F1Rejects.com

by **DanielPT** » 02 Apr 2012, 08:54

Oh dear... Ostberg inherits the victory by what should be called 'default' in a crazy but brilliant rally. Myrvold shouldn't be too happy, though.

by **Nuppiz** » 02 Apr 2012, 09:01

DanielPT wrote:Oh dear... Ostberg inherits the victory by what should be called 'default' in a crazy but brilliant rally. Myrvold shouldn't be too happy, though.

Disastrous rally from a Finnish perspective - after their main nemesis for several years makes an extremely rare error and bins it, Latvala follows his usual route and crashes out as well (although this time he wasn't so much at fault), while Hirvonen gets disqualified for having an illegal car.

Oh well, I haven't actively followed the sport in years after it got into a boring Citroen vs. Ford battle.

by **Stramala** » 02 Apr 2012, 09:35

Solberg is now second in the championship, one point behind Loeb, and Ostberg is up to third overall. I highly approve of this.

TVING NORGE! :mrgreen:

by **Pieman** » 02 Apr 2012, 10:47

This championship has now pretty much completely disappeared up its own backside.

by **mario** » 02 Apr 2012, 16:57

DanielPT wrote:Oh dear... Ostberg inherits the victory by what should be called 'default' in a crazy but brilliant rally. Myrvold shouldn't be too happy, though.

Further details have now been published in the FIA's technical report - the FIA have said that Citroen used a non-homologated clutch selection mechanism, and the clutch itself has a different part number on it to the one written on the entry form, indicating it is from a different batch.
As for the turbocharger, that is slightly less clear cut - the turbine wheel appears to very slightly exceed the specified limit of 54mm (by 0.02mm according to Autosport), although this is being remeasured because it is so close to the limits that the FIA gives for manufacturing tolerances. Even if this was discounted, though, the clutch mechanism is likely to remain a pressing matter. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98551

Nevertheless, Citroen have announced that they intend to appeal against Hirvonen's penalty, complaining that the clutch mechanism would not have given any advantage (the normal clutch selection mechanism fitted has been homologated with holes for a lighter part, whereas the piece fitted to Hirvonen's car did not have the holes drilled), and that the turbine wheel of the turbocharger was distorted by use in the rally. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98555

by **Stramala** » 02 Apr 2012, 18:50

They have a case for the turbocompresser turbine wheel perhaps, but the non-homologated clutch? I don't think so. They might as well throw the whole concept of homologation out of the window if they repeal Hirvonen's exclusion on the grounds of it "not being fair" as Yves Matton said.

by **mario** » 02 Apr 2012, 20:17

kostas22 wrote:They have a case for the turbocompresser turbine wheel perhaps, but the non-homologated clutch? I don't think so. They might as well throw the whole concept of homologation out of the window if they repeal Hirvonen's exclusion on the grounds of it "not being fair" as Yves Matton said.

For the turbine, I'd say that they probably stand a decent chance of having that charge withdrawn - the deviation from the permitted size should be within the tolerance band the FIA allows for manufacturing errors, plus the turbocharger is a standardised unit supplied by Garrett and should (in theory) be identical for each and every car. As for the clutch selection mechanism, they'll probably struggle there - the argument they have put forward is that there have been no changes to the clutch selection mechanism apart from the absence of strategically drilled holes to make the parts lighter.
I agree, though, that they are unlikely to see a change of heart by the FIA over the non-homologated clutch - functionally it may be the same, but structurally it is not the same. Cynically, such a decision does also help Solberg close up on Loeb, and it isn't as if the FIA has sometimes let the desire for a more "exciting" championship cloud its judgement in the past...

Website · by **Wizzie** » 03 Apr 2012, 21:11

My respect for Ostberg has increased substantially

by **Stramala** » 03 Apr 2012, 22:29

Malcolm Wilson, Ford Team Principal wrote:Jari did actually offer [to step down as number one]. He said he accepted that maybe the time had come [for a change of tactic]. But the way out of this is to give him as much support as I possibly can - and that's what I intend to do. For me, he's the only driver in a straight fight who can take the fight to Sebastien and beat him. And, for us to win championships, we have to win rallies.

