[WRC] Tour de Corse 2019

[Fast Eddie WRC]

personally im not surprised that Evans is doing well, he really likes this event

His previous great run here was in very different conditions (monsoon).

Such great times today in the dry is impressive.

[AnttiL]

Isn´t he blaming this year´s pace notes for being too slow ? And that after using the 2015 pace notes his pace improved ?

SS2 is where you can use 2015 pace notes for all of the stage. SS1 hasn't been run since 1989 and SS3 only in the opposite direction in 2015 (so no pace notes to be reused). So the pace improved on SS3 where he had to make completely new pace notes.

[er88]

Lol Adamo is brilliant

[EstWRC]

damn i missed it. what did he say?

[AnttiL]

damn i missed it. what did he say?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D20gzU2XQAAwx7L.jpg

[AnttiL]

Quite fast average speeds on these new Friday stages:
SS1 102.1 km/h
SS2 108.1 km/h
SS3 103.3 km/h

The average speed of the whole rally has been under 100 km/h since 1974. Could this be the fastest Tour de Corse ever?

[doubled1978]

Interesting morning. Biggest surprise I suppose is Ogier’s pace, or lack of it...
Will be interesting to see where Meeke can get back to...

[mknight]

Ford unexpectedly fast
Citroen (or Ogier specifically) unexpectedly slow
Toyota no real surprises
Hyundai a bit faster than expected with Neuville and Sordo and as slow as feared with Loeb

[drive]

live from tyre changing zone
https://www.facebook.com/michelinmotorsport/videos/528258781033217/?notif_id=1553859747921646&notif_t=live_video

[dimviii]

Sesks ss3

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D20hniLWwAU8eWR.jpg

hahahaha

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D20fXo6X4AA1mL3.jpg

[dimviii]

Jari looks like he dies a little death inside when he sees his two team mates beating his times.

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1111584754263097348

[dimviii]

Gary Boyd #TheyAreUs
‏ @KiwiWRCfan
3h3 hours ago

Several drivers received FIA fines for exceeding local area speed limits during recce
ShakeDown Camilli +16kph 400 Euro
SS9 Greensmith +25 kph 375 Euro
SS2 Bosquet +13kph 325 Euro 325
SS9 Neuville +16kph 400 Euro
SS3 Sordo +29 kph 725 Euro
SS9 Bosquet +24kph 1200 Euro

[dimviii]

Meeke ss 1

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D20ARqnWwAIkdhx.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D20XahdW0AAtxvo.jpg

[dimviii]

http://forum-rallye.com/uploads/monthly_03_2019/post-2726-0-58515000-1553846732.jpeg

[!ADi!]

Quite interesting :) Starter motor issues?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1WHlqaj-c4

[wrc2017]

depends if citroen can dial in their setup... otherwise meeke could still get at least 3rd if Evans and Tanak don't have a problem.

[wrc2017]

http://forum-rallye.com/uploads/monthly_03_2019/post-2726-0-58515000-1553846732.jpeg

looks like it split in half again...?

[KKS]

Have wondered for quite a while now if some of the c3's tarmac ability may have been comprised to make more for a more driveable car on gravel certainly looks it at moment
tarmac car it's completely new car. Isn't it? So how new gravel suspension affect on tarmac suspension and diffs settings?

[KKS]

If that happens it means that the person who planned the start times did a shitty job or that there are serious issues on the route. Please educate yourself about what is the zero car for. It's not for racing, period.
I know for what is zero car. But 000 or 00 it's not a "safety B or A" car which can be slow and "civil". An old Evo or STI could be perfect for 00 and very small chance that he was catched by R5 single-zero car.

[Mirek]

I know for what is zero car. But 000 or 00 it's not a "safety B or A" car which can be slow and "civil". An old Evo or STI could be perfect for 00 and very small chance that he was catched by R5 single-zero car.

Here in CZ we have never ever had an issue that a competitive car would catch the zero car despite them being stock cars (AFAIK the ASN has to grant an exception to allow use of a modified car with a rollcage as a zero car, normally it's not allowed). Far majority of our events uses zero cars of a team of professional safety car drivers who use civil vehicles (Octavia and Fabia RS). These guys have been doing their job for more than ten years without any issue with incoming competitive cars. Currently the longest stages are around 25-30 km long, in the past we have had a stage of more than 40 km as well.

It's all about the organization. If they can't coordinate the zero cars than they are incompetent for their job.

[EstWRC]

#Tyre info - Day 1 Afternoon

All the Michelin @OfficialWRC drivers with 5 MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5

[Rallyper]

Hello guys. I´m on. How´s things going?

[dimviii]

Sesks
https://www.facebook.com/Tolosa2a/videos/2745992578774927/

[AnttiL]

tarmac car it's completely new car. Isn't it? So how new gravel suspension affect on tarmac suspension and diffs settings?

The geometry applies to both suspensions?

