WRC Croatia Rally 2021

[EstWRC]

i must say im pretty impressed with Suninen so far

[Mirek]

Nice sideways jump from Greensmith on the live now :D

[EstWRC]

Nice sideways jump from Greensmith on the live now :D

Gus:"if someone has picture of that, send it to me" :D

[er88]

Brilliant from Thierry so far. Tanak poor

[Katvala]

The cathttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210423/1e7eb99668a37b4623eb2f9ea357cd19.jpg

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[er88]

Mikkelsen's aim "to dominate the R5s" on every rally is going to pot.

Dominated by Lappi in Finland, then beaten on the 1st stage here by Gryazin and Ostberg, and then goes and breaks his suspension on the 2nd stage....

[Mirek]

The cathttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210423/1e7eb99668a37b4623eb2f9ea357cd19.jpg

Oioioi :D

[Mirek]

Gryazin with a broken rim from a jump landing.

[Tom K]

Big jump and 2 seconds before "departure" they change camera and we can see only face... Ech.

[mknight]

Mikkelsen's aim "to dominate the R5s" on every rally is going to pot.

Dominated by Lappi in Finland, then beaten on the 1st stage here by Gryazin and Ostberg, and then goes and breaks his suspension on the 2nd stage....

Aim is one thing, realism is something else. I am sure he was aware of the (lack of) realism when he said that. Point was (besides PR) that he didn't aim to "win" WRC2 "Tidemand" style. (wait for others to get punctures and enter overseas rallies with no competition).


I do find using one stage time with 0.2 and 2.2 sec difference as an argument kind of funny. Crash (however it happened) is of course perfectly solid argument.

[EstWRC]

great time by Mads!

[meh]

Aim is one thing, realism is something else. I am sure he was aware of the (lack of) realism when he said that.

Not 100% sure anymore about timing, but I think he was talking about this dominance before WRC2 got actual quality.

[AnttiL]

seems so or he just isnt saying again whats the issue, the first stage was good and also the first split of second stage, after that has started to loose a lot.

dont get why he only took hards

Could be the usual Hyundai on tarmac issue, or then problems in the car, or bad tyre choice. Or all of them.

[wwbroe]

All Live not working anymore over here:(

Edit: now working again

[wwbroe]

Mikkelsen with a time on stage 3, did he manage to restart?

[AnttiL]

Mikkelsen with a time on stage 3, did he manage to restart?

Probably got the wheel back in place, but they must have a lot of road penalties

[EstWRC]

Could be the usual Hyundai on tarmac issue, or then problems in the car, or bad tyre choice. Or all of them.

i mean he lost only 3 secs to Thierry on Rallye Sanremo after 80kms, now he loses already 23 secs after 30kms.

[Mirek]

Neuville on all hard on this one, same as Tänak.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Driver interview (with Fourmaux) between stages is something new.

[Tauri_J]

Neuville om all hard on this one, same as Tänak.

Probably was on 4 hards on ss3 too

[Mirek]

Big thumb up for the time schedule which gives the stages live one after another without large delays in between.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Probably got the wheel back in place, but they must have a lot of road penalties

2:10 - Late (13 min) at TC

[KKS]

Driver interview (with Fourmaux) between stages is something new.
Weather update ))

[KKS]

2:10 - Late (13 min) at TC
And +36min on SS2 as stage time

[PLuto]

Poor performance by Ingram

After one year and half of break without any competition it is not surprise. Also his target was not to fight for win from beginning, but to do as much km as possible to go back into rhythm.

[Jarek Z]

i mean he lost only 3 secs to Thierry on Rallye Sanremo after 80kms, now he loses already 23 secs after 30kms.

I don't know if it was posted here or not but here is Ogier almost off on the 1st stage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcXNpwKLMZA

[wwbroe]

I don't know if it was posted here or not but here is Ogier almost off on the 1st stage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcXNpwKLMZA
It was here before, same place as Kalle

[EstWRC]

Tänak admitted he didnt get the tyre working because of the surface changes

"no way to get the tyre working"

[AnttiL]

Big thumb up for the time schedule which gives the stages live one after another without large delays in between.

Yeah, and there's no stages overlapping each other either (forbidden in the rules now).

[Jarek Z]

Poor performance by Ingram

He is 5th in WRC3. If it is poor performance then what can you say about Lindholm and Arai?

[Mirek]

Taka spectacularly overshot a junction :D

[Jarek Z]

It was here before, same place as Kalle

Thanks for the info. I don't read all the posts. One sometimes has to work ;)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Fourmaux enjoying the Fiesta WRC !

[EstWRC]

i liek the new tyre graph on wrc plus

Morning loop: Neuville - superb, Evans and Ogier - good, Tänak - poor and wrong tyre choice, Breen quite okay so far to be honest

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Oof Gryazin...

[Lead]

Gryazin as always... on the edge

[Mirek]

Gryazin nearly off just before the finish...

[wwbroe]

Thanks for the info. I don't read all the posts. One sometimes has to work ;)

I understand, have to leave now also to go to work:)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Suninen fast but goes off.

