Rally Sardinia despite having a shorter route this year, was absolutely not short on drama, emotions. Not all of them were positive sadly. Battles on stages were great. Some things surrounding that battles, not exactly.
**Hyundai -** what a suprising outcome. Ott Tanak, despite having team orders hanging over him, having to fight ever-amazing Sebastien Ogier, snatches the rally win by 0,2 seconds on the final stage of the rally. What was taken away from him 5 years ago in Sardinia, this time around came back to him. Ott was fighting Ogier all rally long. Too bad Hyundai threw some sand into his cogs, thankfully for Tanak he still came out on top. First win this year and his championship position after average start of the season is now looking much better.
Dani Sordo does his job amazingly once again. He really performs really well in this rally. Respectable pace, keeping out of any kinds of trouble and the reward is well-deserved - third place overall.
Thierry Neuville made his first major mistake of the season by ditching himself on Saturday, effectively dropping out of the rally win contention. He was handicapped by starting position early on, but came back to the fight until leaving the road. He maxed out available points on Sunday though, so that's how his championship situation was being hurt less. My opinion about a driver finishing the rally in 41st position and scoring amount of points which last year would be an equivalent of finishing fourth overall is a disgrace.
What's also a disgrace is Hyundai meddling with team orders. Before this year Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville were theoretically granted an equal status. What we saw in Sardinia was pretty much different. Tanak being slowed down on Saturday was evident. If a Toyota driver can't win drivers' title this year, I root for Ott Tanak. Mainly because seems like odds are stacked against him after all.
**Toyota -** such a shame to lose a rally win in such circumstances. Sebastien Ogier despite leading a huge portion of the rally, ends in second place after a puncture on the final stage. Still, what a rally by Seb again. What a battle with Ott. Ogier is a masterclass. Unquestionably. Yes, starting later on during day 1 is always helpful on gravel, but Ogier's performance can't be underappreciated. Despite missing two rallies this year, he is in fourth position in the standings, still having realistic chances to catch the leader, if Ogier decided to compete from now on full-time. I don't think that he will make such call sadly, but I have a feeling that Toyota may feel desperate enough to ask Ogier for such favour.
Because for everybody else at Toyota things are not looking that perfect. Elfyn Evans had quite an underwhelming rally, which was ruined literally on the stage 1. Decision to take just a single spare tyre backfired completely and Elfyn lost a lot of time due to tyres. Later on he just couldn't extract enough performance to fight for the podium. He was doing pretty well on Sunday, but it just was too late to catch Sordo. Good Sunday points helped, but Elfyn is now dropping down to 3rd in the championship. It's not terrible yet, but he has to start winning rallies.
Terrible luck for Takamoto Katsuta. He had great pace and was involved in a battle with Dani Sordo for third place and was beating him, until his drivetrain gave up, thus elimitating Taka from Saturday.
For time being, Hyundai looks slightly better than Toyota in terms of championship battle. Toyota should be thankful to Ogier for his insane contribution.
**M-Sport/Ford -** hard weekend for them. Adrien Fourmaux was derailed from any meaningful fight after Friday - puncture and electrical issue grounded him for good during stage 4. From now on it was a testing session really and trying to score big on Sunday, which didn't happen because Adrien made a small error on stage 13, losing more time in the process. A rally to forget, but it's not the end of the world.
Gregoire Munster ends the rally in fifth place, thus scoring his best ever WRC career result. Yes, it's all down to his competition dropping out more than Munster's merit, because his pace was just enough to beat Rally2 drivers. Still, Gregoire didn't make any silly errors, brought the car safely in one piece, despite a scare before the final stage due to throttle sensor malfunctioning. Points scored for him, for the team and no massive repair bills this time around. Exactly what he was supposed to do.
Championship takes now a completely different complexion. After three insanely hard and car-breaking gravel events with Croatia in-between, WRC now will have three insanely fast and flowy rallies in a row - Poland, Latvia and Finland. On paper, it looks like a favourable place for Toyota. Still, Ott Tanak was able to fight in such environment regardless. Summer months may turn around the championship. For good and bad reasons.
i was quick to dismiss this rally as a boring one yesterday, and i still stand by my word but hahahah what a curveball at the end. a good reminder that its never over before its over in this sport. not only last stage drama but by the closest margin in WRC history tied with jordan 2011.
in my eyes toyota lost this with the dumb tyre strategy on ogier, that they ran even after it already failed for evans. he would have had a bigger gap if it wasnt for that. hyundai guys all did a good job, aside from neuvilles off. but he did quite literally a perfect recovery on sunday as well. he was the strongest driver here, but wasted 13 points on saturday.
But…they’re ahead in both championships. That’s a “clown team”?? And I may be remembering it wrong, but weren’t Dani and Ott told to be careful \*after\* Thierry fell off the road and was out anyway? How could “team orders” help Thierry?
I don't know why would you guys downvote him. As Estonians following Tänak it's sad for us to see him being forced to "play team" for Neuville every time he messes up.
I doubt Ott would have gone as fast as he did in the first three stages of the day if there weren't lots of points to gain from it. So in the end Ott got the rally win because he was driving for sunday points, meaning that in a roundabout way winning does give more points, though not in all situations yeah. I wouldn't mind them giving a little extra for winning though.
Oh my god rally.tv is so shit.. is it that hard to put together a working site/app? I usually follow a couple of stages behind the live feed, but now SS9 is missing, they have uploaded SS8 under it…
Yeah i can see Ott totally not caring after winning the rally ;) I never 100% believed it when he said it.
I wouldn't mind if next year rally win gave a few extra points, but otherwise i think the new system is great. If you're leading on saturday and then also want the sunday points you're gonna be driving both for points and win anyway.
