Photo Credit: Citroen Racing Carlos Sainz, Didier Auriol, Markko Martin, Sebastien Loeb, Sebastien Ogier and Kris Meeke.
What do they have in common? They are the six non-Scandinavians to have won the most iconic rally of them all, Rally Finland, with the latter becoming the first British driver to win the prestigious event on the 2016 Neste Rally Finland. Kris Meeke and co-driver Paul Nagle made the most of a slightly superior road position to take control of what became the fastest rally in WRC history. The pair battled home heroes Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in their own backyard, who were vowing for a third straight and fourth overall Finland win, with the Polo R not being able to match the searing pace set by the DS3. Ouninpohja was the real turning point of the rally, with Meeke and Nagle waking up an hour early to prepare the roller-coaster ride, which saw them beat Latvala by an astonishing 13 seconds on a near flat out stage. Meeke netted his third WRC victory, his second in as many events and took plaudits for a drive that neither of his World Champion compatriots Colin McRae or Richard Burns could manage. Latvala's run to second was a little disappointing on a rally the Finn is always desperate to win, but it did elevate him to third in the championship. Irishman Craig Breen was however the surprise package of the rally, as on only his third outing this year in a DS3 World Rally Car, he grabbed the final spot on the podium in third. Breen admitted he was "surprisingly comfortable" aboard his Citroen as he tackled the most demanding roads in the world of rallying, and the scenes at the end of the final test were touching as an emotional Breen thanked everyone for their support and paid tribute to his old co-driver Gareth Roberts who was tragically killed in 2012. This result will do Breen the world of good in his pursuit for a full time factory drive in 2017. However, Breen didn't have it easy with the battle of the Hyundai's going on behind him as Craig, Thierry Neuville and Hayden Paddon all sought after the final podium place. Neither Neuville or Paddon were particularly happy with the set up of their i20s on the Finnish gravel, with the Belgian in particular looking wild on his way to fourth place. Paddon was trying all he could but simply couldn't match the pace of the boys at the front. Sixth is a decent result for M-Sport's lead driver Mads Ostberg after a disappointing Poland, and an equal fastest time was a sign of life from the Norwegian. However, Mads has now slipped to sixth in the championship with his pace in Sardinia being the only real highlight from the last few rallies, so he needs to up his game soon if he is to prove he truly deserves a factory seat at the sport's top level. Seventh place will come as a disappointment to Ostberg's compatriots Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jaeger, who celebrated his birthday on the Friday of the event. Mikkelsen was up in the fight for third after the first day but after Ogier suffered brake problems, the Poland winner found himself running at the head of the field, sweeping the road, and he struggled. However, much like on the other Scandinavian event in Sweden, Andreas was surprisingly ragged through many of the corners. Perhaps it was a case of over-driving on a rally he is maybe expected to do well on, but the net result is his second place in the championship is becoming less secure with Latvala hot on his heels. Eighth overall went to WRC2 winner Esapekka Lappi, who dominated the WRC's premier support category in his works Skoda Fabia R5. Kevin Abbring and Seb Marshall took ninth overall in their first competitive outing in the new-generation i20 as they substituted for the injured Dani Sordo, with Teemu Suninen taking tenth in his R5 Fabia. There were, as ever, some spectacular crashes during the event, which is to be expected on such a fast rally with trees lining the sides of the stages. Lorenzo Bertelli and Eric Camilli both rolled out spectacularly after misjudging one of Finland's many brisk corners on Saturday, with Ott Tanak running wide and smacking into a stone in his pursuit of Craig Breen's third position on Sunday. But what of the World Champion Ogier? Well he was running in an uncharacteristically low third place behind Meeke and team mate Latvala on Friday, the longest leg of the event, before on one of the slowest corners of the rally, his Polo R got sucked into a ditch and beached for an agonising 16 minutes. There were no Power Stage points for the Frenchman either as he started high up the running order on Sunday. Meeke is now the third highest winning driver in the WRC service park, and his sparkling form on every single rally he has contested this year bodes well for 2017 where the new technical regulations come into play. Meeke could very well find himself a serious championship challenger next year. I think everybody certainly hopes so.