[dimviii]

looks like it split in half again...?

yes, but by the looks, have run a lot without tyre

[AnttiL]

Here in CZ we have never ever had an issue that a competitive car would catch the zero car

This happened last year at a Finnish Championship rally. Eerik Pietarinen caught no less than Ari Vatanen driving a BMW M3 as the zero car, but it was a mistake from the organizers on starting times.

[Mirek]

The geometry applies to both suspensions?

No, C3 has different suspension layout for gravel and asphalt.

[Rallyper]

Sesks
https://www.facebook.com/Tolosa2a/videos/2745992578774927/

Oouschhhh!!

[mknight]

No, C3 has different suspension layout for gravel and asphalt.

On the front yes, not so sure about the rear

[dimviii]

wtf? lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1WHlqaj-c4

[dimviii]

198km/h flat out passes
https://youtu.be/LsSxTVLqnlI

[EstWRC]

Tänak doesnt like first part of this stage

[AnttiL]

Evans flying

[EstWRC]

Evan going back into the lead it seems

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yeah ! Elfyn is on it again !

[dimviii]

"I was not very comfortable this morning, and my teammate (Esapekka Lappi, Ed), little better, recognized Sébastien Ogier at the microphone of Olivier Gaspard, RTBF's special correspondent in Corsica. disappointed a little bit for the moment, we too, for sure we have a big lack of confidence with the car We have small ideas to try to find a balance that suits us, because this morning, I am I was not at all on the car, and when the car does not turn, I'm not confident, so the seconds go up, 24 seconds is not huge, but it's already a lot on a rally "asphalt", where the gaps are hard to do.And those who are ahead are not sleeves, they drive very fast, and it will not be simple.But we will fight to try to go up the as high as possible. "
https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/rallye/wrc/detail_ogier-24-secondes-de-retard-c-est-deja-beaucoup-ce-ne-sont-pas-des-manches-devant?id=10182821&fbclid=IwAR3rzcAjxRbU4MNTmyxZJfykKZuUkDG2kyJsCNB5I iNKQRqIc2TiAPw01qA

[Rallyper]

The MSport Fiesta looks good.

[EstWRC]

the gaps are soooo close! dont remember it being that in the past years

thanks for the faster stages!

[EstWRC]

lol at Lappi!

"i guess the r5 would be faster"

[dimviii]

Thierry Neuville

"We thought we had really worked on the behavior and performance of the car in testing. At the shakedown, we were a little surprised even if every year we fail to perform on it. This morning, it confirmed that we had made a good step and we got closer. In the very long bends, I do not have a super train before, but nothing catastrophic. I knew that I had rolled in the first, but hey, you never know what happens with the lap times.

Elfyn is still very fast in Corsica, it's been years that he's great here. A little surprised that Seb lost so much time this morning, but otherwise, no surprise. It is only 20s, so of course we look at these times because anything can happen. If we stay so close to the head tonight, it suits me well. "

Ott Tänak

"In a way, I'm surprised by the pace of the Citroën even if Ogier made a mistake. We are just going to continue on this pace by being clean and not making mistakes, as we did this morning.

I saw five cows I think they slept on the road. It was not scary but I had to slow down a bit. The car is running great, my driving not yet. I need to improve the pace a little bit overall. "

895/5000
Dani Sordo

"In the last, we lost a little time, otherwise, it was not too bad in the first. I did not ride very well in the third, it was dirty, but honestly, sometimes it's weird.

We had a lot of note corrections to do. As always, we changed the transmissions and changed shock absorber clicks, but we can not change much either. We will discuss with the engineers this afternoon. I wish I could be in the fight tonight and if I could be first it would be even better (laughs). "
Pierre Budar

"It's not the morning we expected. We thought we were in a better position but it seems that our drivers are struggling to find trust with the car. They made changes on the car between the stages, but probably not enough. We need to think about improvement. "

[EstWRC]

Sordo way off the pace here, 7 secs on last split

[dimviii]

https://m.twitch.tv/motorsporttvde

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Go on Teemu !

[mknight]

Go on Teenu !

Well both Fords are better than expected but Suninen in his first rally in WRC car here is especially impressive. He was never really fast with R5 here either.

[EstWRC]

yep, Suninen has been very impressive so far

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Suninen just beat all of the Hyundai 'tarmac squad' ;)

[Mirek]

Does anyone has a "Token Window missmatch, please reload your player" error on WRC+? I tried to restart but it didn't help.

Edit: It works again after few minutes.

[dimviii]

Suninen just beat all of the Hyundai 'tarmac squad' ;)
all hyundais off the pace at this stage

[Fast Eddie WRC]

all hyundais off the pace at this stage

Ahhhh shame.

[steve.mandzij]

Are Latvala's pacenotes describing the road and the angle or severity of the corner or how fast he should go? Because I don't understand the thing about the notes being too slow.

[AnttiL]

Are Latvala's pacenotes describing the road and the angle or severity of the corner or how fast he should go? Because I don't understand the thing about the notes being too slow.

He uses numbers, which is rare for a Finnish driver, but I think they describe the pace he should use rather than the angle.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/MSportLtd/status/1111630557346258945

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Go Kris !

[dimviii]

Meeke on fire

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Oof, Ogier not happy with the C3.