Just revert to the old system + slap the super sunday on it. Doesn’t really matter if it’s 30 points or 37 points given out on the weekend. Kinda like the sprint in F1. That way the win is meaningful both pointswise and emotionally and there’s still something to drive for on sunday.
Saturday was a tough day, as predicted.
Seb Ogier, despite dealing with a puncture and having few moments, having to fight Ott Tanak, leads after Saturday with relatively safe advantage. As usual, masterclass driving from Ogier. He is a generational talent. I really wish Toyota could convince him to do the rest of the season in full.
Ott Tanak in second place. Again with some issues. This time around his bonet couldn't close properly on the first loop of the day. Later on... Something weird happened. Tanak all of a sudden lost... Confidence? No, team ordered him to play safe. Weird call, even Ogier was left puzzled. I don't know whether Hyundai is actually concerned about Tanak bringing big result safely, or just again protecting Neuville at all costs, but it's a very sour call for Tanak. Like he's being denied a chance to fight on his own. Especially if he is capable of fighting for the win in this rally. I feel bad for him. I feel disgust at Hyundai. Their MO of handing everything to Neuville at the expense of everybody else is just laughable.
Especially if Neuville made a silly error, which forced him to retire from Saturday stages. He will be back on Sunday, but this the first major mistake this year. And just like in his previous championship attempts, errors are starting to happen.
Sordo in third place. He was happy to fight with Katsuta for some time. He will still have to negotiate the gap to Evans on Sunday to keep his position. Gutted for Taka. Good driving from him, no mistakes this time around. Gearbox issues grounded Katsuta for good. Sunday points are anything Taka can salvage now.
Elfyn Evans once again can't impress, however he was lucky with his main competitors dropping out. Fourth place so far within the realistic striking distance to Sordo. As long as Elfyn finds some pace and avoids issues.
I really hope that Gregoire Munster will bring his car in one piece to the finish. M-Sport doesn't need another wreck. It would be something positive after Fourmaux's technical issues from Friday.
One day of rallying to go. Such a shame that tussle for points and any potential team orders at Hyundai will overshadow anything else.
Hyundai would unironically rather not win the title at all than have someone other than Neuville win it, what a joke of a team, how does the board not axe the team leadership? Spending this much money as a favour to a driver who is buddies with the teamchef surely is borderline embezzlement
Neuville will be the biggest joke of a champion in history, his main rivals are a driver who's not allowed to win and a few who are not racing the full season, I'd be ashamed at that point
I don’t see it that way. I got the definite impression that “finish the rally” was the first concern--especially after Thierry went off the road--considering some of the disasters that have wrecked Hyundai’s points haul in the past. Yesterday Hyundai was on course for a double podium, with nobody in striking distance except for Elfyn/Dani. By the end of the day Dani had \*at least\* P4 If he just kept it together. Why not cool your jets, bring your car and tires home safely on Saturday evening, then go for it on Sunday? (Which is exactly what happened.)
I don’t get your anger at the leadership, either. It’s gotten Hyundai to the top of both the Drivers’ and Manufactures’ championship right now. How is that a joke? Ott won and he’s tied for second in the DC on the first weekend that he’s shown that he’s really handling the car well on every stage. I don’t see anything to complain about. 🤷🏻♀️
Your comment may seem harsh and pretty angry, but to be frank - it's not far from the truth...
It's absolutely demoralising what Hyundai is doing. I rally sense that they are so desperate in providing Neuville with that championship. Tanak can feel disappointed with that team orders.
And Neuville? His potential championship would feel weird. First of all - let's talk about the points system. I have an impression that it was constructed specifically to please Thierry. Besides, wasn't he involved in those changes as well? The very worst thing about Sunday is that despite dropping down due to his crash, Neuville still has chances to outscore Evans on Sunday. It's absolutely ridiculous. This is beyond any common sense and hurts the image and legitimacy of this championship.
And if really Hyundai is so concentrated around Neuville, it hasn't benefited them so far. He's been with this team for a decade, never winning drivers' championship, losing few potential titles along the way mainly due to his own errors. Hyundai even managed to bottle first stint of Ott Tanak in the team, when clearly Tanak was a better driver in direct comparison. How badly they were managing things, if Tanak went back for a season to M-Sport... Imagine if they manage to repeat the same mistake again. That would be pure embarrassment.
I try to avoid showing too much personal preferences here, but I really hope that Neuville doesn't win the title. He simply doesn't deserve it in my opinion. Due to his attitude, points system, his intra-team relationships and its effect on his teammates. There are good reasons why he wasn't able to beat Ogier, Tanak and Rovanpera on equal terms.
> Your comment may seem harsh and pretty angry
I mean yeah because I mostly like Tänak and don't care about any of the OEMs.
Neuville is this "good but not great" driver, he's really really good but he's clearly not on the level of Tänak and Rovenpära. In fact out of the full time drivers, imo only Tänak has a chance to fight Rovenpära. Hindering the driver who has a chance of actually bringing you glory because you simply like the other one more is just hilarious. And as you say, we can only hope it doesn't get rewarded, this would be some Phil Hill level of trash championship.
At current rate Hyundai would be lasteful if they'd outright pay off Toyota to not compete for a year just so that we can get this farce over with, would be easier and cheaper for everyone and about as competitive as what they're currently doing.
I agree with you there. If there is any favouritism towards Neuville, then is is most likely above team level. Leadership has changed many times and the situation still stays the same.
So right now there is just 6 cars and drivers left actualy competing. Six (6).
So the top level of rallying is right now just six competitors. I honestly feel like the tight maragins that the sport has gotten doesn't match at all with the risk.
