2018 World Rally ChampionshipRally

[MrCrynox]

Latest rumors go that Loeb is signing with Hyundai or Ford for the 2019 WRC season. Most likely Hyundai though.

Source

It would be a total disaster if PSA let this man go. Baffling really Understable that Citroën can't take the risk to give a seat at Loeb when signing Ogier. It has nothing to do with a sponsor that pulled back but more that it won't go down nicely if both champs run for the team. Now they have a 9 times world champion who has been linked to PSA all those year probably running for another team. I am without words...bloody annoying..

Other option I came to think of since he will run Dakar 2019 with PH-Motorsport, an entry in WRC with this private team could be a possibillity but that is speculation on my part.

I'm sure that Ogier is the problem. He probably doesn't want Loeb in the team. And Citroen probably don't want the potential trouble between them. It might have been all smiles a few months ago in Spain but that was under the understanding that it was a one off drive. It didn't go well the last time they were team mates.
However, Loeb not driving for Citroen, what a travesty 👎

 

[doblocruiser]

B...del.. de m...r....de

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/140632/loeb-signs-hyundai-2019-wrc-deal

Someone wake me up from this bad dream

 

[Furinkazen]

B...del.. de m...r....de

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/140632/loeb-signs-hyundai-2019-wrc-deal

Someone wake me up from this bad dream

Citroen losing their sponsorship and resultant resources imo.

No money to run Loeb on certain rallies whereas Hyundai budget is large.

Massive coup for Hyundai.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

B...del.. de m...r....de

https://www.autosport.com/wrc/news/140632/loeb-signs-hyundai-2019-wrc-deal

Someone wake me up from this bad dream

What you call a bad dream, some of us see as a refreshing reality. Toyota and Hyundai keep making moves to win and keep winning, Citroen like certain other French manufactures want to do it on a more limited scale, strange how that doesn't yield the results.

 

[doblocruiser]

Citroen losing their sponsorship and resultant resources imo.

No money to run Loeb on certain rallies whereas Hyundai budget is large.

Massive coup for Hyundai.

What you call a bad dream, some of us see as a refreshing reality. Toyota and Hyundai keep making moves to win and keep winning, Citroen like certain other French manufactures want to do it on a more limited scale, strange how that doesn't yield the results.

I am sure it has much more to do with Ogier being signed by Citroën than losing a sponsor. That besides , it is indeed a big win for Hyundai. Still doesn't mean I like it. PSA is pulling back more and more from the motorsportscene and I find it a bloody shame. For WRC I never expected they would let him go but on the other hand, what choices are there?

Surely kudos to Hyundai that they pull this one off 👍

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I am sure it has much more to do with Ogier being signed by Citroën than losing a sponsor. That besides , it is indeed a big win for Hyundai. Still doesn't mean I like it. PSA is pulling back more and more from the motorsportscene and I find it a bloody shame. For WRC I never expected they would let him go but on the other hand, what choices are there?

Surely kudos to Hyundai that they pull this one off 👍

What choices? Actually put forth the money and effort. When I heard what Meeke said after being dismissed on how the operation was running, and how they only did heavier investment when Loeb was testing for them, I easily saw why they weren't succeeding and weren't going to. Again I would say PSA aren't the only one with this issues. Renault has had it be an issue to since rejoining F1 as a full time constructor. Seems French manufactures want to come in and do things others are doing with less resources, money and man power.

 

[Carbon_6]

What choices? Actually put forth the money and effort. When I heard what Meeke said after being dismissed on how the operation was running, and how they only did heavier investment when Loeb was testing for them, I easily saw why they weren't succeeding and weren't going to. Again I would say PSA aren't the only one with this issues. Renault has had it be an issue to since rejoining F1 as a full time constructor. Seems French manufactures want to come in and do things others are doing with less resources, money and man power.

An article I read not too long ago had a line which summed this up pretty well; something along the lines of first-class flying on economy rates.

EDIT: found it if anyone wants to read:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/...ing-fly-first-class-paying-cattle-class-rates

 

[doblocruiser]

edit: still unofficial! Images seems fake! An over enthusiastic fan probably..

What choices? Actually put forth the money and effort. When I heard what Meeke said after being dismissed on how the operation was running, and how they only did heavier investment when Loeb was testing for them, I easily saw why they weren't succeeding and weren't going to. Again I would say PSA aren't the only one with this issues. Renault has had it be an issue to since rejoining F1 as a full time constructor. Seems French manufactures want to come in and do things others are doing with less resources, money and man power.

An article I read not too long ago had a line which summed this up pretty well; something along the lines of first-class flying on economy rates.

EDIT: found it if anyone wants to read:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/...ing-fly-first-class-paying-cattle-class-rates

Thank you guys. It is true that in general French constructors don't invest the way some other companies do because they also find huge investments to risky since they have loads of people working at their factories. The director of Peugeot said recently that, yes they could make a budget for motorsport but they won't risk making huge investments in motorsports because of their social responsabillity and future vision towards electric machinery. Health of the company and their employees comes first. I don't know if that works the same for Renault.

