WRC Croatia Rally 2021

[Lead]

Neuville looks so calm from outside, but he must be boiling inside about his tyre choice this morning. The choice who may cost him win in this rally.

[meh]

What I like with this Fourmaux example - he shows that it's possible to start rallying late and be successful. That growing up in and between rally cars is not the only possible way (like Rovanperä and Solberg for example).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Adrien FOURMAUX @AdrienFourmaux

I'll give you my secret : the Fiesta is awesome !

[mknight]

Gryazin in the lead.

I was expecting him do be fast on the smoother/wider stages.

Østberg is much faster than I thought before the rally though. Given his tarmac history.

[denkimi]

Neuville looks so calm from outside, but he must be boiling inside about his tyre choice this morning. The choice who may cost him win in this rally.

i'm not sure solely it's due to the tyres. tanak has the same tyres and is a lot faster than neuville. I think road position has a lot to do with it.

[EstWRC]

impressive from Formaux!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Four-midable !

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Good run Ogier, extending the lead again.

[Pršljen]

Ogier made a huge step towards victory here. Still a lot left to drive but he usually doesn't miss chances like this one.

[EstWRC]

Day2 so far https://www.ewrc-results.com/leg/67214-croatia-rally-2021/?leg=2

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Big tyre mistake by Hyundai - Adamo wont be happy.

[Mirek]

Neuville's rear tyres clearly not working.

[denkimi]

Neuville's rear tyres clearly not working.

i wonder why he hasn't crossed them like they do when they have the wrong tyres in monte.

[Mirek]

i wonder why he hasn't crossed them like they do when they have the wrong tyres in monte.

Breen had them crossed. Maybe Neuville felt that it was less predictable variant. Hard to say.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Brake problem for Neuville too.

[Mirek]

Gryazin stopped on the start apparently. Stage interrupted.

Gryazin must be pretty angry because his tyres will get cold while Ostberg did the stage in normal order.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Delay due to fans.

[TypeR]

if Fourmaux keeps showing such pace, it makes Suninen harder to convince Wilson to get the seat..
Morning loop - all top5 times

[Rallyper]

if Fourmaux keeps showing such pace, it makes Suninen harder to convince Wilson to get the seat..
Morning loop - all top5 times

Fourmaux and Suninen will be good combination. GG isn´t.

[EstWRC]

The story of the season so far

One rally Toyota good, the other one Hyundai good and vice versa.

But yeah the first 3 rallies are quite specific. We will see from Portugal onwards.

[TypeR]

Fourmaux and Suninen will be good combination. GG isn´t.

GG and €£$ is a good combination for M-Sport :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Stage resumed.

[Rallyper]

GG and €£$ is a good combination for M-Sport :)

Agree. But should only give third car. However I´m aware of MW financial problems as well.

[dimviii]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezuli0oXMAMWr1X?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

[bisak]

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


lol massive amount of people there


Please lock up yourself harder, keep existing and let us celebrate life here

[Mirek]

Clearly people standing behind the rails at the castle were removed during the pause. They are not there anymore.

[dimviii]

Ostberg took the lead again

[Mirek]

Ostberg took the lead again

That was rather easy to predict once they let Gryazin cool his tryes on the start with that pause...

The people at the castle were there all the time. They were obviously waiting not to spoil the TV stream and then interrupted the stage at a pretty stupid moment throwing a pitchfork in the fight of Ostberg and Gryazin. Not a very sensitive decision from whomever took it.

[EstWRC]

Please lock up yourself harder, keep existing and let us celebrate life here

whats the issue for you?

im not there and it isnt a problem for me, i laughed bcs the public is banned an then you see huge amounts of people on the stage

[Lead]

Please lock up yourself harder, keep existing and let us celebrate life here

Calm down. Everything is fine.

[Lead]

I wonder is Mikkelsen driving in his own safe speed, or is he trying to put up the top times? Because so far he is still behind Gryazin and Ostberg speed wise.

[mknight]

I wonder is Mikkelsen driving in his own safe speed, or is he trying to put up the top times? Because so far he is still behind Gryazin and Ostberg speed wise.

We haven't seen any comments on tires or anything, but as standings are he has little reason to push anywhere except PS and he has good reasons to stay on the road with 8 points for current position + PS.

That said (top) Fabias seem to have a lot of setup issues this year. Kopecky for example suddenly stuggles on tarmac after driving the car forever on same roads.

[dimviii]

throwing a pitchfork in the fight of Ostberg and Gryazin. Not a very sensitive decision from whomever took it.
throw the pitchfork before Gryazin pass?

[MikeD]

GG and €£$ is a good combination for M-Sport :)

But Gus Greencrap is a waste of a car that can be in better hands by another driver who can score Manufacturer points for the Team.

[MartijnS]

Kristensson his crash: https://youtu.be/GpXiUSjpokc

[dimviii]

WRCWings
@llluis555

Average speeds on the fastest (intermediate) portion of #RallyCroacia SS11:
Katsuta 133,6 km/h
Evans 132,9 km/h
Ogier 132,2 km/h
Neuville 132,0 km/h
Fourmaux 131,7 km/h
Tänak 131,6 km/h
Greensmith & Loubet 129,7 km/h
Breen 129,5 km/h
#WRClive #WRCliveES #WRC

[Mirek]

They let him standing on the start line for ten minutes while Ostberg started nornally.

[meh]

But Gus Greencrap is a waste of a car that can be in better hands by another driver who can score Manufacturer points for the Team.

Gus is paying for his drive, it does not take car away from anyone else. No Gus money, no car to watch. Not our or anyone else's business how someone spends his money.

