2017 World Rally ChampionshipRally 

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After struggling with a litany of problems in recent rounds, M-Sport have built a brand-new car for Sébastien Ogier:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/129569/ogier-gets-new-car-for-portugal-wrc-round

Meanwhile, Proton will return to rallying in 2018 with a new car - the Proton Iriz R5, which will compete in the WRC-2:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/129574/proton-set-to-return-in-wrc2-with-new-iriz

It's built by the same British firm that developed the S2000 version of the Proton Satria, which was very successful in the likes of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
 
prisonermonkeys
After struggling with a litany of problems in recent rounds, M-Sport have built a brand-new car for Sébastien Ogier:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/129569/ogier-gets-new-car-for-portugal-wrc-round

Meanwhile, Proton will return to rallying in 2018 with a new car - the Proton Iriz R5, which will compete in the WRC-2:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/129574/proton-set-to-return-in-wrc2-with-new-iriz

It's built by the same British firm that developed the S2000 version of the Proton Satria, which was very successful in the likes of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
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Will be interesting, if Ogier fails to win this time I will start to thinking he will loose his title this year

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/129588/wrc-teams-oppose-calendar-expansion

What a bunch of crybabies, how do they think WRC will ever get more popular if they don´t change the calendar? I am thankful Toyota are not in charge of WRC. If they only had 10 rounds I bet views would drop significantly, the championship would be over after 3 rounds.
 
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Simmpa
What a bunch of crybabies, how do they think WRC will ever get more popular if they don´t change the calendar? I am thankful Toyota are not in charge of WRC. If they only had 10 rounds I bet views would drop significantly, the championship would be over after 3 rounds.
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They can change the calendar without adding rounds, it's difficult as WRC2 and WRC3 need European rallies to survive, but doable within the current 13-round limit. Not all the teams can afford to do more, we almost lost M-Sport from the full 2016 calendar before they found extra funding. I'd rather those teams that can afford it field an extra car instead. I feel those in charge make a huge deal out of the calendar to avoid fixing the real issue of not having enough seats available at the highest level.
 
Latavla apparantly had some accident and drops over 4 minutes and is off the points. I have a feeling Ogier will take victory this time as he is not that far off the pace and with no road sweeping tomorrow I have hard to imagine Tanak be able to hold him off.
 
boiltheocean
They can change the calendar without adding rounds, it's difficult as WRC2 and WRC3 need European rallies to survive, but doable within the current 13-round limit. Not all the teams can afford to do more, we almost lost M-Sport from the full 2016 calendar before they found extra funding. I'd rather those teams that can afford it field an extra car instead. I feel those in charge make a huge deal out of the calendar to avoid fixing the real issue of not having enough seats available at the highest level.
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Right now I remember back in 2004 when the calendar expanded only 2 cars where allowed. I sort of get it now.
 
Simmpa
Latavla apparantly had some accident and drops over 4 minutes and is off the points.
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It was a low-speed roll-over. He caught the left rear in a rut on the outside of the corner and it dug in when he tried to correct it.

boiltheocean
WRC2 and WRC3 need European rallies to survive, but doable within the current 13-round limit
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The FIA want to take the focus off Europe. They're open to Croatia because they think there's the potential for a vintage event, but they're not talking about replacing European rounds with fly-aways. Those European events that are under threat - namely Poland - are threatened because of safety standards.

But the sport arguably needs more Asian rounds, especially for WRC-2. We're only seeing R5 cars competing in WRC-2, and there's a lot of R5s out this way - a few Škodas in the Asia-Pacific championship, a Mitsubishi Mirage that hasn't been homologated (yet), and the Proton Iriz R5 will likely find a home out here, too. If you think it's tough for European drivers to get out to the Asian rounds, it's harder still for Asia-Pacific drivers to get into Europe.

boiltheocean
the real issue of not having enough seats available at the highest level
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I would argue that they're actually pretty close right now. The issue is supply - it takes time to build cars. The only driver who is really missing out right now is Andreas Mikkelsen. Pontus Tidemand could probably step up, and Teemu Suninen will apparently get to sample WRC machinery later in the year, but neither is crying out for a drive. Kalle Rovanperä will probably have a turn in Wales, but he's sixteen; he can wait.

But back to your point: we're seeing fourteen WRC-specifucation cars this weekend - four Fiestas, four C3s, three i20s and three Toyotas. There's at least two more Fiestas out there (Ogier's original chassis and Bertelli's car), one C3 (Meeke's Argentina chassis, if it can be salvages) and Hyundai had plans for a fourth i20 for Mikkelsen. So there's as many as eighteen cars out there.
 
DirecTV has a new channel called Eleven Sports Network HD ch 623 that is covering WRC live.

ESPN 3 is covering it live too, who knew that? Just login with your cable or internet provider.
 
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Simmpa
Imagine if Mikkelsen got a full seat at Citroen instead of Kris Meeke? They would probably be fighting the manufacturer championship already instead of being at the bottom.
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I doubt they'd do it. Meeke is quick, even if he is a whinger (sure, Ogier is too, but he's extraordinarily honest). If he can keep it together on a Friday, he can run at the front. I think his problem is akin to that of Lewis Hamilton in 2011 - the car isn't where he expects it to be, so he's over-driving to compensate. And unlike Tänak, who has the habit of picking the moment to push, Meeke just constantly over-drives.

