Crystall ball predictions 2023

[AnttiL]

It's time again. Copypasted from last year:

5 predictions per person (please exercise some self-discipline in sticking to just 5)
Predictions need to be specific/measurable
Award for most of 5 predictions correct
Honour for the most extreme prediction that turns out to be correct

Deadline is 18th January, the last day to put predictions is the day before Monte starts.

[AnttiL]

1. Rovanperä WDC but not as easily: decided at the last rally
2. Tänak will retire four times from the lead from a technical problem
3. Huttunen's first WRC start will be Finland, where he wins WRC2
4. All WRC events will have over 300 km of stages on the itinerary
5. Dirtfish will write at least five articles praising the greatness of Saudi-Arabia

[Rallyest]

1. Tänak WDC, decided before last rally.
2. Hyundai Manufacturer champions.
3. Lappi will win atleast 1 time.
4. Going for the extreme one with this one. Loubet in the top 3 driver standings at the end of the year.
5. Breen wont be on the podium in any of his starts.

[TypeR]

1. Loubet gets a podium
2. Rovanperä manages to get 2 wins
3. Hyundai takes manus title
4. Tänak takes at least 4 wins + WDC (and finnish media keeps whining about him)
5. Best WRC2 crew will have more WRC points than last Rally1 crew

[djip]

1.Evans will be WDC (I know it's a bold one but i am voting for consistency when the top 3 will fight tooth and nail and crash here and there (Neuville) + mechanical gremlins (Tanak))
2-Hyundai will announce it is pulling out in 2025 to go LeMans
3- Rossel wins WRC2 (wishful thinking !)
4- Breen rediscovers his mojo and scores a couple podiums (this is my bold prediction !)
5- The new Clio Rally 3 is miles ahead of the Ford

[jcevc]

1. Evans WDC
2. Lappi without win(s)
3. Fourmaux without win(s) in WRC2
4. Toyota manu champion
5. For a third time in a row there will be a leader change after powerstage in Croatia

[Danny0405]

1. At least 3 wins for each manufacturer
2. Loubet’s first podium
3. Breen, only one podium in his stints and out of manufacturer seat at the end of the season
4. NOT a former manufacturer driver (Solberg, Fourmaux, Mikkelsen, Greensmith, ...) to win WRC-2
5. Because of the lack of Rally1 cars running, at least two rallies with a RC2 car in top 5.

[WRCStan]

1. No new WRC champions, winners or podium scorers
2. A Kenyan will win a WRC3 round
3. Delecour will be WRC Masters Champion
4. Dirtfish media will cease operations
5. Forum users will declare their fresh hatred for RallyTV and their intention to cancel it but won't

[becher]

1. Toyota becomes manufacturers Champion.
2. Neuville becomes drivers Champion.
3. Lappi wins at least one WRC event.
4. M-Sport won't win more than two WRC events.
5. Solberg doesn't win any event in WRC2.

[skarderud]

1. Toyota win manufacturers championship
2. Tänak win drivers championship
3. Neuville's ego implode, crashes and are out of carriere after season.
4. Solberg wins wrc2 championship
5. Hyundai changes drivers second half of season, Mikkelsen and Loeb comes in.

Sent fra min SM-S901B via Tapatalk

[raffrantic]

1 Mikkelsen podium driving hyundai 2C rally1.
2 compact dynamics unit does not cause any cars fires throughout full season.
3 Katsuta wins Japan Rally.
4 Tanak WDC
5 Hyundai manu champion.

[TWRC]

1. Lappi to get a podium, but no wins
2. Rovanpera wins WDC after a slow start to the season
3. Tänak wins a rally, but fails to challege for the title
4. A new manufacturer signs intent to join
5. Due to rising costs less and less competitors will be able to start

[focus206]

1 - Rovanpera takes an easy title with at least 2 rounds to spare
2 - Toyota manufacturer champion
3 - Neuville only driver to win for Hyundai, Tanak only driver to win for Ford
4 - Sordo will finish on the podium in his last event
5 - Loubet will get at least one podium

6 - New conspiracy theories will come out, linking Neuville to Kim Jong Un and Tanak to a coupe d'etat in Finland

[HKSjbg]

4. All WRC events will be over 300 km in length

1. NOT every WRC event manages to cobble together a 300+km itinerary (I’m wording that very specifically to not include a 300+km rally with stage cancellations!)
2. Tänak will win the most rallies except for the world champion
3. Katsuta will win his first WRC event.
4. WRC-2 champion will be a driver who hasn’t yet won a WRC-2 round.
5. At Central European Rally a WRC-2 driver will finish inside the top 6.

