'When wasn't Ogier dominant?' That would be what I would ask if I had just clicked onto this article. Last year would be the answer I'd be looking for, because it's no secret that Sebastien Ogier was there for the taking in the 2017 World Rally Championship. His rivals just failed to capitalise on his vulnerability.
Ogier was arguably better than he ever has been last year even though, significantly, he was much less successful than he ever has been. Gone were the serial rally victories and dominant championship leads and in their place came a very public learning year as the Frenchman adapted to life as an M-Sport World Rally Team driver. Stripped of his most powerful weapon - Volkswagen's Polo R - Ogier was forced into defence rather than attack. His ability to maximise every single opportunity presented to him yielded a fifth WRC crown, but ultimately he and Thierry Neuville both knew that realistically it should've been the Belgian's Hyundai i20 carrying the #1 on its door this year. Neuville didn't seem to be kicking himself too much, but he probably should've been. Ogier's learning phase is over, and he's looking just as strong as he was in Volkswagen blue and white. He has already won more rallies this year after just four rounds than he did in the entire 2017 season. But up next on the WRC's world tour is the one he's yet to win, and Ogier's rivals must strike now before they risk being choked up in his dust cloud. Heading to Argentia it's Neuville that's within striking distance. He lies 17 points behind Ogier with a 22 point buffer to third placed Ott Tanak, but after Sweden he was 11 points to the good and looking imperious. A disastrous Rally Mexico and an ill-handling in Corsica compounded Neuville while Ogier stormed to victory number two and three of his season. To stand any chance of defeating Ogier to the largest prize in rallying Neuville has to beat him in Argentina and do so convincingly. He needs to send out a statement. Ogier is beatable, but dethroning the king is much harder when his armour is fully complete. The Fiesta WRC is now tuned to his liking, which brings more confidence with pace the return in that equation. Neuville's army has been upgraded considerably with the inclusion of Andreas Mikkelsen as reliable back-up, but Ogier is looking so strong he doesn't need any reinforcements. The simplest way to understand the problem Neuville and co. face is by examining Ogier's M-Sport team-mate's relative performance over 2017 and the beginning of 2018. The squad won five rallies last season - two for Ogier, two for Tanak and one for Evans - on their way to the drivers and manufacturers crown. Despite lifting that drivers crown, it was Ogier that scored the fewest stage wins across the 13 rallies. With Tanak now at Toyota, the revolving door of drivers competing in the third Fiesta WRC does skew the 2018 examination a little, but neither Bryan Bouffier or Teemu Suninen are slouches. Although they currently aren't winning the manufactures standings, M-Sport are close to the summit, and have already won 60% of last year's win total with 70% of the season still to go. But crucially, Ogier has won all of these and has taken nearly four times as many stage wins than his team-mates combined. Sound familiar? Remember how Jari-Matti Latvala was Sebastien Loeb's biggest challenger in 2012 and was destined for big things, but then joined Volkswagen and began to fall further and further behind as the years progressed? I'm not suggesting Elfyn Evans' WRC career is now effectively over, but you can see a trend here. Ogier is building M-Sport around him in the same way he built Volkswagen around him. And when Ogier pointed a Volkswagen Polo at a stretch of road, he was invariably fastest on said piece of road. Neuville is also at the peak of his powers having won 33% of the last 15 rallies - a total matched by Ogier - but his job has become that much harder now Ogier is reaching his imperious best once again. Championship hopefuls Tanak, Mikkelsen and Kris Meeke are already beginning to lose touch a little. It's shaping up to be a two horse race, but the swagger is back. Catch Ogier if you can.
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Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport On the face of it Rally Guanajuato Mexico is just another round of the World Rally Championship, the third of the 2018 season. But dig a little deeper (or should that be climb a little higher?) and you'll discover that the first gravel event of the year is a massive indication as to how the rest of the season will pan out.
That's the theory. As we know, gravel doesn't always produce the same results or conclusions as paper, but Rally Mexico is a huge test for man and machine, and most specifically Thierry Neuville and his Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC. Thanks to a brilliant recovery drive to fifth in Monte-Carlo and a stand-out win on Rally Sweden, the Belgian finds himself at the head of the points table after two rounds. Ogier is 10 points behind, with all three Toyota drivers (Latvala, Lappi and Tanak) and Andreas Mikkelsen a smattering of points apart, hanging onto Ogier's coat-tails. But it's Neuville they'll all be looking to beat, and just how he'll cope with being his rivals' road sweeper remains to be seen. The only other time he has lead the World Rally Championship was August last year ahead of Rallye Deutschland, where the tarmac roads presented little disadvantage to the early runners. This position is therefore all new to Neuville, and with the competitiveness of the current field, a win looks tricky for him. Could Ogier be the man to beat him? The M-Sport driver was the centre of controversy in Sweden after dropping down the start order ahead of the Power Stage in order to tackle the stage with favourable conditions to maximise his points haul on what was a weekend to forget. Now relieved of his road sweeping duties, his primary target will be to win, and failing that he'll be desperate to beat Neuville. Latvala, Lappi, Tanak and Mikkelsen will all start just behind in a good position to fight for honours, but the real contenders appear to be coming from the red corner. Kris Meeke famously won this event last year in one of the most dramatic finishes to a WRC event, and the C3 WRC looks to have progressed massively the past 12 months. The Brit starts seventh, desperate to pick up where his team-mate Breen left off with a sensational second place in Sweden. However it's the man that's replacing Breen in Mexico that is grabbing all the pre-event headlines. Understandable really, given he's a nine-time world champion. Sebastien Loeb has played down his chances of success on his first gravel event since Argentina 2013, pointing out that over 40% of the route is new to him, he's out of practice on gravel and will need to get back into the swing of making pace notes on the recce. But there are several reasons to suggest the Frenchman could shine. Firstly, his road position is perfect. Having not competed on either of the opening rounds, he will start last of the WRC runners and therefore with the cleanest road possible. Then there's his record in Mexico. Before retiring he was unbeaten here since 2007, winning six times in a row from '07-2012. And of course, he's the best driver in the sport's history. Others to look out for include Elfyn Evans who has a lower starting position and is due a bit of luck, while his team-mate Teemu Suninen will also be looking ahead rather than behind. After handing over his car to Hayden Paddon in the Swedish forests and sliding off the road in the French Alps, Dani Sordo is another who could spring a surprise or two. The Spaniard's primary role is to help the team score manufacturer points, but without a full-time campaign, he is hungry to add to his winning tally. Really though all eyes will be on his ex-team-mate Loeb and his current team-mate Neuville. If Neuville can perform well and grab a podium in Mexico, then it becomes increasingly difficult to look past him as the early title elect with the sheer confidence he is showing. But if it's Loeb's Citroen that crosses the line first, one of the greatest seasons in the sport's history will become that little extra special. Who wouldn't want to see the king take victory once again? Ironic really, given we spent the best part of a decade hoping somebody could beat him... Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport We all suspected the 2018 World Rally Championship would be a corker. After the thrill-a-minute 2017 season, it had some act to follow. But evidence from both Rallye Monte-Carlo and Rally Sweden suggest that this season could be even better with the fight for the world title coming from absolutely every single corner imaginable.