[denkimi]

Meeke on fire
I put my money on a big crash for him.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Here we go. :(

[EstWRC]

im sorry guys but the old Meeke is back this rally, just doesnt understand to back off like always

[Mirek]

Meeke hit a curb and damaged the suspension.

[Rallyper]

I put my money on a big crash for him.

Not big but it was small...

[mknight]

im sorry guys but the old Meeke is back this rally, just doesnt understand to back off like always

That's a bit harsh. But yes he has been the "fastest" here for multiple years, yet his best result is 4th.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Latvala having another nightmare on this one.

[EstWRC]

CMON ELFYN

good laad

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yes Elfyn, go go go !

[Mirek]

Ogier would likely prefer to sit in the Fiesta now :)

[mknight]

Well I don't quite understand the big differences between stages for some drivers (Neuville previous one and this, Latvala etc...).

From the avg. speed and most onboards they look similar.

[Rallyper]

And Latvala...? +7,7 on 1st split?

[Tauri_J]

latvala stopped

[Rallyper]

Latvala got problems!!

Edit: Wheel change front.

[EstWRC]

disaster for Toyota this stage

[jonkka]

Changing wheel

[steve.mandzij]

And Latvala...? +7,7 on 1st split?He's driving like a rookie today, and for most of the season it's either been his confidence or his bad luck. It's looking like the deepest of the abyss for him at the moment, 2016 but without even the pace.

[N.O.T]

He's driving like a rookie today, and for most of the season it's either been his confidence or his bad luck. It's looking like the deepest of the abyss for him at the moment, 2016 but without even the pace.

its looking like that since the start of his career... he should be out of the sport long time ago...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Was a slow puncture for Latvala.

[dimviii]

And Latvala...? +7,7 on 1st split?

probably a slow puncture,a bit late to decide if he has to change the wheel or not.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Solid time again by Suninen just 0.5s off Loeb.

[Rallyper]

its looking like that since the start of his career... he should be out of the sport long time ago...

You just have to get right info about things happening, before making comments. Sharp stone in the same line as everyone causing slow puncture. That has nothing to do with drivers performance. Not this time, anyway.

[mknight]

Meeke finally moving, not sure if he gets penalty (for being late in next TC). If they fixed it and without penalty he'll still be 8th.

EDIT:He should make it without penalty.

[N.O.T]

You just have to get right info about things happening, before making comments. Sharp stone in the same line as everyone causing slow puncture. That has nothing to do with drivers performance. Not this time, anyway.

same old excuses for 20 years almost now...

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D21ZumRXQAA9NaM.jpg

[wrc2017]

pity for meeke, but no worse than loeb I suppose. he had pace, and was pushing for for podium..

[Rallyper]

same old excuses for 20 years almost now...

Sometimes you have to accept excuses for what they are.

[EstWRC]

some damper issues for Tänak in the afternoon but didnt hamper much

very clever not saying it before :D

[mknight]

Doesn't look like Meeke fixed the wheel.

[EstWRC]

EVans will catch Meeke any moment

[jonkka]

And not letting past?!?

[EstWRC]

lol Meeke didnt care at all

[mknight]

Weird, don't they have a system for this now?

[Rallyper]

seems Meeke has lost his sidemirrors.....

[tomhlord]

Absolute disaster! Shambles.

[stefanvv]

shit

[spiderem]

Evans going to be pretty pissed off

[jonkka]

Evans loses lead for that

[EstWRC]

how did he not know? they have a system for that now?

[tomhlord]

Evans is 0.5 down on the split, then loses 11.5 in the end. I really hope common sense prevails and the organisers somehow provided an amended time.

[mknight]

Looks like first good stage time of the rally for Loeb.

[EstWRC]

Evans is 0.5 down on the split, then loses 11.5 in the end. I really hope common sense prevails and the organisers somehow provided an amended time.

in second split he was 2.5 down and this was before he caught Meeke.

i think its fair if they keep this 2.5 secs loss for him.

[spiderem]

in second split he was 2.5 down and this was before he caught Meeke.

i think its fair if they keep this 2.5 secs loss for him.

Is this allowed to correct time for this kind of issues?

[Tauri_J]

Is this allowed to correct time for this kind of issues?


of course

[mknight]

It's like 100% sure they will correct the time, only question is by how much.

[Päss1928]

Hope he gets some time handed back to him, he didn't deserve that and I want Tänak to beat him fair and square :D

[Rallyper]

Is this allowed to correct time for this kind of issues?

They should. This is not village event. It´s top level WRC, so shouldn´t be decided from such mess.

[EstWRC]

amazing day by Suninen! really really impressed by him.

[Alex009]

They should. This is not village event.

Yes, but there is still that one stupid village team.

[SubaruNorway]

It's like 100% sure they will correct the time, only question is by how much.

Wasn't it Neuville who caught someone in Portugal and didn't get anything back?

[EstWRC]

the blame is on the organizers anyway...Meeke asked for 3 minutes and they denied it.

Evans will definitely keep the lead have the time back.