[Mirek]

Suninen off

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Lucky to get back on.

[KKS]

Well done Teemu! Good escape

[bomber21]

Suninen off
Same place as Gryazin?

[Mirek]

Yes, left tight corner on a dirt just before the yellow board.

[mknight]

Same place as Gryazin?

Yes but while Gryazin only had half the car off the road Suninen jumped completely off at the very start of the corner.

Lucky he could get back at all.

[Rallyper]

Yes, left tight corner on a dirt just before the yellow board.

Direct after a slippy righthander...

[Rallyper]

He is 5th in WRC3. If it is poor performance then what can you say about Lindholm and Arai?

Well, Lindholm fastest on SS4... ;)

[urabus-denoS2000]

Welcome back after 6 years ;) It is sad we will not meet again...

Hello my dear friend! Well we are both still young, how can you say something like that? Plus I still have my trip to Barum to do!

On SS1 it was very tricky, but the top WRC guys are amazing. Formaux looked very impressive, more than the times suggest. The competition is R5 so close, Mikkelsen, Gryazin, Ostberg and Suninen looked amazing, along with some other R5 guys (Niki Mayr-Melnhof for example looked amazing and is showing impressive pace, looks like it paid off for him to drive the Croatian rallies a few years ago - he will be very familiar with Sunday's Powerstage form years ago). Also, I am really amazed by the JWRC guys - they really throw all the three cylinders have to give.

[drive]

https://twitter.com/i/status/1385539095955447811 Gryazin scare
https://youtu.be/n6uuSb6g4sI Ogier mistake and Rovanpera off

[bisak]

It's very laughable how they are trying to hide the amount of spectators on all live. The unnecessary zooming in and cutting of frames is absurd. I'm here alongside the stages and it's very refreshing to see so many people enjoying.

[ipe]

It's very laughable how they are trying to hide the amount of spectators on all live. The unnecessary zooming in and cutting of frames is absurd. I'm here alongside the stages and it's very refreshing to see so many people enjoying.
Yeah it feels like real Rally after so long. Great to see people having fun!

[AnttiL]

It's very laughable how they are trying to hide the amount of spectators on all live. The unnecessary zooming in and cutting of frames is absurd. I'm here alongside the stages and it's very refreshing to see so many people enjoying.

Cutting of frames?

[EstWRC]

so thats why the WRC+ hasnt worked today? :D

[Integrale]

It's very laughable how they are trying to hide the amount of spectators on all live. The unnecessary zooming in and cutting of frames is absurd. I'm here alongside the stages and it's very refreshing to see so many people enjoying.
Have fun there man, beautiful stages so far from what I've seen. I just watched the last SS from the morning loop and I didn't notice anything odd. If there's some sort of directive for cameramen or live directors to 'cut out' spectators, then I would understand that. We all know spectating a rally is in the outside air, the risk is small. But I can assure you that if they broadcast images with large crowds from this rally, there will be criticism. Nowadays perception is more important than facts (in the minds of the decision makers).

In short: I want to spectate Ypres Rally in august. And if my government sees large crowds in other rallies, there's a chance they won't allow it. Meanwhile, enjoy your rally!

[Mirek]

Cutting of frames?

That's an absurd claim from Bisak and besides of that IMHO there was nothing extraordinary regarding the production. They always do the this zooming. Crowds of spectators were clearly visible in the footage too.

[Integrale]

That's absurd claim from Bisak and besides of that IMHO there was nothing extraordinary regarding the production. They always do the this zooming.
Okay, that's why I didn't notice anything. I didn't have the tunnel vision. ;)

[EstWRC]

cuuuuuutttttt

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezp9SwCXIAodBta?format=jpg&name=large

[focus206]

Very interesting rally, I like these roads. I think we'll see some Toyota catching up soon. Also I'll be very surprised if won't see any more major mistake and/or puncture at the top, these are tricky roads

[meh]

Very interesting rally, I like these roads. I think we'll see some Toyota catching up soon. Also I'll be very surprised if won't see any more major mistake and/or puncture at the top, these are tricky roads

* Toyota catching up? Neuville did good morning, but there is no "Toyota problem" - 2. and 3. place are good ones.
* Any mojor mistake from top - you don'y consider Rovanperä, leader of the season at the moment, as a top driver?

[focus206]

* Toyota catching up? Neuville did good morning, but there is no "Toyota problem" - 2. and 3. place are good ones.
* Any mojor mistake from top - you don'y consider Rovanperä, leader of the season at the moment, as a top driver?

1 - catching up to Neuville
2 - read more carefully: I'd be surprised if we won't see ANY MORE major mistake from the top. I expect more mistakes.

[meh]

1 - catching up to Neuville
2 - read more carefully: I'd be surprised if we won't see ANY MORE major mistake from the top. I expect more mistakes.

Cofffee. I need more coffee.