[Lead]

Kristensson his crash: https://youtu.be/GpXiUSjpokc

Strange accident, looks like he lost his brakes completely or a huge pacenote error.

[Mirek]

That said (top) Fabias seem to have a lot of setup issues this year. Kopecky for example suddenly stuggles on tarmac after driving the car forever on same roads.

Kopecký didn't have any, setup issues. He made a stupid mistake plus he has waaaay less testing and event kilometers this year. Setup was fine.

[MikeD]

@meh,

I disagree. This is a World Championship class, and Gus Greensmith is not close to being a driver that is fit for that class, so let's all hope that his seat soon go to someone who can actually drive fast, not be slow and still crash all the time and instead have a good driver that can score valuable points for M-Sport Ford.

[mknight]

Kopecký didn't have any, setup issues. He made a stupid mistake plus he has waaaay less testing and event kilometers this year. Setup was fine.

In Hungary he had (own words). In CZ he was slower both vs Gryazin and Mares and co. than before. Both before and after his wheel problem.

[focus206]

Another bad tyre choice by Hyundai... now the only way for them to catch the 2 Toyota is troubles, but Toyota rarely go for bad tyres, Ogier and Evans rarely make mistakes. They can only hope for punctures

[Sulland]

Who has the last say in tyres: Team or Drivers or does it differ from team to team?

[Mirek]

In Hungary he had (own words).

I forgot about Hungary, sorry.


In CZ he was slower both vs Gryazin and Mares and co. than before. Both before and after his wheel problem.

Mareš and co. drove what? Except for Cais all drove Fabias :) Kopecký was slower compared to Gryazin because he didn't drive any single event for half a year while Gryazin did already four or so in 2021 at that time including WRC and because of his own mistake. Also don't forget that Polo got a large (and last) upgrade over the winter.

[Rallyper]

Kristensson his crash: https://youtu.be/GpXiUSjpokc

Ooosshhh!!! Completely pacenote error I guess.

[TypeR]

@meh,

I disagree. This is a World Championship class, and Gus Greensmith is not close to being a driver that is fit for that class, so let's all hope that his seat soon go to someone who can actually drive fast, not be slow and still crash all the time and instead have a good driver that can score valuable points for M-Sport Ford.
no Gus = one less Fiesta WRC on the startlist (at least this year). That simple.

Manu title doesn't bring millions to teams (if any at all) as in F1.

[Rallyper]

Manu title doesn't bring millions to teams (if any at all) as in F1.

Which is crazy. FIA should rethink once or twice.

[dimviii]

Kristensson fiesta

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

[dimviii]

“Basically yesterday we f***** up just partially, this morning we f***** up totally,” Hyundai team principal Adamo admitted to DirtFish.

https://dirtfish.com/cars/hyundai-needs-miracles-to-catch-up-after-strategy-error/

[focus206]

“Basically yesterday we f***** up just partially, this morning we f***** up totally,” Hyundai team principal Adamo admitted to DirtFish.

https://dirtfish.com/cars/hyundai-needs-miracles-to-catch-up-after-strategy-error/

At least he recognizes they've been taking wrong tyre choices more often than not, between one curse word and the other

[PLuto]

In Hungary he had (own words). In CZ he was slower both vs Gryazin and Mares and co. than before. Both before and after his wheel problem.

Yes, he had issues with setup in Hungary. He was not driving his own car, they were testing on wet (when race was on dry) and he was using Pirelli instead of usual Michelin...

[Rallyper]

Stage delayed... safety issues.

[meh]

Stage delayed because of crowds on "no spectators" rally may hit back in the future.

[PLuto]

INFORMATION ABOUT SS 13
Stage started, delay is 6 minutes.

[Pršljen]

Stage delayed because of crowds on "no spectators" rally may hit back in the future.

I was afraid that something like this is going to happen and hopefully it won't affect the Croatia rally future, first event is always the hardest one.

Things can only get worse tomorrow when the stages take place in much more approachable areas for spectators.

It's underway, finally.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Toyotas all taking 2 spare wheels this afternoon, others one.

[meh]

Now it must be some road cleaning I guess or Taka takes it carefully.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Gus going well on the splits.

[rp]

Stage delayed because of crowds on "no spectators" rally may hit back in the future.

There seems to be no control of the spectators. They announced that tickets for spectators are not for sale and some other instructions to keep social distances etc., but at the same time allowed everyone to go to the stages. It´s not very dangerous, when you are outside, but some rules should be observe at the WRC level! The other thing I noticed that the people are not using the masks at all...

[dimviii]

Tyre choices for this afternoon's loop

Ogier/Loubet/Katsuta/Evans:
6x hard compound



Tänak/Neuville/Fourmaux/Breen/Greensmith:
5x hard compound

[Mirek]

The opening downhill especially now with the dirt is quite an adrenaline fun.

[dimviii]

lets see now with same compound the speed of hyundais

[TypeR]

Fourmaux is just impressive! :eek:

[EstWRC]

lets see now with same compound the speed of hyundais

Evans +2.4 to Tänak in spl1

[dimviii]

"We made a mistake on the choice of tires for the morning, it's called a mistake. We have to take our responsibilities, I'm not trying to blame another person (note: Pirelli, in this case, who advised this choice followed by Hyundai). We had all the information, we simply made the wrong choice. We must try to push during the afternoon in order to get closer ", explained Andrea Adamo, the boss of the team Hyundai, at our microphone.

Four specials are on the menu for the second part of the day, the same four passages as those taken this morning.
https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/rallye/wrc/detail_wrc-croatie-thierry-neuville-et-le-mauvais-choix-de-pneus-j-ai-vraiment-galere-ce-matin?id=10748133

[Fast Eddie WRC]

The opening downhill especially now with the dirt is quite an adrenaline fun.