This is why Ford is never going to win the championship this year. I think Wilson has completely lost the plot if he believes this, and has also completely forgotten rally history in the process - the last champion before Loeb went on his 8 title streak was PETTER SOLBERG. If I was at Ford I would have issued an ultimatum to M-Sport seasons ago - sack Wilson, or at least change his position in the company - or they would switch to another constructor.

It is a shame for Jari he is effectively going to become the scapegoat for Ford's inevitable failure to win anything again, he told the team principal Solberg should rightly be the number one driver and has been told instead to somehow turn around a 38 point gap to Loeb. Utter, utter stupidity.

Website · by **Wizzie** » 03 Apr 2012, 22:49

kostas22 wrote:
Malcolm Wilson, Ford Team Principal wrote:Jari did actually offer [to step down as number one]. He said he accepted that maybe the time had come [for a change of tactic]. But the way out of this is to give him as much support as I possibly can - and that's what I intend to do. For me, he's the only driver in a straight fight who can take the fight to Sebastien and beat him. And, for us to win championships, we have to win rallies.

This is why Ford is never going to win the championship this year. I think Wilson has completely lost the plot if he believes this, and has also completely forgotten rally history in the process - the last champion before Loeb went on his 8 title streak was PETTER SOLBERG. If I was at Ford I would have issued an ultimatum to M-Sport seasons ago - sack Wilson, or at least change his position in the company - or they would switch to another constructor.

It is a shame for Jari he is effectively going to become the scapegoat for Ford's inevitable failure to win anything again, he told the team principal Solberg should rightly be the number one driver and has been told instead to somehow turn around a 38 point gap to Loeb. Utter, utter stupidity.

Go home, Malcolm Wilson!

by **AndreaModa** » 04 Apr 2012, 00:32

That's monumentally daft from Wilson. Loeb might be a bloody good rally driver but it seems that both Mini and Ford are determined to just hand him and Citroen another championship by being completely incompetent. It's a shame because the potential to have three decent manufacturers all going at it for both titles is evaporating faster than Latvala crashing out of rallies!

by **mario** » 04 Apr 2012, 08:10

kostas22 wrote:
Malcolm Wilson, Ford Team Principal wrote:Jari did actually offer [to step down as number one]. He said he accepted that maybe the time had come [for a change of tactic]. But the way out of this is to give him as much support as I possibly can - and that's what I intend to do. For me, he's the only driver in a straight fight who can take the fight to Sebastien and beat him. And, for us to win championships, we have to win rallies.

This is why Ford is never going to win the championship this year. I think Wilson has completely lost the plot if he believes this, and has also completely forgotten rally history in the process - the last champion before Loeb went on his 8 title streak was PETTER SOLBERG. If I was at Ford I would have issued an ultimatum to M-Sport seasons ago - sack Wilson, or at least change his position in the company - or they would switch to another constructor.

It is a shame for Jari he is effectively going to become the scapegoat for Ford's inevitable failure to win anything again, he told the team principal Solberg should rightly be the number one driver and has been told instead to somehow turn around a 38 point gap to Loeb. Utter, utter stupidity.

I have to agree there - Wilson's policy could result in the worst result possible. He rather publicly putting Latvala under a lot of pressure to win rallies at a time when Latvala's confidence will almost certainly have fallen, not to mention effectively humiliating Solberg by saying he is not capable of beating Loeb.

Realistically, at this point in the championship you have to acknowledge that Solberg has the far stronger points position, and chance of winning the title, than Latvala. Latvala has been far too erratic in the opening rounds, whereas at least Solberg has kept picking up points along the way, and it isn't as if Solberg wasn't competitive last year either (up until the last three rounds of last years rally championship he was within 10 points of Latvala). With Loeb and Citroen looking as strong as ever, Ford are arguably throwing away their best chance to catch up - and it isn't the first time that has been said either...