[EstWRC]

Thierry Neuville: "It was a very challenging morning. Difficult conditions. I tried to take advantage of my starting place, drive cleanly and not make too many mistakes. and I'm happy to lead the rally. The afternoon will be even more challenging. "

Sebastien Ogier: "We were very close on the first attempt to land in the same ditch as Kalle. We knew this place was very slippery, but I was surprised that it was even slippery than the others. We let it a little wide, but got back on the track even though we broke the tire. We lost a few seconds, but luckily there was only one kilometer left, it wasn't the best start, I wasn't too confident in the second attempt, nor was I happy with the setup, we made some changes that we didn't try during the test - they're about differentials. to pick up the pace in the afternoon. "

Ott Tänak: "I have no idea whether we made the right or wrong choice of tire. We couldn't try anything else. I can only say that it's all a little new, something we didn't experience during the test. The road surface looks completely different here. dry and the tire should work. We need to look deeper. The pavement changes so much that it's hard to find confidence. The afternoon needs a different approach. I'm not saying we have the wrong choice of tires, but the feeling was definitely not right.

Elfyn Evans: "Changing circumstances, changing holding, changing everything. It's not been easy. We're on the track with a slightly different tire strategy. It's hard to say which tactic was right. I wasn't sure about my choice all the time." The Welshman added that it is even more difficult to choose tires in the afternoon.

[Lead]

With that dirt pulled on the road from first pass, afternoon will be even more trickier. You will have to be careful where to push or where to back off.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezp2wYRXEAIwidP?format=jpg&name=large

[EstWRC]

everybody with 5 hards except Formaux with 4 hards and 2 softs.

E: Neuville with a spin

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Neuville half-spin on the gravel...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Neuville 7s slower than this morning with the spin.

[EstWRC]

still a mega time from Neuville

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Ogier slower despite TN spin & Evans too !

[er88]

Neuville is driving very well

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow, Ott is hot now !

[EstWRC]

again the last km has been very fast from Neuville

[Rally Hokkaido]

Ott is 3 secs up at the split

[Rallyper]

Talking about spectators. Lots of´em. But still I think it´s good and they seems to behave standing ways from each other.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzqRndYWYAE31PV?format=jpg&name=medium

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzqRoSOXsAEZHjj?format=jpg&name=medium

[EstWRC]

Then lost lots of time - puncture?

Thierry has been faster than everyone there.

and amazing time anyway from Neuville if you think he had a half spin and lost 3-4 secs

[Mirek]

Then lost lots of time - puncture?

Neuville had a spin, later in the stage he cought up.

[BigWorm]

Thought Tänak was really neat in that final muddy hairpin

[Fast Eddie WRC]

GG beats Breen by 0.1s.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Gus has the pace on shorter stages. Let's see how he goes on the next one.

[Mirek]

Gus has the pace on shorter stages. Let's see how he goes on the next one.

I can't help myself but seeing his onboard footage feels very wrong for me. I know the time was good now but...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

5th fastest stage time by Fourmaux. First of his target of three.

[EstWRC]

I can't help myself but seeing his onboard foootage feels very wrong for me. I know the time was good now but...

same here, very rapid and every moment i hold my breath that he will go out

[Fast Eddie WRC]

@Jonne Halttunen

Unfortunately we went off in SS1, we didn’t manage to get in the corner, it was like ice in this place.

Boys are trying their best to fix the car for tomorrow. We will know tonight if we can restart in super rally !

Anyway thanks for your kindly support.

[Mirek]

@Jonne Halttunen

Unfortunately we went off in SS1, we didn’t manage to get in the corner, it was like ice in this place.

Boys are trying their best to fix the car for tomorrow. We will know tonight if we can restart in super rally !

Anyway thanks for your kindly support.

If they repair that for tomorrow I am voting for sending a Spanish inquisition team there for a check :D

[Lead]

Kajetanowicz with nice pace, same as Ostberg

[spiderem]

against all odds, this might be Neuville's year... seems quite composed and driving efficiently. Maybe having a new codriver has brought a new dynamic in the car. Rally (and season) is still long.

[EstWRC]

Tänak again slow on this one

[meh]

Seems that Tänak is going to loose a lot again.

[EstWRC]

against all odds, this might be Neuville's year... seems quite composed and driving efficiently. Maybe having a new codriver has brought a new dynamic in the car. Rally (and season) is still long.

thats the difference IMO....he took the first two rallies cautiously and took good points cause he couldnt push, and that really pays off now and now they feel both comfotable in the car and can push

[mknight]

against all odds, this might be Neuville's year... seems quite composed and driving efficiently. Maybe having a new codriver has brought a new dynamic in the car. Rally (and season) is still long.

Main reason why Neuville has 0 titles and not 3 is that he makes mistakes, both when under pressure and when not. Very early to tell if he changed with regards to that after 2 rallies and a few stages.

[EstWRC]

both Breen and Ott lost 3 secs to Thierry between split1 and split2


E: and Tänak also again between split3 and split4

[Rallyper]

I think Ott should change away from that rockethelmet... :)

[EstWRC]

Toyotas very fast on this one this time

[TypeR]

I think Ott should change away from that rockethelmet... :)
Could it affect the visibility on such narrow and bumpy roads in the woods..?