Thierry Neuville is now in the position he should've been 12 months ago. Falling out of contention on the opening stage of the season, the Belgian went about his business quietly to storm up to fifth come the close of play. In Sweden, Neuville was predictably fast. Making the most of his road position, he took the lead on stage three and never looked back as he cruised to his seventh career win and an 11 point championship lead. Last year, the Hyundai star was quickest on both of the opening rounds but retired on both. Now he is 37 points better off than he was in 2017 and crucially heads the standings. How he progresses from here will be key, but it's fair to say he has well and truly stamped his mark on the WRC. All the talk pre-season and after Monte was about Sebastien Ogier and Ott Tanak, with Tanak performing admirably on his Toyota debut in the French mountains. However neither Ogier nor Tanak would perform well in the frozen Swedish forests. Overnight snow severely hampered the front-runners to an extent we have not seen for years, with leading quarter Ogier, Tanak, Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke suffering the worst. With the incredible pace of the entire field this season, that left Ogier and Meeke out of the points and Latvala and Tanak down in seventh and ninth repsectively. And it's that sublime competitiveness of the current crop of drivers that makes Craig Breen's Swedish performance all the more remarkable. The Irishman came home a superb second place and within 20 seconds of Neuville's winning time in his Citroen C3. After a year of consistency last term, Breen has been targeting an upturn in speed this year and he certainly showed that. Citroen's decision to bench him for Mexico with Sebastien Loeb incoming looks a little bit daft now. Neuville and Breen were definite stars of the rally, but Toyota's third driver Esapekka Lappi was just as impressive. The Finn was in the fight for victory on Friday before misjudging a junction and falling to seventh. His comeback was exemplary however, picking off Teemu Suninen's Fietsa, Mads Ostberg's C3 and Hayden Paddon's i20 in the final stage to grab fourth with an incredible Power Stage time. If it wasn't for a badly timed overshoot in Monte-Carlo that saw him drop three positions and six points, he would be third in the championship and just a point shy of Ogier. And these performances have come on events new to Lappi in a World Rally Car. As it is he lies equal with his team-mate Latvala on 23 points, and ahead of Tanak. Andreas Mikkelsen got his season on track with a third placed finish, but will be disappointed that his team-mate got the better of him in his own backyard. The Norwegian is deadly serious about becoming World Rally champion, but faces an almighty challenge to finish the season as the top Hyundai. Ostberg and Paddon were both impressive on their first events of the season, but both promised slightly more than their sixth and fifth place finishes. And now to the elephant in the room: Sebastien Ogier's Power Stage tactics. M-Sport's number one had a torrid weekend from start to finish acting as a snow plough for his rivals, so realised the Power Stage was his only way of taking away any decent points from the event. The Frenchman spotted a loophole in the regulations, and decided to incur road penalties by missing his original start time to drop back down the order to face better road conditions and thus set a quicker time and earn more bonus points. The plan almost worked. His team-mate Evans inherited his 10th place but Ogier's haul bettered the points that position yields, but he only took four instead of five due to Lappi's sublime time. Ogier's decision has sparked outrage and a debate on social media, but ultimately if anybody is at fault it is the rules not Ogier. He merely spotted a chance and took it in a bid to win a sixth world title. For me, it was a stroke of tactical genius. If Ogier is going to take world title six, is he going to have to deploy every trick in the book. Such is the competitiveness this year, Hyundai rocketed up from fourth to first in the manufacturers with M-Sport heading the opposite way. Just 11 points splits all four teams, and it's looking equally close in the drivers standings. This season could be the best yet! Photo Credit: M-Sport There was something very familiar about the result of the 2018 Monte Carlo Rally. Yet remarkably, it was the first time in eight months and eight rallies that this particular dominant Frenchman had won a round of the World Rally Championship.