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Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport The short WRC summer break is over, and if any driver was thinking he'd be bedded into the second half of 2016 nicely then he'd better think again, as up next is the grand prix on gravel, the rally of 1000 lakes, it's Neste Oil Rally Finland.
Photo Credit: DMACK Tyres The future of rallying in Great Britain is a topic under rather heavy scrutiny these days, with the recent issues regarding spectator safety and the increased price in forest hire that is threatening to make the sport extinct in Wales, one of its most iconic locations. However, despite the issues that are bubbling on the island, there is plenty to be excited about in terms of our representation on the international stage. Great Britain has had a rather lean time of it the past decade in terms of our driving talent. Matthew Wilson was our only real representative in the World Championship , and with all due respect to him he never reached the podium. Now however, the future looks very bright indeed, which is something we haven't been able to say since the glory days of the late '90s and early 2000s with Colin McRae and Richard Burns. Below are a list of British drivers who either are, could be or will be stars of the future from the British Isles. Kris MeekeThe Northern Irishman is a star of the future, but most definitely a star of now. The Dungannon driver has been at the sport's top level for a couple of years now, and has notched up 2 WRC wins, including the infamous Rally Portugal this year. For 2017 he has a 3 year contract with Citroen Racing, marking the first time Meeke has a long term future secured, and it is nothing short of what he deserves. Kris was a protege of 1995 World Champion Colin McRae, making his mark in the British Rally Championship in 2002 and 3 in a Ford Puma and then an Opel Corsa before progressing to the JWRC with Citroen. After that his career somewhat stalled, before he became Intercontinental Rally Champion with Peugeot in 2009. In 2011 he joined the Prodrive Mini project which unfortunately failed very quickly, before getting and earning his chance with Citroen Racing. He will almost certainly be a championship contender in 2017 in the new C3 WRC. Elfyn EvansThe young Welshman is another British driver who is well established within the WRC service park. The son of former British Champion Gwyndaf has completed 2 full seasons at the sport's top level (like Kris Meeke) for Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport, but in 2016 he has taken a step back and is competing in WRC2 in the Ford Fiesta R5 Evo (pictured above) and also the British Rally Championship in DMACK colours (pictured top of article). Evans has 2 WRC podiums to his name, and is hotly tipped to return to the WRC after being displaced by Eric Camilli at M-Sport. He rose to prominence back in the British Rally Championship driving a Fiesta R2 and a Subaru Impreza, before going on to win the WRC Academy in 2012 and finish runner up to Robert Kubica in WRC2 in 2013. He then made his WRC debut in 2014. Evans is insanely quick and professional, with a somewhat unique trump card of being right on the pace on gravel and on tarmac. A definite star of the future us Brits can be proud of. Chris IngramAt just 22 years old, Ingram is not just one of the most promising Brits in international rallying he is one of the most promising young drivers out there, with an impressive amount of experience for his age. He first shot to fame in his little R2 Renault Twingo in the British Rally Championship when he was just 17 and continued his progress into the Junior European Rally Championship. Despite being in his early 20s, he has already worked with manufacturer teams having driven for Peugeot UK in a 208 R2 and now competing for Opel in their ADAM R2, where with just two rallies to go in the season he heads the championship. The next step for Ingram will be four wheel drive machinery, and from there the sky is potentially the limit. There is surely a very bright future ahead for this young man who looks up to triple World Champion Sebastien Ogier. There are worse drivers to look up to! Tom CaveTom Cave is another young Brit who is destined for big things in the future, and is only getting better and better. The Welshman, like all the others listed above, made his name in the British Rally Championship, and is continuing to do so in the new rejuvenated series in his Spencer Sport Fiesta R5. The 24 year old has plenty of experience too in different machinery, having competed in the BRC with four wheel drive cars, two wheel drive and he also did two years in the DMACK Fiesta Trophy in the WRC, gaining valuable experience of world championship events. Cave currently sits in second in the BRC championship behind Elfyn Evans, and will earn lots of respect if he maintains that position until the end given the impressive performances of Swede Fredrik Ahlin this year. Tom could be another driver to make Britain proud in the future. Osian PryceOsian Pryce is another young gun who has broken out of the British Rally Championship and is destined