Like skiing says Fourmaux.

[Pršljen]

There seems to be no control of the spectators. They announced that tickets for spectators are not for sale and some other instructions to keep social distances etc., but at the same time allowed everyone to go to the stages. It´s not very dangerous, when you are outside, but some rules should be observe at the WRC level! The other thing I noticed that the people are not using the masks at all...

You can't control the entire area, people will get there and you can't really stop them. Also, Croatia has very liberal measures, wearing mask was never mandatory in open area, only social distance.

[Mirek]

Like skiing says Fourmaux.

That came to my mind too (I love skiing myself too) :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Tanak slower than Fourmaux !

[EstWRC]

thats a mega time again fro Formaux on this stage

[Mirek]

At the very end of the stage before the kicking bridge there is a point where Fourmaux reached 184 km/h while Tänak only 179 km/h. For sure it was not an RPM limiter (Fourmaux did 196 km/h at the beginning of the stage in the first run).

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Wow Evans, what the...

EE 'Not brave enough'.

[Lead]

You can see from Ogier's face he is pushing... :D

[EstWRC]

Thierry is back in the game it seems, mistake from Ogier?

[meh]

Ogier seems to have punture?

edit: puncture it is.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Puncture Ogier late on.

[Mirek]

Puncture for Ogier? Very strange at the end of the stage...

Confirmed, FR.

[EstWRC]

Adamo wanted miracles and theyre coming into his way


Thierry back in the game!

[meh]

Top3 now in 10sec again.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Greensmith ends up 4th fastest.

[Mirek]

Great combeack from Neuville and also great stage from M-Sport!

[meh]

Not the best stage for Toyota, best Toyota was Evans, 6th.

[TypeR]

Two Fords in top5 on a long proper stage!

[dimviii]

the impressive is while Neuville and Ogier pushed,Fourmaux is almost on par.

[EstWRC]

man if Hyundai only had the right ones in the morning, what a difference

[focus206]

Wow, things got interesting again. Good thing for Ogier that he has two spares and still a decent advantage. Now Thierry can take Evans, but I hope he won't overpush...

[Mirek]

Gryazin with a puncture? Looked very slow on the stream.

EDIT: No power steering for Gryazin!

[TypeR]

It's so painful to even watch Gryazin in trouble..

[EstWRC]

the impressive is while Neuville and Ogier pushed,Fourmaux is almost on par.

look at this, ok Ogier had a puncture but he is ahead of the other guys! https://www.ewrc-results.com/leg/67214-croatia-rally-2021/?leg=2

[bluuford]

Emil told that in pacenotes was flat hairpin, instead it was very tight hairpin uphill.. so, yes, mistake in notes for Kritensson.

[Sulland]

So good to see that the Fords are up fighting for stagewins again! We need 3 brands with competitive material!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

look at this, ok Ogier had a puncture but he is ahead of the other guys! https://www.ewrc-results.com/leg/67214-croatia-rally-2021/?leg=2

And Fourmaux 2nd ;)

[mknight]

Wasn't powersteering a common issue for Polo R5 when it came out or am I mixing it up with something?

[EstWRC]

And Fourmaux 2nd ;)

thats who i was talking about, not Ogier

[mknight]

So good to see that the Fords are up fighting for stagewins again! We need 3 brands with competitive material!

Hard to say if it's the upgrade(s) or the dry tarmac (long time since there was a dry tarmac rally)

[dimviii]

look at this, ok Ogier had a puncture but he is ahead of the other guys! https://www.ewrc-results.com/leg/67214-croatia-rally-2021/?leg=2

i was talking about the last stage.We knew that everybody was on the right tyres,we knew that Ogier and Neuville pushed hard,and just before Ogiers puncture he was midstage 1 sec slower from him.

[dimviii]

Wasn't powersteering a common issue for Polo R5 when it came out or am I mixing it up with something?

if i remember right was fiesta when first introduced r5

[Mirek]

Wasn't powersteering a common issue for Polo R5 when it came out or am I mixing it up with something?

Yes, it was. It's also because it has a large castor on the front axle which brings bigger forces in the steering.

[Mirek]

if i remember right was fiesta when first introduced r5

IMHO every car with a large castor is more prone to power steering issues (especially at the beginning). M-Sport cars are the case as well. Škoda had such issues at the beginning with the S2000 as well but they changed the suspension layout for the R5 (while VW continued to use it).

[SubaruNorway]

Yes, it was. It's also because it has a large castor on the front axle which brings bigger forces in the steering.

It used to be electrical also, so a lot of resets mid stage, now it's hydraulic if i'm not wrong

[meh]

Taka this time 0.8sec faster than last time when he won the stage. Over more than 12min. Rocket science.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Hopefully this WRC car debut will impress Red Bull enough to pay for Fourmaux WRC drives for the rest of the season.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Loubet off.

[EstWRC]

Taka again stage win?

[Rallyper]

Loubet off!!!

[meh]

Taka again stage win?

If I need to bet, then no. I think there is some road cleaning to do for him this time.

But I don't mind if he can do it again :)

[mknight]

Hopefully this WRC car debut will impress Red Bull enough to pay for Fourmaux WRC drives for the rest of the season.

On tarmac sure. But on gravel he still has a way to go. Both in terms of speed and experience. Better use the money to drive as many gravel events as possible.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Evans taken some brave pills..

[meh]

... and will come some Toyota's stage I think.

[Lead]

Katsuta really loves this stage.

[meh]

If I need to bet, then no. I think there is some road cleaning to do for him this time.

