the coverage of Rally GB was rubbish, compared to what it used to be. Just because there aren't any top level British drivers in the WRC shouldn't make any difference to the press coverage, but it does, thet don't want to know. British drivers have won 1 GP in the last 3-4 years yet they still cover that sport, work it out, UGH!!

[Daniel]

You're probably right there. But look at it from a large company, where are they going to get exposure? The T.V isn't great, look at the radio and papers, virtually no coverage, I mean even the coverage of Rally GB was rubbish, compared to what it used to be. Just because there aren't any top level British drivers in the WRC shouldn't make any difference to the press coverage, but it does, thet don't want to know. British drivers have won 1 GP in the last 3-4 years yet they still cover that sport, work it out, UGH!!
Chicken and egg situation. With more teams and 3 driver teams you had a lot more spectacle even if the cars were more of less the same.

F1 if more viewer friendly. You have cameras at the track and people and James Allen talking and people understand it. Rally is somewhat less easy. I guess it's like comparing the feeling someone gets when they do drugs. They want instant gratification and they want it now. Sadly a lot of clueless people simply don't have the time to watch the WRC coverage when it's on in the evening because it's not live and if it's not live to them it's pointless. Yes I somewhat agree that the coverage is crap but the series isn't as good as it used to be.

[AndyRAC]

Chicken and egg situation. With more teams and 3 driver teams you had a lot more spectacle even if the cars were more of less the same.

F1 if more viewer friendly. You have cameras at the track and people and James Allen talking and people understand it. Rally is somewhat less easy. I guess it's like comparing the feeling someone gets when they do drugs. They want instant gratification and they want it now. Sadly a lot of clueless people simply don't have the time to watch the WRC coverage when it's on in the evening because it's not live and if it's not live to them it's pointless. Yes I somewhat agree that the coverage is crap but the series isn't as good as it used to be.

I quite agree, to be blunt, this year has been CRAP. Everything about the championship has been, which is no reflection on the teams, drivers, etc who have tried in very trying circumstances. Its as though the F1A don't give a toss.
Why fix it when it ain't broke, what was wrong 1995-1999, not a lot, yet everybody got greedy and wanted a fast buck, so made all these unecessary changes.

[Daniel]

I quite agree, to be blunt, this year has been CRAP. Everything about the championship has been, which is no reflection on the teams, drivers, etc who have tried in very trying circumstances. Its as though the F1A don't give a toss.
Why fix it when it ain't broke, what was wrong 1995-1999, not a lot, yet everybody got greedy and wanted a fast buck, so made all these unecessary changes.
It's not quite as simple as that though. Teams like Citroen and Peugeot with their huge budgets have made it hard for others teams to get anywhere in the WRC. So to blame it all on the FIA and the ISC is not only unfair but incorrect.

[Tomi]

lol no can't see it,,,,anyway Wilson Snr is into his scandinavian drivers at the mo.

Good he is, it seems to bring results, Ford did have a quite long dry season trying all kind of lineups without any result.

[AndySpeed]

One thing is obvious: Next year will be much more exiting than this year. There will be more drivers near to top-boys. And asphalt races are vry interesting because now also Subaru will be competitive - altough probably little bit behind Ford and Citroen.

I agree very much with this statement! :up:

Citroen will be fast from the off, but I believe Ford still have the upper hand. Subaru are bound to improve, and I'm predicting a good battle between Citroen and Subaru on certain rallies, with the Ford's proving the most consistent runners.

[JAMESWRC]

Chicken and egg situation. With more teams and 3 driver teams you had a lot more spectacle even if the cars were more of less the same.

F1 if more viewer friendly. You have cameras at the track and people and James Allen talking and people understand it. Rally is somewhat less easy. I guess it's like comparing the feeling someone gets when they do drugs. They want instant gratification and they want it now. Sadly a lot of clueless people simply don't have the time to watch the WRC coverage when it's on in the evening because it's not live and if it's not live to them it's pointless. Yes I somewhat agree that the coverage is crap but the series isn't as good as it used to be.

The normal Joe public would find it hard to understand all the superally rules i mean i love rallying, i was at rally GB and i still don't understand how Sandell won the JWRC whilst being upside down!! so hows a newcomer supposed to understand?