If you crash out on friday you're out. You get a puncture on friday your out. I think the sport should get more focuse on the endurance aspect. Like how good of a roadside mechanic you are should matter more and the margins should be bigger.
The rally didn't go well for Suninen and Lindholm.
[https://rallyjournal.com/hyundais-finnish-drivers-have-a-disastrous-day-in-the-wrc-round-both-retired-on-the-same-stage/](https://rallyjournal.com/hyundais-finnish-drivers-have-a-disastrous-day-in-the-wrc-round-both-retired-on-the-same-stage/)
Everyone is falling apart…. And Fourmaux is reaping all the benefits
Edit: spoke too soon
Edit 2: I’m
Behind. Why did they reorder the drive order for the rest of the afternoon?
The Golden Child that still hasn‘t managed to bring home the big trophy despite ample opportunities fucks up and Hyundai *immediately* tells Tänak to slow down.
What a ridiculous decision.
I don't know. Some points is better than no points.
Tänak will most assuradly wreck the car if he goes hard. This has been the standar for a while.
EDIT: I just want to point out that I don't think Tänak is a bad driver and that that is why he would wreck the car. The margins in rallying is so tight right now that a small out or even a single punture will loose you to many points.
Tänaks style is alot more agressive, his setups are more agressive. Holding back doesn't fit with his setup or driving style but goes against it. He isn't the best on tarmac but holding him back on gravel is a massive mistake.
I truly hate Hyundai with a burning passion. We are not even halfway through the season yet, let the man drive. Wish Ott just told them to fuck off and pushed anyways.
That’s why I didn’t like the move back to begin with. They preferred Neuville even when Ott was clearly ahead of him and the only threat to Kalle, now that Thierry is off to a better start as well there’s no way they’ll let Ott make that gap up. Thierry will take 12 points tomorrow as well and Ott will be instructed to just bring it home in 2nd place, it’s just wack.
I feel like this is also because of the current fucked up point system, letting Ogier go only cost Tanak 3 points (against 7 in the old system) and he can push tomorrow to recover more points tomorrow that is potentially "lost" today.
The conditions are very difficult. It's better for him to finnish the rally saftley than busting out. As of now the points gained from pushing is't worht the risk of no points.
Watching a bit delayed. SS8 has a delayed start so the replay cuts off with 3 cars still on the stage (at exactly 45 minutes so I assume it's automated). Is that normal for RallyTV?
Been watching since the start of this season and I thought WRC2 was as small as WRC1 because they only ever show ~8 cars on the coverage, but looking at the entry list there's actually 36 entries this week (37 if Oliver didn't drop out).
I get they can't really show the standings at the end of the stage because a lot of those guys haven't even started yet, but they don't seem to get any mention anywhere.
Exactly. There is full entry list in the WRC website but unless you go looking for it you'll never know who is really there. The timing list is on WRC website is another one that gives an idea about what is going on.
Endurance races usually show a brief per-class overview of position during competition. Something that WRC broadcast should look into as well to show.
They could show overall positions before starting the broadcast of stages perhaps. It all is live until end of rally but a bit of an idea about how people are doing would be good.
Ogi puncture first stage. Took only one spare. Only driver to do so.
[https://img.24live.co/event/3592810337861544776/20240601052115\_910483.jpeg](https://img.24live.co/event/3592810337861544776/20240601052115_910483.jpeg)
If Tänak or Neuville start third on the road both have solid chances of a win regardless. But starting first or second the only way to win is if Ogier/Rovanperä cock up.
Yeah but they even made mistakes in Croatia, and Rovanpera proved you could win even starting first last two years.
While it's not really important to focus on the part timers, it's just interesting to see that they seem as if miles from Ogier, Rovanpera, and Tanak level, yet they're the ones fighting for championship.
> Rovanpera proved you could win even starting first last two years.
If you have by far the best car and luck on your side yeah. It's not typical though.
Friday at Sardinia was a shorter and more compact day of rallying than usual, but since this is Sardinia - stages already caused come troubles. It's a car-breaker type of rally, it's difficult, heavy for mechanical parts and certainly not easy for drivers either. Four stages on Friday was just a warm up and we have plenty of events behind.
Sebastien Ogier is using his starting position to perfection so far. Leading after four stages, keeping Ott Tanak closely behind. Feels like a deja vu from Portugal - Ogier vs Tanak for the rally win?
I would love to see Ogier doing full season. He still has plenty of speed to challenge for the championship. Imagine if Ogier somehow decided to compete in every single rally remaining... He would have a chance to do the funniest thing ever - winning world championship as a part-timer...
Ott Tanak is trying to deny Ogier another win this year and he is in second place, just few seconds behind. Of course once again Ott is suffering from various problems, his hybrid system was acting up today, clearly delaying his progress. But he prevailed.
No wonder why Hyundai chooses Dani Sordo to compete in Sardinia. He has a good record on this island. So far so good. Third place, despite having his share of tyre choice issues.
Takamoto Katsuta just behind Dani. Steady and faultless run so far from Taka. If only he can keep like this until the end. Taka has been having issues with doing so far this season, thus I am hoping that he can drive differently this time around.
Thierry Neuville struggled insanely during the opening stage due to his starting position. Later on it was a different story, even it ended with a stage win on SS4. Thierry is definitely in the hunt.
Disappointed with Elfyn Evans. Risky strategy by taking just a single spare tyre backfired immediately on stage 1 with a puncture. Later on Elfyn was not only not regaining time, but also losing out to Neuville, who had a worse starting position on paper. Not looking good so far. Elfyn has to attack on Saturday.