Loeb is officialy confirmed for 6 WRC round in 2019. Beginning with Monte Carlo!

• https://sport.francetvinfo.fr/auto-moto/rallye/wrc-hyundai-soffre-sebastien-loeb-pour-six-manches

Edit:

• 2 year deal
• https://motorsport.hyundai.com/wrc-line-up-fine-tuned-for-2019/

 

[mustafur]

What choices? Actually put forth the money and effort. When I heard what Meeke said after being dismissed on how the operation was running, and how they only did heavier investment when Loeb was testing for them, I easily saw why they weren't succeeding and weren't going to. Again I would say PSA aren't the only one with this issues. Renault has had it be an issue to since rejoining F1 as a full time constructor. Seems French manufactures want to come in and do things others are doing with less resources, money and man power.

Because most factory rally teams run at a massive loss, Citroen have been doing it for nearly 15 years nonstop(take out 2006), and chances are even though they have a smaller budget they will be around well after Hyundai and Toyota are gone.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Because most factory rally teams run at a massive loss, Citroen have been doing it for nearly 15 years nonstop(take out 2006), and chances are even though they have a smaller budget they will be around well after Hyundai and Toyota are gone.

No they haven't, they haven't been running a decent budget since Loeb won his last championship and Ogier left the team. I imagine this time around they'll just run the two cars on a slightly better budget than the last few years, when Abu royalty backed the "factory" effort. And so what if they're around after Hyundai and Toyota are gone? If this was the first time said manufactures had run in WRC, you'd have a point. But they've been in and out of the series quite a bit Toyota next year will have done WRC for 15 years on and off and Hyundai 12 years on and off. Clearly it's a returning point for these groups because their primary ethos on cars is bolstered best through this series.

 

[mustafur]

Loeb brings sponsership pretty simple, not that it matters they have Ogier now which means they are a safe bet to win the drivers title next year.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Loeb brings sponsership pretty simple, not that it matters they have Ogier now which means they are a safe bet to win the drivers title next year.

No they're not, and so what if Loeb brings sponsorship money it didn't stop red bull from leaving when he was there for his last full season with Citroen. The C4 is the least developed car, which means they're going to have a busy winter getting it ready for Ogier if they hope to continue his Monte Carlo winning streak and more importantly his DC winning streak.

 

[mustafur]

Your having a laugh if you think Ogier isnt the heavy favourite at this point.

Sure they are probably a bit behind, but it isn't the biggest factor of performance, Ogier is.

The gap between him and the other drivers is massive.

 

[Stiggy]

Your having a laugh if you think Ogier isnt the heavy favourite at this point.

Sure they are probably a bit behind, but it isn't the biggest factor of performance, Ogier is.

The gap between him and the other drivers is massive.

I'd say for the first time in many years, Ogier isn't the heavy favourite for the title going into the season. The gap to the other drivers isn't as massive as it used to be - Tanak was impressive over all surfaces in the last two seasons and on occasion had the measure of Ogier when they were teammates at M-Sport, Neuville has had the most raw pace but has made costly errors at critical moments. For Ogier, it'll come down to how quickly he can get to grips with the notoriously difficult C3.

 

[-Fred-]

Your having a laugh if you think Ogier isnt the heavy favourite at this point.

Sure they are probably a bit behind, but it isn't the biggest factor of performance, Ogier is.

The gap between him and the other drivers is massive.

A very good driver might be able to pull off small miracles here and there with an inferior car once in a while, but to consistently win and be at the top, you need the best equipment (car, team, strategists, etc) as well. See Also, Fernando Alonso's career 2015-now.

 

[mustafur]

A very good driver might be able to pull off small miracles here and there with an inferior car once in a while, but to consistently win and be at the top, you need the best equipment (car, team, strategists, etc) as well. See Also, Fernando Alonso's career 2015-now.

Never compare F1 to WRC, its a bad comparison, WRC is much more driver critical for results.

 

[-Fred-]

Never compare F1 to WRC, its a bad comparison, WRC is much more driver critical for results.

It's a fair comparison I think. Sebastien Loeb's arguably the best WRC driver in the last 20 years, but I doubt he'd have much success next season in a 15 year old Xsara.

 

[mustafur]

It's a fair comparison I think. Sebastien Loeb's arguably the best WRC driver in the last 20 years, but I doubt he'd have much success next season in a 15 year old Xsara.

Especially considering it wouldn't be allowed to run.

 

[MrCrynox]

I think it's going to be a very, very interesting season with plenty of potential winners. But I agree Citroen will be, (unusually), a force to be reckoned with thanks to Mr Ogier. Look at what Loeb achieved in Spain with the worst car. And those two are very similar in terms of driver skills and abilities. But at the same time if Toyota have managed to develop the Yaris even further then my monies on Ott Tanak. He was on fire toward the end of last season. I can't wait for WRC 19 to begin