[AndyRAC]

The normal Joe public would find it hard to understand all the superally rules i mean i love rallying, i was at rally GB and i still don't understand how Sandell won the JWRC whilst being upside down!! so hows a newcomer supposed to understand?


Maybe thats the whole idea by the F1A, to kill off the WRC!!

[StevoEvo]

WRC is lacking driver appeal big time!!!! Your average layman in the street could relate to the name Loeb and maybe now Gronholm because if theres any press coverage, normally not then their names are mentioned.
But in the past when TV and the press showed a small interest, we had high profile names such as Kankunen,Sainz,Auriol,Burns,McRae,Makinen who were all known worldwide because they all had charecter which in turn received media attention. Nowadays most drivers seem too serious about their role in a WRC car, programmed robots if you like, with a few exeptions, Petter springs to mind and maybe Galli. I don't see the drivers having a laugh and a joke before stages winding each other up like they did in the past, and when you see them being interviewed on TV, you get that glum seriousnes coming through instead of the joking high spirited fan friendly drivers of the past.

[Simmi]

The normal Joe public would find it hard to understand all the superally rules i mean i love rallying, i was at rally GB and i still don't understand how Sandell won the JWRC whilst being upside down!! so hows a newcomer supposed to understand?

You're bang on about Sandell I dont get how that works either. Shows what a farce the JWRC has been this season.

[Daniel]

WRC is lacking driver appeal big time!!!! Your average layman in the street could relate to the name Loeb and maybe now Gronholm because if theres any press coverage, normally not then their names are mentioned.
But in the past when TV and the press showed a small interest, we had high profile names such as Kankunen,Sainz,Auriol,Burns,McRae,Makinen who were all known worldwide because they all had charecter which in turn received media attention. Nowadays most drivers seem too serious about their role in a WRC car, programmed robots if you like, with a few exeptions, Petter springs to mind and maybe Galli. I don't see the drivers having a laugh and a joke before stages winding each other up like they did in the past, and when you see them being interviewed on TV, you get that glum seriousnes coming through instead of the joking high spirited fan friendly drivers of the past.
The drivers have a sense of humour believe me.

[JAMESWRC]

You're bang on about Sandell I dont get how that works either. Shows what a farce the JWRC has been this season.

The quote that goes to finish first, first you have to finish is straight out of the window with the JWRC and WRC for that matter. For example Gyndaf Evens retired on the first stage of saturday morning and was a down as a finisher. How does that work?
In my opinion all the boys at the back who arn't as quick but don't crash out or break there cars should always be a classified finisher in front of someone who has rolled out and only completed half the stages. I know superally is good for fans i mean it was good to see drivers coming back in to watch them again last weekend but i don't think they should be able to score driver points or finish above someone who has completed all the stages. What about only scoring Manufacturer points? Superally makes me angry.

[Simmi]

Well hasn't Gwyndaf won the Evo Challenge for this year despite not even running on the last leg of Wales. So he gets the works Mitsubishi in next years BRC. Its the winning things in that manner that is very strange and wrong. I'm surprised he actually wanted that drive being a veteran, as it would have been much more beneficial giving it to Stuart Jones or Phillip Morrow.

[Norwegian Blue]

The quote that goes to finish first, first you have to finish is straight out of the window with the JWRC and WRC for that matter. For example Gyndaf Evens retired on the first stage of saturday morning and was a down as a finisher. How does that work?
In my opinion all the boys at the back who arn't as quick but don't crash out or break there cars should always be a classified finisher in front of someone who has rolled out and only completed half the stages. I know superally is good for fans i mean it was good to see drivers coming back in to watch them again last weekend but i don't think they should be able to score driver points or finish above someone who has completed all the stages. What about only scoring Manufacturer points? Superally makes me angry.

i don't know if I'm correct but if it wans't for superally wouldn't Gronholm be champion? Thinking back to monte Carlo....

[cut the b.s.]

i don't know if I'm correct but if it wans't for superally wouldn't Gronholm be champion? Thinking back to monte Carlo....