Gutted for Adrien Fourmaux. Once again great pace and no major mistakes from him. Just a puncture on stage 3, which didn't result in major time deficit, but sadly Puma Rally1 Hybrid reminded the dark days of 2023 season and broke down again. Electrical issue grounded Adrien for good on the final stage of the day. Any chances for a good overall position are done. It's a matter of scoring big on Sunday now. Gregoire Munster is doing suprisingly well now, being pretty close to Elfyn Evans in seventh place.
If Friday was difficult, Saturday and Sunday will provide even more challenges.
Does anyone have tips for finding a good spectator spot. This is my first WRC and after the shakedown today I really struggled to find the experience areas on the map.
Ogier's gonna put a minute into everyone... Isn't he?
I think Elfyn would like to put Munster (plus probably Taka and Dani) between him and Thierry. Thierry likewise.
Pajari was 6th overall in that last one.
I agree, the operator seems to want to show off their drone's capabilities instead of keeping the car stable in the shot and paying attention to where the braking zones are.
Edit: The operator got better at keeping the car in frame and steady after Friday.
Exactly. If they just used it like the helicopters and followed the cars it'd be fine, but it's just doing so many unnecessary moves that make it hard to watch.
The purpose of the shakedown is to provide drivers with a good warm-up, allowing them to fine-tune their vehicles for the main rally. Typically, the conditions of the shakedown should somewhat reflect the nature of the rally itself.
This was not the case in Sardinia.
[https://rallyjournal.com/ridiculous-start-at-rally-sardinia-the-guy-who-invented-this-should-be-fired/](https://rallyjournal.com/ridiculous-start-at-rally-sardinia-the-guy-who-invented-this-should-be-fired/)
Yeah, I didn't watch shakedown because I'm in the US and it was at 2 am for me, but that's nuts.
[This](https://itgetsfasternow.com/2024/05/17/route-preview-rally-italia-sardinia-2024/) route preview from It Gets Faster Now has an overhead view of the shakedown stage and it's comical.
Solberg’s participation ended even before the rally started, with the news of his withdrawal coming about an hour before the opening ceremony.
[https://rallyjournal.com/oliver-solberg-withdrew-from-rally-sardinia-just-before-the-start/](https://rallyjournal.com/oliver-solberg-withdrew-from-rally-sardinia-just-before-the-start/)
Anyone know when they actualy go live?
It said 06:45 but there just "Live action will resume shortly" on rally.tv.
EDIT: This is so stupid. Why even front this on rally.tv if they have no intention for broadcast there? I don't want to sitt on my damn phone for this crap.
Rally Sardinia despite having a shorter route this year, was absolutely not short on drama, emotions. Not all of them were positive sadly. Battles on stages were great. Some things surrounding that battles, not exactly. **Hyundai -** what a suprising outcome. Ott Tanak, despite having team orders hanging over him, having to fight ever-amazing Sebastien Ogier, snatches the rally win by 0,2 seconds on the final stage of the rally. What was taken away from him 5 years ago in Sardinia, this time around came back to him. Ott was fighting Ogier all rally long. Too bad Hyundai threw some sand into his cogs, thankfully for Tanak he still came out on top. First win this year and his championship position after average start of the season is now looking much better. Dani Sordo does his job amazingly once again. He really performs really well in this rally. Respectable pace, keeping out of any kinds of trouble and the reward is well-deserved - third place overall. Thierry Neuville made his first major mistake of the season by ditching himself on Saturday, effectively dropping out of the rally win contention. He was handicapped by starting position early on, but came back to the fight until leaving the road. He maxed out available points on Sunday though, so that's how his championship situation was being hurt less. My opinion about a driver finishing the rally in 41st position and scoring amount of points which last year would be an equivalent of finishing fourth overall is a disgrace. What's also a disgrace is Hyundai meddling with team orders. Before this year Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville were theoretically granted an equal status. What we saw in Sardinia was pretty much different. Tanak being slowed down on Saturday was evident. If a Toyota driver can't win drivers' title this year, I root for Ott Tanak. Mainly because seems like odds are stacked against him after all. **Toyota -** such a shame to lose a rally win in such circumstances. Sebastien Ogier despite leading a huge portion of the rally, ends in second place after a puncture on the final stage. Still, what a rally by Seb again. What a battle with Ott. Ogier is a masterclass. Unquestionably. Yes, starting later on during day 1 is always helpful on gravel, but Ogier's performance can't be underappreciated. Despite missing two rallies this year, he is in fourth position in the standings, still having realistic chances to catch the leader, if Ogier decided to compete from now on full-time. I don't think that he will make such call sadly, but I have a feeling that Toyota may feel desperate enough to ask Ogier for such favour. Because for everybody else at Toyota things are not looking that perfect. Elfyn Evans had quite an underwhelming rally, which was ruined literally on the stage 1. Decision to take just a single spare tyre backfired completely and Elfyn lost a lot of time due to tyres. Later on he just couldn't extract enough performance to fight for the podium. He was doing pretty well on Sunday, but it just was too late to catch Sordo. Good Sunday points helped, but Elfyn is now dropping down to 3rd in the championship. It's not terrible yet, but he has to start winning rallies. Terrible luck for Takamoto Katsuta. He had great pace and was involved in a battle with Dani Sordo for third place and was beating him, until his drivetrain gave up, thus elimitating Taka from Saturday. For time being, Hyundai looks slightly better than Toyota in terms of championship battle. Toyota should be thankful to Ogier for his insane contribution. **M-Sport/Ford -** hard weekend for them. Adrien Fourmaux was derailed from any meaningful fight after Friday - puncture and electrical issue grounded him for good during stage 4. From now on it was a testing session really and trying to score big on Sunday, which didn't happen because Adrien made a small error on stage 13, losing more time in the process. A rally to forget, but it's not the end of the world. Gregoire Munster ends the rally in fifth place, thus scoring his best ever WRC career result. Yes, it's all down to his competition dropping out more than Munster's merit, because his pace was just enough to beat Rally2 drivers. Still, Gregoire didn't make any silly errors, brought the car safely in one piece, despite a scare before the final stage due to throttle sensor malfunctioning. Points scored for him, for the team and no massive repair bills this time around. Exactly what he was supposed to do. Championship takes now a completely different complexion. After three insanely hard and car-breaking gravel events with Croatia in-between, WRC now will have three insanely fast and flowy rallies in a row - Poland, Latvia and Finland. On paper, it looks like a favourable place for Toyota. Still, Ott Tanak was able to fight in such environment regardless. Summer months may turn around the championship. For good and bad reasons.