[mknight]

Wasn't it Neuville who caught someone in Portugal and didn't get anything back?

It was in the dust and he did get time back, but he wanted 20s and got like 13. (was Portugal 2017)
Dust is harder to judge thought when you see "a bit worse" for quite some time.

[AnttiL]

Wasn't it Neuville who caught someone in Portugal and didn't get anything back?

Neuville got time back for driving in Latvala's dust but Latvala didn't get time back for driving in Østberg's dust. Latvala even threatened to stop rallying if he doesn't get the time back.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Rally should've given a 3m gap or Meeke should've been told it was only 2m and he'd have looked out for Evans coming.

[EstWRC]

M-sport want the same time for him as Tänak had.

[Tauri_J]

M-sport want the same time for him as Tänak had.

makes no sense, he was 2,5 down before catching Meeke

[Norm75]

Apparently Seb Marshall asked for a 3 minute gap to Evans. Tanaks time should be given to Evans, simple as that.

[EstWRC]

yeah but Millener totally denied it as does Porter, they only watch the first split when he was 0.5 down.

[Tauri_J]

Apparently send Marshall asked for a 3 minute gap to Evans. Tanaka time should be given to Evans, simple as that.

lol no

[Rallyper]

makes no sense, he was 2,5 down before catching Meeke

Make sense to me. We don´t know excactly where they were when the mess started, and what´ve happened in the end. So equal time is fair and square.

[stefanvv]

makes no sense, he was 2,5 down before catching Meeke

Evans caught Meeke at 8:35, just sayin', do the math.

[Rallyper]

Evans did the right thing on the stage, anyway...

[EstWRC]

Evans caught Meeke at 8:35, just sayin', do the math.

you sure? i remember seeing his split before he caught Meeke.

anyway, im not against it if he gets the same time as Ott

[trykmann]

https://twitter.com/OfficialWRC/status/1111655230331146240

[dimviii]

Evans caught Meeke at 8:35, just sayin', do the math.

so it is before the 2nd split where Evans was ''slower'' 2,5 sec from Tanak
Tanak passed the 2nd split with time 8,44,2

[stefanvv]

you sure? i remember seeing his split before he caught Meeke.

anyway, im not against it if he gets the same time as Ott

Just watched the stage replay, saw his dust at 8:25, was on his bumper at 8:35

[Norm75]

lol no

Why not? Tanak with damper issue, just shown full replay of Evans stuck behind Meeke. Painful to watch. I'm no more an Evans fan than a Tanak fan, just think the times should be equalled to rule out any it's or doubts.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Excellent job by Suninen - very mature and on his first TdC in a WRC car.

[br21]

He catched him before his second split and for sure lost before the split already some time. He passed the split at 8:46:7, Meeke was passing the split 0,6s before.

[Tauri_J]

ok

I thought Evans catched Meeke just after split point 2

then equal time should be ok

[trykmann]

The time is corrected, same as Tänak.

[spiderem]

happy to see Evans having a better start of the season compare to 2018. Good to have another player that can once in while interfere with the established top 3

[br21]

I think for official decision/time allocation we need to wait a little.

edit:
OK, it's there already, pretty fast reaction from CoC.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D21pgTrWsAAxWom.png

[dimviii]

lol


ŠKODA Motorsport
TourdeCorseWRC: RC 2 after SS 6, finish of the Friday leg, @KalleRovanpera @JonneHalttunen #SKODA currently on P8 leading WRC 2 Pro category, @wrc @eWRCresults

[kiil]

http://www.tourdecorse.com/site/download/3-24-coc-decision-n8/

Clerk of course decision about Evans/Meeke

[Fast Eddie WRC]

#EE33 - Your leader after day 1

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D21TffqX0AQIRgw.jpg:large

[dimviii]

krismeeke.com
‏ @krismeeke


Sorry for holding Elfyn up on the last stage but no way was it intended, I had hoped the organisers had given him an extra minute gap, I don’t want to get involved in the race for the lead, hopefully it can get sorted out.

[dimviii]

Saturday with 174 stage kms.
Three faster crews finished day 1 among 9,8 sec.

[EstWRC]

Saturday with 174 stage kms.
Three faster crews finished day 1 among 9,8 sec.

yep, a monster and deciding day tomorrow.

thumbs up from me for all the TOP3 drivers today and Suninen. Definitely didnt expect Neuville so high up with the Hyundai, i expected Ott to struggle a little bit but very good day from him too. and Evans is the biggest surprise, i knew he was going to be good here but that good? Amazing pace from him.


Lets see tomorrow.

[dimviii]

yep, a monster and deciding day tomorrow.

thumbs up from me for all the TOP3 drivers today and Suninen. Definitely didnt expect Neuville so high up with the Hyundai, i expected Ott to struggle a little bit but very good day from him too. and Evans is the biggest surprise, i knew he was going to be good here but that good? Amazing pace from him.


Lets see tomorrow.

championship is so unpredictable!