for a good future in the World Championship. Another Welshman like Evans and Cave, Pryce is currently competing in the Drive DMACK Fiesta series, and has already earned himself a prize drive in a DMACK-shod Fiesta R5 in the 2017 WRC2, which could be something of a big break for Pryce. Osian has impressed as he has gained experience, finishing second in the 2013 British Rally Championship with 3 straight wins in the last 3 rallies and then narrowly missing out on the title the following year in his Citroen DS3 R3 to rival Daniel McKenna. He also has experience in four wheel drive cars, completing the 2014 Wales Rally GB in a Fiesta R5 and doing the Mid Wales Stages in this year's BRC, impressing greatly in a Spencer Sport run Mitsubishi Mirage R5. Pryce is very talented, and could go very far so is one to look out for. Gus GreensmithGus, like Osian, is driving this year in the Drive DMACK Fiesta Trophy WRC support series in a Ford Fiesta R2T, whilst also having done a couple of British Championship events to keep the competitive blood flowing. At just 19 years old, Greensmith has loads of time on his hands and is going about it in the right way, competing in a very competitive championship on world championship events. He is showing impressive speed too, albeit lacking a bit of luck. Gus is too early into his career for us to make any judgments and predictions, but we certainly haven't heard the last of him! So those are just 6 British drivers that have a bright immediate and long term future ahead of them. There are plenty others too that are impressive, including Jon Armstrong, David Bogie, Euan Thorburn and Garry Pearson. Could we be on the way to seeing the return of the glory days? Let's hope so!
Photo Credit: Hyundai Motorsport The 2017 FIA World Rally Championship season is just 6 months away from kicking into action on the mountainside tracks of Monte-Carlo, and it is set to be one of the most exciting WRC seasons in years. With new technical regulations that are to make the cars not only faster but more visually exciting as well, a new challenge awaits the best drivers in the world, and with new cars, why not introduce or re-introduce some old rules? Below are some regulations I want to see in next season's WRC. Let me know if you agree with them and if there are any I have missed out. Revised Running OrderThis is currently under discussion so no matter what the outcome is, we are going to see a change next year in the road order format, which currently has the pack running in championship order for days 1 and 2 before the rally order is reversed for the final leg. This, as most would agree, is an unfair hindrance for Sebastien Ogier who is in my opinion being punished for his successes, with the rule coming in after he became World Rally Champion with VW. It may have contributed in seeing 6 different winners from 6 different events this year, but I for one want to see people fighting it out in an equal fight, not being severely handicapped. There is some speculation that the rule may be tweaked to see the championship leader run all three days at the front of the pack, which personally I feel would be an absolute travesty. The solution for me is to return to a format previously adopted in the championship, with day 1 being dictated by championship order, and the next 2 days seeing the rally run in rally order. This brings with it a whole bunch of tactics, with drivers slowing to try and get the best road order for the following day. But history proves this can create some epic battles as some choose to slow and others gamble and just go for it. And arguably nowadays, with no split times available in the car, drivers will not know how much to slow down by so will have to guess if they choose to drop time to fall down the road order and benefit from better grip. Three Car TeamsWith Volkswagen, Hyundai and Toyota all potentially looking to run at least three cars in the 2017 WRC season, why not just let the manufacturers run three cars in their main team, instead of seeing drivers at Hyundai for example switch teams and potentially hinder the manufacturers championship race, with Neuville's win in Sardinia giving points to Hyundai's second team for instance. The last team the WRC permitted three car manufacturer teams was in 2003, which did disadvantage those who didn't want to or didn't have the resources to run three cars as they have less cars and drivers to score them points. But only two of the teams entrants would score points so although there is less cover in that if one car fails to finish there isn't another to swoop in, teams entering two cars wouldn't be hindered by losing a whole chunk of points each rally just because they have less entrants. To me this idea just makes sense. With so many manufacturers looking to run more than two cars, it tidies everything up in effect and should hopefully make the manufacturers battle a little closer. Points for Fastest Stage TimesOut of the three I have listed here, this one unlike the others isn't backed up by any evidence or discussion, it is just a fantasy idea I have had that could potentially make the championship battle closer.