by **Stramala** » 14 Apr 2012, 02:19

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98781

Latvala is out for Rally Argentina with a broken collarbone. SURELY now Solberg will be given number one status, and Mads Ostberg drafted in to the works team to replace Latvala in Argentina. Ostberg will likely be very desperate for this to happen, as according to him, his Adapta customer team participating in Rally Argentina is using up 20% of their entire season budget. With a works seat, he can tag along with the M-Sport people and make sure he completes the rest of the season as a privateer.

by **AndreaModa** » 14 Apr 2012, 02:38

Whilst not wanting to wish bad things on Latvala, this could quite possibly be the best thing that's happened to Ford this season.

by **dr-baker** » 14 Apr 2012, 02:52

I meant to post a link to that story earlier but forgot. Latvala does now seem as accident-prone outside of the rally car as he does in it. If this means that Petter Solberg gets the number 1 driver role at Ford, or at least equal number 1 status, then it is a positive, sadly for Jari-Matti. We know that Petter is capable of delivering over a season - he is the most recent champion if you take Loeb out of the equation!

by **Stramala** » 15 Apr 2012, 06:36

Malcolm Wilson, Ford Team Principal, wrote:Now we have taken the decision that it’s best for [Latvala] to miss Argentina so he’s 100 per cent fit for the Acropolis, one of the most difficult rallies in the championship, we will look at his replacement for Argentina although we’re not currently in a position to make an announcement until Monday at the earliest. Finding a replacement won’t be an issue [in terms of driver availability] but you have to remember a driver of Jari’s ability is very hard to replace.

Again, I have to disagree with Wilson here. He may have inherited his victory in Portugal, but Ostberg has shown genuine speed so far this year. Tanak has potential but needs far more seat time in the Fiesta to fulfil it, the same problem team-mate Evgeny Novikov has, and Henning Solberg does not have the natural talent to fill the void. Ford's former go-to driver for deputising, Per-Gunnar Andersson, is contracted to Proton this year which rules him out, however there are a couple of other drivers who could potentially step-in. I don't know if Kris Meeke has officially terminated his contract with Mini yet or not, but he might as well if he hasn't already, as it looks certian he will get zero seat time this season. However, I doubt he would do any better than Ostberg.

I think the choice is a complete no-brainer. There is one slight problem with this however - Adapta Ford will run with manufacturer status in Argentina, meaning they are now obliged to race or face disqualification from the championship. If Ostberg joins Ford WRT then Adapta will need a replacement. I don't think Eyvind Brynildsen is busy on the weekend of the rally but I can't be sure, he seems the most logical replacement. If he doesn't have any budget to compete however, there could be a potential stumbling block here.

Website · by **Wizzie** » 17 Apr 2012, 20:23

Sordo replaces Latvala for Argentina.

At least it means that the car won't end up as a bag of bits for once :lol:

by **Stramala** » 17 Apr 2012, 20:41

I'm surprised Prodrive allowed Sordo to jump ship, even temporarily. Interestingly, Eliseo Salazar will be the only driver in a Prodrive Mini for Argentina

Elsewhere, it is the Rally 1000 Miglia this weekend, and ERC round with works Proton SWRC driver Giandomenico Basso and works Skoda IRC driver Juho Hanninen competing along with Italian rally legend Paolo Andreucci.

by **Pieman** » 18 Apr 2012, 01:54

Wizzie wrote:Sordo replaces Latvala for Argentina.

Has anyone heard from Kris Meeke lately, or has he hung himself? He is on the sidelines, Sordo is already in one of the seats Kris should be in...and then they go and do this.

by **DanielPT** » 18 Apr 2012, 02:23

kostas22 wrote:
Malcolm Wilson, Ford Team Principal, wrote:Now we have taken the decision that it’s best for [Latvala] to miss Argentina so he’s 100 per cent fit for the Acropolis, one of the most difficult rallies in the championship, we will look at his replacement for Argentina although we’re not currently in a position to make an announcement until Monday at the earliest. Finding a replacement won’t be an issue [in terms of driver availability] but you have to remember a driver of Jari’s ability is very hard to replace.

