Sometimes it's just one of those days

"Dusty Ventures" (dustyventures)
12/12/2013 at 15:35 • Filed to: rally

DISCUSSION (11)

HammerheadFistpunch > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 15:40

thats when you put down the tire, pull up a lawn chair and ask for a beer.

WRC541 > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 15:46

M. Wilson...Sad that he had a seat for so long!

Dusty Ventures > WRC541
12/12/2013 at 16:23

Ah the perks of being the boss' kid

WRC541 > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 16:40

Agreed. Damn you Malcolm! He drove forever, and now tests the R5.

I can't believe that M-Sport basically has no team for 2014. Kubica sadly is not the answer!

Dusty Ventures > WRC541
12/12/2013 at 17:18

Mikko's pretty much guaranteed back, and I would argue he's the second best driver in the series (begrudgingly giving the #1 spot to Ogier), Kubica showed absurd talent in WRC2, and Elfyn Evans has great potential as well. Honestly I think the only thing that could hold that stable back is their relatively limited budget.

Matthew may not be good enough to compete at the WRC level but I think he's got enough talent to be the R5 tester.

WRC541 > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 17:53

I heard the rumor of Mikko's return, then nothing. I would have thought they would try to secure Tanak after his debut season. Kubica definitely is a talent. They need to what Volkswagen did with Ogier last year, building XP and learning the events. Guys like Evans, Paddon and Novikov bring majority of their budget...Seems like the right move.

Dusty Ventures > WRC541
12/12/2013 at 18:16

Everything I've been seeing and hearing says Mikko's the most certain of the acquisitions. The one issue with Kubica is he's (almost certainly) bringing Lotos along as a sponsor. Lotos is a Polish oil company and therefore clashes somewhat with M-Sport sponsor Castrol. No downside to Evans, he did great in the car in Sardegna and he gives British fans someone to root for, something they haven't truly had since McRae/Burns (Kris Krash notwithstanding), they just need to agree to terms. Al-Attiyah said three or so weeks ago he'd be back with Qatar ($$$$$$$$$) but has been silent for the last week, so people are questioning if it'll really happen.

Now here's where it gets hairy. M-Sport wanted to run Hirvonen and Kubica full time as the A-Team, and have Al-Attiyah and Evans split the B-Team car. But with the Lotos issue it'd be easier to make all oil-related sponsors happy by having Kubica on the B-Team. But then you've got a part-time car on the A-Team, with possible events where it won't run at all, bad for manufacturer championship points. So it's a bit of a mess.

Whatever the case we'll find out who's in and who's out tomorrow when M-Sport makes their official driver announcement

WRC541 > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 18:46

The sponsor rivalry would be an issue. You would think M-Sport would be reluctant to hire a British driver as they are based in the UK. I am excited to see who they pick. I can't lie, I hope Mikko goes "home",that would be fantastic! I hope someone can challenge Ogier this year.

Dusty Ventures > WRC541
12/12/2013 at 18:54

See I'd think M-Sport would be even more interested in bringing on a British driver since they're UK based. Even more home-nation pride. Like Citroen with Loeb, or back in the day Audi with Röhrl

WRC541 > Dusty Ventures
12/12/2013 at 19:31

I totally agree! But it's as if they stray away from that after Burns/McRae, I can understand why. Too bad M-Sport doesn't have more $$, and we need more manufactures in our sport. Hopefully this year will be competitive. Latvala's gap between performance of Ogier last year was significantly reduced by years end.

Dusty Ventures > WRC541
12/12/2013 at 19:36

Latvala was close to Seb's speed most of the year, he just was notoriously skilled at finding rocks. And ditches. And pointy sticks. And...

I'm hoping the current influx of manufacturers convinces Ford to officially rejoin the WRC. It's one thing to come in as second manufacturer when the only other manufacturer is Citroen, something else entirely to come second when there's Citroen, VW, Hyundai and Toyota.