World Rally Championship WRC 2019

The series kicks off with the Monte Carlo rally in a couple of day's time.

Biggest change in the off season has been the departure of the reigning driver's champion Seb Ogier from M Sport to Citroen mainly because it's quite common knowledge that Ford were unwilling to commit to offering more in the way of financial support. If he wins another title at Citroen in their 100th year then he will cement his place in rally folklore. He will have to go some though as the C3 has proven less than regularly competitive so far in its history.

Another move albeit not for a full season is that other legendary Frenchman Seb Loeb who following Peugeot's withdrawing from WRX and Ogier being less than keen to have him in a Citroen, has gone to Hyundai. Sadly this means that Kiwi Hayden Paddon has cruely been robbed of a drive.

At Citroen Ogier will be joined by Finn Lappi which again sees another good driver on the sidelines in Ireland's Craig Breen.

Toyota have the strongest team on paper with Ott Tanak and Jarri-Matti Latvala joined by the modern day McRae Kris Meeke. That lineup will be fascinating to watch as the 3 are probably the most spectacular drivers around at the moment.

Hyundai have a lot to prove having rumoured to be the biggest budget but nothing to show having come close in the two previous years. Thierry Neuville will be under a lot of pressure as will the under-performing Mikkelsen whereas as Loeb and Dani Sordo who have part programmes will be interesting to watch. Loeb has just got back from the grueling Dakar so not had much in the way of testing however Monte is a rally where experience counts so who knows?!

The team that has won the last 2 drivers titles whilst being basically a privateer team M Sport may struggle to retain past glories having nearly not made it to the start gate. Their drivers will be Evans and Suninen however its not 100% certain they will do a full season and their 3rd car will be shared between a gaggle of pay to play drivers.

The support WRC2 category for R5 cars looks to be quite competitive as well so hopefully it should be another spectacular year.

excellent preview chris..looking forward to 2019, obviously I have soft spot for meeke whilst acknowledging his weaknesses but hoping he can temper his attitude and realise that points gathering is not a cop-out lol!

Thanks for the great preview, Chris. Bit of a Meeke fan myself and can see a very productive season for him, and who knows where he'll be come Rally Aus.

It will be amazing if Seb can win the title in the Citroen - he is the first person aside from Kankkunen to win consecutive championships with different manufacturers, if he can win another back-to-back Ford to Citroen; he will equal Kankkunen in winning titles with 3 different manufacturers. to win 7 championships consecutively with 3 different manufacturers. I know many are sick of his winning but seriously his talent is unsurpassed - it sucks that Loeb chucked a hissy and left in 2013 when Ogier was finally competing in a title winning car. I feel that running 6 events he's likely to do well this year due to the running order rules (something designed to penalise Seb the younger) though I wonder how he would do this year running a full calendar and having to deal with the higher running if he were winning rallies. Neuville reminds me of Panizzi - super fast on his day but too many simple errors across a season to win a title.

so after today its ogier from neuville from loeb from lattvala from tanak from meeke....

It looks like a proper Monte, some of the videos of the cars on ice are incredible, tricky tyre choices and surprises in the road conditions ion most stages. I love the Monte, but it is an event I'd have nightmares about doing if I were a rally driver!

Evans had a big off today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGdDy8f8A5c&feature=youtu.be

he did indeed, did i hear correctly that they cancelled an early stage that favoured loeb due to his tyre choice?

Ogier and Neuville are really turning it on - absolutely on the edge and what a competition. That Ogier is about to win his 6th consecutive Monte in his 3rd manufacturer he certainly is the best at developing a WRC bar none - the shitbox that was the C3 looks a completely different beast to previous (and this isn't a case of benefiting from road position like a certain other Frenchy did to win last time out in 2018)

Incredible result for Ogier, but should we be surprised? Neuville looking very strong too, its a shame about Toyotas wheel problems, but nice to see Meekes pace in his new team, should be an interesting season

excellent rally overall, well chuffed with meeke's push in power stage getting him into 4th in points standings...a good solid start considering the wheel issues...brill drive from the 3 ahead too though....more of the same please....

From discussion with others this is my summary of the event - understand that others likely disagree on a few points but willing to put my neck on the chopping board:

Toyota continue to develop that car into a beast - they easily have the best lineup; manufacturers title is theirs to lose, Tanak remains quick but pushes the limits far too much. He will win a lot of events but doubt he will win the championship - he remains half an inch off the crash moniker he gained during his initial WRC stint; Meeke was a revelation, question is whether this is a case of the quick Meeke we often see that soon pushes the envelope and lives up to his mentor's mantle.

Hyundai - what can I say; a solid car likely impacted by their driver choice. Loeb is no longer the force he once was (or whether we are seeing that he isn't really that good when he's out of the PSA garage. Neuville was solid but I still think he's a fast driver who doesn't have the final steps required to be an all time great (reminiscent of Hirvonen against Loeb). I think that Paddon added more to the car than Hyundai care to admit. Loeb will likely win a rally or 2 this year - it will be entirely down to road order.

Citroen - Lappi, absolutely sucks we didn't see everything he could offer. Engine troubles are horrible and Citroen certainly don't have the same level of reliability they did back in the mid-late noughties. Ogier - what can I say. Absolutely the best driver we have ever seen in the WRC. Can he win a 7th consecutive title in his 3rd manufacturer? Based on this event 100%. He continues to have an extra gear and his ability to perfectly manage a car against the odds to get the required result - 7 CONSECUTIVE Monte Carlo WINS!!! That is phenomenal. To win by 2.2sec against one of the fastest drivers when his throttle was remaining at 20% even when braking? That c3 was a piece of crap last yr - Ogier is certainly the king of car development.