[Negaiss]

1. Rovanpera and Tanak push each other so much and that results in some crashes an zero scores. Because of that Lappi becomes a surprise WDC .
2. Fourmaux is good with Rally 2 and towards the end of seasons gets a drive in Rally 1 again.
3. Ogier 5th in championship standings.
4. Lappi wins Finland - it is his only Win of the season.
5. Loubet - Zero podiums

[AnttiL]

1. NOT every WRC event manages to cobble together a 300+km itinerary (I’m wording that very specifically to not include a 300+km rally with stage cancellations!)

I reworded mine, cancellations not counted

[HKSjbg]

I reworded mine, cancellations not counted

To be fair, if an event had 300+km in the itinerary but some were lost in cancellations to go under 300km, I’d give you that win. I just meant I wouldn’t claim a correctly predicted outcome if it did happen :D

[e106]

1. Tänak wins 3 way fight for the WDC with Neuville and Rovanperä
2. A crucial Neuville crash will essentially lose him the title
3. Lappi wins in Finland or Estonia
4. Fourmaux will win more than once but won't win the title
5. Katsuta wins in Kenya

[Hartusvuori]

1. Neuville will win Monte Carlo
2. Whoever will rent the fourth GR Yaris Rally1, will score a fastest stage time.
3. Five different rally winners over the season
4. Championship title won't be decided until the final round
5. Tänak takes the title

[Humber]

1. Puma to break under Tanak's driving on more than one occasion.
2. Neuville changes to Lappi's car settings to speed up during events/ win. (Lappi's engineer/ mechanics boycott podium photographs)
3. Rovanpera and Toyota repeat Championship titles.
4. At least one 2023 event is dropped from 2024 champs due to spectator on stage/ traffic off stage major problems. (German & or Austrian greenies gluing their hands to the roads on stages? at the Central Europe Rally or Kenya - drivers stranded from Parc Ferme - hotel situation again)
5. Sordo signs up in 2023 for limited program (in 2024) with M_Sport/ NWM for RallyRaid and Baja events in the Ford Ranger. (2024 training year - a few European Bajas and a Ruta RR in Argentina)

[Rallyest]

1. Puma to break under Tanak's driving on more than one occasion.
2. Neuville changes to Lappi's car settings to speed up during events/ win. (Lappi's engineer/ mechanics boycott podium photographs)
3. Rovanpera and Toyota repeat Championship titles.
4. At least one 2023 event is dropped from 2024 champs due to spectator on stage/ traffic off stage major problems.
5. Sordo signs up for limited program with M_Sport/ NWM for RallyRaid and Baja events in the Ford Ranger.


Is nr4 based on thinking about Rally Japan? :D

[WRCStan]

4. At least one 2023 event is dropped from 2024 champs due to spectator on stage/ traffic off stage major problems.
5. Sordo signs up for limited program with M_Sport/ NWM for RallyRaid and Baja events in the Ford Ranger.

Wouldn't think #5 would be permitted under a contract with Hyundai that usually lasts until 31/12. #4 is too late too, maybe your crystal ball is faulty!

[jparker]

1. At least 37°C during rally Finland.
2. Tanak will win in Sweden and Estonia.
3. Rovanpera will win WDC.
4. Tanak will become owner of MSport
5. No snow at Monte Carlo

[Sal yet again]

1 Breen to win at least one event
2 Rovanpera scores back to back WDC titles
3 Tanak wins Monte
4 A Rally2 car will gain a podium place on the Central Europe rally
5 Colin Clark gets offer of Pantomime dame for the Christmas 2023 season

[Steve Boyd]

5 Colin Clark gets offer of Pantomime dame for the Christmas 2023 season:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[mknight]

1. Toyota wins man. title
2. Tanak retires or loses over 30s due to technical issues at least 3 times (can be multiple issues on same rally)
3. Neuville does not win title
4. At least 2 wins for each manufacturer
5. Solberg does not win WRC2 title, even though he wins at least one rally

[maailmameister]

1. Tänak will win WDC title
2. Lappi beats Neuville in the season summary
3. Hyundai wins manu.title
4. Loubet takes 2 podiums
5. Rovanpera only wins 2 rallies

[240RS]

1. Pierre-Louis Loubet stuns all with maiden WRC win
2. Toyota easily retain the manufacturers title
3. Esapekka Lappi dropped by Hyundai at the end of the season
4. Middle-Eastern round included for the 2024 championship
5. Gus Greensmith wins a hotly-contested WRC2 title

[Corcaíoch]

1. Rovanpera will win the Driver’s championship again.
2. Toyota will win the manufacturers championship again.
3. Lappi wins at least 2 rounds.
4. 6 different drivers win a round.
5. Solberg won’t win the WRC2 championship, Pajari will make a big impression and will win at least 2 rounds!