This particular dominant Frenchman is of course Sebastien Ogier. The world champion's Monte performance reminded his rivals why he is still the benchmark in the WRC, when a win for anybody else could have posed serious question over his reign. The first four of Ogier's five world crown's were built on an unerring balance of outright speed and tactical awareness - knowing when and where to bag the all important championship points. Switching from Volkswagen to M-Sport also saw a change in Ogier's tactics in 2017. Gone was his ability to obliterate the opposition with outright speed - he in fact won less stages all year than both his team-mates. The Frenchman's brain therefore came to the fore as he kept racking up vital points which, when Neuville floundered, brought him a fifth straight world championship. It was a devastating blend of these approaches that were in evidence on the opening round of the 2018 season. Ogier was quickest out of the blocks on Thursday's night's icy opener, and he would never be toppled as he cruised to WRC win number 41 and an early championship lead. Stealing the march over the rest would become a theme of Ogier's Monte. His M-Sport Fiesta was quicker than second place Ott Tanak's Yaris by quite some margin on both Saturday and Sunday morning, meaning that despite the Estonian's impressive pace on his Toyota debut, his former team-mate got the better of him by 58.3 seconds. The opening tests on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday were all unpredictable, treacherous, and in keeping with the traditional idea of a classic Rallye Monte-Carlo. Ogier mastered them better than anyone else to build up a comfortable lead that wouldn't deteriorate, even when he got stuck in a ditch and required the willing assistance of his home crowd. Ogier's understanding of the varying conditions was impeccable. Nobody else got the balance right between pushing and being conservative, which leads few in doubt that Ogier is the most capable driver in the WRC. But is he the outright fastest? It's a question that will slowly begin to be answered as the season progresses, but there's no doubting his dominance isn't where it was at when he was piloting a Polo R. This isn't to say that Ogier has lost any of his pace, it's more that the gap between himself and the rest has been bridged, with Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak snapping at his heels and eager to take his world crown away from him. Neuville's Monte ended before it even began after sliding wide in the ice and losing four minutes trying to free his i20 Coupe WRC. But the Belgian's recovery mission was impressive, climbing back up to fifth place in the final stage after his SS1 excursion and a puncture on Friday morning. The Hyundai was fastest on six of the 17 special stages to Tanak and Ogier's four a piece, and that's despite Neuville largely having nobody to battle all weekend. Neuville was fastest on nearly twice as many stages as anybody else last season, and looks set to continue that trend in 2018. And with the conditions steady, Tanak was out pacing Ogier despite his inexperience in Toyota Gazoo Racing colours, Should Ogier be worried? It would be hard not to be, but it's worth remembering that immediately after the early stages on the Monte Ogier's mission was lead preservation. He may well have found some extra speed after having now had a full season and a full winter to test and develop the Fiesta WRC, he just didn't need to extract it from himself. Proving his speed while acting as a snow plough for his rivals will be tough in Sweden however, but it's a hindrance the Frenchman will be happy to accept if it means he holds the championship lead. Had his rivals beaten him in his own backyard, the pressure would be mounting. He would have had to have waited longer to get that confidence boosting first win of the season, and would be in the unfamiliar position of chasing rather than being chased. The last time Ogier didn't leave the opening round at the top of the tree of those doing a full season was 2011. This would have forced him into a more aggressive approach, which doesn't always yield results. Just ask Neuville. The pressure to get a rally win would be mounting while his rivals would be soaring, having got the better of the world champion from the off. Ogier is at his most comfortable when he is in control, up on his pedestal with a giant target on his back. After all, he's had five years practice at it. Tanak has left M-Sport as he bids to become World Rally Champion Rally Estonia is one of the fastest European rallies in the world. Fitting then, that one of the quickest and most exciting drivers in the World Rally Championship should come from that very land. Ott Tanak has proven himself to be the real deal. After a third successive call-up to Malcolm Wilson’s M-Sport team, Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja have moved on to pastures new, joining Tommi Makinen’s Toyota Gazoo Racing team. The question burning on everyone’s lips: was it the right move? Compatriot and mentor Markko Martin serves as the perfect example of how little moving teams can end up affecting things. Martin, like Tanak, received his big shot in the WRC with M-Sport and Ford. He took his first win in 2003 in the Focus RS WRC he would later describe as “the best rally car on earth,” and took a further couple of victories on his way to third place in the ’04 hampionship. Peugeot came calling and Martin signed on the dotted line to drive the 307 WRC in 2005. It’s hard to imagine two cars more paradoxical or two team environments more different. Martin had left the family-like environment of Ford where he was the established number one and joined the fiercely political Peugeot squad as Marcus Gronholm’s number two, in a car that struggled to impress in its debut year. It was a bold move. Any thoughts Martin would struggle would prove wide of the mark. He beat his team-mate on the Monte to fourth, grabbed second in Sweden and third in Mexico to lie just one point shy of Petter Solberg’s championship lead after three rounds. What happened afterwards was unforeseen and truly tragic with an accident on Wales Rally GB taking the life of his co-driver Michael Park, but his early season performances showed