But I don't mind if he can do it again :)

and I guess at the moment, that I could loose this bet. Taka - the King of Croatian forest roads ;)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Chapeau Katsuta-san !

[EstWRC]

the times are so close between the TOp4 for second stage in a row, awesome

[Mirek]

Gryazin with working power steering on this stage.

[meh]

Quite a "swing" in Katsuta vs Fourmaux times

SS13, 20.30km, Fourmaux 20.3sec faster
SS14, 20.77km, Katsuta 8.7sec faster

[Mirek]

JWRC leder Koči reportedly stopped for some times before being able to continue.

[Mirek]

Some more delay as it seems. Greensamith started only when Katsuta was in finish.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Has Taka found another favourite stage? His SS15 time is a second quicker than the first run.

[Lead]

It seems there was a rock pulled out on the middle of the road after that left hander, it looked like Loubet wanted to change the a line a little bit, but speed was too fast so he lost the control of the car. Just my theory :)

[PLuto]

Some more delay as it seems. Greensamith started only when Katsuta was in finish.

It is only because of missing Loubet after crash on previous stage. With 3 min gaps any missing car means huge break...

[EstWRC]

second stage in a row TOP4 guys were separated by 3.1 secs

[Pršljen]

What a great rally!

[cali]

Haha I love that part no spectators allowed... :D

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Looks like the die was cast with the wrong tyre choice by Hyundai this morning. No way to take that time back everything else being equal.

Neuville trying his best though.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzvzfL-XsAArQDB?format=jpg&name=4096x4096

[AnttiL]

Nice to see Chris Ingram showing his true pace now that he doesn't have to worry about crashing anymore :rolleyes:

[Mirek]

Pretty wild driving from Taka :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Nice to see Chris Ingram showing his true pace now that he doesn't have to worry about crashing anymore :rolleyes:

After 16 months out of the car this is basically a glorified test. He needs to get all the seat-time and kilometres he can here. No point in going crazy trying to compete with the others yet and throwing it off.

[PLuto]

Nice to see Chris Ingram showing his true pace now that he doesn't have to worry about crashing anymore :rolleyes:

I think he can show much more. This is clever drive...

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Greensmith faster than Breen (and Fourmaux) on this stage.

Very disappointing from the Irishman who loves tarmac.

Breen Craig - Nagle Paul
"I actually don't know what to tell you. I think it's quite clear that I am far away from where I should be."

[EstWRC]

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

Katsuta and Formaux the drivers of the day for me, Suninen again showing good pace today

Breen very disappointing to be honest, same goes for Loubet

All the rest the same story what i wrote yesterday with the exception that Tänak today showed a lot better speed today, like i said he will eventually get there.

[itix]

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

Katsuta and Formaux the drivers of the day for me, Suninen again showing good pace today

Breen very disappointing to be honest, same goes for Loubet

All the rest the same story what i wrote yesterday with the exception that Tänak today showed a lot better speed today, like i said he will eventually get there.I'm curious, why has Sunninen shown pace?
He ought to be running away with it and Millner said before the rally he expected him to win to show off the pace of the rally 2 machine.

Not trying to be critical, just genuinely curious why we have such a different take on things.

[PLuto]

I'm curious, why has Sunninen shown pace?
He ought to be running away with it and Millner said before the rally he expected him to win to show off the pace of the rally 2 machine.

Not trying to be critical, just genuinely curious why we have such a different take on things.

Suninen is +- on pace of Ostberg and Gryazin. He lost yesterday about 40 with ditch excursion on SS 4 and also has 10 sec penalty. For me he is one of the biggest surprises of this rally.

[EstWRC]

I'm curious, why has Sunninen shown pace?
He ought to be running away with it and Millner said before the rally he expected him to win to show off the pace of the rally 2 machine.

Not trying to be critical, just genuinely curious why we have such a different take on things.

because he struggled with the R5 car in the past and the speed hasnt been the best, i definitely didnt expect him to run away

Team bosses always say a lot of things.

E: what Pluto said

[AnttiL]

Breen has been the biggest disappoinment of the rally for me. Tänak has been also disappointing because his usual standard is so high.

[Eli]

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

Katsuta and Formaux the drivers of the day for me, Suninen again showing good pace today

Breen very disappointing to be honest, same goes for Loubet

All the rest the same story what i wrote yesterday with the exception that Tänak today showed a lot better speed today, like i said he will eventually get there.

I think after what happened to him (Breen) this morning he lost the already small amount of confidence he had in the car, and mind you he hasn't done a tarmac event since Spain 2018, let alone with the i20 as this is his first time with the Hyundai on the sealed surface. I just hope he gets to do Ypres and get (some of) his confidence back (on Tarmac) over there. Regarding yesterday, I think he was overwhelmed a bit with the car, not being used to drive a WRC car on tarmac for such a long time, takes time to get back the feeling I guess, and he (& Hyundai) didn't have the best tyre choice to say the least.

I'm not trying to protect him or anything and I'm sure he's just as gutted as we are with his performance, but some rallies are like that, even when you look at Tanak this rally and compare him to last time out, he seems a bit like a fish out of water here. I just hope Thierry doesn't muck it up tomorrow and crash when he goes for some points (& positions). Also side-note, I'm guessing they're still getting used to those Pirelli's (and I'm sure it takes time after 10 years with Michelin on all 4 rims).

[Jarek Z]

Has Taka found another favourite stage? His SS15 time is a second quicker than the first run.

Must be a mistake in the live results system ;)

[PLuto]

Must be a mistake in the live results system ;)

Or he has found a shortcut ;)

[mknight]

Breen has been the biggest disappoinment of the rally for me. Tänak has been also disappointing because his usual standard is so high.