Maybe, but probaly not as Seb would have got out of bed and cruised around a couple of rallys and got the points he needed


Stuart Jones should have been the man for the Mitsi drive in next years BRC, he has serious pace, Morrow was disappointing this year, but Gwyndaf has been a great driver and bench mark over the years, can hardly begrudge him the drive

[Tomski]

At least for mext season the superally (restart) rule has been amended to an additional 10 mintues per stage missed;

[Tomi]

At least for mext season the superally (restart) rule has been amended to an additional 10 mintues per stage missed;

Thats improvment, they should skip the whole super rally system.

[Magnus]

Next year will probably be Bosses last - Ford will win the constructors championship again, and Bosse will finally, I hope and believe, score his third world champ title. Citroën will fall back somewhat, though Loeb will be as brilliant as ever, his car will fail on him more in 2007. Subaru will score some wins, and Solberg will update his site again ;)
Henning will have some very good rallies (second in Australia!) but also som worse (DNF Monte...)
:)

[DonJippo]

Henning will have some very good rallies (second in Australia!)

Unlikely... :rolleyes:

[Tom206wrc]

If Henning doesn't do mistakes he did with the whale this year...then perhaps :s

[Tom206wrc]

It's not quite as simple as that though. Teams like Citroen and Peugeot with their huge budgets have made it hard for others teams to get anywhere in the WRC. So to blame it all on the FIA and the ISC is not only unfair but incorrect.


In another way, if Ford Group really wanted it, they largely could have given more help(technical and financial) to M-Sport in order to win the title more rapidly !!! :rolleyes:

Ford Group is even more "rich" than PSA Group... :mark:

[Daniel]

In another way, if Ford Group really wanted it, they largely could have given more help(technical and financial) to M-Sport in order to win the title more rapidly !!! :rolleyes:

Ford Group is even more "rich" than PSA Group... :mark:
Yes but Ford on a large scale doesn't give a **** about rallying. PSA does. I'm of the opinion that if teams come into the WRC they should come in with a budget to play to win. But when PSA came in they moved the goalposts a little too far for my liking and I'm a big PSA fan too......

[ST205GT4]

I have to say I prefer Ford's stick to it approach though. At least they've hung around and given us cars and drivers to appreciate over a longer period. It's all well and good for companies like Peugeot and Citroen (why is one eo and the other oe by the way?) to come in for 5 minutes dominate everything and then disappear, but where would we be without the stalwarts, no matter how crap they are at winning?

[1LM1]

I have to say I prefer Ford's stick to it approach though. At least they've hung around and given us cars and drivers to appreciate over a longer period. It's all well and good for companies like Peugeot and Citroen (why is one eo and the other oe by the way?) to come in for 5 minutes dominate everything and then disappear, but where would we be without the stalwarts, no matter how crap they are at winning?

Don't be so sure about that. Back in 1986, Peugeot really wanted to stay in WRC. But the end of Groupe B made it impossible for them to keep winning so they left. Otherwise, it was a long term commitment (at least until 1990).

Keep in mind that PSA has been involved in WRC since 1999 in the recent days (and even earlier if we take into account the 306 Maxi period). It's not what I would call "coming in for 5 minutes".

As for Citroën, I have the feeling that they want to stay for a while (Don't forget that Citroën never commit in Racing. It has been Rallying, Dakar or nothing so far).

I am a lot worried about the long term commitment of Ford right now.

[Tomski]

Can I point out that there's a fundemental difference between the PSA teams and Ford or Subaru. Peugeot & Citroen are both full factory teams with all the team members employed by the manufacturer. With Ford & Subaru the manufacturer has contracted M-Sport & Prodrive to run their teams under a purley contractul agreement, meaning the manaufacturer is somewhat protected and can relativley easily pull the plug without all the hassle of making their own people redundant.

Having said that I can't see Ford quitting at the present, I think the smart money's on Subaru to quit, no wins, old car etc......

[I]

Petter is in todays norwegian press "over the moon" about the new Impreza. Atko too. Imreza will be back as a winning car, he says.

Haven't we heard that before???

[Tomi]

Petter is in todays norwegian press "over the moon" about the new Impreza. Atko too. Imreza will be back as a winning car, he says.

Haven't we heard that before???

Better to wait and see what Pasi says, he seems to understand more about cars.

[1LM1]

Petter is in todays norwegian press "over the moon" about the new Impreza. Atko too. Imreza will be back as a winning car, he says.

Haven't we heard that before???