none of his speed or capability was lost when jumping into a new car. Martin swapped his Focus WRC for a 307, and proved just as quick Tanak played an instrumental role in developing the Fiesta RS WRC – a car which went on to win five rallies last year and feature on the podium after every single round. As team-mate Ogier struggled at times to get to grips with the machine, Tanak was flawless and was the quicker of the two across the entire season – taking 30 stage wins to Ogier’s 21. Tanak’s tally is only surpassed by Thierry Neuville’s stack of 56 scratch times. Tanak became a real dark horse in the title race. Getting that first win off his back in Sardinia was the shot of confidence he really needed, and from Rally Poland onwards he only lost five points to Ogier who went on to claim the title. This should worry Ogier. Equipped with the knowledge that points make prizes, Tanak’s game is now a dangerous blend of sensibility and blinding speed – speed which Ogier looks unable to match unless he’s unlocked substantial gains from himself and the Fiesta WRC in the off-season. Evidence therefore suggests that Tanak is ready to mount a serious title challenge. To do that, he needs to be in the best possible position. And recently it’s come to light that at M-Sport there was an imbalance within the team that was prohibiting Tanak’s progress. Due to the restricted budget M-Sport had compared with their rivals, Ogier was receiving upgrades to his Fiesta while Tanak wasn’t. The Estonian wasn’t ready to – and justifiably deserves not to be – a number two driver. After challenging seasons in 2012 and 2015 with the full factory team, last year’s campaign was the proof in the pudding Malcolm Wilson identified seven years ago after Tanak won the Pirelli Star Driver competition in a Mitsubishi Evo X. Tanak’s speed had never been in question though. A superb podium on Rally Poland in 2015 and a heart-breaking puncture on the final day of that same event one year on proved he had all the hallmarks of a rally winner. What had always been in doubt was his consistency. It’s not a coincidence that Wilson dropped him from his factory line-up on more than one occasion. Tanak was something of a loose canon when he first broke into the WRC When he first got his chance in the WRC, it was clear he was more of a Colin McRae than a Carlos Sainz. He’d won his first stage in just his second rally as a factory driver and bagged a podium at the end of the year, but retired on five separate occasions, equating at 38.5% of the rallies he started. In three seasons – 2012 and 2015 for M-Sport and 2016 for the DMACK World Rally Team – Tanak finished in the points 20 out of a possible 39 times, which works out at just over 50%. Compare that to Jari-Matti Latvala who himself isn’t exactly the yardstick for consistency in the WRC, and he’s 14% back, or to put it simpler, in the points five fewer times than his new team-mate. Tanak’s 2017 campaign was a much different story however. He was in the points 11 times in 2017 – a tally which includes six podiums and eight top five finishes – which compares with Latvala’s nine points scores, three podiums and six top fives. It’s unclear how much of that is down to the car; the Fiesta WRC was quick across all 13 rounds of the season whereas the Yaris WRC struggled in certain conditions. Inevitably with it being a new team, there were teething issues. The Yaris struggled more than its rivals in the engine-sapping altitude of Mexico, and reliability issues in both Poland and Finland put a serious dent in Latvala’s title challenge. Toyota were mightily impressive in their comeback year though. They were of course aided by the fact their rival teams had also all built new cars ahead of the season due to the change in the regulations, but to win on their second time out with the Yaris was both incredibly surprising and technically astonishing in equal measure. On certain rallies the car was simply untouchable. The Yaris won 18 of the 25 stages on Rally Finland compared to the six the Fiesta accomplished, but across the season the balance switches towards the Ford with 82 stage wins to the Toyota’s 50. It’s worth considering though that there were only two Yaris’ competing on the opening five events. Toyota's Yaris WRC was blindingly quick, but not everywhere The Yaris WRC has come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months, and it’s certainly no secret that the budget and facilities available to Tommi Makinen’s squad is competitive to say the least. If M-Sport was the safe option then given his familiarity with the car and team, Toyota was the more ambitious option for Tanak. Sometimes to progress you need to go sideways, as Ogier proved spectacularly when he left the domineering Citroen team for Volkswagen. The environment Tanak is entering is heavily Finnish. Team principal Makinen and his right-hand man Kaj Lindstrom are both Finns, as are their four team-mates Latvala, Miikka Anttila, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. This is something that he’ll have to overcome quickly in order to succeed. It may seem trivial, but team spirit is a vital part in success - just look at Citroen’s current situation of disarray. Fortunately, Estonia is not far from Finland either geographically or culturally, and ultimately what counts is what Tanak does behind the wheel. Coming from the Fiesta he largely developed, he is stepping into a machine that has been moulded around Latvala. Adjusting to it hasn’t caused any significant headaches though, with Tanak already saying he feels comfortable in the car despite completing just four days of testing. Tanak’s switch brings more to his door than a different cockpit however. Making your first move away from a team that felt like home is difficult for any driver. Everything is different, so the pre-season preparation is that bit more extensive. One of the key things to nail early on however will be getting the better of his team-mates. He’s joining a team that Latvala is determined to make his own after his difficult patch at Volkswagen as understudy to Ogier. Tanak learned a lot from Ogier as his team-mate last year Worryingly for Latvala though, Tanak has already proven to be a match for the five-time world champion when paired alongside him.