Hyundai on tarmac. Surely better than when Loeb still drove it but certainly not an allround easy to drive car.

[Mirek]

I think after what happened to him (Breen) this morning he lost the already small amount of confidence he had in the car, and mind you he hasn't done a tarmac event since Spain 2018, let alone with the i20 as this is his first time with the Hyundai on the sealed surface.

After Spain 2018 Breen did at least 17 asphalt events. Not with the i20 WRC but he was sitting in the car pretty much all the time.

[mknight]

I'm curious, why has Sunninen shown pace?
He ought to be running away with it and Millner said before the rally he expected him to win to show off the pace of the rally 2 machine.

Not trying to be critical, just genuinely curious why we have such a different take on things.

I also think Suninen is doing ok. Never expected him to be able to fight for the top here. Just behind the top 2 in speed is ok.
What Milner said was never realistic in the first place. Can't believe he actually meant it for anything else than motivation.

[Eli]

After Spain 2018 Breen did at least 17 asphalt events. Not with the i20 but he was sitting in the car pretty much all the time.

I'm aware of the fact he's done a lot of tarmac rallying during this period of time, but he said it himself yesterday, the whole experience feels alien to him and everything is coming much faster than in the i20R5/PoloR5/younameitR5.

Besides, there's a difference doing an ERC event (or a local championship event) with an R5 car and doing a WRC event with a WRC car against guys like Tanak, Neuville (who's done every tarmac event with the i20WRC since 2017), Ogier and Evans (who did compete in 2019 on the tarmac of Corsica & Spain).

[mknight]

After Spain 2018 Breen did at least 17 asphalt events. Not with the i20 WRC but he was sitting in the car pretty much all the time.

He did the Belgian rally last year in i20 WRC.

But he never got any good result in a WRC rally on tarmac, even when C3 was winning rallies on it with Meeke and Loeb. So I am not convinced of his tarmac skills in that kind of car.

[Mirek]

I'm aware of the fact he's done a lot of tarmac rallying during this period of time, but he said it himself yesterday, the whole experience feels alien to him and everything is coming much faster than in the i20R5/PoloR5/younameitR5.

Besides, there's a difference doing an ERC event (or a local championship event) with an R5 car and doing a WRC event with a WRC car against guys like Tanak, Neuville (who's done every tarmac event with the i20WRC since 2017), Ogier and Evans (who did compete in 2019 on the tarmac of Corsica & Spain).

You claimed he didn't do an asphalt event in last 2,5 years, I told you he did a lot of them.

Plus there is Fourmaux.

[Eli]

He did the Belgian rally last year in i20 WRC.

But he never got any good result in a WRC rally on tarmac, even when C3 was winning rallies on it with Meeke and Loeb. So I am not convinced of his tarmac skills in that kind of car.

Good point, I think if he gets to do another tarmac rally, we'll have a better idea of his tarmac skills. Now that he knows the car (wayyy) better than he did just a couple of days ago, and has some experience.

[Eli]

You claimed he didn't do an asphalt event in last 2,5 years, I told you he did a lot of them.

Plus there is Fourmaux.

I claimed he didn't do a tarmac event for 2.5 years with a WRC car on a WRC event.

As for Fourmaux, I have to say he's really impressed, and I really hope we'll get to see him more with the car this year (whether it's a tarmac or a gravel event).

[dimviii]

about Suninen imho i dont think that he is doing well.
He is not same fast as Ostberg/Gryazin,and he did the mistake under pressure.
When you are a wrc regular,thats not a good or ''ok'' result
If i was his manager i wouldnt be happy,as the target was to show fiesta r5 speed,and we clearly see that c3 and polo are faster.
Mikkelsen a bigger dissapointment too.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Adrien FOURMAUX

The feeling is unique. Today is just over and I can't wait to start tomorrow.

My cheeks hurt, I think I smiled too much today ! :)

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Ogier wheel change... oops !

https://twitter.com/mmalcevic/status/1385998628167245830?s=20

[focus206]

What a disaster of a tyre choice this morning by Hyundai, looking at Neuville's pace, they threw away a victory. Tomorrow's stages aren't short so it's not over, but still...
Finger crossed for Fourmaux to bring it home tomorrow.

[PLuto]

about Suninen imho i dont think that he is doing well.
He is not same fast as Ostberg/Gryazin,and he did the mistake under pressure.
When you are a wrc regular,thats not a good or ''ok'' result
If i was his manager i wouldnt be happy,as the target was to show fiesta r5 speed,and we clearly see that c3 and polo are faster.
Mikkelsen a bigger dissapointment too.

Did you followed stage times or you are only watching standings after SS 16?

[Mirek]

It's nice to see quite a proper Sunday with 80 km of stages.

[dimviii]

Ogier wheel change... oops !

https://twitter.com/mmalcevic/status/1385998628167245830?s=20

just imagine that he was working at suspension settings,or fixing repairing something...

[itix]

because he struggled with the R5 car in the past and the speed hasnt been the best, i definitely didnt expect him to run away

Team bosses always say a lot of things.

E: what Pluto said


Suninen is +- on pace of Ostberg and Gryazin. He lost yesterday about 40 with ditch excursion on SS 4 and also has 10 sec penalty. For me he is one of the biggest surprises of this rally.


I mean, if we take away his off road excursion of 40s he's still 20 seconds off the lead which is a lot in a tarmac rally.

Gryazin isn't blazingly fast normally and Østberg has respectable pace in RC1 machinery. So I'd expect him to be at least level with Østberg (and Østberg being Mr consistent has likely been safeing after Gryazins mishaps).