[krissucool]

yep, a monster and deciding day tomorrow.

thumbs up from me for all the TOP3 drivers today and Suninen. Definitely didnt expect Neuville so high up with the Hyundai, i expected Ott to struggle a little bit but very good day from him too. and Evans is the biggest surprise, i knew he was going to be good here but that good? Amazing pace from him.


Lets see tomorrow.

Really impressed by Evans. I honestly had given up hope that any other driver than the top 3 can be constantly faster or on pace with them without road advantage.

[RS]

lol


ŠKODA Motorsport
TourdeCorseWRC: RC 2 after SS 6, finish of the Friday leg, @KalleRovanpera @JonneHalttunen #SKODA currently on P8 leading WRC 2 Pro category, @wrc @eWRCresults

Yep, 'pro' drivers currently 9th and 14th in R5 class.

[spiderem]

so M-Sport has been rally leader after day 1 for 50% since the start of the season. Not bad.

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OxSQzeERxg

lol at 1:05

[greencroft]

Great day today and especially for Elfyn. I really hope he can keep this performance up as he is in big need of a boost this season.

Who remembers Antony Warmbold being caught on stage by another Ford driver (Duval? 2004 maybe?) - the only technology they had then to tell him was a mobile phone and he told his co-driver to turn it off before he realised at stage end that it was a team-mate behind him.

[EstWRC]

this picture is for NOT

https://scontent.fhen1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/55593331_1186631748174833_8939506893664026624_o.jp g?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ht=scontent.fhen1-1.fna&oh=07ec8ba24427da3a38cecf22483144e9&oe=5D4D103C

[mknight]

Well for me it's kind of a bigger surprise how slow Ogier was today than how fast Evans was.

After all Evans has shown good speed on tarmac multiple times before. (Spain and Monte (a few stages) last year, Monte year before... 2nd place in Corsica in 2015 (not all was rain) etc.).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Yep, seems Citroen have dropped the ball big-time with the C3 on their home rally.

With theirs and Ogier's history on Corsica that's quite incredible.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Seb Marshall @sebmarshall

Glad to see @ElfynEvans & @scottmartinat given a fair time after we unintentionally held them up on last stage today. Hold my hand up, it was my fault, apologies. Despite some good speed it’s been a tough day at the office. #sorrylads @OfficialWRC @MSportLtd @TGR_WRC @krismeeke

[AnttiL]

Saturday with 174 stage kms..

Yeah. It means one leg of stages is 87 km. The rules normally restrict leg distance to 80 km. Tyre management will be crucial.

[spiderem]

Yeah. It means one leg of stages is 87 km. The rules normally restrict leg distance to 80 km. Tyre management will be crucial.

I predict Ogier to gain substantial time back, he has been known for being the best at tyre management...

[mknight]

Well even just keeping his afternoon pace he should get to 4th without issues. Might be hard moving further up though.

Wonder what Loeb does, after being basically the slowest WRC on 3 stages he started to improve on the last two, will it continue or was it just a fluke?

[EstWRC]

Well even just keeping his afternoon pace he should get to 4th without issues. Might be hard moving further up though.

Wonder what Loeb does, after being basically the slowest WRC on 3 stages he started to improve on the last two, will it continue or was it just a fluke?

He just said that he will test new things tomorrow because he hasnt anything to fight for.

Lappi didnt seem very hopeful for finding a solution for tomorrow.

[EstWRC]

LMAO AT ELENA

Molly: "Will you watch videos and making corrections for tomorrow?
Elena makes big eyes: "MEEE? Noooo, im finished today, to sleep"

:D

[EstWRC]

Tänak and cows this morning

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D22DBCpXcAYRyl_.jpg

[br21]

If car will still understeer that much for Ogier then it may affect his tyre saving capabilities...

[Allez Andruet]

Lappi didnt seem very hopeful for finding a solution for tomorrow.
The whining ain't funny anymore. He should really do something, try to be a bit more professional and approach things a bit differently. He has all the tools in the world, but rarely seems to be able to produce a championship-level performance. What the hell happened to that Lappi who occasionally terrorized the scene in 2017?

[Indreq]

I dont know the original source but one Estonian news site quotes Evans:
"I dont know any reasons why i should be worried about Ott. I have to drive in a way that he has to push hard. I know that as long as things work out, i can be faster than him".

Is it me or is there a drop of premature arrogance :D

[Norm75]

I dont know the original source but one Estonian news site quotes Evans:
"I dont know any reasons why i should be worried about Ott. I have to drive in a way that he has to push hard. I know that as long as things work out, i can be faster than him".

Is it me or is there a drop of premature arrogance :D

Premature arrogance, or long overdue confidence?

[Allez Andruet]

Is it me or is there a drop of premature arrogance :D
That's called self-confidence.

[Indreq]

That's called self-confidence.

I quess we will see tomorrow, is it over-confidence or self-confidence :P

[stefanvv]

Is it me or is there a drop of premature arrogance :D

If his car is working well, there is no reason not being confident. For sure he didn't say he is better driver, did he?

[mknight]

The whining ain't funny anymore. He should really do something, try to be a bit more professional and approach things a bit differently. He has all the tools in the world, but rarely seems to be able to produce a championship-level performance. What the hell happened to that Lappi who occasionally terrorized the scene in 2017?

