WRC 2014 : All Chat Here

[RComms]

Gutted for them . There's so little margin for error on those stages, its crazy.

Don't know if he was 'pushing' or not, but he was in the lead of a WRC event, on the final day, by a handful of seconds.... You shouldn't be in the WRC if your not going for the win in those circumstances imho. I reckon his late mentor would be the first one to follow that strategy!

 

[Sam.]

Best of Rally live highlights - crashes

 

[DC.]

Do you think Kris Meeke will be in the WRC next year?

 

[Graham]

Do you think Kris Meeke will be in the WRC next year?

By his times alone, YES

For his odd off, i really think they will see past this

 

[Cess]

Meeke is media friendly, genuinely happy to be in the WRC and crucially, the only driver who can trade times with Ogier and Latvala. Of the current crop of drivers, who is quicker than Meeke?

Also, who are the available drivers for the Citroen seats? Meeke, Osberg and who else? Sebastian Chardonnet? Dramatic return for Sebastian Ogier?

Osberg has to be on thinner ice than Meeke. Unless Ostberg is bringing big finance to the team.

 

[RComms]

I think he'll get another year to be honest. There seems this year to be an acceptance that there is alot of events he hasn't done before and he is driving to 'get experience'. I wouldn't imagine the team telling him to drive like that if there wasn't a plan for at least a couple of seasons behind the wheel. Given his age now though... I can't see it being much more than that though.. (call me a cynic!). Before Germany, i was pretty confident he'd be able to finish as top 'non VW' driver in the championship. I think he can still do it, but winning today would just have been the clincher .

 

[Sam.]

Is Colin hinting at something?

 

[Gaza_r]

Is Colin hinting at something?

I recon he's just winding the Twitter trolls up.

If you believe Twitter (and I don't) Citroen have signed Petter and Stéphane Consani for next season.

 

[FM155]

Gutted for Meeke. Nothing else to say really.

 

[Cess]

Citroen want results and have been struggling for drivers since Ogier, Loeb and Neuville left.

There is support from fans to see Petter Solberg back in the WRC. But what would he bring? He's been off the stages for a number of years now and even when he was competing with Subaru, he wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. Its hard to imagine that he would suddenly stick a DS3 on top of the podium. And the WRC DS3 is pretty different from his rallycross DS3.

Equally Consani isn't pulling up any trees in ERC, either.

 

[DC.]

Kubica has pulled up enough trees for MSport anyway

 

[KevM]

You'll see M-Sport pulling out.

No Qatar funding and only a half arsed campaign in 2014 with Hirvonen washed-up and young Evans, who shows consistency but no raw pace. I would say Kubica is single-handedly (pardon the pun) bank-rolling the whole Ford operation with his repair bill as a guaranteed profit opportunity for Malcolm & Co!

 

[Sam.]

Wouldn't surprise me if VW grab somebody else to join Mikkelsen on VW Motorsport II. Lappi?

 

[Cess]

M-Sport sell loads of competition cars and would continue in some form or other. But a title sponsor or manufacturer backing would help them step it up. Mikko has lost his mojo and has to be on his way out. Tannak is bound to be their best option there. I'm not convinced Evans is the real deal, then I look at his points tally and see that he has more than Kris Meeke

 

[KevM]

Was it not previously the case where the Kubica/Citroen pairing had conflicting sponsorship interests with Total/Lotos?

Bobby brings his own money, but from a rival Oil company

 

[Cess]

Which is probably OK, as long as he isn't part of the main Citroen Total Abu Dhabi team.

Citroen mechanics must be looking forward to the overtime already

 

[RComms]

As much as I like Petter, I thought he was less than impressive with M-Sport in 2012. He's having a right time of it in GlobalRX at the minute, leading the series (Incidently, for anyone who doesn't watch it, Eurosport cover it and its fracking awesome.), so other than money, I can't think of why he's want to come back to be honest.

 

[Sam.]

Which is probably OK, as long as he isn't part of the main Citroen Total Abu Dhabi team.

IIRC the old Citroen Junior Team WRC cars didn't have much/any Total branding? So maybe.

 

[Cess]

Totally agree @RComms

 

[Cess]

IIRC the old Citroen Junior Team WRC cars didn't have much/any Total branding? So maybe.

Kubica's livery from WRC2.

 

[B6GUE]

WRC Germany highlights on ITV4 shortly at 6:25pm for anyone interested

 

[cormac81]

Crazy rally, Ogiers 1st crash was unreal, really cant wait to head to Spain now

 

[weeloaney]

Crazy rally, Ogiers 1st crash was unreal, really cant wait to head to Spain now

Who's all going to Spain? @Reno_LV?

Me and 3 mates are going, taking a full week away.

 

[Sam.]

Matton said: “In one way for sure we are disappointed - we were leading, and on the way to continue our run of victories in Germany - but on the other way, if I want to be positive, Kris was doing a wonderful job since the beginning of the weekend, getting closer and closer to his first victory. Okay, now we have to take a little bit of time to accept that we did not win in Germany, but I’m really happy and positive for the future and certainly for Australia.”

Matton denied that Meeke’s crash would affect his chances of getting an extension to his current season contract at the Citroen Total Abu Dhabi squad. “It will change nothing. Last year he did some mistakes also at the end of rallies and I took him this year. I’m only looking at what he’s doing on the rallies and I’m really happy with what he has done. Its only a small mistake but I think that we are closer and closer to the fact that he will be able to win a rally.”

Source: http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/august/yves-backs-meeke/page/1710--12-12-.html

If that is Matton's attitude, maybe we could see Petter next season?

 

[Sam.]

Hirvonen leaving by the end of the season apparently.

http://www.rallye-magazin.de/rallye...ed-von-mikko-hirvonen/index.html#.U_44DUck5Np