But true, it looks really weird..

[meh]

But true, it looks really weird..

... but more space for ads ... :)

[EstWRC]

i really doubt its about the helmet, everyone are having off rallies time to time, Ott this time

E: what was the sayin again, you win championships with the bad rallies or smth like that?

[Mirek]

Fourmaux nice nose-up jump :D

[Mirek]

Neubauer reported to have crashed.

[dimviii]

guys havent follow close due to work,so sorry if you have seen it again
https://twitter.com/RallyingUK/status/1385551937270161413

[dimviii]

Sami Pajari ss3
https://twitter.com/FIAJuniorWRC/status/1385543219824500737
and here how it happened
https://twitter.com/RallyingUK/status/1385570536810455046

[dimviii]

haha Adamo at his best.

https://twitter.com/DirtFishRally/status/1385558724610244609

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzpxJHQX0Agz4N0?format=jpg&name=medium
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezqku9NWQAE-h1X?format=jpg&name=medium
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzpyOdgWQAYiqy-?format=jpg&name=large

[tc10a]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzpxJHQX0Agz4N0?format=jpg&name=medium

Looking at those pictures, all this announcements about spectator restrictions days before the event was quite useless.

[EstWRC]

Neuville 6 faster than in the morning

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Breen couldnt have a much better WRC1 car tarmac debut than here - the roads are so similar to the bumpy, yumpy, dirty, narrow lanes of Ireland.

[Tom K]

Arai calls SOS on SS6

[EstWRC]

sick dog on the road!

[Mirek]

Evans big moment there!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Argh Evans that was scary !

[KKS]

crazy run by Ott, but time not great... seems that Hyundai didn't work

[Rally Hokkaido]

Arai calls SOS on SS6

was travelling slowly after the second split, then stopped after the fourth one.

[EstWRC]

crazy run by Ott, but time not great... seems that Hyundai didn't work

like he said just himself, "its better than in the morning but could be a lot better"

he is hesitating a lot IMO on the dirty places

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzqvYHzWEAImKN4?format=jpg&name=small

[Mirek]

was travelling slowly after the second split, then stopped after the fourth one.

There are photos from his accident on ewrc-results.com. It looks almost certainly as a back injury from a bottom hit.

SS6 Red-flagged.

[dimviii]

There are photos from his accident on ewrc-results.com. It looks almost certainly as a back injury from a bottom hit.

SS6 Red-flagged.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzquuqIXoAIzmyd?format=jpg&name=large

[Mirek]

Biiiig moment for Fourmaux

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Great action watching Fourmaux.

[dupanton]

A shame the option to have no commentary is gone. They are really bad and add nothing. They are talking about Pajari crash at the moment Ostberg passes that corner. But they just don't have a clue it was there... I've been working all day and just seen that Pajari clip, and I recognized the spot straight away...

[Katvala]

A shame the option to have no commentary is gone. They are really bad and add nothing. They are talking about Pajari crash at the moment Ostberg passes that corner. But they just don't have a clue it was there... I've been working all day and just seen that Pajari clip, and I recognized the spot straight away...The German commentator speaks less and is less of a bother! I swapped between this and the English when they got too talkative with things of no interest.

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[dimviii]

waiting Mikkelsen to be faster.

[Mirek]

The German commentator speaks less and is less of a bother! I swapped between this and the English when they got too talkative with things of no interest.

Let's try. Thanks


waiting Mikkelsen to be faster.

42 minutes down... hardly any reason to push.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

A shame the option to have no commentary is gone..

Sad to hear this, I was going to go back to WRC+ to get away from the comms on my (free) BT Sport. :(

[EstWRC]

this is am amazing stage

[Mirek]

Neuville hit a bank quite hard but luckily finished the stage ok.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

This is the sort of stages you would get if WRC went to N. Ireland for 'Rally GB'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzMcjmYD8cA

[EstWRC]

Neuvile starting have some moments in the second loop but nothing major

[matija_1988]

De Cecco https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210423/c4f8ff4b146cf352a1e628c9e0ca0f18.jpg

Poslano sa mog M2007J17G koristei Tapatalk

[EstWRC]

TOP3 covered just by 8 seconds!!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

0.3s between the Toyota team-mates after Day 1 !

[EstWRC]

i wish Tänak had shown at least this kind of pace in the morning loop....gave 6.4 secs away with afternoon loop compared to 25secs with morning loop

[dupanton]

Kristensson stopped :(
Was having a good Rally2 debut

[dupanton]

And Rovanpera can't restart tomorrow

[Mirek]

And a hit in the bank also from Greensmith.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

My tweet got a mention on WRC+ :D

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Another Top 5 stage time for Fourmaux.

[TypeR]

impressive!
Fourmaux faster than Breen on SS8!

[dimviii]

yes Fourmaux is doing very good!
for a guy with so few entries even with r5 machinery,is very impressive!

[Oliverk]

More people in this stage than whole Rally Australia.

[EstWRC]

so day 1 done and TOP3 covered just by 8 seconds.

