Photo Credit: Volkswagen Motorsport After an unscheduled break, the World Rally Championship is set to return next weekend on the Mediterranean isle of Corsica. The French round of the championship, the second pure tarmac event of the year, is the tenth round of the series, and if previous form this year is to go by we could be set for a cracker.
Triple World Champion Sebastien Ogier finally got himself back to winning ways on the previous round in Germany, but has a score to settle on the rally of 10,000 corners, a rally he is yet to win. The Frenchman's second home event of the season is his first mathematical chance to claim a fourth consecutive world title, but he would need a minor miracle to jet home from Corsica as the 2016 World Rally Champion. Last year's Corsican adventure was dogged with flash floods which saw a large proportion of the rally's competitive distance cancelled, but one man that took all this in his stride was Finland's Jari-Matti Latvala who took his second consecutive French win after winning the Alsace event in 2014. Latvala needs a strong result after having not won since Mexico in March. Andreas Mikkelsen is becoming increasingly quick on tarmac, winning last year's Rally Spain and leading the previous round in Germany before being passed by team mate Ogier and Hyundai's tarmac experts. Mikkelsen will be looking to consolidate second in the championship so at least a podium will be the target. Over at Hyundai, there is much speculation about where he will be next season but no longer any questions regarding his ability. Belgium ace Thierry Neuville has scored more points than anybody else since his win in Sardinia, and will be a serious force to be reckoned with in Corsica, an event he won back in 2011 when it was part of the iRC. Hyundai stablemate Dani Sordo has also won in Corsica, a year after Neuville, and was mightily impressive in Germany, beating his team mate by an incredibly close 0.1 seconds. The battle between the Hyundai men will be incredibly intriguing, and could well be within the fight for the win. Hayden Paddon is not known for his tarmac exploits, but still netted a fifth place in Germany. The target for one of the sport's hottest properties will be to close the gap to the front runners and not make any mistakes on one of the sport's most legendary, demanding and dangerous events. M-Sport's challenge is once again headed by Mads Ostberg and Eric Camilli. Ostberg is without a drive in 2017 as of yet, so a good event would be no hindrance whilst Camilli, who is stronger on tarmac, needs to put a solid run together on his home event after going off the road early in Germany. Ott Tanak is another to watch for the DMACK squad. The Estonian has been very impressive this year and is tipped to return to the factory M-Sport squad next year, but he will want to have a trouble free rally on a rally where any minor mistake is severely punished. Joining the fray once again will be the Abu Dhabi Total WRT after missing the previous round in Germany. The team will once more run DS3's for Ulsterman Kris Meeke and fellow Irishman Craig Breen, whose Corsican preparation was curtailed by an engine failure on the Isle of Man aboard an R5 DS3. Both men however were incredible in Finland, and could be dark horses for a podium in France. The Tour de Corse, affectionately known as the "Rally of 10,000 Corners", is one they all want to win, and has played host to a number of classic battles down the years. Who's your money on? I think it will either be Ogier, Latvala, Mikkelsen, Meeke, Neuville or Sordo. Wait, did somebody say I had to pick one winner...?
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WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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