We hear that every year indeed !
But maybe they will really improve the car this time now that they are fully aware they are in real crisis.

[A.F.F.]

Petter is in todays norwegian press "over the moon" about the new Impreza. Atko too. Imreza will be back as a winning car, he says.

Haven't we heard that before???

Yep :up:

That plus ten wins.

[1LM1]

Can I point out that there's a fundemental difference between the PSA teams and Ford or Subaru. Peugeot & Citroen are both full factory teams with all the team members employed by the manufacturer. With Ford & Subaru the manufacturer has contracted M-Sport & Prodrive to run their teams under a purley contractul agreement, meaning the manaufacturer is somewhat protected and can relativley easily pull the plug without all the hassle of making their own people redundant.

Having said that I can't see Ford quitting at the present, I think the smart money's on Subaru to quit, no wins, old car etc......

Regarding Ford, I also think and hope they will stay. I am not so concerned. But I prefer to be cautious.
Regarding Citroën, I really think they will stay for a while (they are not interested in Dakar anymore and as I wrote before they have never been interested in racing on circuit so far: that could mean that wrc is the only place they want to be for a while).
Regarding Subaru, I think that WRC is very important to them from a marketing point of view so I think they will continue.

[Tom206wrc]

Regarding Ford, I also think and hope they will stay. I am not so concerned. But I prefer to be cautious.
Regarding Citroën, I really think they will stay for a while (they are not interested in Dakar anymore and as I wrote before they have never been interested in racing on circuit so far: that could mean that wrc is the only place they want to be for a while).
Regarding Subaru, I think that WRC is very important to them from a marketing point of view so I think they will continue.



Don't be so sure Citroën isn't interested in Dakar !!! :mark:

With the future C-Crosser coming soon(based on the Mitsubishi Outlander and built in Japan) I perfectly imagine them making a return on Rally-Raid with a HDI-prepared version in the coming years... ;)

[StevoEvo]

Regarding Ford, I also think and hope they will stay. I am not so concerned. But I prefer to be cautious.
Regarding Citroën, I really think they will stay for a while (they are not interested in Dakar anymore and as I wrote before they have never been interested in racing on circuit so far: that could mean that wrc is the only place they want to be for a while).
Regarding Subaru, I think that WRC is very important to them from a marketing point of view so I think they will continue.

Yes the WRC has done wonders for Subaru sales, pre WRC all they had was a farmers legacy and a workhorse justy lol, so can't see them throwing it all away. People mention the Subaru brand and instantly everybody thinks of a blue and yellow rally car.

As for Ford, even if they do pull the plug, there will always be a Ford sattelite team such as the die hard blue oval M-Sport crew to fill the void, and maybe another in the future, seeing as there are so many 06 focus's flying around lol. Remember they have jacked before and came back, on more than one occasion. And failing with an underpowered F1 cosworth engine has probably helped keep them in WRC!!!

Citroen however, I think they aint going anywhere for a while.They've built a strong package in the WRC and as you said, they aint got any other motorsport commitments. I still feel they are the top team in rallying, the only reason they did'nt take the 2006 manufacturers, was the fact they did'nt have 2 top experienced drivers ,and Loeb was out for 3 events.

[grugsticles]

Petter is in todays norwegian press "over the moon" about the new Impreza. Atko too. Imreza will be back as a winning car, he says.

Haven't we heard that before???

Usually if the drivers say that "the new car is a step forward" or something similar. That usually means the car is ok.
But if Chriss and Petter are both over the moon, the maybe the car is actually a good chance of actually being **** hot once again.

We can hope :)

[Tomski]

All this excitment for the "new" Impreza, are they talking about the 2007 version of the current car or the "new" hatchback car for 2008?

[grugsticles]

All this excitment for the "new" Impreza, are they talking about the 2007 version of the current car or the "new" hatchback car for 2008?

Id assume the 2007 car. I very much doubt the 2008 car is at the stage where the teams drivers would get a test drive.

[StevoEvo]

Is'nt the 2007 Subaru going to be based on the hatchback model??
Should be different I suppose....