I suspect this is only a one-rally deal for Mikkelsen. Hyundai wanted to put him in a fourth car for Portugal, but Škoda said no; they had entered two cars, but Jan Kopecký was off doing a Czech national event, so Škoda needed a second driver. As I understand it, Hyundai see the long-term potential in Mikkelsen and Toyota see him as a long-term solution, but the Škoda contract makes things tough for them. A one-rally deal makes sense.

I'm surprised they havent put Lefebvre in the fourth C3 - the one al Qassimi ran in Portugal - or entered another DS3. Experience is what he needs.
 
I feel like Kris Meeke is going through a 'Colin McRash' phase (the fact he was tutored by Colin is perhaps no coincidence), so he has the same strategy of go flat out, ask questions later. It's a novelty to have, provided that he can learn to regulate it. Obviously he isn't getting far with it at the moment.

These new gen WRC cars should not be underestimated. They are quicker, but it's the fact they are wider too. I feel like the drivers are still adapting to the fact that there's less room for these cars to go. Case in point, Neuville in Monte and Sweden, not to mention Meeke's crashes in Argentina (the second one especially, since he seemed to be cornering wider than he should have been). Obviously I'm no expert, but logically speaking, a wider car is more likely to crash in terms of hitting an obstacle. Mess up a braking point, position too wide or cut a corner too much and these cars will crash harder than in previous years. That combined with Meeke's current driving style is a recipe for disaster.

That mistake that Meeke made in Portugal was a rookie mistake. A simple misjudgement of braking. He should focus on consistency and building up to speed. If he starts now then he might just secure a drive for next year.

I have faith in Meeke. I see him as a spiritual successor of sorts to Colin, but only when he's World Champion will he be truly worthy of that title.

If Mikkelsen's Citroen debut doesn't spur him on then nothing will, even if it's only a one off.
 
Man I feel for Hayden. Even when he finally gets it all right on his end it still goes horribly wrong with the car. It seems like it's a real battle to have a clean rally this season, and that's something Ogier is good at so if m-sport can give him a reliable car I can see him running away with the title.

Also I loved the in car shot of Ostberg over the fafe jump, he clearly enjoys rallying which is awesome to see at the top level.
 
MonkeyMan_707
Man I feel for Hayden. Even when he finally gets it all right on his end it still goes horribly wrong with the car. It seems like it's a real battle to have a clean rally this season, and that's something Ogier is good at so if m-sport can give him a reliable car I can see him running away with the title.

Also I loved the in car shot of Ostberg over the fafe jump, he clearly enjoys rallying which is awesome to see at the top level.
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Hayden has no luck at all.

If he was a triplet & his mother was Dolly Parton, he'd be the baby in the middle :banghead: :lol:
 
I think Ogier will be champion this time as well.
He is always on the podium and nobody is consistent as he is.
But this season is more interesting than past ones, when the VWs and Citroens dominated everything!
Latvala was going well but he remembered his 'Colin McRash' phase this weekend.
I also think that Meeke is going throught this phase as oli440 said.
And Mikkelsen has no car when lots of drivers are showing results, let's wait and see what happens. hehe
 
Pete05
Does that change if Mikkelsen wins the next round?
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Depends. I'd say Lefebvre is in the firing line first. After all, he's the one Citroën replaced. Meeke's under-performance is more disappointing given his experience, but right now Meeke, Breen and Mikkelsen is a stronger line-up than Lefebvre, Breen and Mikkelsen. I can only see Meeke being replaced if Lefebvre is replaced at the same time.
 
Motoyuki7
I think Ogier will be champion this time as well.
He is always on the podium and nobody is consistent as he is.
But this season is more interesting than past ones, when the VWs and Citroens dominated everything!
Latvala was going well but he remembered his 'Colin McRash' phase this weekend.
I also think that Meeke is going throught this phase as oli440 said.
And Mikkelsen has no car when lots of drivers are showing results, let's wait and see what happens. hehe
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It was apparantly some sickness wich put out Latvalas form

http://www.wrc.com/en/wrc/news/may-2017/latvala-hospital/page/4563--12-12-.html

Latvala could challenge for win in both Mexico and Argentina if the cars engine didn´t overheat
 
Simmpa
Mikkelsen really only have 2 teams to choose from for next year: Citroen or Toyota (assuming neither Meeke or Hänninen will have contract for next year)
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Citroën have said that they're invested in Meeke. Lefebvre would likely be let go before him.

As for Mikkelsen, I haven't seen anything to suggest that Hyundai have lost interest in him. They just can't get him out of his Škoda contract right now.
 
prisonermonkeys
Citroën have said that they're invested in Meeke. Lefebvre would likely be let go before him.

As for Mikkelsen, I haven't seen anything to suggest that Hyundai have lost interest in him. They just can't get him out of his Škoda contract right now.
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I really wonder how Hyundai will get Mikkelsen with only 3 drivers per team. Also sure Citroen invested in Meeke for this season but I have hard to imagine they keep him at the end of the year. Lefebvre have excuse for his poor resault as he is only 25 years old and have no much experience, Meeke have long experience but seem to screw up everytime, he nearly thew away victory in Mexico.
 

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