You did notice he finished 2nd in Sweden?

[Allez Andruet]

You did notice he finished 2nd in Sweden?

Yes. I also noticed the trend in 2018 and what he did in Monte and Mexico this year.

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=936jkHTT3SQ

[mknight]

Yes. I also noticed the trend in 2018 and what he did in Monte and Mexico this year.

In the first 3 rallies this year he has better performance than last year.
Monte was good speed on Thursday (4th), 2 stages on wrong tires due to the stage cancellation and small mistake, then technical on saturday which was not his fault.
Sweden was clearly better.
Mexico was also clearly faster that year before, small crash with retirement from 5th, year before he jumped off the road from 9th.

In 2018 he was clearly faster than Latvala in first half of season, second half seemed a bit affected by getting kicked from the team.

I agree that the whining is a bit too much lately, but the pace (especially comparing 2019 vs 2018) is actually an improvement so far.

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeikP3kb7Wk

[Indreq]

If his car is working well, there is no reason not being confident. For sure he didn't say he is better driver, did he?

Ott said that he expects good fight and he has to push hard to beat Evans. IMHO this shows respect toward Evans and is more in line with todays performances. Evans self confidence would be justified if he had 45 seconds lead instead of 4,5. Or if there had been any real reasons to believe that he is that much more faster than Ott that he shouldnt be worried and could beat him easily. Today neither of them were probably at their limit, Evans didnt have any complaints as much as i remember, Ott had some minor issues with cows, pacenotes, rhytm and damper. Overall - i dont know who will be faster tomorrow but based on todays performances, i wouldnt say neither of them has any reason to dismiss other as threat.

[Allez Andruet]

In 2018 he was clearly faster than Latvala in first half of season, second half seemed a bit affected by getting kicked from the team.

He didn't get kicked from the team, quite the opposite actually. He had an offer from Toyota (publicly confirmed by both Mäkinen and Veiby) and Tommi wanted to wait for his decision before making any moves (eventually leading to hiring Meeke).

In a nutshell, even though you can make cases for and against by comparing this and that result, the guy who won the power stage in his second ever outing in a WRC car, has been missing in action lately. I think there's no denying that.

[dimviii]

https://scontent-cdt1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/55736609_2120492631403272_8733755845399019520_n.jp g?_nc_cat=101&_nc_ht=scontent-cdt1-1.xx&oh=3ac0dbdc5c0762f850f77b41a42fa017&oe=5D4E8CAC

[dimviii]

Loeb error at ss 1
https://www.facebook.com/franck.pasqualini.3/posts/1467433106721567

[dnb]

Evans self confidence would be justified if he had 45 seconds lead instead of 4,5. Or if there had been any real reasons to believe that he is that much more faster than Ott that he shouldnt be worried and could beat him easily. Today neither of them were probably at their limit, Evans didnt have any complaints as much as i remember, Ott had some minor issues with cows, pacenotes, rhytm and damper. Overall - i dont know who will be faster tomorrow but based on todays performances, i wouldnt say neither of them has any reason to dismiss other as threat.

Self confidence is always justified. Why would somebody give up before trying?

[AnttiL]

What the hell happened to that Lappi who occasionally terrorized the scene in 2017?

And had great fun all along! Who else cracks a joke in the car when it goes 170 km/h?


He didn't get kicked from the team, quite the opposite actually.

True, but before that he was made very uncomfortable in the team.

[stefanvv]

Ott said that he expects good fight and he has to push hard to beat Evans. IMHO this shows respect toward Evans and is more in line with todays performances. Evans self confidence would be justified if he had 45 seconds lead instead of 4,5. Or if there had been any real reasons to believe that he is that much more faster than Ott that he shouldnt be worried and could beat him easily. Today neither of them were probably at their limit, Evans didnt have any complaints as much as i remember, Ott had some minor issues with cows, pacenotes, rhytm and damper. Overall - i dont know who will be faster tomorrow but based on todays performances, i wouldnt say neither of them has any reason to dismiss other as threat.

Yeah it'll be great fight for sure. Unlike some gravel events though now Evans has been in the worse starting position (he didn't complain though), especially in the morning loop. I don't think he wants to be arrogant, even if smashes everyone to pieces in a single rally, he knows there is still lot to do, doesn't seem like that type of character, making a joke or two is fine, but not humiliating anyone.
I'll enjoy the show tomorrow and hopefully we'll see them both in the first 2 places.

[Allez Andruet]

True, but before that he was made very uncomfortable in the team.

That's equally true, but it might have been unintentional. Might have. Atleast from the team principal himself.

[denkimi]

And had great fun all along! Who else cracks a joke in the car when it goes 170 km/h?

I do.
I have this kind of rule that whenever there is a long straight where we will hit the limiter, the copilot has to tell a joke.
But preferably a short one. :p

[Allez Andruet]

I have this kind of rule that whenever there is a long straight where we will hit the limiter, the copilot has to tell a joke.
But preferably a short one. :p

We have one in Finland that you could easily use in that kind of situations.