When Ogier was forced to run in S2000 machinery he was running away with every single rally and even mixing it in with RC1 machinery at the time.

Mikkelsen usually runs away compared to other RC2 as well (and why he doesn't here is a mystery to me).

We know Sunninen on good days can have rally winning pace in not very up to date Msport cars so I'm surprised he isn't quicker. That's my take, but hey. I'm not going to argue. I have been wrong before

[dimviii]

Did you followed stage times or you are only watching standings after SS 16?

of course i followed every stage.

[itix]

just imagine that he was working at suspension settings,or fixing repairing something...Hopefully they are smart enough to to shove the spare tyre underneath if they have to go under the car. I would never work on something propped up by one jack with a tiny base like theirs.

[Mirek]

I mean, if we take away his off road excursion of 40s he's still 20 seconds off the lead which is a lot in a tarmac rally.

He has a 10 seconds penalty ;)

But anyway this "if" scenario is always tricky. Ostberg didn't need to push after Gryazin lost time with the power steering and by pure speed Gryazin was likely the fastest. In the end what matters is the result in finish.

[dimviii]

Pierre-Louis Loubet
@PL_Loubet

Our first mistake of the weekend, no matter how small, forces us to retire for today
Disappointed face
The car has nothing but we couldn't get out of the ditch. We will analyze with the team what could have happened because at the moment I do not understand ... #WRC

[Mirek]

Pierre-Louis Loubet
@PL_Loubet

Our first mistake of the weekend, no matter how small, forces us to retire for today
Disappointed face
The car has nothing but we couldn't get out of the ditch. We will analyze with the team what could have happened because at the moment I do not understand ... #WRC

That was a pretty high speed off. The fact that the car was not damaged is nothing but luck.

That it looked weird I agree.

[Eli]

It's nice to see quite a proper Sunday with 80 km of stages.

Yes indeed, finally! next step, getting back to 350Km's of stages ;)

[itix]

That was a pretty high speed off. The fact that the car was not damaged is nothing but luck.

That it looked weird I agree.There was lots of bushes and undergrowth where he landed and they probably cushioned the blow. I could see a bit of body panel sticking up so it wasn't completely unharmed.

There was a dark patch on the asphalt where he went off. I was thinking gravel or oil or something like that.

[dimviii]

That was a pretty high speed off. The fact that the car was not damaged is nothing but luck.

That it looked weird I agree.

i saw a incar clip of the crash,and it seems really weird
here is an outise clip
https://twitter.com/GregorPavsic/status/1386012427578454016

[EstWRC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1yuSITNTW4

[Myrvold]

But Gus Greencrap is a waste of a car that can be in better hands by another driver who can score Manufacturer points for the Team.

But there is realistically no way for M-Sport to beat Hyundai or Toyota in the manufacturer championship regardless. So they will be third there no matter who they have in their car...



When Ogier was forced to run in S2000 machinery he was running away with every single rally and even mixing it in with RC1 machinery at the time.


You mean when they ran outside of SWRC as they used some parts as a test-thing for the VW entry the next year.


That was a pretty high speed off. The fact that the car was not damaged is nothing but luck.

That it looked weird I agree.

Was it not the section where the commentators thought he ran wide and almost off on the first run through the stage? It looked quite familiar, it might just be that he was a bit too eager there.

[EstWRC]

to my surprise, Ogier said in the media zone that he had 3 punctures today?

Looked pretty pissed off and said that already in Monte he said to Pirelli or team? something has to be done

[Eli]

to my surprise, Ogier said in the media zone that he had 3 punctures today?

Looked pretty pissed off and said that already in Monte he said to Pirelli or team? something has to be done

Well fortunately for him he's retiring this year, as for the other crews, they have until 2024(?) and only then maybe they'll have a chance to go back to Michelin (assuming we'll still have a championship).

[Mirek]

i saw a incar clip of the crash,and it seems really weird
here is an outise clip
https://twitter.com/GregorPavsic/status/1386012427578454016

Both the onboard and the outer view look like a wrong correction of a sudden oversteering slide to me. To me it looks like he felt his rear axle pushing him into an oversteering slide, gave counter input by the steering but it kicked him straight out.

[Mirek]

You mean when they ran outside of SWRC as they used some parts as a test-thing for the VW entry the next year.


They used new stuff like different dampers but they were according to the homologation. Otherwise they could not be allowed to start at all. Many teams use their own parts within the homologation, dampers are the most common case.

Also Abbring used the same car and he was never close to Ogier.

On the other hand at that time the S2000 were much closer to the WRC cars. The base design rules were same except somewhat stronger engine. Nowadays it's completely different world.

[PLuto]

Do you know why Taka is so fast in Croatia? For first time he has a new engineer from Czech republic :D

[dimviii]

"The performance is there. We are very close to the limit. We had some scares so we have to be careful to keep the car on the road. We pushed very hard during the afternoon. Despite the two Toyota spare wheels, they are able to go faster than us at times, so it looks difficult in pure performance, but the longest stage is yet to come and the profile of the stages on Sunday is different. risk but from time to time, you have to dare to go there. We also know that there are rallies on gravel afterwards so there is no point in being first on the road either. The goal is clearly to take as many points as possible here. If we don't win, we'll be content with 2nd or 3rd place, "also analyzed the current 3rd in the event, also second in the championship before arriving in Croatia.

https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/rallye/wrc/detail_wrc-croatie-thierry-neuville-il-faut-controler-le-risque-mais-de-temps-en-temps-il-faut-oser-y-aller?id=10748335

[dimviii]

And the Frenchman to back up his point: "It's a weakness of these tires, we had already announced it at Monte-Carlo. When it's a puncture lottery, it's not very fun. I die. three times in as many on the same tracks as everyone else, without feeling a particular impact. A single puncture costs us time, about ten seconds. The other two, the pressure is too low once we pass the line. finish of the special. There is certainly work to be done at this level. I am not reassured, in each special. We will try to remain positive because I hope that the success will be with us until the end of the rally . "

https://www.rtbf.be/sport/moteurs/rallye/wrc/detail_wrc-croatie-sebastien-ogier-assez-enerve-une-loterie-a-la-crevaison-ce-n-est-pas-tres-fun?id=10748338

[Mirek]

A puncture may also have something to do with the rims they use. After a tyre supplier change it wouldn't be that surprising.