Neuville - super, very very good speed like always from him on tarmac, on second loop wasnt so fast but i guess it was bcs the conditions were more even.
Ogier - the old fox has habit these days to get up to speed stage by stage, reminds me of Monte this year and still is my pickem for the win - afternoon loop was very good from him.
Evans - like always, quietly minding his own business but very good day also from him.
Tänak - 2015 Rally Corsica springs to my mind, where Evans was second and Tänak 10th overall, 3 minutes down from his teammate Evans. i have noticed These kind of tarmac rallies doesnt suit him at first, but he gets up to speed eventually.
Breen - good debut with this car on such a level, exactly the performance i expected.
Formaux - super debut IMO, very good stage times.
Greensmith - quite okay actually for his standards IMO, at least trouble free day.
Loubet - same as Greensmith
Katsuta - many mistakes again unfortunately.

[Myrvold]

yes Fourmaux is doing very good!
for a guy with so few entries even with r5 machinery,is very impressive!

It was fun to listen to WRC All Live talking about how good this was for Greensmith, as he is lacking experience, that he is so close to such a big talent as Fourmaux. Anything to make Greensmith look better?

[dimviii]

lol thats a good one!

Eyes of Rally
@eyesofrally
Kalle is forgiven #zerofootprint

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzpJj01XEAA3VDV?format=jpg&name=900x900
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzpJj04WQAEHiAU?format=jpg&name=medium

[Mirek]

It was fun to listen to WRC All Live talking about how good this was for Greensmith, as he is lacking experience, that he is so close to such a big talent as Fourmaux. Anything to make Greensmith look better?

IMHO They are quite often doing quite a disservice for British drivers.

[dimviii]

Gary Boyd KiwiWRCfan
@KiwiWRCfan

virtual #WRC drivers points at end of day Friday

Neuville 35 + 25 = 60
Ogier 31 + 18 = 49
Evans 31 + 15 = 46
Tanak 27 + 12 = 39
Rovanpera 39+0= 39
Breen 16 + 10 = 26
Katsuta 16 + 2 = 18
Greensmith 6 +6 = 12


edit Kalle from leader to 4th-5th!

[dimviii]

Tom Kristensson
@KristenssonTom
We've been forced to stop!

We hit a small rock and then hit a bigger one which took out the cooler. Me and David are okay and we will most likely restart tomorrow again
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzrD1BjXsBYiM-6?format=jpg&name=small

[dupanton]

Anyone read an explanation about what happened to Mikkelsen. I just watched his onboard from SS2.
Car seems very twitchy from the beginning, already a big moment shortly after the start.
Than later in the stages (this start around 9min) he first went of slightly with an obvious bang that bend/broken his rear right suspension. Bit later he goes wide again with a crabbing car, hits something again and fully brakes the suspension and goes off. He tries to continue, spins again and then stops to repair.

[focus206]

so day 1 done and TOP3 covered just by 8 seconds.

Neuville - super, very very good speed like always from him on tarmac, on second loop wasnt so fast but i guess it was bcs the conditions were more even.
Ogier - the old fox has habit these days to get up to speed stage by stage, reminds me of Monte this year and still is my pickem for the win - afternoon loop was very good from him.
Evans - like always, quietly minding his own business but very good day also from him.
Tänak - 2015 Rally Corsica springs to my mind, where Evans was second and Tänak 10th overall, 3 minutes down from his teammate Evans. i have noticed These kind of tarmac rallies doesnt suit him at first, but he gets up to speed eventually.
Breen - good debut with this car on such a level, exactly the performance i expected.
Formaux - super debut IMO, very good stage times.
Greensmith - quite okay actually for his standards IMO, at least trouble free day.
Loubet - same as Greensmith
Katsuta - many mistakes again unfortunately.

Toyota is looking good on asphalt, Hyundai should be worried... Neuville is doing good so far, but it won't be easy to keep the 2 Toyota behind.
Tanak in my opinion should play it smart and settle for 4th place if he doesn't have confidence, ready to pick up a podium if any of the top 3 has trouble, which is a good probability. Scoring well on your worst days, instead of DNF, makes a huge difference at the end.

[EstWRC]

Toyota is looking good on asphalt, Hyundai should be worried... Neuville is doing good so far, but it won't be easy to keep the 2 Toyota behind.
Tanak in my opinion should play it smart and settle for 4th place if he doesn't have confidence, ready to pick up a podium if any of the top 3 has trouble, which is a good probability. Scoring well on your worst days, instead of DNF, makes a huge difference at the end.

agreed and thats what he was doing today. not pushing if you dont have the confidence.

he can only gain a position if somebody in the front hits a trouble. 32 is a big loss to get back by pure speed, impossible.

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11X9RD8i0qc

[dimviii]

Fourmaux jumping
https://twitter.com/AdrienFourmaux/status/1385636359810035717

[mknight]

Anyone read an explanation about what happened to Mikkelsen. I just watched his onboard from SS2.
Car seems very twitchy from the beginning, already a big moment shortly after the start.
Than later in the stages (this start around 9min) he first went of slightly with an obvious bang that bend/broken his rear right suspension. Bit later he goes wide again with a crabbing car, hits something again and fully brakes the suspension and goes off. He tries to continue, spins again and then stops to repair.

