Wow Steve. I'll bet you manage to come up with off season updates as well. Was it just me, or did it sound like Wilcock was slamming Dani and Kris a bit for the two mistakes? Jim
I did not read Dave Wilcock's comments that way. Think he was just stating facts. Surely Team MINI has much to be proud of & nothing to be ashamed of. Next year they will certainly be contenders at all of the rallies.
Don't think he was slamming them at all Jim.. Just sounded very much like a reality filled debrief. Team and drivers have to look at their mistakes and weaknesses after every session, stage, race to find where to improve performance.
Just for fun. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5ploC3ef_4]Peugeot 207: Kris Meeke (Shopping Rally) - YouTube[/ame]
Apologies to those who have seen this, but it made me laugh my ass off again: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIhGJyLR6TI"]Riccardo Patrese drives wife crazy in Civic Type-R[/ame] Absolutely the best "chauffeur vid" I have seen.
Glad you all read if differently. I guess I worked for the Government so long, I'm always asking, "So, what were they mean by that"? Jim
And she is definitely screaming "Brake" at one point. I think it is at 3:30 that she realises that the thing in the windscreen is a video camera recording her reactions..... It's almost a disappointment to find Riccardo married - he always seemed like the last ever gentleman playboy racer who would turn up to F1 race because it was the best party invitation he got for that weekend - just the embodiment of Italian cool (and really professional with it).
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHzO48OLFTE]WRC Wales Rally GB 2011 - Feature Video [HD] - YouTube[/ame]
Mikko Hirvonen joins Citroen Racing for next season (rallysportlive.com) And here's the official press release from Citroen: 11.16.11 Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen Join Citroen (citroen-wrc.com)
The GB rally is being broadcast this weekend on the Velocity network (used to be Discovery Theater HD)
The Citroen move was really about needing to replace Ogier rather than wanting to acquire Hirvonen. The swap (assuming it's confirmed as a full swap) has been speculated for a while. Here's part of a MaxRally story that better explains the motive: (full article here)
Link to some great video of Kris Meeke on a charge in GB on stage 20: GB 2011: SS20: Meeke on a charge
I think Seb #2 wanted to be Seb #1. The team got nervous because he has shown speed & the ability to win. He probably told them he would not bow team orders & to Loeb anymore. My guess is Hirvonen doesn't mind playing second fiddle. If all works according to plan Mikko will be top banana in 2 years or so. Just my wild old fart rambling speculations.... :crazy:
What I've read is Ogier was told he would take Loeb's place as the team's lead driver and that this was the understanding when he signed the contract. This was back when Citroen thought Loeb was going to retire and before he decided he wanted to stay and they signed him up for another two years. This caused challenges during the season because even though Ogier had no reason to believe they would treat Loeb as the #2, he fully expected to be treated like a lead driver as he'd been promised, as though both drivers had equal standing. One article I read claimed the "lead driver" biz was even in his contract. This wouldn't have been a problem if Loeb had consistently outperformed Ogier, but he didn't. Ogier was left fuming when the team expected him to follow orders and take intentional penalties, slow down during stages, etc, to let Loeb past and so boost Loeb's chances for championship points.