[Daniel]

Is'nt the 2007 Subaru going to be based on the hatchback model??
Should be different I suppose....
No

[StevoEvo]

No

Funny that, was in the Scooby forum last night and read about sightings of hatchback shells being delivered to prodrive recently.
Car does look good in road trim tho...
http://paultan.org/archives/2006/08/06/2008-subaru-impreza-to-be-a-hatch/

[Daniel]

Funny that, was in the Scooby forum last night and read about sightings of hatchback shells being delivered to prodrive recently.
Car does look good in road trim tho...
http://paultan.org/archives/2006/08/06/2008-subaru-impreza-to-be-a-hatch/
So you think Prodrive are going to go from having hatchback shells in November to having a fully functioning rally car in late january..........................................

Besides your link says 2008 and not 2007.

BTW your picture originate from Autoexpress which are world renowned for photoshopping cars together......

http://forums.motorsport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112713

[GunsofNavarone]

Funny that, was in the Scooby forum last night and read about sightings of hatchback shells being delivered to prodrive recently.
Car does look good in road trim tho...
http://paultan.org/archives/2006/08/06/2008-subaru-impreza-to-be-a-hatch/

That is a really pretty picture, fake or not.

[Daniel]

That is a really pretty picture, fake or not.
It's horrible horrible horrible!!!!! They've got an 04Impreza chopped off the rear, put on a 156 rear end, tweaked it a bit and then got a WRC rear wing and tilted the wing forward and added stupid bits at the side. The wing at the back is at a stupid position where it will give too much downforce, drag and just looks stupid. It IS a photoshop btw.

[StevoEvo]

So you think Prodrive are going to go from having hatchback shells in November to having a fully functioning rally car in late january..........................................

Besides your link says 2008 and not 2007.

BTW your picture originate from Autoexpress which are world renowned for photoshopping cars together......

http://forums.motorsport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112713
I can't remember saying a Hatch version would be availiable late January Daniel :confused:
Apparently it will be running in 2007 some time in rediness for 2008 when the roadcar is launched. When I said switching to a hatchback i did not mean in competition. I'm just saying what I read in a scooby site that's all... Why be so negative

[A.F.F.]

Everything is upside down :eek: Legacy is much better looking than Impreza. It used to be other way around.

[Caroline]

I can't remember saying a Hatch version would be availiable late January Daniel :confused:
Apparently it will be running in 2007 some time in rediness for 2008 when the roadcar is launched. When I said switching to a hatchback i did not mean in competition. I'm just saying what I read in a scooby site that's all... Why be so negative
Well you said they'd have a hatchback for 2007 and they won't.

[StevoEvo]

Well you said they'd have a hatchback for 2007 and they won't.

Lol, I did!!!! Appologies to Daniel as I did not put it clearly in post....
What I meant is Prodrive will hopefully have it ready for testing in mid 2007.
I got exited pmsl

[Mr_xl_Lancia_lx_]

mcrae for 08 - its gonna happen

[pflugi]

I guess this fits into a thread on 2007: we might see the new Impreza at the end of the year. I'm not sure that I buy into those other spyshots/photochops, though. Here's a pic of a supposed 4-door hatch Impreza for 2008. I'm guessing the 3 door will look a bit beefier.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/wp-content/plugins/iimage-gallery.php?idpost=3996&idg=1&idi=2

[Daniel]

Yes. Like I said Autoexpress are world famous for putting out pictures of what they think a car is going to look like and forgetting to tell people that it's nothing more than that. What they thinl it's going to look like.

[Glee]

Tomorow will Henning Solberg confirm witch team he is going to be in in 2007 (and 2008).

Moust probably an M2 Ford.

But why M2? If he is in an M2 team he can only drive a 2006 spec car. Outside a team (but with full M-Sport suport) he can drive a 2007 spec car.

I don't know if he thinks the same way, but it is a posibility.

[L5->R5/CR]

Tomorow will Henning Solberg confirm witch team he is going to be in in 2007 (and 2008).

Moust probably an M2 Ford.

But why M2? If he is in an M2 team he can only drive a 2006 spec car. Outside a team (but with full M-Sport suport) he can drive a 2007 spec car.

I don't know if he thinks the same way, but it is a posibility.



Running in a M2 team could mean more sponsorship in the form of available team sponsorship for more events?