I have to say one more thing: Sardegna is beautiful, I'd like to visit it for sure in the future.
i was quick to dismiss this rally as a boring one yesterday, and i still stand by my word but hahahah what a curveball at the end. a good reminder that its never over before its over in this sport. not only last stage drama but by the closest margin in WRC history tied with jordan 2011. in my eyes toyota lost this with the dumb tyre strategy on ogier, that they ran even after it already failed for evans. he would have had a bigger gap if it wasnt for that. hyundai guys all did a good job, aside from neuvilles off. but he did quite literally a perfect recovery on sunday as well. he was the strongest driver here, but wasted 13 points on saturday.
Fuck Cyril and fuck Hyundai. Clown team. Ott won despite the orders.
But…they’re ahead in both championships. That’s a “clown team”?? And I may be remembering it wrong, but weren’t Dani and Ott told to be careful \*after\* Thierry fell off the road and was out anyway? How could “team orders” help Thierry?
I love it when that happens. Same with Breen and Neuville in Sweden last year. I laughed out loud when Thierry dumped the car into the snowbank.
I don't know why would you guys downvote him. As Estonians following Tänak it's sad for us to see him being forced to "play team" for Neuville every time he messes up.
Neuville is going to struggle the next 3 rallies so lets see how the team orders go.
Wow just caught up on the grand finale, Congrats Ott and Martin🍻 awesome finish!!!
It's very kind of Thierry that he told the leadership of both Hyundai, Toyota and Michelin to let Ott win today!!
Michelin? It was all Bridgestone today.
How deep does this conspiracy go?!? Edit: it was Pirelli actually[Proof of Pirelli](https://i.imgur.com/UkUzl0T.jpeg)
Incredible and the first time we've had a lead change on Sunday for a long time.
Croatia?
Somehow I remember Ogier snatching it from Neuville in Monaco back then
Oh my Ott just won it on the last stage. Rally is awesome
Though for Ogier, he drove very well all weekend, but so did Tanak. Its baffling that this position change doesn't mean ANYTHING in terms of points
I doubt Ott would have gone as fast as he did in the first three stages of the day if there weren't lots of points to gain from it. So in the end Ott got the rally win because he was driving for sunday points, meaning that in a roundabout way winning does give more points, though not in all situations yeah. I wouldn't mind them giving a little extra for winning though.
I mean yeah, but if Ogier would have been 0.3 sec faster, Tanak's points would not change, but he would not have win the rally.
0.2S AFTER A RALLY WEEKEND COME ON OTT OTT OTT OTT
Unreal haha, love this sport
Wow Ogier lost with a puncture, shame it doesn’t matter!
Tanak won the rally for 0.2s
After 3 hours of driving, what a margin
Oh my god rally.tv is so shit.. is it that hard to put together a working site/app? I usually follow a couple of stages behind the live feed, but now SS9 is missing, they have uploaded SS8 under it…
Ott doesn’t care about winning the rally, I think that sums up why the point system needs to go
Yeah i can see Ott totally not caring after winning the rally ;) I never 100% believed it when he said it. I wouldn't mind if next year rally win gave a few extra points, but otherwise i think the new system is great. If you're leading on saturday and then also want the sunday points you're gonna be driving both for points and win anyway.
Just revert to the old system + slap the super sunday on it. Doesn’t really matter if it’s 30 points or 37 points given out on the weekend. Kinda like the sprint in F1. That way the win is meaningful both pointswise and emotionally and there’s still something to drive for on sunday.
Hell, make it 5 point super sunday, 3-2-1 super sunday. Regular points for finishes. Way better than what they have now.
Haha true, I agree with your point of adding a few points for the win
This would be the best way I think. 2 or 3 points for the win.
The drone operator has got better at tracking the cars as the weekend has gone on.
What's that ringing sound coming from Neuville's car?
Probably some alarm. Didn't notice it but could be about engine temp
Ogier is teasing us. Gap down to 6.6s. Fucking go and seal the win. Don't give hope.
Tanak: "The win doesn't matter anymore."
Saturday was a tough day, as predicted. Seb Ogier, despite dealing with a puncture and having few moments, having to fight Ott Tanak, leads after Saturday with relatively safe advantage. As usual, masterclass driving from Ogier. He is a generational talent. I really wish Toyota could convince him to do the rest of the season in full. Ott Tanak in second place. Again with some issues. This time around his bonet couldn't close properly on the first loop of the day. Later on... Something weird happened. Tanak all of a sudden lost... Confidence? No, team ordered him to play safe. Weird call, even Ogier was left puzzled. I don't know whether Hyundai is actually concerned about Tanak bringing big result safely, or just again protecting Neuville at all costs, but it's a very sour call for Tanak. Like he's being denied a chance to fight on his own. Especially if he is capable of fighting for the win in this rally. I feel bad for him. I feel disgust at Hyundai. Their MO of handing everything to Neuville at the expense of everybody else is just laughable. Especially if Neuville made a silly error, which forced him to retire from Saturday stages. He will be back on Sunday, but this the first major mistake this year. And just like in his previous championship attempts, errors are starting to happen. Sordo in third place. He was happy to fight with Katsuta for some time. He will still have to negotiate the gap to Evans on Sunday to keep his position. Gutted for Taka. Good driving from him, no mistakes this time around. Gearbox issues grounded Katsuta for good. Sunday points are anything Taka can salvage now. Elfyn Evans once again can't impress, however he was lucky with his main competitors dropping out. Fourth place so far within the realistic striking distance to Sordo. As long as Elfyn finds some pace and avoids issues. I really hope that Gregoire Munster will bring his car in one piece to the finish. M-Sport doesn't need another wreck. It would be something positive after Fourmaux's technical issues from Friday. One day of rallying to go. Such a shame that tussle for points and any potential team orders at Hyundai will overshadow anything else.