The progress he has made as a driver over the past 12 months is staggering. He began last year’s Monte-Carlo as a solid number two to Ogier, and begins this year’s as a genuine contender for the World Rally Championship. Tanak is already a winner on both gravel and asphalt, and has shown a fine turn of speed on snow, taking four consecutive stage wins on last year’s Rally Sweden. But perhaps most importantly, he has seen first-hand how to win a world title. Ogier has always been known as an intelligent driver, but he really proved it in 2017. Without the dominant speed he enjoyed in a VW, the Frenchman was forced into a tactical approach last season; bagging the points where he could and building up a campaign. His consistency won him the title, and that measured approach is sure to have rubbed off on Tanak who shared a team with him. His results prove it. Tanak amassed 191 points last year which was good enough for third in the championship, but significantly is just 12 points less than he had achieved throughout his entire WRC career prior to the 2017 season. Tanak’s first test is now just a week away. Rallye Monte-Carlo has always been a lottery, with the weather and therefore tyre choice playing a huge factor in the result. Anything is possible, but sensibly Tanak isn’t aiming to win the opening round, even if he knows he’s capable. A steady start would suffice, and then he can build his speed up as his Toyota odometer begins to rise. Ott Tanak at the top of his game is now a frightening proposition, but he must implore the same determination to succeed as Markko Martin did 13 years ago. He must beat his team-mates from the outset to give himself the psychological edge. Lappi’s inexperience of the Monte must be exploited, while beating Latvala – particularly in Sweden – could bury the Finn who’s famous for struggling with the mental side of his game. It is perfectly feasible that Tanak could have won the World Rally Championship for M-Sport Ford, but the calculated risk and ambition showed by moving to Toyota could prove the springboard he needs to jump to the top and emerge from the shadows of Ogier. Photo Credit: @World 'Who do you fancy?' A truly terrifying call to hear from one of your mates as a growing boy. But an either tougher predicament when peering into your crystal ball ahead of the 2018 World Rally Championship season. The possibilities are endless. The 2017 WRC season was one of immense change. Sebastien Ogier swapped his pristine Volkswagen overalls for those of M-Sport, and the weapons leaving the service area were now lower, wider, more powerful and visually more aggressive. What resulted was genuinely one of the most unpredictable seasons in the sport's illustrious history, with seven different winners from all four teams. Was it Ogier's masterclass or Hyundai's capitulation? It's now just a chapter in the history of the sport, with a new page waiting to be written next week as Rallye Monte-Carlo gets underway. But who should we fancy - there's that question again. The obvious answer would be Sebastien Ogier. But then, depending on how you view 2017, the obvious answer would be Thierry Neuville. The Belgian really stepped up a gear last season. He and the Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC were the ultimate pace setters across the year, but had to settle for silver thanks to a costly combination of driver erorrs and mechanical failures. You can be certain that Neuville has learned his lessons from 2017 though, and let's not forget he heads into 2018 in the best form having won the season closing Rally Australia in November. With a more intelligent outlook Neuville could become impossible to match this year. However, the challenge will also be coming from within his own four walls. Andreas Mikkelsen was drafted in with three rounds to spare last season, but this year he will be a Hyundai driver for all 13 rounds of the championship, and could well be Neuville's biggest obstacle in becoming World Rally Champion, Mikkelsen endured a torrid start to 2017, after being left out in the cold in the wake of Volkswagen's sudden departure from the WRC. Odd appearances in a Skoda R5 followed before he got a crack at the new breed of world rally cars with Citroen. Sardinia and Poland didn't exactly go to plan, but a second in Germany was more like it and it was enough to see him join Hyundai to aid Neuville's championship bid. But there'll be no such helping hand this season. Mikkelsen has made his desire to win the championship no secret and having shown speed on all surfaces in the WRC, he can't be ruled out. It's going to be a big year for the Norwegian. Neuville and Mikkelsen will be supported by Dani Sordo and Hayden Paddon this season, with Mikkelsen's signature forcing Sordo and Paddon to share driving duties in the #6 i20. For Sordo this isn't such a big deal - the Spaniard can now fully concentrate on achieving the maximum results possible on the rounds he will enter as he bids to add more than one victory to his CV. For Paddon however, it's a huge slap in the face and almost an admission from Hyundai that they don't see the New Zealander as a superstar of the future. It's been a bizarre turnaround when you cast your mind back two years to when Paddon was making a real name for himself and Neuville was bereft of his famous self confidence. Make or break just about sums up 2018 for Paddon. The WRC was launched at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham last week M-Sport head into 2018 with a real swagger about them. The Cumbrian outfit marched to both world titles last season despite their privateer status and hold two aces up their sleeves ahead of the new season. Sebastien Ogier has remained for another shot at glory, and the extra backing from Ford Performance the entire service park had been craving has arrived; the team will now be known as the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. On the downside, the team's fledgling star Ott Tanak has departed to Toyota, but the Estonian's exit may be a blessing in disguise as it's forced M-Sport to re-evaluate its approach. Ogier will be partnered by Elfyn Evans for all 13 rounds of the 2018 WRC, with the Welshman stepping up from the now defunct DMACK World Rally Team and filling the void left by Tanak. The third car however will be driven by a number of different drivers, in a move that sees speciality return to the championship for the first time in over a decade. Frenchman Bryan Bouffier will drive the car on Monte-Carlo and in Corsica, with Finn Teemu Suninen taking the wheel for Sweden, Mexcico, Portugal, Sardinia, Finland, Turkey, GB and Spain. No driver has currently been confirmed for Argentina, Germany or Australia. Suninen is a star of tomorrow and has already won stages in the WRC during sporadic appearances last year, while on the back of his maiden win on Wales Rally GB, Elfyn Evans has all the hallmarks of a championship dark horse. Bouffier is a previous winner of both the Monte and Corsica so his experience will be invaluable. But the one they're all looking to topple is Sebastien Ogier. The Frenchman's stock went up considerably last year and that's no mean feat given he started the season as a four-time world champion. He will be concerned about the lack of speed he showed throughout the year but it gave him a chance to show just how clever he is as a driver. The problem is all of his competitors saw that too, and with their searing speed clear in abundance, Ogier has a mammoth task ahead of him to make it six world titles. Hyundai, Toyota and Citroen are all looking to stop M-Sport Toyota's return to the WRC went better than even they could have expected. Two rounds in they were winners, and for much of the season Jari-Matti Latvala was in the hunt for the championship. Quite some turnaround for the man that looked a mere shadow of his former self during the latter years of his Volkswagen tenure. Toyota has given him a new leash of life; it's his team, and he's driving better than ever. You get the sense though that 2018 is the Finn's last real chance to earn that world title he so desperately craves. The competition within the camp has become a lot stronger though. Esapekka Lappi was immense in his debut year, taking a surprise home win in Finland, before somewhat fading towards the end of the year. Lappi has no experience of the opening rounds in a WRC car but is as cool as they come, and evidently frighteningly quick. Latvala's real challenge comes in the shape of Ott Tanak however. The Estonian's move to Toyota was the only major driver transfer from last year to this, and it was done with championship aspirations in mind. Tanak recently spoke of how he felt he would have been lodged as Ogier's number two at M-Sport, so jumped ship to the financial powerhouse and vastly improving Toyota outfit. Piloting the pick of the bunch last year in a Fiesta, Tanak's technical input is sure to drive the Yaris forward and his own individual performances proved he is the real deal. Tanak's mental game is also incredibly strong, which could go a long way against Latvala for inter-team supremacy. It'd be a headache for Tommi Makinen but a situation he's sure not to turn down if push came to shove. Citroen are a hard one to fathom Citroen Racing once ruled the roost. And really they should've done last season after pulling all their resources into developing the C3 WRC in 2016 instead of competing as a factory team. They even canned their immensely successful World Touring Car programme to develop their WRC challenger.