[Brother John]

I thought that as from 2007, M1 and M2 teams can drive with the same car spec. ! Do I be wrong? :dozey:

[alleskids]

A Manufacturer Team (the old MT2) cannot enter World Rally Cars homologated during the year 2007 and cannot use parts homologated after 2
January 2007. So Stobart Expert Ford World Rally Team could better enter as a second Manufacturer (old MT1) along side BP Ford World Rally Team. If the FIA is accepting two Manufactuerers with the same name that is.

[Christina]

Is today not the day that announcements were to be made about 2007 from a number of drivers? henning springs to mind.. but i dont see anything on the news sites..

[Jaanus]

Henning's press conference is going on right now. He will drive Ford next year, confirmed allready.

[euskalteam]

The photos of the Focus with the 2007 libery.

http://www.teamexpert.no/default.aspx?m=2

[sal]

My predictions for 07:

Other events will take a leaf out of the Monte Carlo's book and transport the cars from the last proper stage to the Superspecial on the backs of lorries.

Ireland will be very wet but will be so much more fun than Rally GB

People paying for their own hotels in Norway will have a massive credit card bill the month after the event.

Max Moseley will be lobbied by DR to ban S2000 after the Eurosport backed series starts to get better tv viewing figures than the WRC.

Loeb and Sordo will sweep all before them and Gronholm will be left to pick up the pieces on the events that Seb still hasnt mastered.

Kris Meeke's Xsara drive will hopefully come to fruition and he will prove a Brit can still cut it in the WRC.

Henning Solberg will continue to prove it's the money that counts

Toni Gardenmonster will do a far better job at Mitsu than the last time he drove one of their cars.

Young Wilson will continue to get stick from most people on here.

[Tomi]

My predictions for 07:
Toni Gardenmonster will do a far better job at Mitsu than the last time he drove one of their cars.

LOL, i hope the same :)

[GigiGalliNo1]

Who do you guys think will position the top 3 in Monte?

[White Sauron]

Who do you guys think will position the top 3 in Monte?

Gronholm
Hirvonen
Solberg versus Loeb

[grugsticles]

Hmmm.... Loab or Grronholm to take the win, but that depends on how good the C4 is.
2nd and 3rd will be Hirvonen and Stohl, followed by P Solberg, H Solberg and Atkinson.

[Tom206wrc]

Jean-Marie Cuoq will enter top 6 in Monte-Carlo !!! :p :

[Wim_Impreza]

Who do you guys think will position the top 3 in Monte?

1 Grönholm
2 Gardemeister
3 Stohl

[sal]

Loeb
Sordo
Stohl

[Koppomsbo]

by the way, what about fiats coming to WRC? As they put some money into the Andros Trophy?

http://www.rallycross.com

[Brother John]

My prediction

Within a couple months everyone has been annoyed because Ford wins everything and stands in the lead of the wrc championship!! :D

[White Sauron]

My prediction

Within a couple months everyone has been annoyed because Ford wins everything and stands in the lead of the wrc championship!! :D


Oh, I'd like to be annoyed this way!! :D

[Donney]

My predictions:

Ford: I think this year is the best for them to win both championships and probably the last for Gronholm to win his third.

Citroen: Fast and reliable as usual but this year they'll be second to Ford.

Subaru: Will be back on top and I foresee three rally wins (still to be determined :p :)

M2 Teams: Should provide us with lots of fun for places 5-10

Gronholm: World Champion

Loeb: Runner up, nobody is perfect not even him (I think...) and the car should have small teething problems

Solberg: Will have fun again and will prove he is still fast, will win 2 or 3 rallies and we will all be hoping for a great comeback in 2008

Hirvonen: Will drive a very exciting season being allowed to fight for the win whenever he is not challenging Gronholm. He'll win a couple of events and he'll be ready for the challenge in 2008

Sordo: Will show big improvement on gravel and he'll be a more consistent driver, he could win Germany or Catalunya. I think Citroen won't be disapointed.

Atkinson: I don't see him doing great things, maybe some podiums but not much more (I hope I'm wrong)

S2000 cars: Will feature on some selected events, I expect Fiat to do tarmac events and the rest a more assorted selection. I think they'll be faster than Group N's, more spectacular to watch and hear and will be quite popular among spectators and young drivers in the long term.

[ST205GT4]

Who do you guys think will position the top 3 in Monte?

Loeb
Gronholm
Hirvonnen