My idea is that for each stage in the rally, a point is in offer for the driver who scores the fastest time, which is in essence an extension on the current Power Stage format, which may be in jeopardy if this idea were to come into play. Under my devised system, there wouldn't be any points on offer for second of third fastest, it would just be one point for the winner so on a 20 stage event 20 additional championship points would be up for grabs. While this would in all likelihood increase the points gap between the winner of the event and the rest of the pack as to win you usually need to be winning a lot of stages, it could in theory motivate drivers to push to the limit throughout the rally for the points, creating more drama, excitement and hopefully closer battles. It would also provide the chance for a driver who has suffered a setback early on in the event to claw some points back with quickest stage times despite not necessarily finishing that highly. Well those are just some of my ideas, two of them feasible and realistic, one maybe not but I believe it could work! Let me know what you make of my ideas and keep an eye on the blog with a feature piece looking at the future of British rallying coming very soon! Photo Credit: Skoda Motorsport It's July, which means the football summer transfer window is now officially open and the World Rally Championship is taking a short break for the summer, with just under a month between last weekend's Rally Poland and round 8 of the championship, Rally Finland. In Formula 1 this time is often regarded as "silly season", with the rumour mill and gossip columns in full swing regarding driver movements for the following season. I thought then with the new look 2017 WRC just around the corner, and with the suspected rumour that teams may be allowed to run 3 manufacturer cars for the first time since 2003, I should take a look at the current WRC driver market and how it could look next year with potentially 15 factory seats available. VolkswagenThe triple world champions have been the class act of the WRC since they joined the sport in 2013, and will therefore have the most pressure to deliver top class machinery once again in 2017. However, with Marcus Gronholm testing their new machine as well as their current drivers, they should be in good hands. As well as having the best car, VW also have three of the best drivers in the championship who are all likely to stay for 2017. Sebastien Ogier, one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen, is well on his way to a fourth world title, and he will be partnered by rapid Finn Jari-Matti Latvala and the WRC's latest winner Andreas Mikkelsen. Should VW think about switching it up however, WRC2 contenders Skoda Motorsport, a sister company of Volkswagen, have two very talented drivers in their ranks in Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand. More on them later. HyundaiHyundai, like Volkswagen, have been ultra impressive since joining the World Rally Championship in 2014, and like Volkswagen they already have three competitive drivers on their books with two works cars and a second string team for the third driver. The team are an exciting prospect heading into 2017, as they have already proved they are capable of quickly building a competitive machine, with the car they entered the championship with already having been replaced by 2016's new-generation i20 WRC, and to add to this they have been developing the Hyundai i20 R5 which is to be homologated very soon. Their current three drivers Thierry Neuville, Hayden Paddon and Dani Sordo are all performing well this season, with the former two having each bagged a win for the team this year. As well as the Belgian, Kiwi and Spaniard, Hyundai have Dutchman Kevin Abbring to consider. The youngster has had a couple of outings in the WRC in 2016 in the older specification i20, but his primary role has been in developing the new R5 model, a car which is crucial for the outfit. This means Hyundai face a dilemma, as they won't want to lose Abbring to another team as he may become fed up of just receiving sporadic WRC drives. They could take the decision of handing him a full time drive, but this may mean displacing one of their current three drivers who are all performing well. However, Dani Sordo is in the autumn of his career so may be sacrificed to keep Abbring on their books, but Sordo's asphalt pace and wealth of experience may be key as the WRC enters the unknown in 2017. CitroenCitroen, the WRC's dominant