Again, I have to disagree with Wilson here. He may have inherited his victory in Portugal, but Ostberg has shown genuine speed so far this year. Tanak has potential but needs far more seat time in the Fiesta to fulfil it, the same problem team-mate Evgeny Novikov has, and Henning Solberg does not have the natural talent to fill the void. Ford's former go-to driver for deputising, Per-Gunnar Andersson, is contracted to Proton this year which rules him out, however there are a couple of other drivers who could potentially step-in. I don't know if Kris Meeke has officially terminated his contract with Mini yet or not, but he might as well if he hasn't already, as it looks certian he will get zero seat time this season. However, I doubt he would do any better than Ostberg.

I think the choice is a complete no-brainer. There is one slight problem with this however - Adapta Ford will run with manufacturer status in Argentina, meaning they are now obliged to race or face disqualification from the championship. If Ostberg joins Ford WRT then Adapta will need a replacement. I don't think Eyvind Brynildsen is busy on the weekend of the rally but I can't be sure, he seems the most logical replacement. If he doesn't have any budget to compete however, there could be a potential stumbling block here.

From that quote I deduce that Ford can now be known as "Rallying Red Bull" and Malcom Wilson has probably coloured his hair to look more like Christian Horner. Latvala number 1 driver? What a bunch of ...

by **Myrvold** » 22 Apr 2012, 13:33

Well, congrats to Østberg, however. They keep digging a hole for themselves in Norway (at least for everyone that's neutral, or dislikes them).
Pretty often they go out in the media, complaining about all the disadvantages about being a privateer. How everything would've been so much easier, if they just could be in a factory team.
And then, they follow that up, with saying they didn't want to be the replacement for Latvala. They would then most likely be the second driver in the team. And that was not interesting. If they would give up the private team. They had to be the lead driver. So, I guess they'll complain about costs, and not having a ride for a factory team again after next race...

by **Stramala** » 22 Apr 2012, 13:42

WHY? Østberg, you fool, who cares if you are number two for ONE DAMN EVENT. You would have saved 20% of the Adapta budget by skipping Argentina with your own team and going with Ford WRT. That was foolish.

Although I guess Sordo is well used to being a number two driver

by **mario** » 22 Apr 2012, 20:05

kostas22 wrote:I'm surprised Prodrive allowed Sordo to jump ship, even temporarily. Interestingly, Eliseo Salazar will be the only driver in a Prodrive Mini for Argentina

Elsewhere, it is the Rally 1000 Miglia this weekend, and ERC round with works Proton SWRC driver Giandomenico Basso and works Skoda IRC driver Juho Hanninen competing along with Italian rally legend Paolo Andreucci.

Prodrive are not officially attending the Argentinian rally - Salazar will be running a Prodrive prepared car, that is true, but he has entered the car privately rather than with factory support. In fact, Prodrive intend to skip the following round in Greece as well - they won't return until the New Zealand rally, whilst at the moment they have only confirmed that they will enter the British and German events (though they are looking for funding to attend other events later this year). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98911

So, given that Sordo would be missing the event anyway, Prodrive has said that they do not object if he takes Latvala's place as it keeps Sordo "race ready", as it were. Mind you, as Pieman points out, where has happened to Kris Meeke? Given the unceremonious way that he was hung out to dry, it would have been nice to see him back in the mix.

by **East Londoner** » 28 Apr 2012, 08:22

Solberg has had to park it, after he bent a steering arm.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99198

Meaning a little-known rally driver by the name of Sebastian Loeb takes the lead of the rally :roll:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99193

by **Stramala** » 28 Apr 2012, 08:36

As usual, Solberg has zero luck. This was his rally, this was the pivotal point in his bid for the championship. If he won, he would become the #1 driver at Ford, his confidence would be back after such a long long LONG winless streak, we would finally see the old Petter back. This is not going to help his mentality at all, just when it seemed he had all the right cards in his hands it came crashing down.

And now, Citroen will dominate. :cry:

Website · by **Wizzie** » 28 Apr 2012, 08:44

kostas22 wrote:And now, Citroen will dominate.