[seb_sh]

1. Ogier 6th in the overall standings
2. Sordo will announce his retirement during the season
3. Breen will win a rally
4. Old Skoda Rally2 evo will win a WRC2 round
5. No driver wins their home event (Ogier in Monte doesn't count)

[Jewy46]

1 - Tanak wins 2 rallies (Gets the most out of a car behind in development)
2 - Meeke makes a WRC2 appearance and shows his class by winning
3 - Eamonn Kelly finishes in the top 3 in JWRC
4 - Dirtfish do an article on the Father Ted/Gravel Crew meme crossover (this is very niche!)
5 - 1 event is cancelled/severely impacted due to a weather event

[Jumppe]

1. Rovanperä WDC again
2. Tänak gets at least 3 wins
3. Loubet on podium
4. Lappi gets a win
5. Pajari in top 2 in wrc2

[EstWRC]

1. Neuville and Lappi will complain about understeer on almost every rally, especially on tarmac ones
2. Loubet will take 4 podiums
3. Drivers Championship is decided two rounds before the season end
4. Ogier has no punctures and praises Pirelli
5. Manufactures points will be tied after the last rally but Toyota wins as their drivers will have more wins/better finishing places

[denkimi]

1) rovanpera champion
2) neuville vice champion
3) tanak wins 2 rally's but ends no higher than 5th in the championship
4) toyota champion
5) loeb nearly wins a rally but has to gift the win to tanak to keep his chances for the title intact.

[ouvreur]

1. Toyota to win both Manufacturers and Drivers championships
2. Evans to win more than one rally
3. Fourmaux to be WRC2 champion
4. Lappi to finish ahead of Neuville in WDC
5. Tanak to win at least 2 events, but to retire / super-rally in at least 3
.
.
.
6. Saudi Arabia to purchase the entire concept of motorsport

[rp]

1. Rovanperä will take the WRC title
2. Toyota to win the Manufacturers title
3. Loubet will take his first Podium
4. Each three Manufacturers will win events
5. Huttunen will drive also this year Rally1 car in Finland

[atsiotras79]

1. Rovanpera WDC
2. Rossel WRC2 champ
3. JWRC title will be decided on power stage in Acropolis for a few seconds 😊
4. A WRC2 car will finish top5 overall in a rally.
5. Test days will be increased for 2024.

[flat_right]

1. Tänak WDC
2. Sadly Lappi's pace is nowhere and in the middle of the season Breen will take over.
3. Loeb will win a rally
4. Tänak will win in Finland
5. Neuville will not win a rally

[Allez Andruet]

1. What comes to championships, a clean sweep by Hyundai
2. Tänak to win more rallies than Evans and Ogier combined
3. Huttunen to win atleast once in WRC2
4. Atleast one stage to be canceled in Finland due to spectators
5. Loeb to lead a rally

[ferrial]

1. Tänak WDC
2. Toyota will win the manufacturers title
3. At least 5 different Rally1 drivers will win at least 1 rally
4. Virves will get a podium finish in rally2 (wrc2) top3 at least 1 rally
5. Solberg wrc2 champion

[Franky]

Lets do it differently this year

1st title for Neuville
2nd win for Lappi
3rd something will happen for sure
4th time Tänak finishes season 3rd
5th podium for Katsuta

[AnttiL]

3rd something will happen for sure

3rd place for Loubet? 3rd customer for Toyota's rental Yaris or M-Sport's 3rd car?

[Franky]

3rd place for Loubet? 3rd customer for Toyota's rental Yaris or M-Sport's 3rd car?

Just ran out of ideas. What at first seemed like an interesting approach turned into a difficult one.

[Eli]

Know I'm a bit late but since the season has yet to start, here are my 5 predictions:

1. Toyota claims yet another manufacturers' title.
2. The driver who leads the championship after Kenya won't be the one taking the title.
3. Hyundai won't win as many rallies as last year.
4. Neuville to be the only Hyundai driver to win a rally (will win 3 to be exact).
5. WRC2 (championship) winner (that will be Sami Pajari) will take one of the Rally1 drivers spot.

[pajusalum]

Also a bit late but here are my predictions:

1. Kalle will win his second title even easier then last year
2. Greensmith speed is not even close to Wrc 2 top guys
3. Lappi is struggling through entire season - no podiums for him
4. Loubet will have 3 podiums
5. Tänak will find a speed with Puma in the last part of the season. Signs one more year with Ford and it will be his last one in his career.

[Hüttünen]

1. Tänak WDC, decided before last rally.
2. Hyundai Manufacturer champions.
3. Lappi will win atleast 1 time.
4. Going for the extreme one with this one. Loubet in the top 3 driver standings at the end of the year.
5. Breen wont be on the podium in any of his starts.