force for the past decade, are one of the most interesting areas regarding the 2017 WRC driver market, with only one driver locked in to drive for the French marque in 2017 in their C3 WRC at this point in time. Kris Meeke is a fantastic driver to have and is set to lead the team, but with potentially just one seat up for grabs they have a tricky choice to make regarding who will partner him. The Abu Dhabi Total WRT are running DS3's on selected events in the 2016 WRC as Citroen concentrate on developing their new car for next year to make sure it's a VW beater, and Khalid Al Qassimi has handed drives to Meeke as well as Stephane Lefebvre and Craig Breen. It's a difficult choice, as both drivers proved in Poland that they are extremely talented youngsters with bags of potential, so ideally if the three car team proposal does go through they will sign both of them up. Both drivers are fast and reliable, with Lefebvre coming with a tad more WRC experience but Breen with a lot more actual experience, but if I were Citroen and I had to choose I would probably plump for Stephane Lefebvre as it makes more sense commercially with him and co-driver Gabin Moreau being a French crew. M-SportMalcolm Wilson's M-Sport may not have manufacturer backing, but Ott Tanak's scintillating run on Rally Poland proved that the Ford Fiesta RS WRC still has rally winning potential, with just a puncture denying the Estonian the chance of taking the car's first win since Jari-Matti Latvala on Wales Rally GB 2012. The Cumbrian outfit may well run just a two car team even if three are permitted given they don't have any manufacturer support from Ford these days, but the DMACK team will likely be present with Ott Tanak driving for the team. M-Sport are often associated with gifting opportunities to the sport's rising stars, having brought Jari-Matti Latvala, Markko Martin, Francois Duval, Elfyn Evans and now Eric Camilli into the sport's top level. Currently M-Sport have Mads Ostberg and the developing Eric Camilli driving for their works squad, with 2014 and 15 works driver Elfyn Evans driving the team's latest R5 Fiesta, the Evo, in the WRC2 support category and the British Rally Championship this season. Therefore if teams are allowed three cars then you would expect the consistent and reliable Ostberg to be teemed up with Camilli once more and Welshman Evans to join the fray after a year out of the sport's top level, but if they are to run two cars then Wilson most definitely has a dilemma on his hands. He won't want to lose Evans to a rival team, and the Brit is keen to get back into WRC machinery in 2017, and he definitely won't want to dump Camilli who he took a massive risk on as it looks to be paying dividends if recent results are anything to go by. Could Mads Ostberg be the one to make way? Well after a strong start to the season, his performances have been less than spectacular to say the least, but the Norwegian has plenty of experience and is capable of leading the team. However, he may need to show some strong speed in the second half of the 2016 season to convince Malcolm he deserves to stay and impress potential other teams. ToyotaPhoto Credit: Ricardo Oliveira The much anticipated return of one of the WRC's iconic teams of the '90s, Toyota, is not only great news for fans of the sport and its general health, but presents a great opportunity for rally drivers across the globe with more factory seats up for grabs. With four time World Champion Tommi Makinen at the helm, the Yaris WRC should be driven by talented drivers with Makinen's talent spotting potential. For the drivers, it could be the car where young guns get their chance to make a name for themselves and for a more experienced driver a chance to lead a team into something potentially great. So who will end up at Toyota? Juho Hanninen is a name that has been heavily linked, with the Finn having conducted some testing in the Yaris and bringing with him plenty of winning experience from the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, SWRC (now WRC2) and has had several WRC outings both in a Fiesta WRC in 2013 and for Hyundai in 2014 to boot. He therefore would be a great choice for Makinen, especially for the team's first year in the World Championship at least. Toyota are expected to run three Yaris WRC's in 2017, meaning there are two more seats available. These could be filled quite feasibly by a number of drivers, perhaps Mads Ostberg, Elfyn Evans, Craig Breen, Stephane Lefebvre or Kevin Abbring should