- mitä Kimmo Kinnunen näki saunassa?
- isänsä Jorman.

It's short and can be counted as joke.

Ok, sorry for that but it's been a long day. Let's have a good day of rallying tomorrow. Good night.

[Berke]

Stupid question: Why didn't Evans honked to acknowledge Meeke that he was behind? Would it be impossible to hear? WRC cars do have horns right? Or maybe flashing headlights would draw his attention in the mirrors?

[Farbar1]

Stupid question: Why didn't Evans honked to acknowledge Meeke that he was behind? Would it be impossible to hear? WRC cars do have horns right? Or maybe flashing headlights would draw his attention in the mirrors?

I thought the Rally Safe technology now used in WRC alerted the crew whenever another car was in close proximity. It is certainly capable of doing that.

[EstWRC]

Good morning guys! Michelin doesnt want to give the tyre info for us!

Hell of a day ahead for the drivers!

Longest day of the year!

[EstWRC]

here itis

#tyre info - Day 2 morning

All Michelin @OfficialWRC drivers with 5 MICHELIN Pilot Sport H5

[mknight]

Isn't this same/similar stage as the one where Lefevbre and Latvala crashed in last year? (from looking at the map)

[EstWRC]

yep, the same

[dimviii]

good morning guys!

https://www.twitch.tv/motorsporttvde

[N.O.T]

good morning guys!

https://www.twitch.tv/motorsporttvde

don't post it all the time, they might report it and take it down. Once is enough then you can pm people if they want it.

[EstWRC]

Loeb with a very good pace so far, he won this stage last year

[mknight]

Yeah from the onboard Loeb really looks to be on it.

[bigattack]

Great onboards with pacenotes totally ruined by the verbal diarrhea wrc+ team again...keep it for the breaks between the stages please..

[er88]

Poor time from Jari

[er88]

Oh look..., another strong time from a Hyundai!

[EstWRC]

Citroens still struggling

[dimviii]

Tanak flying!

[mknight]

Oh look..., another strong time from a Hyundai!

Looks good so far, but there are quite a few cars to go trough. It also was good stage for both Loeb and Hyundai last year:
https://www.ewrc-results.com/results/44258-corsica-linea-tour-de-corse-2018/?s=160652

[tomhlord]

What's going on with Teemu?

[Lead]

Something seemed to bother Teemu

[tomhlord]

Wow, so close on splits, nice to see Loeb up there and the Hyundai competitive. Tanak on a flyer.

[EstWRC]

Evans has taken all the time back

[stefanvv]

wohooo, will make the day interesting

[EstWRC]

the long one will be deciding anyway, next one is short

[er88]

Great opening stage. Hope this battle continues, Evans really impressing

[Eli]

Beautiful stage to start the morning, tense battle ahead of us, hope it will stay that way the whole day.

[mknight]

Citroen still bad though.

[surdna]

This year so far 2–0 to Tänak vs MSport drivers. Hopefully Battle of Corsica is not decided by a puncture or some other shit

[doubled1978]

When I saw that first split I feared a bit that Tanak was away, but fair play to Evans...

[AnttiL]

the long one will be deciding anyway, next one is short

Short and fast. The long one is also mostly slow and narrow, with that gravel part. We’ll see punctures on that stage...

[AnttiL]

Great onboards with pacenotes totally ruined by the verbal diarrhea wrc+ team again...keep it for the breaks between the stages please..
Did you know onboards can be watched from wrc+ in full length? Any stage, any driver, whenever you want.

[er88]

That gravel part is a worry, I'd be amazed if any of the wrc drivers escape without a puncture.

[EstWRC]

its really worrying indeed

i dont want rally to be decided by such things

[KKS]

Is that part too bad? We have on rally Germany gravel parts and it goes quite well. I didn't remember punctures for WRC guys from that section in Germany. Why it would be a problem here? A bit another gravel with rocks?

[AnttiL]

Without seeing it it's impossible to tell. Another factor could be the sharp edge of the fresh tarmac (the section supposedly has half fresh tarmac, half removed old tarmac).

Also remember the tyres have been driven for about 70 km at that point, and so far everyone has gone with only 5 tyres.

[Rallyper]

Morning guys. Now had breakfast and going all in for todays stages...

[Rallyper]

Latvalas car sliding too much? Maybe he should soften rear suspension two clicks.

[EstWRC]

Lappi very fast but he was very good on those last year too

[KKS]

Road seems get gripper with every car

[EstWRC]

and Lappi has given all the time away, Ogier so slow in first split

[KKS]

One year and Citroen turns from hyper oversteer car to very-very understeer car)))

[AnttiL]

Lappi's car was visibly understeering unlike the previous cars.

[mknight]

really strange driving from Ogier (visually)

[EstWRC]

SUninen fastest in first split! Go Teemu!

[Rallyper]

Ogier has problems with his Citroen.

[er88]

Big shock what we're seeing in relation to the Citroens (Ogier especially). Really surprising

[AnttiL]

SUninen fastest in first split! Go Teemu!

