First and foremost I hope everybody had a very merry Christmas and is looking forward to the new year. Once 2016 arrives, soon our attention will be diverted towards the historic Rallye Monte-Carlo. So, I just wanted to give my opinion looking at each works team of the 2016 season. The World Champions VW head into the 2016 season as the team to beat. Ogier has 3 titles in the bag and 2015 was arguably his most successful and impressive. I expect the main championship battle will be between Ogier and Latvala, but surely Ogier will edge it won't he? The only change for 2016 at VW is in the passenger seat of Andreas Mikkelsen's car. Out goes Ola Floene and in comes Anders Jaeger. I don't expect this will make a difference to the Norwegian's fortunes but it remains to be seen Citroen will not be participating in the full season, but will be present on several events, with Kris Meeke, Stephane Lefebvre, Craig Breen and Khalid Al Qassimi driving the outgoing DS3. The full programme has not been revealed but it's expected they'll be present on several European rounds. However if I were Citroen I'd want my cars in China, so data can be gathered and I won't be on the back foot in 2017 as nobody has any Chinese experience. For Meeke, who is the only driver to have signed for 2017, it will be absolutely vital for him to remain competition sharp. As for Lefebvre, he has the opportunity to impress Yves Matton and convince him he deserves a full time drive. Personally I'm delighted to see Craig Breen has been handed this opportunity as he has been on the fringes of the World Championship ever since 2012. He now has to prove his worth. Hyundai are heading into their third season after their return with a brand new car, the New Generation i20. It is rumoured to be much faster than its predecessor. The same drivers as 2015 remain in Neuville, Sordo and Paddon, but all of them will be rotating in the main team with no clear number 1. The biggest challenge for the team will be internal politics, with the relationship between Neuville and Paddon a tad frosty. However, especially with no Citroen, I expect Hyundai to be the best of the rest behind Volkswagen, and despite a poor 2015, Neuville to finish the highest in the championship. The last of the works teams is M-Sport, who have an all new line up.
Mads Ostberg returns from Citroen after leaving for them in 2014, and will be partnered by Eric Camilli who joins from Toyota's driver programme. Malcolm Wilson has a reputation for spitting rising talent, and Camilli represents a gamble as he has minimal experience. Granted, he knows more than me but I personally would have stuck with Elfyn Evans who has 2 years experience and would be a solid number 2 to Ostberg. Then perhaps give Camilli some one off drives to gain experience and prove himself. Evans is still within the M-Sport fold, but for Monte-Carlo at least has been demoted to WRC-2 to develop the updated R5 model. All that aside though, Mads Ostberg is a brilliant signing and could be the man to prove the real potential of the new evolution Fiesta WRC. So that's what I think. What do you think?
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WRCArticles covering the World Rally Championship Archives
January 2018
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