As for the battle - the longest stage tomorrow is different than the rest of the rally. It may bring some surprise.

[SubaruNorway]

Is Ogier running too low pressure knocking them off the rim then? Seems like something you would do when the grip is so low

[dimviii]

https://youtu.be/Ra6Hz8DGFcA

[focus206]

As for the battle - the longest stage tomorrow is different than the rest of the rally. It may bring some surprise.

What's different about it? Twistier, faster?

[dimviii]

A puncture may also have something to do with the rims they use. After a tyre supplier change it wouldn't be that surprising.


As for the battle - the longest stage tomorrow is different than the rest of the rally. It may bring some surprise.

i cant understand why Ogier making so much noise about Pirelli tyres.
dont remember other crews to have punctures,or at least more punctures than in previous years.

[AnttiL]

As for the battle - the longest stage tomorrow is different than the rest of the rally. It may bring some surprise.

20 ascending hairpins and then a fast wide descend.

Power stage is also different and tricky, a narrow countryside road

[Mirek]

What's different about it? Twistier, faster?

Hairpins, hairpins, hairpins :)

[Mirek]

i cant understand why Ogier making so much noise about Pirelli tyres.
dont remember other crews to have punctures,or at least more punctures than in previous years.

I also don't see anything special but on the other hand we have seen in the past that Ogier likes to make noise about some things he does't like...

[drive]

Loubet crash two phone videos https://youtu.be/IKaEeYuUjOs

[focus206]

20 ascending hairpins and then a fast wide descend.

Power stage is also different and tricky, a narrow countryside road

Interesting to see if they'll be advantage Toyota or advantage Hyundai

[cali]

i cant understand why Ogier making so much noise about Pirelli tyres.
dont remember other crews to have punctures,or at least more punctures than in previous years.If you can recall Tänak had many punctures while at Toyota. They needed to change rims and suspension to get reliability but still punctures occurred. I suspect this is very car or setup specific.

Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

[doubled1978]

Both the onboard and the outer view look like a wrong correction of a sudden oversteering slide to me. To me it looks like he felt his rear axle pushing him into an oversteering slide, gave counter input by the steering but it kicked him straight out.

I agree something looked a bit strange, when I watched the onboard it almost looked like something broke. The inputs didn’t seem to match what was happening.

[Pršljen]

Hairpins, hairpins, hairpins :)

Yes, but the road is actually very flowing. However, it'll probably get very slippery in the morning.

Both stages will be packed with spectators, that's for sure. I hope there won't be any delayes because fo that.

[dimviii]

it almost looked like something broke.

thats what i thought too.


Rossel crash
https://youtu.be/qHQmvK2MNY8

[dimviii]

watch Neuville at a hot moment at first secs
https://youtu.be/08CZMvp_WN0

[mknight]

watch Neuville at a hot moment at first secs
https://youtu.be/08CZMvp_WN0

It was on allive from onboard. Last stage of morning loop not that far from finnish. Lucky, could have easily got a puncture or even knock out the wheel.

[dimviii]

https://twitter.com/RubnPerez/status/1386057898648907778

[Humber]

How did Ogier get the car back on the jack?

[wwbroe]

Good morning guys, exciting day ahead of us.:)

[EstWRC]

everybody with 6 hards except Formaux and Loubet with 4 hards and 2 softs


Morning

Thierry needs the win most i think, his last was 15 months ago, on Monte 2020

[dimviii]

Good morning guys!

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Morning all.

Big battle cant wait !

BTW, Loubet's car is fixed and he will continue today.

[mknight]

Is there any tyre fitting zone at some point or same tires for all 4 stages?

[EstWRC]

Is there any tyre fitting zone at some point or same tires for all 4 stages?

as i understood yesterday from estonian rallistudio they have to go till the end with these

[EstWRC]

and now suddenly we are at rally spain

this rally has everything

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Gus Greensmith @GreensmithGus

“It was a bit frustrating yesterday morning. The car was really good; I was just struggling a bit with the new notes. All I needed was a bit of a reset. I was told to just enjoy myself, and that’s so right – I’m still doing the best job in the world.” #WRC

[Rally Hokkaido]

Good afternoon, here. Looking forward to an exciting day, today!

[Mirek]

Good morning :)

I think that this stage can bring some differences. It's all about having the correct line.

[AnttiL]

and now suddenly we are at rally spain

this rally has everything

I actually think this stage is a lot like Rally Japan will be like.

Breen is again horribly lost

[AnttiL]

as i understood yesterday from estonian rallistudio they have to go till the end with these

Yes, 80 km is the maximum you can do with one set of tyres and these stages make up 78.5 km

[EstWRC]

Taka with great pace again

[Tom K]

Tanak puncture?

Wrong split.

[Rally Hokkaido]

Yes, 80 km is the maximum you can do with one set of tyres and these stages make up 78.5 km

Plus this stage and its repeat is 25km long, so tyre management will be vital, especially for those (looking at you, Ott) aiming for PS points.