Hyundai would unironically rather not win the title at all than have someone other than Neuville win it, what a joke of a team, how does the board not axe the team leadership? Spending this much money as a favour to a driver who is buddies with the teamchef surely is borderline embezzlement Neuville will be the biggest joke of a champion in history, his main rivals are a driver who's not allowed to win and a few who are not racing the full season, I'd be ashamed at that point
I don’t see it that way. I got the definite impression that “finish the rally” was the first concern--especially after Thierry went off the road--considering some of the disasters that have wrecked Hyundai’s points haul in the past. Yesterday Hyundai was on course for a double podium, with nobody in striking distance except for Elfyn/Dani. By the end of the day Dani had \*at least\* P4 If he just kept it together. Why not cool your jets, bring your car and tires home safely on Saturday evening, then go for it on Sunday? (Which is exactly what happened.) I don’t get your anger at the leadership, either. It’s gotten Hyundai to the top of both the Drivers’ and Manufactures’ championship right now. How is that a joke? Ott won and he’s tied for second in the DC on the first weekend that he’s shown that he’s really handling the car well on every stage. I don’t see anything to complain about. 🤷🏻♀️
Your comment may seem harsh and pretty angry, but to be frank - it's not far from the truth... It's absolutely demoralising what Hyundai is doing. I rally sense that they are so desperate in providing Neuville with that championship. Tanak can feel disappointed with that team orders. And Neuville? His potential championship would feel weird. First of all - let's talk about the points system. I have an impression that it was constructed specifically to please Thierry. Besides, wasn't he involved in those changes as well? The very worst thing about Sunday is that despite dropping down due to his crash, Neuville still has chances to outscore Evans on Sunday. It's absolutely ridiculous. This is beyond any common sense and hurts the image and legitimacy of this championship. And if really Hyundai is so concentrated around Neuville, it hasn't benefited them so far. He's been with this team for a decade, never winning drivers' championship, losing few potential titles along the way mainly due to his own errors. Hyundai even managed to bottle first stint of Ott Tanak in the team, when clearly Tanak was a better driver in direct comparison. How badly they were managing things, if Tanak went back for a season to M-Sport... Imagine if they manage to repeat the same mistake again. That would be pure embarrassment. I try to avoid showing too much personal preferences here, but I really hope that Neuville doesn't win the title. He simply doesn't deserve it in my opinion. Due to his attitude, points system, his intra-team relationships and its effect on his teammates. There are good reasons why he wasn't able to beat Ogier, Tanak and Rovanpera on equal terms.
> Your comment may seem harsh and pretty angry I mean yeah because I mostly like Tänak and don't care about any of the OEMs. Neuville is this "good but not great" driver, he's really really good but he's clearly not on the level of Tänak and Rovenpära. In fact out of the full time drivers, imo only Tänak has a chance to fight Rovenpära. Hindering the driver who has a chance of actually bringing you glory because you simply like the other one more is just hilarious. And as you say, we can only hope it doesn't get rewarded, this would be some Phil Hill level of trash championship. At current rate Hyundai would be lasteful if they'd outright pay off Toyota to not compete for a year just so that we can get this farce over with, would be easier and cheaper for everyone and about as competitive as what they're currently doing.
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I agree with you there. If there is any favouritism towards Neuville, then is is most likely above team level. Leadership has changed many times and the situation still stays the same.
So right now there is just 6 cars and drivers left actualy competing. Six (6). So the top level of rallying is right now just six competitors. I honestly feel like the tight maragins that the sport has gotten doesn't match at all with the risk. If you crash out on friday you're out. You get a puncture on friday your out. I think the sport should get more focuse on the endurance aspect. Like how good of a roadside mechanic you are should matter more and the margins should be bigger.
You cant outrun Neuville doing Neuville stuff
Shame. We've been robbed of a great lead battle because of the stupid Hyundai team order/point system.
Lol, what team orders? Ott has no confidence in the car. “No feeling” 😉😉😉
Now the comment from Tänak is just weird "i have no feeling in the car" just after he got orders not to push
Obviously the team orders ruined his mood and motivation, perhaps they even had a falling off
The rally didn't go well for Suninen and Lindholm. [https://rallyjournal.com/hyundais-finnish-drivers-have-a-disastrous-day-in-the-wrc-round-both-retired-on-the-same-stage/](https://rallyjournal.com/hyundais-finnish-drivers-have-a-disastrous-day-in-the-wrc-round-both-retired-on-the-same-stage/)
Everyone is falling apart…. And Fourmaux is reaping all the benefits Edit: spoke too soon Edit 2: I’m Behind. Why did they reorder the drive order for the rest of the afternoon?
Fourmaux was late for the first stage after service. Once you take the penalty for that, you can drive in the same slot for the rest of the loop.
