WRC: Argentina 2016. Battle Royale!

"Rufant" (rufant2) 04/25/2016 at 16:55 • Filed to: None

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Well, after !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I have to admit Argentina 2016 was a classic.

As usual, championship leader Sebastian Ogier was hampered by clearing the road for the first two days.

Tough roads? You bet.

He has argued strongly against this ruling since it was introduced. The purist in me agrees with him. However the realist in me knows, that without it, the championship would be a joke. I think in time he will look back on it in a different light. One, from a commercial point of view, it means there is an actual contest. It also means that we have seen the very best from Ogier, fired up, angry, and ready for battle. I don’t remember seeing Loeb tested in this way on such a regular basis. The fact that he still wins regularly despite this enforced handicap, to me, shows his current superiority over the rest of the field.

However, at the moment, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

So, to the rally.

Ogier and Sordo (driving as well as ever I think, much like Massa in F1), sharing the lead after the first superspecial stage. Then to the mountains proper, a three way battle between Ogier, Paddon and Latvala developed. Sordo in fifth, still in the fight behind Mikkelsen. Where was !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! yeah he hit a rock. I feel Thierry needs a few stellar finishes, and soon...

The fastest times yo-yo’d between Latvala and Paddon over the first two days. So again benefiting from having a good road position and the fastest car. Jari-Matti looked good for the win. But a bit like Neuville, he seems to have a habit of picking the line with the ‘wrong’ rock on it. Strut mount through the bonnet never ends well...

So, the hard-charging Paddon finds himself in the unlikely position of leading Rally Argentina. Going into the last day with a 30 second gap over Ogier, who was now free to fight with no road clearing penalty.

Usual business seemed to be afoot, with the Frenchman taking huge chunks of time out of the Kiwi’s lead over the first two stages (albeit with Paddon’s car stalling on him for the tight turns). His 30 seconds trimmed to a mere 2.6 seconds heading into the last power stage, it seemed a foregone conclusion. The playing field leveled, no one in recent memory has resisted Ogier in these circumstances...

With the sort of drive that future champions are made of, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in that stage, beating him fair and square. Something that was acknowledged by Ogier afterwards, which is the most respect I have seen him give another driver, ever.

In the interview after the final stage, Hayden give thanks to ‘Ole’ in Norway who he has been working with on this particular stage for the past few weeks. It just shows at the top level the work never stops. No-one just shows up and drives anymore. Much respect.

So a true fair fight on the last day. It would seem Argentina is now a motorsport destination, with some 65,000 fans heading to the mountain to watch the battle, oh and they have another race there...

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Dusty Ventures > Rufant 04/25/2016 at 19:35

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It was a fantastic rally, and as a Paddon fan I couldn’t possibly be happier with the result. Plus, did you see his run on the power stage? That was one of the ballsiest, most mad drives I’ve ever seen. That was some Colin McRae level shit.

As to the eternal subject of road sweeping, I’ve given this some thought, and I do think the current format is actually one of the most fair ways of doing it. Ogier complains that he wants everyone to have a “level playing field,” but the fact of the matter is that, with rally, there’s no way to give all the competitors a level playing field. The road surface is a living, changing thing, and it’s attributes will change as cars go over it. Someone has to be that guy with the “handicap” of opening the roads. So what’s more fair, giving that task to the fastest driver, someone with the speed and skill to be able to overcome the obstacle, or saying to the slower drivers “hey, because you’re slow we’ve decided to give you the worst conditions to make you even slower. Sorry about that.” And it’s hard to really say the rule is hurting Ogier when he’s winning nearly 2/3 of the events and the same number of rallies per season as he won back when there was qualifying for road position. Running in the points order also helps ensure that everyone in the championship has the closest conditions possible to the drivers that are closest to them in points. Ogier said himself (the last time he was second on the road) that being second in line isn’t that much better than being first into the stage, so it’s only the ones well down in the championship that have significantly better conditions than him (or whoever is leading the series). I could also make mention of the fact that for a quarter of the events the points leader has the best road position, but I’ve probably said enough this time around as it is.

TL;DR: “Unfair” road order rules probably actually the most fair way of doing road order.

Dusty Ventures > Rufant 04/25/2016 at 19:49

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BTW, welcome to The Rally Takeover

Rufant > Dusty Ventures 04/25/2016 at 20:17

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Well as you put it like that, maybe this way is the purist way.

I’ve grown to (sort of) like Ogier as I watch him channel that negativity into raw speed and aggression.

Yes, I watched Paddon’s final run. After maybe letting the pressure get to him on the previous two stages he really rose to the occasion, as I said, that’s the sort of thing that separates the very good from the great (early days I know). He says there is more to come from him and the car, can’t wait :)

Rufant > Dusty Ventures 04/25/2016 at 20:17

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Cool. Thanks!

Hoccy > Rufant 04/26/2016 at 01:26

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I’ve returned to really liking Rally Argentina after all these years. Also enjoy how Kris Meeke dedicated his victory to Colin McRae last year, while Paddon mentioned “Ole back in Norway”. I know the guy has done some very grassroots rallying here in Norway, but it was surprising to hear that he had started helping a driver from New Zealand!

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Rufant > Hoccy 04/26/2016 at 02:07

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Cool, thanks for the insight. Edited for correct spelling of Ole :)

Some of those stages were pretty challenging, with no room for error with those big boulders lining each side.

I’m suprised more drivers don’t reach for outside help to improve their performance. I remember Jackie Stewart making this very point back when he started Stewart F1 (now Red Bull) in the 90's. Nearly all other sports use trainers and coaches, there just doesn’t seem to be so much of a culture for it in motorsport.

I take all the advice I can get!

Hoccy > Rufant 04/26/2016 at 02:15

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There’s a lot more “outside” help these days than what is evident from the WRC broadcast or mentioned by the drivers in this way. It’s also cool to know that someone with limited rally experience can help the top level guys!

Rufant > Hoccy 04/26/2016 at 02:20

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Yeah I think you are right. TRE on YouTube used to have segments with a guy coaching many top level single seater drivers. It was always interesting to hear what he had to say.

Who is coaching the Seb’s though? That is the question!