2022 WRC and Off Road Discussion *includes 'Dakar' *

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Bottom post of the previous page:

It's gonna be Ogier vs. Loeb! Duel of the titans. Fantastic that Loeb still got it, only one even close to Ogier's time on SS1.

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WRC 2022 starts now! Monte Carlo will begin with 2 stages tonight, been watching a bit of the presentation beforehand, glad to see there is a GT class in rallying, including Francois Delecour in an Alpine in car #47!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_phScu ... l=ACMMedia

Quite excited for it being Mont Carlo and looking forward to seeing how the new regs on the cars work out. Watching the into video linked and the vision of the older footage was great and makes me sad we have what is a much reduced spectacle these days. The iconic old cars (especially the original Alpine which used to be one of my favourite all time cars) and names like Tommi etc made me remember how much I used to get into the WRC then. But its Monte Carlo and as an event it is a must follow.

I saw that Loeb and Ogier were close and in a league of their own in the shakedown and it seems amazing with their part time involvement this year that we will not see either of them in title contention this year after what, nearly 2 decades of it being all about them, with occasional interlopers. I think they have 15 Monte wins between them since 2002.

Wasnt aware of the GT class so will be interested to see that, and yes will be keen on following the Alpine progress. Hope it doesnt catch fire.

Anyway Monte Carlo Rally is one of those must follow events to me.

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Heck it, got WRC+. Loeb wins SS3 and SS4! Looks closer today, Tänak nearest to him on SS4.

There are 7 runners in the RGT class, 4 Alpines and 3 Abarth Spiders, best of them in 18th out of 74 overall after the first two stages. Not slow cars at all! Splitting some of the WRC2 cars. The class has been around for about a decade now, wish it got some more prestige and exposure within the rallying realm. After all, those cars got some proper rallying DNA.

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Fourmax's big crash this morning. Crew ok.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x878p47

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well shit

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Loeb takes 16 seconds out of Ogier on SS5 and takes the overall lead! Evans also surpasses Ogier on that stage. Lots of ice there.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Fourmax's big crash this morning. Crew ok.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x878p47

Fairly lucky for the crew .... a big hit and the brand spanking new Ford Puma is looking a bit hurt.

Fourmaux had been sitting fourth in the overall standings, 17.9s adrift of rally leader Toyota's Sebastien Ogier after an impressive start to the rally last night.

M-Sport team principal Richard Millener confirmed that the car is heavily damaged, before admitting Fourmaux's rally is most likely over with a repair unlikely.

"He has had a very heavy accident by the looks of things," said Millener.

"From what I can see it looks like quite a dirty corner he has gone to cut the line and I guess the cars in front have pulled a bit of mud out, and he just went head on into a mountain, and it has just flipped him over the barrier and 20 to 30 meters down the bank.

"The car looks fairly heavily damaged so I suspect that will be the end of the rally for this one which is a real shame.

"It is not what we wanted as we talked about making sure we get to the end, and it is difficult when they feel like they have good confidence and his comments last night about the car last night were very positive and he took that into today.

"It is another hard lesson in the development cycle, there is not much we can do."

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Loeb leads with about 10 seconds after Friday's stages. But with Ogier running later in tomorrow's running order I think the rally is still his to lose. Today he lost quite a bit in the morning run, but gained a lot back when it began to freeze again in the afternoon. That said, Loeb is still amazing. He is now the oldest ever to lead a WRC event at 47 years old, about 6 months older than Björn Waldegårdh when he led the Safari in 1991.

Another highlight was Gus Greensmith taking his first ever WRC stage win. He looked a bit lost for most of 2021 but now I see why M-Sport Ford has such faith in him.

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Pretty impressive from Loeb....especially as he is using a new navigator / co driver this year (Isabelle Galmiche)

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It's a dead heat now between Ogier and Loeb! Ogier looks stronger now that he's got a better road position.

Solberg crashed out this morning sadly. A minor off, but down a steep ditch.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Solberg crashed out this morning sadly. A minor off, but down a steep ditch.

Hopefully nothing to do with the issues of exhaust gases leaking into the car that seem to plague all the new Hyundais and to quote Solberg left him “crying”, “dizzy” and with “chest pains” at times during the the day. The Hyundai seems to be having major handling issues across all cars, Neuville declared to “have never been so scared while driving” after struggles with the handling.

All set for a some great action if only between the two French Maestros. Got to say im rooting for Loeb however improbable his chances might be.

Shame for Evans Greensmith Neuville Tanak etc all having issues and errors blot their results. Breen seems to be quietly progressing though as does Rovanpera. But no-one can get near the two leaders.

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Yup, Ogier got a firm hold on this now. Lots of snow on Sisteron, many been caught out with it, but only Rovanperä took the educated tire choice on the second run, he ended the day with two consecutive stage wins. Quite the comeback from Thursday when he was by far the slowest WRC runner! Up to 4th overall also, after most of the field hit trouble today. Ogier has 20 seconds on Loeb now, with Breen 3rd. My guess is that Loeb is the only of them that'll go balls out tomorrow. The rest just have to consolidate their positions, and that's Ogier's strength.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Yup, Ogier got a firm hold on this now. Lots of snow on Sisteron, many been caught out with it, but only Rovanperä took the educated tire choice on the second run, he ended the day with two consecutive stage wins. Quite the comeback from Thursday when he was by far the slowest WRC runner! Up to 4th overall also, after most of the field hit trouble today. Ogier has 20 seconds on Loeb now, with Breen 3rd. My guess is that Loeb is the only of them that'll go balls out tomorrow. The rest just have to consolidate their positions, and that's Ogier's strength.

Yeah, clever strategy call from Ogier on that last stage, changing his original choice of an even mix of soft and snow tyres for the final stage , making a last-minute change after he saw Loeb had opted for softs only, despite the icy conditions.

Loeb had gone for an outside the box win or bin type tyre choice (as you say trying anything) and Ogier opted to change to match Loeb even though he thought it a crazy choice. As it happened although tricky in the snow/ice Ogier found the soft rubber really suited his car on the dry bits hence the gap.

Only 4 stages to go so I fear Monte #9 for Ogier rather than a matching win #8 for Loeb.

I see Solberg was still suffering from fumes in the car and felt it may have been a factor in him losing concentration when he had his off. Not a good weekend in general for Hyundai.

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Ogier punctures on the penultimate stage, Loeb leads again! 9 seconds up with one stage to go, gonna be a nailbiter!

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Ogier punctures on the penultimate stage, Loeb leads again! 9 seconds up with one stage to go, gonna be a nailbiter!

Just came to report the same news. Go Loeb.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Woohooo.... Loeb went quicker than Ogier in the final stage and wins his 8th Monte by 10.5 seconds.

A true masterclass from the two Sebs

3rd was Green 1:40 behind with Rovanpera 4th and Greensmith 5th. Neuville was 6th in a pretty ordinary weekend for Hyundai.Tanak had to retire and Solberg and his co-driver were retired for safety because they were both still unwell after the earlier fumes inhalation they had suffered.