For whatever reason, the C3 was unpredictable at best, scary at worst. The handling took a long time to sort out, by which time lead driver Kris Meeke had been benched and Mikkelsen brought in, only for the Norwegian to wave goodbye to Paris the second Hyundai came calling. Say what you like about Citroen's past; 2017 was unacceptable. Aiming for the constructors championship, they came plum last and looked out of the race from round one. Aiming for Sebastien Ogier or no one in the driver market, they got no one. Meeke and Craig Breen remain with the squad for 2018, but there will be no permanent third driver. The disappointing Stephane Lefebvre has been dropped to WRC2 to demonstrate the capabilities of the C3 R5, with a third car appearing on occasion for Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi. All of this will help Meeke though. With the manufacturers championship no longer the priority for the first time since we can remember, the Northern Irishman is free to chase his own championship dream. Breen will be out to get more podiums and experienced, but will only conduct a 10 round campaign as his car will be occupied in Mexcio, Corsica and Spain. That's because the PR dream has become a reality: Sebastien Loeb is back in the WRC. Let's not get distracted by the headlines; it's only for three rounds. And robbing Breen of those three rounds is frankly criminal. But, and it's a big but, Loeb has a genuine chance of succeeding on all three of the rallies he'll start. So Citroen may not be in championship contention and are facing a last minute change of leadership with Yves Matton departing, but they have a real chance of winning the most rallies across 2018. As for the world championship, I'm afraid I'm not bold enough to single out one individual. At least five drivers start the season with a real chance, and that number could well increase. The World Rally Championship is back to its very best, and it's only getting stronger. Photo Credit: Citroen Racing The speculation began ever since the nine time champion was invited to test one of Citroen's C3 WRC's. The 2017 season was a nightmare for the Parisians, so who better to assess their challenger than the man that brought them nearly all of their success?
Then as the WRC season came to a close, attention switched to the other Sebastien in our sport's hall of fame: Ogier. Would he stay or would he go? After much deliberation, the five-time champ stayed. We faced the prospect of having no domineering Frenchmen in the service park next year; instead we have two. It is important to stress, no matter how exciting this announcement is for the sport, that Loeb's return is very much part-time and sought through enjoyment. Loeb has spoken consistently at how he wanted to try out these new cars, and that no other discipline (he has since tried Dakar, WTCC and rallycross after leaving the WRC) gives him the same sensation as rally. He will compete in Mexico, Corsica and Catalunya, giving him four days on gravel and five on asphalt. The real question is though, how competitive will he be? When initially hearing the news I thought to myself: 'I hope this isn't Michael Schumacher 2.0.' But then I reminded myself, the crucial difference between Loeb's comeback and Schumi's F1 return in 2010 is Loeb's priority will lie with the Pari Dakar and the World Rallycross Championship with Peugeot. His WRC exploits are essentially a bit of a play. That doesn't mean to say the Frenchman won't be competitive however. He will be out to do as well as possible and he could do very well indeed. The events he and Citroen have selected have been well chosen. Mexico is a round he dominated during his championship years and he will go there with a low starting position, while his record on the sealed surfaces speaks for itself. Remember Corsica 2005 when he won every single stage of the event? Above all else this is a PR blinder from Citroen Racing. But the subsequent announcements that supplemented the Loeb deal do worry me as to how committed they are to the WRC. Like everybody else, the marque ran three World Rally cars this year, but that will be reduced to two for 2018 with Khalid Al Qassimi getting the odd run in a third C3. Kris Meeke retains his place as team leader and will contest all 13 rallies, while Craig Breen will have to hand the keys to his car to Loeb for three rallies. The Irishman will do 10 rallies. Stephane Lefebvre meanwhile has taken a step backwards, piloting the C3 R5 in its first year in the WRC2 support series. Citroen always used to prioritise the manufacturers championship above all else in years gone by, so why has it reduced its strength to just two cars? If one driver fails to finish they'll only have one car bringing points home. You'd suspect this decision is financial; particularly considering the apparent claims that they couldn't afford to sign Ogier despite publicly stating their intent to bring the Frenchman back to the team that gave him his big break. Either way, the World Rally Championship is reaching new highs right now. What can Loeb do against the new and blindingly fast crop of drivers? I can't wait to find out. Photo Credit: M-Sport The 2017 World Rally Championship was all about Sebastien Ogier. It was meant to be about Kris Meeke, and should've been about Thierry Neuville. The brand new era of the WRC has certainly kicked off with a bang.