they not find a factory drive at their respected associated teams in 2017. However, assuming they all stay with who they are connected to, whether it just be in a test and development role, there are a number of promising youngsters Toyota could look to recruit. And there are none better than Teemu Suninen. The Finn is just 22 years of age, and has won three WRC2 events this year, more than ex-WRC driver Elfyn Evans, in his Skoda Fabia R5. He currently sits just 5 points shy of Evans' championship lead. He is undoubtedly a star of the future, so although it may come quite early in his career, Toyota would benefit greatly in locking him in to their team, even if they just hand him a test and development role initially. Other drivers Toyota could grab are Skoda Motorsport's two drivers Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand. Both the Finn and the Swede have shown fantastic pace over the years and have picked up important championship titles with Lappi becoming 2014 European Rally Champion and Tidemand winning the 2013 JWRC, and holding the record for the longest jump at Colin's Crest in Sweden, in an R5 car! So those are some of my predictions, suggestions and observations regarding the potential WRC 2017 line up. But one thing is for sure; with five different makes of car in the championship for the first time in a decade and the new, more powerful, aggressive looking machines, the 2017 World Rally Championship season could be one of the best ever.
Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport Round 7 of the 2016 World Rally Championship season was contested on the ultra fast and flowing gravel roads of Poland.
The first two rounds of the championship were won by defending champion Sebastien Ogier, but since Rally Sweden in February the Frenchman has failed to win, mostly struggling with opening the road for two consecutive days, which has seen a run of five different winners in five consecutive events with Jari-Matti Latvala, Hayden Paddon, Kris Meeke and Thierry Neuville all joining Ogier in the 2016 winners circle. In Poland, we incredibly witnessed the sixth different winner in as many events, but it wasn't who we were expecting. It was Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen who took his second career victory after finishing second in Poland the last two years, and his first WRC win with co-driver Anders Jaeger. This result moved Mikkelsen back into second in the drivers standings, 51 points behind Ogier and 20 ahead of Paddon. Ott Tanak and Raigo Molder however were the ones in control of the event, impressing in their DMACK Ford Fiesta RS WRC, leading the event up until the penultimate stage where his lead of 20 seconds was wiped out by a puncture. He was cruelly denied of his maiden WRC win through no fault on his own, but he still took a career best second place. Hayden Paddon and John Kennard took third overall after two retirements on the last two rallies, making this a much needed result for the New Zealander. However, he only just clung onto his podium as Thierry Neuville finished just 0.8 seconds behind his team mate after struggling with his pace notes at the start of the event. Jari-Matti Latvala struggled for confidence early on but rediscovered his mojo to take fifth overall, ahead of team mate Sebastien Ogier, who for the first time since Rally Spain last year where he crashed out of the lead on the final stage. Seventh went to Craig Breen and Scott Martin after an enthralling battle between him and Abu Dhabi Total WRT team mates Stephane Lefebvre and Gabin Moreau, in what is expected to be a battle for a Citroen factory seat in 2017. Breen did his best to play the contest down while Lefebvre did the opposite, but the net result was seventh for Breen and ninth for Lefebvre as the French driver broke his suspension on the final day when the weather turned from sunny to wet, muddy and treacherous. Mads Ostberg was far off the pace in Poland, spending most of the rally behind his less experienced team mate Eric Camilli, but profited from rivals' misfortunes to take eighth. Camilli broke his suspension to take ninth, while Dani Sordo ended his run of four consecutive fourth place finishes with retirement as he too damaged his car. WRC2 winner Teemu Suninen took tenth. The WRC returns at the end of the month for the second half of the season, starting with the roller coaster ride that is the Neste Oil Rally Finland. Will we see a seventh different winner? |
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