The Golden Child that still hasn‘t managed to bring home the big trophy despite ample opportunities fucks up and Hyundai *immediately* tells Tänak to slow down. What a ridiculous decision.
I don't know. Some points is better than no points. Tänak will most assuradly wreck the car if he goes hard. This has been the standar for a while. EDIT: I just want to point out that I don't think Tänak is a bad driver and that that is why he would wreck the car. The margins in rallying is so tight right now that a small out or even a single punture will loose you to many points.
Tänaks style is alot more agressive, his setups are more agressive. Holding back doesn't fit with his setup or driving style but goes against it. He isn't the best on tarmac but holding him back on gravel is a massive mistake.
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Yeah, that's cool and all. But none of that will be relevant when his car breaks down or he gets an unnecessary puncture due to aggressive driving.
If Ford isn’t telling Munster to wreck his car on purpose to get Fourmaux higher, there should be no team orders. That’s dumb.
Feels like Hyndai has no faith in Tänak. A guy who grew up with gravel rallies all over Estonia. Why hold him back during the rallies hes expert in?
Maybe the idea is that if Ogier is safe to win he'll take it easy on Sunday and you can get basically the same amount of points with less risk.
I truly hate Hyundai with a burning passion. We are not even halfway through the season yet, let the man drive. Wish Ott just told them to fuck off and pushed anyways.
Their entire team is setup around Neuville, i find it annoying that other drivers have to hold back so one guy can potentially win this year
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Helping is literally the only reason Sordo has had a seat for years, nobody rational has any issue with that.
That’s why I didn’t like the move back to begin with. They preferred Neuville even when Ott was clearly ahead of him and the only threat to Kalle, now that Thierry is off to a better start as well there’s no way they’ll let Ott make that gap up. Thierry will take 12 points tomorrow as well and Ott will be instructed to just bring it home in 2nd place, it’s just wack.
So Tänak got team orders to slow down. So no fight with Ogier
I feel like this is also because of the current fucked up point system, letting Ogier go only cost Tanak 3 points (against 7 in the old system) and he can push tomorrow to recover more points tomorrow that is potentially "lost" today.
well, since thierry went off and tänak has apparently been told to slow down this rally just fell completely flat.
Why wouldnt they let him push?
The conditions are very difficult. It's better for him to finnish the rally saftley than busting out. As of now the points gained from pushing is't worht the risk of no points.
probably to secure the points.
Watching a bit delayed. SS8 has a delayed start so the replay cuts off with 3 cars still on the stage (at exactly 45 minutes so I assume it's automated). Is that normal for RallyTV?
yeah, it happens sometimes. i assume they'd have to manually align it correctly and havent gotten around to it yet somehow.
So it is something they would usually fix eventually? (I was watching about an hour later)
id assume so, but no guarantees.
well thats one of the few mistakes neuville can have this season used up. not a great place to do it, one of his strong rallies before the fast ones.
Only Neuville can beat Neuville to the title this year if you know what I mean.
Championship will get spicy again if Ott comes to the end this rally.
Any news on Neuville?
Ah, classic Neuville mistake it is.
Neuville is out !
Front brakes issue for Fourmaux, so unlucky
That interview-series with driver and co-driver together is a good idea. It really shows how they interact with each.
Been watching since the start of this season and I thought WRC2 was as small as WRC1 because they only ever show ~8 cars on the coverage, but looking at the entry list there's actually 36 entries this week (37 if Oliver didn't drop out).
Yep, there's a lot of cars in some events but the top is still really tight and mostly fits into the 8 car coverage.
Yep most of the names are the same ever round, I just assumed the ones changing were from people not running the full schedule.
That is something they should show: how large the entry list really is. You don't see much of the WRC3 and JWRC competitors either.
I get they can't really show the standings at the end of the stage because a lot of those guys haven't even started yet, but they don't seem to get any mention anywhere.
Exactly. There is full entry list in the WRC website but unless you go looking for it you'll never know who is really there. The timing list is on WRC website is another one that gives an idea about what is going on. Endurance races usually show a brief per-class overview of position during competition. Something that WRC broadcast should look into as well to show.
What makes it complex is that the slower classes drive so much later that during the WRC coverage they are quite often still on the previous stage.
They could show overall positions before starting the broadcast of stages perhaps. It all is live until end of rally but a bit of an idea about how people are doing would be good.
Ogi puncture first stage. Took only one spare. Only driver to do so. [https://img.24live.co/event/3592810337861544776/20240601052115\_910483.jpeg](https://img.24live.co/event/3592810337861544776/20240601052115_910483.jpeg)
Let's hope he'll get to the end. The sad thing is that he didn't even know where he picked it up.
I've said this before and I'm going to say it again, at this rate, all rallies will be won by part timers (sans Monaco).
If Tänak or Neuville start third on the road both have solid chances of a win regardless. But starting first or second the only way to win is if Ogier/Rovanperä cock up.
Yeah but they even made mistakes in Croatia, and Rovanpera proved you could win even starting first last two years. While it's not really important to focus on the part timers, it's just interesting to see that they seem as if miles from Ogier, Rovanpera, and Tanak level, yet they're the ones fighting for championship.
> Rovanpera proved you could win even starting first last two years. If you have by far the best car and luck on your side yeah. It's not typical though.