Ever since it was announced that a new breed of World Rally Car was coming, the 2017 season instantly became keenly anticipated. Power increased from 300 to 380bhp, the aerodynamic package was beefed up and crucially the safety of the cars was bettered. But nobody could have predicted the unpredictability that unfolded. The season presented the first genuine championship battle since 2011: aided by the level playing field created by the new cars but ignited by the shock withdrawal of Volkswagen which saw Ogier head to M-Sport, Latvala to Toyota and Mikkelsen, initially, to the sidelines. Seven different winners from four different teams. Three debut victors including two successes at home. Only one back-to-back success, and from a UK national perspective, three wins from two different drivers. How can 2018 possibly topple all of that? Easier than you'd imagine. Because with Neuville looking for a vengeance, Mikkelsen back in the fold, Tanak shifting teams and Ogier putting his father duties on ice, the battle in prospect is tantalising. Each and every team looks set to improve. Let's start with the champions. Ogier and M-Sport's achievements can't be underestimated. Winning both world championships against the might of the manufacturer efforts from Toyota, Citroen and Hyundai is unbelievable. At this current stage we don't know what kind of backing the Cumbrian squad will receive from Ford, but the blue oval will increase its commitment to the WRC, which was crucial in keeping Ogier at the team. With Ogier driving your car you're always going to be in with a shout of the title, but perhaps the dark horse is Elfyn Evans. The Welshman came of age in 2017, taking his maiden rally win. Back on Michelin rubber, he's back in the main M-Sport team and is ready to consistently fight at the front. As for the third car, nobody really knows just now. Teemu Suninen, one of a long line of promising young Finns, looks set to feature at some stage. What can we say about Hyundai? 2017 was hugely successful for them and Neuville, but ultimately not successful enough. The i20 Coupe WRC was arguably the fastest of all the cars outright, but its fragility let it down. The rear suspension was the main culprit, breaking on Neuville's #5 car in Monte-Carlo, Germany and Spain, and letting Mikkelsen and Sordo down on the same Spanish corner. Neuville did make his own mistakes, but there's no escaping the reality that 2017 was the one that got away. To combat this, Hyundai has bolstered up. Andreas Mikkelsen has come into the team full time, giving the Korean manufacturer two genuine title contenders from the get go. The addition of Mikkelsen hasn't been without its politics however, mainly regarding Hayden Paddon who has had to relinquish his full time drive, but he and Dani Sordo will both get at least six rounds each and can help Hyundai massively. Toyota though have arguably the strongest line up of all the teams. Jari-Matti Latvala is a stalwart of the World Championship, and should've been in the thick of the title battle a lot longer than he was in 2017. Technical issues blighted his mid-season. Esapekka Lappi was the surprise package. The Finn stepped up from WRC2 in Portugal and immediately bagged a fourth place finish. Three rounds later he was a WRC winner on the fastest rally of them all. From then his season unfurled a tad, but his stock is immensely high. The real interest however lies with Ott Tanak. The Estonian was immense in 2017, taking the fight to his highly decorated team mate throughout the season. He has now moved on from the team that made him, and into a team on the rise. Tommi Makinen's Toyota division is a highly Finnish affair, so how will Tanak settle in? How will he handle the Yaris WRC? How will his team mates be affected? Questions that will be answered in just a matter of months. That leaves Citroen; and how the Parisians will be erasing this year from their minds. After skipping 2016, their pre-season testing programme was by far the most extensive and lead driver Kris Meeke was hitting imperious form on his limited WRC outings. But it just didn't come together this year. An ill-handling and unpredictable C3 created a frustrated Meeke, who was later dropped for Poland as a result. Mikkelsen came in for a few outings, causing further unrest. Two wins in Mexico and Spain aside, the year has been a disaster for the team that once dominated the WRC. Craig Breen was a source of hope. The Irishman's consistency was exemplary but he will be frustrated to have not shown slightly more speed. The same cannot be said of Stephane Lefebvre though, who was often outclassed by the rest of the field. The car has been improving of late and Meeke will come in with a fresh set of eyes, and there is of course the prospect of Sebastien Loeb coming in for a limited programme.. .. So you're just as excited as me! At least I hope you are. Thursday 11th January is when it all launches at the Autosport International Show, a week before the season opening Rallye Monte-Carlo. I will be in Birmingham for the show looking to uncover as much insight as I can! Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport He ended the year how he should've started it. WRC vice-champion Thierry Neuville claimed his fourth win of 2017 by taking victory on the final round of this year's championship Kennard's Hire Rally Australia.