King

[Hüttünen]

1. Lappi to get a podium, but no wins
2. Rovanpera wins WDC after a slow start to the season
3. Tänak wins a rally, but fails to challege for the title
4. A new manufacturer signs intent to join
5. Due to rising costs less and less competitors will be able to start

Quite good ones here

[Hüttünen]

1. Tänak WDC
2. Sadly Lappi's pace is nowhere and in the middle of the season Breen will take over.
3. Loeb will win a rally
4. Tänak will win in Finland
5. Neuville will not win a rally

🤡🤡🤡

[Eli]

Know I'm a bit late but since the season has yet to start, here are my 5 predictions:

1. Toyota claims yet another manufacturers' title.
2. The driver who leads the championship after Kenya won't be the one taking the title.
3. Hyundai won't win as many rallies as last year.
4. Neuville to be the only Hyundai driver to win a rally (will win 3 to be exact).
5. WRC2 (championship) winner (that will be Sami Pajari) will take one of the Rally1 drivers spot.

1. Right
2. Will probably be wrong.
3. Seems to be right unless Neuville pulls something special out of the bag.
4. Right but shouldn't have predicted 3 wins so eventually wrong.
5. Plainly wrong.

[CeskyOndra]

Eli, I think Neuville will win 3 events actually.

[Eli]

Eli, I think Neuville will win 3 events actually.

Needs to win both central European rally & Japan, who knows, maybe he’ll prove me wrong ;) or actually prove me right ‘cause I wrote this in January.

[CeskyOndra]

1. Toyota wins man. title
2. Tanak retires or loses over 30s due to technical issues at least 3 times (can be multiple issues on same rally)
3. Neuville does not win title
4. At least 2 wins for each manufacturer
5. Solberg does not win WRC2 title, even though he wins at least one rally

This one is soooo true

[rp]

1. Rovanperä will take the WRC title
2. Toyota to win the Manufacturers title
3. Loubet will take his first Podium
4. Each three Manufacturers will win events
5. Huttunen will drive also this year Rally1 car in Finland

3/5

Loubet´s season was very bad and a podium was just a dream. Huttunen was driving at least Rally2 in Finland, but no chance to drive Rally1 and probably never will be anymore.

[becher]

1. Toyota becomes manufacturers Champion.
2. Neuville becomes drivers Champion.
3. Lappi wins at least one WRC event.
4. M-Sport won't win more than two WRC events.
5. Solberg doesn't win any event in WRC2.
2/5... miserable

[HKSjbg]

1. NOT every WRC event manages to cobble together a 300+km itinerary (I’m wording that very specifically to not include a 300+km rally with stage cancellations!)
2. Tänak will win the most rallies except for the world champion
3. Katsuta will win his first WRC event.
4. WRC-2 champion will be a driver who hasn’t yet won a WRC-2 round.
5. At Central European Rally a WRC-2 driver will finish inside the top 6.

Perfect score 0/5

[Jewy46]

1 - Tanak wins 2 rallies (Gets the most out of a car behind in development)
2 - Meeke makes a WRC2 appearance and shows his class by winning
3 - Eamonn Kelly finishes in the top 3 in JWRC
4 - Dirtfish do an article on the Father Ted/Gravel Crew meme crossover (this is very niche!)
5 - 1 event is cancelled/severely impacted due to a weather event

1 - Spot on!
2 - He made an appearance at Portugal in Craig's car, but suspension trouble put him out
3 - Close, 4th
4 - Wrong ;)
5 - No, thankfully

[seb_sh]

1. Ogier 6th in the overall standings
2. Sordo will announce his retirement during the season
3. Breen will win a rally
4. Old Skoda Rally2 evo will win a WRC2 round
5. No driver wins their home event (Ogier in Monte doesn't count)

1. no, did one better and got 5th
2. no, this was floating around but no
3. sadly no :(
4. yes, Kajto in Safari, altough Greensmith finished ahead of him he was not registered for WRC2
5. yes, but Ogier did win Monte so good that was excluded from the prediction

2/5

[Eli]

Know I'm a bit late but since the season has yet to start, here are my 5 predictions:

1. Toyota claims yet another manufacturers' title.
2. The driver who leads the championship after Kenya won't be the one taking the title.
3. Hyundai won't win as many rallies as last year.
4. Neuville to be the only Hyundai driver to win a rally (will win 3 to be exact).
5. WRC2 (championship) winner (that will be Sami Pajari) will take one of the Rally1 drivers spot.

1. Right
2. Wrong
3. Right
4. Half right as he was the only driver to win but only managed to win twice.
5. Wrong
2.5/5-Lots of room for improvement in 2024.