I'm excited for this year - the most excited I've been for a season since 2006. Ogier vs Tanak vs Neuville with history on the line. I worry that Sweden this yr will be a shit rally due to running order impacting on the top 3 but hey I'll blame the FIA for that one

hi Michael, cant argue with any of that especially about the potential for great excitement this year, though I would love to chuck meeke in to your trio as a wild card, obviously he would need a temperament check and a lot of luck but theres no doubting his ability to win a stage, or a rally, so next step must be a go at the title...no?

Not seen much in car of Meeke but what I did see and what others have added is that it seemed a much calmer environment and the notes were being delivered in a less frenetic fashion. Think Kris could be in for a good year!

I agree with all of the above bar one comment. Ogier was superb and is one of it not the all time greatest WRC drivers. I agree with Neuville comments - quick but not in the top rung. Tanak showed last year he has raw talent and speed but is a Mcrae mk2. Meekes drive after a puncture was a revelation- last few years he would have pushed too hard to recover lost time and would have totalled it. Went for points and super stage bonus and looked very sensible in doing so. I think Makinen’s parental role/guidance is a big factor here compared to the Corporate Citroen pressure. Loeb is my exception- i think he is the 2nd best driver (and number 1 or 2 ever) and in his pomp would have been v close to Ogier and would have had the physiological upper hand as Ogier is prone to a hissy when things don’t go his way (such as running order). I think time out of seat and age swings the balance firmly to Ogier now. It pains me to say it but as I predicted, Ford’s line up is relatively weak - why wasn’t Breen given a seat?

reeft1 wrote:in his pomp would have been v close to Ogier and would have had the physiological upper hand as Ogier is prone to a hissy when things don’t go his way (such as running order).

Ogier does have a whinge at times (no different to Loeb at his best though), but I absolutely agree - it would have been brilliant for us to have seen Ogier and Loeb going at it in 2012 (were it not for Loeb's whinge at the time) and that could have been not only one of the best seasons but a true measure of each champion. One of my friends rightly pointed out Loeb had just come from Dakar, limited time in the car, limited time on the rally stages in the last few years (good on you Mal). His argument holds good water in that regard

Dr Tumbo wrote:From discussion with others this is my summary of the event - understand that others likely disagree on a few points but willing to put my neck on the chopping board:

Toyota continue to develop that car into a beast - they easily have the best lineup; manufacturers title is theirs to lose, Tanak remains quick but pushes the limits far too much. He will win a lot of events but doubt he will win the championship - he remains half an inch off the crash moniker he gained during his initial WRC stint; Meeke was a revelation, question is whether this is a case of the quick Meeke we often see that soon pushes the envelope and lives up to his mentor's mantle.

Hyundai - what can I say; a solid car likely impacted by their driver choice. Loeb is no longer the force he once was (or whether we are seeing that he isn't really that good when he's out of the PSA garage. Neuville was solid but I still think he's a fast driver who doesn't have the final steps required to be an all time great (reminiscent of Hirvonen against Loeb). I think that Paddon added more to the car than Hyundai care to admit. Loeb will likely win a rally or 2 this year - it will be entirely down to road order.

Citroen - Lappi, absolutely sucks we didn't see everything he could offer. Engine troubles are horrible and Citroen certainly don't have the same level of reliability they did back in the mid-late noughties. Ogier - what can I say. Absolutely the best driver we have ever seen in the WRC. Can he win a 7th consecutive title in his 3rd manufacturer? Based on this event 100%. He continues to have an extra gear and his ability to perfectly manage a car against the odds to get the required result - 7 CONSECUTIVE Monte Carlo WINS!!! That is phenomenal. To win by 2.2sec against one of the fastest drivers when his throttle was remaining at 20% even when braking? That c3 was a piece of crap last yr - Ogier is certainly the king of car development.

I'm excited for this year - the most excited I've been for a season since 2006. Ogier vs Tanak vs Neuville with history on the line. I worry that Sweden this yr will be a shit rally due to running order impacting on the top 3 but hey I'll blame the FIA for that one

I seem to have read this before somewhere.

haha - I gave you credit for convincing me that Loeb has a much higher ceiling than I've given him credit for

I still expect him to win 2 of the 6 events he contests

Your write-up is probably more measured than mine - looking forward to seeing how the season progresses

Sweden kicks off today and possibly a Toyota lock out for the podium positions? Hopefully Tanak and Meeke wont have a "coming together" like last year! Also the battle between the two old farts Loeb and Gronholm should hopefully raise a few sparks. Wonder if the loser has to pick up the bar bill?!

Conditions looking a bit iffy so maybe more of a lottery than first thought. Gronholm already had an off.

Sal the 2nd wrote:Conditions looking a bit iffy so maybe more of a lottery than first thought. Gronholm already had an off.

You can add Ogier & Latvala to that list - and I'd imagine another big name, or two, to follow them. Suninen is the surprise package - will be interesting how Saturday goes for him.

Comfortable win for Tanak. I know Tidemann brought his Fiesta home in one piece in eighth place, and that Suninen clipped his a couple of times and finished well down, but Suninen did lead, that's what will be remembered. Tidemann's star may have waned considerably this weekend in the eyes of the team managers...

WRC back on C5 now highlights only but at least its there..

and on bt sport....showing sweden highlights tonight at 1030

Meeke keeping it interesting so far.....(awaits commentators kiss of death!! )