The Hyundai i20 pilot fought back from a sluggish start to lie second overnight on Friday, before inheriting a lead on Saturday morning that he would not relinquish. The result means he finished the season with twice as many wins as anybody else and with the most stage wins across the 13 rallies. Might Neuville rue 2017 as the one that could've been? Behind the Belgian, it was all kicking off. Team mate Andreas Mikkelsen was the early leader on just his third start for Hyundai, but swiped a bank on the exit of a sweeping right hander and got two punctures. With just one spare in the boot of his i20, the Norwegian was forced to pull over. This elevated Jari-Matti Latvala into second with Ott Tanak, Kris Meeke and Craig Breen all too squabbling for a podium position. The Finn pushed Neuville hard in his Toyota but was struggling to match the Belgian's ultimate pace. However a mistake in the Power Stage sent his Yaris into a tree and into instant retirement in front of the live television cameras. A disappointing end to the season. After a lacklustre Friday, Tanak would gratefully accept Latvala's gift of second place, the Estonian bidding farwell to M-Sport in the perfect fashion by ensuring the Fiesta WRC finished on the podium on every round of the season. Hayden Paddon was also a beneficiary of Latvala's blunder. The New Zealander wasn't happy with his speed but can take solace in a second podium of the year on the closest event to home, even if he wasn't truly in the fight up front. The event was one to forget for Citroen. Meeke was tipped for success in the lead up to the event and was running in the leading pack before swiping a bridge on Friday and damaging his C3's suspension. With the proceeding stage cancelled, the Northern Irishman was left fuming at the decision to retire the car believing he could've nursed it back to service. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. Meeke recovered to take seventh. Craig Breen was also going well, running in the top three on Friday, but in a bid to get back onto the rostrum he crashed heavily on the final leg. Both he and Scott Martin emerged unscathed but with dented pride. Stephane Lefebvre didn't fare too much better, retiring on the same stage as Breen with a wheel hanging from his Citroen. All this left Sebastien Ogier to take fourth on what may be his final ever outing in the World Rally Championship. After sealing his fifth consecutive world title last time out in Wales, all the talk surrounding the Frenchman regarded his future: would he sign for M-Sport for a second year or call it a day and become a full time dad? Time will tell on that one, but Ogier had a difficult time in Australia with an uncharacteristic spin and a gear selection issue hampering his progress. After his heroics on home soil, Welshman Elfyn Evans was expected to struggle down under and that would prove to be the case. The DMACK rubber he was using is much more suited to damper, colder conditions so Evans was at an inherent disadvantage compared with his rivals who were all running Michelin runner. Esapekka Lappi brought his first season in the WRC's top flight to an end with a top six finish for Toyota Gazoo Racing. The Finn was another to struggle though, with mechanical issues slowing him on Friday. The remainder of the top 10 was rounded out by non-WRC crews, with sole WRC2 entrant Kalle Rovanpera taking 12th and Mikkelsen finishing 13th. After 13 grueling and fiercely competitive rallies, the championship table looks like this: 1) Sebastien Ogier (Ford) 232 pts 2) Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) 208 pts 3) Ott Tanak (Ford) 191 pts 4) Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) 136 pts 5) Elfyn Evans (Ford) 128 pts 6) Dani Sordo (Hyundai) 95 pts 7) Kris Meeke (Citroen) 77 pts 8) Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) 74 pts 9) Juho Hanninen (Toyota) 71 pts 10) Craig Breen (Citroen) 64 pts 11) Esapekka Lappi (Toyota) 62 pts 12) Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda / Citroen / Hyundai) 54 pts 13) Stephane Lefebvre (Citroen) 30 pts 14) Teemu Suninen (Ford) 29 pts 15) Mads Ostberg (Ford) 29 pts The 2017 World Rally Championship promised to be epic with new, exciting technical regulations and the withdrawal of Volkswagen Motorsport leveling up the playing field. To say it has delivered is an understatement. We were treated to the closest title fight in years, witnessed seven different winners for four different marques which also included three debut victors. How can 2018 possibly topple that? I'm looking forward to finding out how. Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport The race is over. Yet it's just about to begin. The final round of the World Rally Championship takes the series down under for Rally Australia.
With Sebastien Ogier and M-Sport securing the drivers' and manufacturer's titles in Wales last month, all the championships have been sewn up heading into the final event of the year. This means the scores are reset to zero: with nothing left to fight for, Australia promises to be a hell-for-leather mad dash race for glory. This immediately puts new five-time champion Sebastien Ogier on the back foot. The Frenchman will be cleaning the road for his rivals on Friday - a big problem in Australia especially - which could well take him out the running for outright glory. Ruling him out completely however would be naive. You don't win 40 world rallies and five world titles by accident. Ott Tanak will start his final rally for M-Sport, the team he has spent the entirety of his WRC career with. The Estonian will therefore be looking to go out on a high, and also has the added incentive of wrestling second place back off Thierry Neuville in the championship. Elfyn Evans is the man of the moment after a breakthrough WRC win in his own backyard on round 12. However the DMACK rubber that helped him dominate Wales Rally GB is likely to hold the Welshman back down under. The British tyre firm played its tyre joker ahead of Rally Spain with an eye on Rally GB, as the new compound is designed for cooler, slippery conditions. The chances of Australia being cold and wet are improbable. Hyundai have struggled to recapture the scintillating form themselves and lead driver Neuville were in before the summer break. With both championships now out of reach, the Korean manufacturer will be desperate to end the season in the right manner. Neuville has a good record in Australia having claimed podiums in the past, but its new recruit Andreas Mikkelsen that is perhaps the favourite for victory when the action starts next weekend. The Norwegian dominated the event 12 months ago on his final event in a VW Polo, and this year in an i20 Coupe has the benefit of a lower starting position. He lead on his first full day of gravel in the car on Rally Spain, so the potential is there. Hayden Paddon meanwhile made a subdued return to WRC action last month after being benched for the Spanish round of the championship. Paddon has endured a difficult season, but there is no better place for him to put that behind him than on his closest event to home. A podium will be his target. Toyota have struggled for form after their double podium on Rally Finland. Jari-Matti Latvala has been the man doing most of the impressing in white and red this year, but mechanical gremlins have stagnated his season. He will be looking for a strong result in Australia, with Esapekka Lappi looking to get back into gear too after a crash in Spain and an anonymous performance in Wales. Juho Hanninen won't make the trip to the south of the globe. Citroen Racing will however, and the team will round out the year with the driver line-up that started it after a turbulent season. Kris Meeke is the man most likely to deliver. The 37 year old has an enviable record in Coffs Harbour as well as a lower starting position, so could fly next week. Stephane Lefebvre returns to the hot seat after sitting out GB while Craig Breen will start his first ever Rally Australia. He can't afford to relax though, with team principal Yves Matton looking for big performances from his "junior" drivers. It's time for the talking to stop and the action to unfold. Predicting a winner this season has been incredibly tough and it's even more tricky ahead of the 13th and final rally. Place your bets everyone, it promises to be a good one. |
WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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