Well after the small off in the grass it's kind of clear what happened cause you can hear the bang. What is weird is how the car behaved many times before in right corners (same direction as the one where the off happened).
Either some setup/technical issue or something with tires. It seems to get better after a few minutes though... and then he has the off.

Also interesting they fixed it and had "faster than road speed" times in the remaining stages of the loop.

[Myrvold]

Still nothing form SS6 and on post-Arai?

[dupanton]

Well after the small off in the grass it's kind of clear what happened cause you can hear the bang. What is weird is how the car behaved many times before in right corners (same direction as the one where the off happened).
Either some setup/technical issue or something with tires. It seems to get better after a few minutes though... and then he has the off.

Also interesting they fixed it and had "faster than road speed" times in the remaining stages of the loop.

Exactly my toughts, car behaves weirdly... You can indeed hear 2 clear bangs on his first 2 offs, so that is obvious like you say.
If the replaced the part (maybe they have a track rod or something in their car) it's not that strange. Just replacing it roadside when you don't have the tools, skills nor practice of a mechanic, can take quite some time.

[PLuto]

Still nothing form SS6 and on post-Arai?

Notional times for SS 6 finally added - https://rally-base.com/2021/croatia-rally-2021/?ssId=6101

[dimviii]

watch how much dirt there was

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzrWDXiXEAYoJNi?format=jpg&name=small

De Cecco

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzrU0XkWEAw7gOf?format=jpg&name=900x900


Neubauer

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzrUr--XEAIFZUN?format=jpg&name=900x900

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whuD4Tb4rsc

[AnttiL]

Gary Boyd KiwiWRCfan
@KiwiWRCfan

virtual #WRC drivers points at end of day Friday

Neuville 35 + 25 = 60
Ogier 31 + 18 = 49
Evans 31 + 15 = 46
Tanak 27 + 12 = 39
Rovanpera 39+0= 39
Breen 16 + 10 = 26
Katsuta 16 + 2 = 18
Greensmith 6 +6 = 12


edit Kalle from leader to 4th-5th!

Good road position to Portugal ;)

[AnttiL]

so day 1 done and TOP3 covered just by 8 seconds.

Neuville - super, very very good speed like always from him on tarmac, on second loop wasnt so fast but i guess it was bcs the conditions were more even.
Ogier - the old fox has habit these days to get up to speed stage by stage, reminds me of Monte this year and still is my pickem for the win - afternoon loop was very good from him.
Evans - like always, quietly minding his own business but very good day also from him.
Tänak - 2015 Rally Corsica springs to my mind, where Evans was second and Tänak 10th overall, 3 minutes down from his teammate Evans. i have noticed These kind of tarmac rallies doesnt suit him at first, but he gets up to speed eventually.
Breen - good debut with this car on such a level, exactly the performance i expected.
Formaux - super debut IMO, very good stage times.
Greensmith - quite okay actually for his standards IMO, at least trouble free day.
Loubet - same as Greensmith
Katsuta - many mistakes again unfortunately.

I think Neuville, Ogier and Evans have been doing what we expected them to do. Super fast, every stage, all the time.
Tänak has been a bit behind them except for SS5. Maybe he is struggling with the Hyundai on tarmac?
Breen is also a bit lost. These stages should suit him, but he's just losing time on every stage. Also struggling with Hyundai?
Fourmaux has been superb on his WRC debut on a difficult rally.
Greensmith has also been above his usual level, difficult to say is it because of the new engine, new co-driver or full tarmac rally (he was also relatively good in Deutschland 2019)
Loubet has been the usual Loubet, but none of the surprise pace like in Monte and Arctic, no mistakes either.
Katsuta has been below his usual level.

[Integrale]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyjGBUrmL0

Some nice spots from today

[SubaruNorway]

Do they use salt on the roads in winter? Maybe that's why the section Rovanperä went off was so slippy as it makes the roads more dirty and not much rain yet to clean them

[PLuto]

Do they use salt on the roads in winter? Maybe that's why the section Rovanperä went off was so slippy as it makes the roads more dirty and not much rain yet to clean them

Lot of roads in Croatia are very slippery. It is also because of type of tarmac.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzsPvq0WYAg88YK?format=jpg&name=small

[dimviii]

#CroatiaRally Tyre info:
OGIER/FOURMAUX/KATSUTA/EVANS/GREENSMITH:
5x hard compound

TÄNAK/NEUVILLE/BREEN:
2x hard compound, 3x soft compound

LOUBET:
4x hard compound, 2x soft compound

[wwbroe]

Good morning guys, so all three Hyundai's with same tyrechoice this morning.

[matija_1988]

Good morning from SS11/15 https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210424/0d397da8635738de274946c4989900b1.jpg

Poslano sa mog M2007J17G koristei Tapatalk

[wwbroe]

Good morning from SS11/15 https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210424/0d397da8635738de274946c4989900b1.jpg

Poslano sa mog M2007J17G koristei Tapatalk

Goog morning, and have a great day out there.