Some faster guys coming after him ;)

[KKS]

Meeke done another punishment to his former team and it's GREAT! :)

[AnttiL]

Good stage from Suninen!

[er88]

Lol at the look Suninen gave Molly!!


Giving Adamo a run for his money in serving fierce looks to her

[TypeR]

quite an ass.. answer I changed settings and thats it. second stage in a row just driving away without saying anything

[Tauri_J]

That gravel part is a worry, I'd be amazed if any of the wrc drivers escape without a puncture.

how long is that section?

[AnttiL]

how long is that section?

4 km according to Tänak on the WRC Regroup podcast interview

[EstWRC]

4 kms

[Rallyper]

quite an ass.. answer I changed settings and thats it. second stage in a row just driving away without saying anything

However to expect him to tell details to her isn´t either an option.

Some say stupid questions get stupid answers. That´s his way of answering.

[AnttiL]

Tänak flying

[mknight]

However to expect him to tell details to her isn´t either an option.

Some say stupid questions get stupid answers. That´s his way of answering.

"We made some changes"

... following this what would you ask?

EDIT: I kind of wonder why drivers try to be so "secretive", all other WRC drivers do setup changes all the time so they know the usual things to change anyway. Furthermore different cars react differently to setup changes and his teammates will likely know (latest by service) what was changed anyway. So it only affects fans.

[jonkka]

Evans set to lose the lead

[EstWRC]

what a great fight!

[KKS]

Engine on Evans Fiesta sounds a bit weird ... or it's just for me.

[Rallyper]

Evans saving tyres.

[mknight]

Looks like Hyundai really did make some improvement on tarmac (first time since 2017 Spain). This kind of stage used to be a disaster in the past now they looked good in the corners and decent times. Loeb much slower than last year but seems to be improving.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Evans saving tyres.

But losing time. Big gamble.

Good job by Suninen agsin.

[Rallyper]

But losing time. Big gamble.

Good job by Suninen agsin.

But long stage to come. After that we talk losing time ... ;)

[dimviii]

Evans saving tyres.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D25PAf_WkAAc5fc.jpg

[er88]

Looks like Hyundai really did make some improvement on tarmac (first time since 2017 Spain). This kind of stage used to be a disaster in the past now they looked good in the corners and decent times. Loeb much slower than last year but seems to be improving.The drivers and team told you they brought better upgrades pre Spain 2018, it's your fault you didnt listen or chose to ignore it (because Mikkelsen was so bad in Spain).

They haven't brought further upgrades here, although have maybe fine tuned setup better. The next updates are coming later in the year.

[T16]

But losing time. Big gamble.

Good job by Suninen agsin.

Eddie, you can’t judge the gamble until he’s played his hand. Come on... keep up.

[Mk2 RS2000]

quite an ass.. answer I changed settings and thats it. second stage in a row just driving away without saying anything

As I am sure you realise at the end of a stage when you have laid your balls on the line, communication with the world at large is not a priority

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Eddie, you can’t judge the gamble until he’s played his hand. Come on... keep up.

Shhhh.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

No -one is judging yet just said its a gamble.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

MSport
@TeemuSunine Under strict instruction to finish the rally and get the experience, our young Finn still has the monkey on his shoulder 🐒 #WRCLive https://t.co/SHMCGy7st5

[rallyfiend]

As I am sure you realise at the end of a stage when you have laid your balls on the line, communication with the world at large is not a priority

And yet, surprise, surprise, it's actually part of his, you know, job... What he gets paid for.

[dimviii]

Bonato retired,Camilli still dominating winning all stages so far

[mknight]

The drivers and team told you they brought better upgrades pre Spain 2018, it's your fault you didnt listen or chose to ignore it (because Mikkelsen was so bad in Spain).

They haven't brought further upgrades here, although have maybe fine tuned setup better. The next updates are coming later in the year.

Yes they did bring changes to front suspension to Spain 2018 and I was the one who pointed it out here, even referencing to the homologation documents. (in times of internet this is searchable history, so stop lying)

The point is that it did not bring any noticeable improvement for any of the drivers. Neuville and Sordo did typically 2-4 times in 2017 Spain(on dry tarmac) and did the same in 2018 (mostly in wet), and finally dropped to 4-5 when it got dry.

Now there is a noticable improvement, without info on what precisely it is caused by. (only big change was new engine in AUS/Monte)

[wrc2017]

Ogier pre event press release quote... ' Our pre-event testing was really productive and the feeling was good in the car.'

Very strange... it's obviously something they don't understand, otherwise they should have been able to fix setup at service.

[KKS]

Some slow pace visually from Meeke after 1.30min on stage

[KKS]

Ogier pre event press release quote... ' Our pre-event testing was really productive and the feeling was good in the car.'

Very strange... it's obviously something they don't understand, otherwise they should have been able to fix setup at service.
Same as Meeke pre season`17 interviews with same result

[EstWRC]

At what km the gravel part is ?

[TypeR]

At what km the gravel part is ?

should be around 28km