[EstWRC]

seems wrong split

he has moved on the mapp all the time

[meh]

For me it seems, that with some missing splits time is displayed to wrong split. Like for Tänak at the moment 3rd split time is displayed as in 2nd split section and that's why this confusion. I'm talking about Live Maps view.

[Rallyper]

Morning! Let´s see what´s ahead today...

[TypeR]

Tänak so slow.. even losing to Breen

[EstWRC]

Tänak so slow.. even losing to Breen

he has no reason to push, on no mans land with his 4th place, just crusing to the end

[meh]

Tänak so slow.. even losing to Breen

Not fast enough for fight for top3, maybe saving tires for powerstage.

[Rallyper]

Tanak aiming for 5 p on PS.

[TypeR]

Well not so far away.. He should be there if Ogier, Evans or Neuville spins ormake mistake in the front..

[AnttiL]

Ogier losing 1.2 s to Evans on split 2, Neuville between them

[Tauri_J]

Tanak aiming for 5 p on PS.

No pace for max points

[EstWRC]

again Tänaks interview skipped

[AnttiL]

Ogier losing 1.2 s to Evans on split 2, Neuville between them

1.9s on split three

[AnttiL]

1.9s on split three

And 2.7 on split four. It gets really tight!

[Mirek]

A lot of understeering at the end for Ogier.

[Rallyper]

No pace for max points

Maybe. But aiming.

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Times even tighter now. This is going down to the wire !

[Rallyper]

Becs has problems pronouncing Torstein Eriksens name. (tåschtejn, not torrstajn...) :)

[Mirek]

Becs has problems pronouncing Torstein Eriksens name. (tåschtejn, not torrstajn...) :)

They pronounce a lot of names wrong :(

Gryazin really trashing Suninen and Ostberg on this one.

[wwbroe]

Another great stage time for Gryazin, now only 1,5 behind Suninen overall

[EstWRC]

was a really boring stage to be honest IMO, i mean the stage itself, the times very exciting between TOP3

PS seems to be very challenging and tricky

[Mirek]

was a really boring stage to be honest IMO, i mean the stage itself, the times very exciting between TOP3

PS seems to be very challenging and tricky

Yes, I also very much prefered the other stages.

[dimviii]

Gryazin really trashing Suninen and Ostberg on this one.
Ostberg has just to maintain the gap he has.
Suninen has to secure the second position,and he just cant.

[dimviii]

guys did you saw that?
dirtfishrally
@DirtFishRally
Damage for ⁦@SebOgier
⁩ on SS17
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzzFgJbXIAMx7ps?format=jpg&name=medium

[wwbroe]

guys did you saw that?
dirtfishrally
@DirtFishRally
Damage for ⁦@SebOgier
⁩ on SS17
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzzFgJbXIAMx7ps?format=jpg&name=medium
Really strange, didn't notice anything

[flat_right]

Guys, what is this? Haven't seen this but...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzzF3KWXMAA2sIE.jpg

[EstWRC]

what the hell when his happened?

[Mirek]

That was not on the stream at all. Some road section accident?

[EstWRC]

it seems the door is not gonna shut?

that seems quite an impact man

[dimviii]

unbelievable that at stage end didnt notice the damage.

[dimviii]

That was not on the stream at all. Some road section accident?

maybe

[flat_right]

Seems like... the loss on the stage was too small to happen it there. Maybe someone hit while crossing an intersection?

[Mirek]

Confirmed to be a road section accident.

[EstWRC]

on the way to SS1 already on road section according to estonian rallistudio

[wwbroe]

Rossel back in front of Ingram after this stage

[Tauri_J]

Looks like someone t-boned ogier

[TypeR]

if the door won't stay closed, is he allowed to continue?

[EstWRC]

if the door won't stay closed, is he allowed to continue?

well he already drove SS17

and in the past we have seen Latvala and Meeke driving without windscreen with goggles on

[TypeR]

https://www.upload.ee/image/13085196/ogier.jpg

[Lead]

Not the long one, but this stage will be decider.

[Tauri_J]

https://www.upload.ee/image/13085196/ogier.jpg

Looks fine to me

[dimviii]

too many traps at this stage.

[meh]

Oh, that "no spectators" rally probably have may more spectators, sorry, village people just breathing fresh air outside, than a lot of other rallies.

Really hope that there are no covid-bomb cooking in process.

[Mirek]

This stage is like watching a mix of several stages from Zlín/Vsetín area in here :D I like it!

[Pršljen]

Oh, that "no spectators" rally probably have may more spectators, sorry, village people just breathing fresh air outside, than a lot of other rallies.

Really hope that there are no covid-bomb cooking in process.

Well, Kumrovec is by far the biggest place where Rally Croatia is driven and it's Sunday, of course there'll be people.

Covid situation in Croatia is stable, people are on open air and surely there won't be any problems. People enjoy themselves, what's the problem?!

Great stage BTW.

[Portimao]

Oh, that "no spectators" rally probably have may more spectators, sorry, village people just breathing fresh air outside, than a lot of other rallies.

Really hope that there are no covid-bomb cooking in process.
Cause fuck all that covid bullshit, I fully support such behavior.

[KKS]

Well, Kumrovec is by far the biggest place where Rally Croatia is driven and it's Sunday, of course there'll be people.

Covid situation in Croatia is stable, people are on open air and surely there won't be any problems. People enjoy themselves, what's the problem?!

Great stage BTW.
Plus many people already got pass that.. so can enjoy half a year at least.
Seems "no spectators" means here "no foreign spectators, as possible"