[Mirek]

Do they use salt on the roads in winter? Maybe that's why the section Rovanperä went off was so slippy as it makes the roads more dirty and not much rain yet to clean them

The reason why the local asphalt (especially old one) is so slippery is that they used limestone gravel for it. You can be sure as hell that the real fun starts when it rains.

[Lead]

Looks like sunny day ahead of us.

[wwbroe]

Isn't stage 9 not supposed to be started yet, no images on all live?

[Mirek]

Nicky Mayr-Melnhof retired with broken engine.

[wwbroe]

Now live;)

[Mirek]

Tommeke told me few days ago that this stage was crazy. So let's see :)

[Rallyper]

Morning guys.

[Eli]

I don't recall the starting order of day 2 on tarmac events is reversed for the crews, I mean, drivers down the leader-board will make it polluted to the cars in front. I thought only gravel events do that.

[meh]

WRC+ stream plays nice and smoothly or freezes out?

[Eli]

WRC+ stream plays nice and smoothly or freezes out?

For now playing nicely, just can't shut up the commentary.

[Päss1928]

WRC+ stream plays nice and smoothly or freezes out?

Freezing like yesterday, close to unwatchable, have to refresh constantly.

[TypeR]

WRC+ stream plays nice and smoothly or freezes out?
nice relaxing orange worm moving around in a white circle :)

[Mirek]

For now playing nicely, just can't shut up the commentary.

For me it's playing ok and per an advice from Katvala I swirtched to German commentary. It's not that annoying.

[EstWRC]

what happened with Breen?

[SubaruNorway]

what happened with Breen?

Hit the curb in the silly roundabout at the start i guess, Loubet nudged it

[EstWRC]

Tänak cant even beat Gus and Formaux in the splits....

[KKS]

Loubet soft kiss a curb on a roundabout at the beginning ... assume Breen touch them harder and broke a wheel/cause a puncture

[EstWRC]

not the fastest beginning for Ogier also

[Eli]

Tänak cant even beat Gus and Formaux in the splits....

At least he didn't get a puncture 100 meters into the stage :/ and lost 2 minutes for it.

[EstWRC]

At least he didn't get a puncture 100 meters into the stage :/ and lost 2 minutes for it.

he has upped his tempo now, fastest so far between spl1 and spl2

[TypeR]

lol, Fourmaux beating Tänak with huge 4.8s

[EstWRC]

Ogier going for ittttttt

[dimviii]

lol, Fourmaux beating Tänak with huge 4.8s

and Evans

[EstWRC]

Neuville +7.3 at spl2

[EstWRC]

not the best morning for hyundais

[Rallyper]

Smth wrong with Neuville? This is not normal drive.

Edit: wrong tyre choice! How can it happen?

[meh]

F*cking WRC+ just can not handle the visitor-load. Does not work even when watching m3u8 stream directly, because it's failing loading junks (information about new pieces of stream).

[dimviii]

Smth wrong with Neuville? This is not normal drive.

Edit: wrong tyre choice! How can it happen?

it happens Per!
Fourmaux mentioned that he lost the tyres towards the end,and he is on hards.Go figure now with Hyundais choice.

[EstWRC]

again Hyundai fail with tyre choice, unbelievable

[er88]

Class drive from Fourmaux.

[T.Maanteiden kuningas]

It´s rallying?

[KKS]

Can't understand how 3 softs play a role here for Hyundai wrong tyre choice. They all struggle with hard yesterday, couldn't warm enough and now 3 softs and still can't warm tyres and make them work?

[Mirek]

M-Sport likely again with the longest gearbox by the way. Fourmaux reached 196 km/h in the downhill after the start.

[dimviii]

again Hyundai fail with tyre choice, unbelievable

next stage is again 20km long...

[Mirek]

Can't understand how 3 softs play a role here for Hyundai wrong tyre choice. They all struggle with hard yesterday, couldn't warm enough and now 3 softs and still can't warm tyres and make them work?

The tyres work with the suspension and transmission, not alone. If they didn't find the optimal combination of settings and tyres in testing they may not be able to find it during the rally.

[EstWRC]

next stage is again 20km long...

they just have to survive this loop, nothing to do

Toyota 1-2 already now

[dimviii]

Gryazin now 2,3 sec from Ostberg.
Suninen +12 at stage from Gryazin...

[Mirek]

Kristensson stopped again.

[EstWRC]

what choice Loubet had? losing quite a lot to Katsuta already

[Mirek]

Badiu also stopped.

[Rallyper]

it happens Per!
Fourmaux mentioned that he lost the tyres towards the end,and he is on hards.Go figure now with Hyundais choice.

I know. But it´s a fail, anyway.