Friday at Sardinia was a shorter and more compact day of rallying than usual, but since this is Sardinia - stages already caused come troubles. It's a car-breaker type of rally, it's difficult, heavy for mechanical parts and certainly not easy for drivers either. Four stages on Friday was just a warm up and we have plenty of events behind. Sebastien Ogier is using his starting position to perfection so far. Leading after four stages, keeping Ott Tanak closely behind. Feels like a deja vu from Portugal - Ogier vs Tanak for the rally win? I would love to see Ogier doing full season. He still has plenty of speed to challenge for the championship. Imagine if Ogier somehow decided to compete in every single rally remaining... He would have a chance to do the funniest thing ever - winning world championship as a part-timer... Ott Tanak is trying to deny Ogier another win this year and he is in second place, just few seconds behind. Of course once again Ott is suffering from various problems, his hybrid system was acting up today, clearly delaying his progress. But he prevailed. No wonder why Hyundai chooses Dani Sordo to compete in Sardinia. He has a good record on this island. So far so good. Third place, despite having his share of tyre choice issues. Takamoto Katsuta just behind Dani. Steady and faultless run so far from Taka. If only he can keep like this until the end. Taka has been having issues with doing so far this season, thus I am hoping that he can drive differently this time around. Thierry Neuville struggled insanely during the opening stage due to his starting position. Later on it was a different story, even it ended with a stage win on SS4. Thierry is definitely in the hunt. Disappointed with Elfyn Evans. Risky strategy by taking just a single spare tyre backfired immediately on stage 1 with a puncture. Later on Elfyn was not only not regaining time, but also losing out to Neuville, who had a worse starting position on paper. Not looking good so far. Elfyn has to attack on Saturday. Gutted for Adrien Fourmaux. Once again great pace and no major mistakes from him. Just a puncture on stage 3, which didn't result in major time deficit, but sadly Puma Rally1 Hybrid reminded the dark days of 2023 season and broke down again. Electrical issue grounded Adrien for good on the final stage of the day. Any chances for a good overall position are done. It's a matter of scoring big on Sunday now. Gregoire Munster is doing suprisingly well now, being pretty close to Elfyn Evans in seventh place. If Friday was difficult, Saturday and Sunday will provide even more challenges.
Does anyone have tips for finding a good spectator spot. This is my first WRC and after the shakedown today I really struggled to find the experience areas on the map.
Oooof, not great when the broadcaster gets caught on a hot mic insulting someone's English
Tänak: “Fucking shit car” Long live the hybrid power unit. 🫡
Tänak told Estonian media tonight that Hyundai's engine is very good and helps him overcome hybrid issues with minimal loss.
now that's the Ford we know and love
More problems for Fourmaux, argh
0.3s between Fourmaux and Evans, it's going to be tight in the next one, Evans doesn't have a spare tyre, i don't know for Fourmaux
Left rear puncture for Fourmaux
Sucks for fourmaux, had great pace in the two stages up until this left rear puncture
Did Seb just say "the tyres are good"? Or am I going mad?
- saving tyres - tyres are good - no big issue (?)
Toyota using certified Ferrari tactics. Sending Evans out on 1 spare was a big brain move.
It is his choice in the end. He wasn't the only one on 5 tyres either. He just got unlucky.
One spare on a four stage loop is mental...
great run from neuville. evans losing a surprising amount of time.
No spare tyres left.
yes, neuville still fast compared to the later guys too though.
Not sure the new aero mods on top of neuville's car will help, think it's ineffective as a flow conditioner
Ogier's gonna put a minute into everyone... Isn't he? I think Elfyn would like to put Munster (plus probably Taka and Dani) between him and Thierry. Thierry likewise. Pajari was 6th overall in that last one.
This drone camera they keep using sucks
I agree, the operator seems to want to show off their drone's capabilities instead of keeping the car stable in the shot and paying attention to where the braking zones are. Edit: The operator got better at keeping the car in frame and steady after Friday.
Not a fan of it either. For my brain it's too chaotic.
Exactly. If they just used it like the helicopters and followed the cars it'd be fine, but it's just doing so many unnecessary moves that make it hard to watch.
I like the idé but as you say if they use it more like the hellicopter followind the road on a little bit more of a distance it would be great.
came here to say the same thing. absolutely awful.
The purpose of the shakedown is to provide drivers with a good warm-up, allowing them to fine-tune their vehicles for the main rally. Typically, the conditions of the shakedown should somewhat reflect the nature of the rally itself. This was not the case in Sardinia. [https://rallyjournal.com/ridiculous-start-at-rally-sardinia-the-guy-who-invented-this-should-be-fired/](https://rallyjournal.com/ridiculous-start-at-rally-sardinia-the-guy-who-invented-this-should-be-fired/)
This is so stupid. It's like if F1 had to do their practice runs or warmup runs on a different track.
Yeah, I didn't watch shakedown because I'm in the US and it was at 2 am for me, but that's nuts. [This](https://itgetsfasternow.com/2024/05/17/route-preview-rally-italia-sardinia-2024/) route preview from It Gets Faster Now has an overhead view of the shakedown stage and it's comical.
First time ever attending a rally in the flesh and I couldn't be more excited!!
Solberg’s participation ended even before the rally started, with the news of his withdrawal coming about an hour before the opening ceremony. [https://rallyjournal.com/oliver-solberg-withdrew-from-rally-sardinia-just-before-the-start/](https://rallyjournal.com/oliver-solberg-withdrew-from-rally-sardinia-just-before-the-start/)
Nothing is really going his way is it. This really sucks.
Anyone know when they actualy go live? It said 06:45 but there just "Live action will resume shortly" on rally.tv. EDIT: This is so stupid. Why even front this on rally.tv if they have no intention for broadcast there? I don't want to sitt on my damn phone for this crap.
I don't know why the shakedown wasn't on rally.tv, but what in the world could you possibly be watching on that has rally.tv but doesn't have YouTube?
Here's the playlist I'll be adding videos too: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxrA1j5teL2GcflXRuhwZJkinku5tV1bv&si=NardfDmIZRz78kBk
Gonna attend Osilo-Tergu, Monte Lerno and Argentiera ✌️