Correction: Loeb will dominate. Hirvonen probably won't be allowed to win unless Loeb somehow throws it into a nearby tree.

by **dr-baker** » 28 Apr 2012, 09:04

East Londoner wrote:Solberg has had to park it, after he bent a steering arm.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99198

Meaning a little-known rally driver by the name of Sebastian Loeb takes the lead of the rally

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99193

Loeb? What a strange name! Never heard of him! :roll:

by **East Londoner** » 01 May 2012, 02:38

Take a guess who won in Argentina

by **dr-baker** » 01 May 2012, 02:39

East Londoner wrote:Take a guess who won in Argentina

Shame it wasn't the guy that came in about 12th, Eliseo Salazar...

by **mario** » 01 May 2012, 02:49

Wizzie wrote:
kostas22 wrote:And now, Citroen will dominate.

Correction: Loeb will dominate. Hirvonen probably won't be allowed to win unless Loeb somehow throws it into a nearby tree.

You got that right - once the team told Hirvonen to hold station (which they did pretty quickly), and with the field so strung out, the main interest was how far those under the Super Rally regulations could recover to. It looks like Hirvonen is finding out what life as the No. 2 Citroen driver is like...

by **Stramala** » 01 May 2012, 03:00

I stopped caring when Solberg broke his steering. Not his fault, just unlucky there was a boulder on the racing line in the ruts. Not his fault. Ditto Sordo's Fiesta RS dying on the power stage. Drivers not to blame, just a combo of back luck and bad reliability. I don't see Citroen losing their grip on the championship now, Ford are in shambles at the moment.

by **DanielPT** » 02 May 2012, 21:21

kostas22 wrote:I stopped caring when Solberg broke his steering. Not his fault, just unlucky there was a boulder on the racing line in the ruts. Not his fault. Ditto Sordo's Fiesta RS dying on the power stage. Drivers not to blame, just a combo of back luck and bad reliability. I don't see Citroen losing their grip on the championship now, Ford are in shambles at the moment.

Ford is lasting much longer than expected in the WRC. Losing the title to Citroen all those years must be take its toll one day.

by **Stramala** » 02 May 2012, 23:26

DanielPT wrote:
kostas22 wrote:I stopped caring when Solberg broke his steering. Not his fault, just unlucky there was a boulder on the racing line in the ruts. Not his fault. Ditto Sordo's Fiesta RS dying on the power stage. Drivers not to blame, just a combo of back luck and bad reliability. I don't see Citroen losing their grip on the championship now, Ford are in shambles at the moment.

Ford is lasting much longer than expected in the WRC. Losing the title to Citroen all those years must be take its toll one day.

It almost did this year, it took a very long time for M-Sport to have their contract with Ford renewed for this year, losing their main backer Abu Dhabi Tourist Board in the process, plus BP on top of that. Not having a title sponsor may hurt them. I would blame Malcolm Wilson for all the bad decisions made over the years, he's not aquitted himself well at all despite having over a decade of experience as a Team Manager now. It's amazing they won everything at all with his piss poor decision making - the only good decision he ever made worked out, hiring Gronholm when Peugeot went for the exit.

by **Stramala** » 13 May 2012, 03:08

Dani Sordo has won the Tour de Corse.

I would say this is a landmark victory for him, but, considering Pierre Campana finished third, I would have to question the quality of the rest of the field.

by **Stramala** » 16 May 2012, 08:10

The Skodas were on fire at Tour De Corse last week. Quite literally....

Website · by **Wizzie** » 26 May 2012, 09:01

What the bathplug is going on? It's almost as if the entire field has imploded behind the two works teams.

by **Stramala** » 26 May 2012, 10:22

This isn't going to end well :lol:

by **RealRacingRoots** » 26 May 2012, 11:42

kostas22 wrote:This isn't going to end well

by **BlindCaveSalamander** » 26 May 2012, 23:35

kostas22 wrote:This isn't going to end well

Win-or-bust? Isn't that what he does anyway?

by **Stramala** » 27 May 2012, 07:57

He didn't write off the car, but he did pick up a puncture, and now he's over 4 minutes off the lead.

And, just to demonstrate how sorry a state the sport is in these days, that means he drops all the way down to the lowly position of...4th.

F1Rejects.com

Who is online