[EstWRC]

man everybody losing hugely to Taka

[dimviii]

M-Sport
@MSportLtd

SS9 #WRC2: Our reigning @FIAJuniorWRC
Champion has unfortunately gone off the road on the first stage of the morning. Both driver and co-driver are okay, but their Saturday has come to an early end. We’ll share more information from @KristenssonTom
as we get it #MSPORTERS

[Rallyper]

M-Sport
@MSportLtd

SS9 #WRC2: Our reigning @FIAJuniorWRC
Champion has unfortunately gone off the road on the first stage of the morning. Both driver and co-driver are okay, but their Saturday has come to an early end. We’ll share more information from @KristenssonTom
as we get it #MSPORTERS

Meeehhhh...

[KKS]

it's a Toyota stage :)

[Rallyper]

Katsuta rocket on SS10!!

[meh]

Now I wonder more how much road position actually plays role here...

[SwissMichael]

Damn I am impressed with Fourmaux (#TheRealDoc) ... what an impressive debut in a WRC car. It's still mainly Finland and France spitting out those talents.

And jesus Gus Greensmith is for sure not improving. He is both slow and crash prone!

[EstWRC]

Neuville already +8 in spl1

[dimviii]

even Evans slower from Taka at second split

[meh]

O/A Toyota 1-2 it is.

[EstWRC]

not a bad stage from Tänak at all this time comparing to other split times so far

[Katvala]

Katsuta had a massive time in here

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[Rally Hokkaido]

Now I wonder more how much road position actually plays role here...

With Taka, I think it is more of a confidence thing. Unless he had a major setup change that worked. Consider his times versus Greensmith . On both days they had similar road position. Yesterday times were similar except where Taka made a mistake. On SS10 he is 1 sec/km faster!

[EstWRC]

Katsutaaaaaaaaaa


superb

[Rallyper]

Are there different compunds for the Hard tyres, to choose from? Or same compound?

[dimviii]

wow Neuville +14,6 unbelievable..

[Mirek]

Are there different compunds for the Hard tyres, to choose from? Or same compound?

15-20 years ago yes, now not anymore.

[Rally Hokkaido]

A bit of history has just been made. I think we would have to go back to 1980s Safari Rallies to find a WRC stage win by a Japanese driver (excluding SSS). EDIT: I should check that he hasn't won a mixed up stage two years ago....

[EstWRC]

wow Neuville +14,6 unbelievable..

https://www.ewrc-results.com/leg/67214-croatia-rally-2021/?leg=2

[cali]

Can't understand how 3 softs play a role here for Hyundai wrong tyre choice. They all struggle with hard yesterday, couldn't warm enough and now 3 softs and still can't warm tyres and make them work?Today's roads and surface is also different. Weather also warmer. It all plays a role.

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

[Rally Hokkaido]

Fierce battle between Mads and Gryazin now!

[PLuto]

A bit of history has just been made. I think we would have to go back to 1980s Safari Rallies to find a WRC stage win by a Japanese driver (excluding SSS). EDIT: I should check that he hasn't won a mixed up stage two years ago....

What about last year Monza?

[EstWRC]

lol massive amount of people there

[Rallyper]

lol massive amount of people there

And not even decent distance between them... :)

[dimviii]

Kristensson

http://forum-rallye.com/uploads/monthly_04_2021/post-157-0-33617000-1619253905.jpg

[Portimao]

Do you also get the feeling watching Rally Croatia it's a mixture of Corsica and Monte Carlo?

[EstWRC]

Do you also get the feeling watching Rally Croatia it's a mixture of Corsica and Monte Carlo?

and germany

[Mirek]

Kristensson

http://forum-rallye.com/uploads/monthly_04_2021/post-157-0-33617000-1619253905.jpg

It's not visible, Dimitris. At least for me.

[PLuto]

It's not visible, Dimitris. At least for me.

For me it works perfectly ;)

[Mirek]

Do you also get the feeling watching Rally Croatia it's a mixture of Corsica and Monte Carlo?


and germany

Yesterday's stages were very similar to our Rallye Český Krumlov or Rallye Šumva/Vltava (ERC Historic) bar that completely different asphalt compound of course. Today's stages are not so anymore.

[EstWRC]

i must say its pretty boring now after Neuville fell out of the competition for the win, at leas so far

[Katvala]

i must say its pretty boring now after Neuville fell out of the competition for the win, at leas so farNeuville is back on it now! Fastest on split

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[EstWRC]

Neuville with the fastest split suddenly

[SubaruNorway]

Bloody hell, the amount of people...

[Katvala]

Bloody hell, the amount of people...Yeah, it's surreal to see

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[Katvala]

Most top drivers having a sideways moment in this stage. I have a feeling we will see an off today

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[EstWRC]

man Neuville with couple of moments again

[Mirek]

Gryazin in the lead.

[wwbroe]

Another good time for Suninen

[meh]

As it is pause now, you can play with that:
https://security.elarlang.eu/detect-wrc-alllive-video-stream-address.html

Maybe streaming WRC+ problems got solved anyway, but for me it's working with that now.

[Mirek]

Bulacia and Rossel both in troubles.

[Rally Hokkaido]

What about last year Monza?

Of course. That was the mixed up stage I was trying to recall.

[EstWRC]

all stage wins today by Toyota and by 3 different drivers