In the autumn of 1985 a young teenager was sent out to open the batting for the New Zealand cricket team in their opening test match against the mighty West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval, Trinidad. Ken Rutherford had shown at home in the domestic competition that he was a class batsman. It was a time when the West Indies were at the height of their powers and unfortunately for Rutherford he was like a lamb to the slaughter. His first seven scores in cricket tests were 0, 0, 4, 0, 2, 1 and 5.
They say that ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ and it is evident across all sport. It is a phrase that emphasises the fact that we shouldn’t judge a sports person on their recent results. Rather they should be viewed on their results history as a top sports person does not necessarily change into a poor performer overnight.
If we look at both WRC and F1 drivers, arguably they all have class. That is why they are there with some having more than others. However at this level, as in cricket, form is vital.
Again at this level of motorsport drivers still have to perform and have the ability to produce the results, whether it is out-qualifying their team mate or finishing and scoring much needed manufacturers points for the team.
History shows that once dropped, it is extremely difficult to get back into the F1 game. The one recent exception would be Haas F1 driver Romain Grojean. After an initial average drive with Renault in 2009 he was dropped and returned to compete in GP2 for another two seasons before regaining a full-time seat with Lotus F1 in 2012. However, not having scored any points in the 2018 F1 season his current form is questionable and the pressure to produce results is on.
If we look at F1 drivers who have competed in 2015 and 2016 seasons and have been dropped we are unlikely to see them return to a full-time seat – Will Stevens, Alexander Rossi, Roberto Merhi, Pastor Maldonado, Felipe Nasr, Daniil Kyvat, Esteban Gutierrez, Jolyon Palmer,
The World Rally Championship has proven to be slightly different to the cut-throat world of F1. If we look at most WRC drivers, all (except the exceptional Sebastien Loeb) have suffered from loss of form either during or over the course of a season.
Much has been written regarding the axing of Kris Meeke from the Citroen WRC team due to his excessively high number of crashes. This is after his recent and spectacular exit from Rally Portugal.
Citroen team principal Pierre Budar made the decision to ‘cut’ Meeke from the team due to “safety” concerns. Meeke is clearly quick and on the limit, has class but his form is just not there at the moment.
It is hard not to compare Meeke’s exit (from Rally Portugal) with Hayden Paddon’s. But as Rallysport Magazine editor Peter Whitten writes, “It wasn’t bad driving. It wasn’t a missed pace-note. It wasn’t even a driver feeling the pressure of leading a WRC event. It was bad luck, plain and simple, and could so easily have led to nothing more than a couple of seconds lost.”
Paddon clearly lost form last season and as a result has had his 2018 WRC commitments reduced. We know he has got class and there are strong indications that his form is returning. Let’s not forget that Whitten’s description of Paddon’s bad luck in Portugal happened when he was leading the rally. If you want to see why Paddon is so good then head to the South Canterbury Rally, the fourth round of the NZ Rally Championship, 23 June.
Heading into this weekend’s WRC round, the Belgium Thierry Neuville is currently leading the overall points championship after six rounds. He is the form driver at the moment but it hasn’t always been the case.
Much was expected of Neuville when he moved to the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team in 2014 having narrowly missing out on winning the 2013 WRC title with Qatar World Rally Team (Ford Fiesta RS WRC).
Crashing out of the first stage of the 2014 Monte Carlo Rally was not a good start to the season and by the halfway mark he had scored just two podiums for the team. Rolling six times in the shakedown for the ADAC Rally Germany didn’t help but Neuville bounced back to win the event giving Hyundai Motorsport GmbH’s maiden victory in the WRC. The remaining four events produced just one top five finish with Neuville finishing sixth overall for the season.
And what of the cricketer Ken Rutherford? Of course he was not selected for the next overseas tour of Australia (1985/86). Once he returned to the national side he was a regular member of the NZ team which he eventually captained for three difficult years as the team struggled to find a replacement for the retired world class bowler Richard Hadlee. He was eventually dropped in 1995 and played first class cricket in South Africa for another five years.
And will the Meeke inherit the earth? Clearly Kris Meeke is his own man and not willing to go along with whatever other people want to do otherwise he would still be with Citroen.
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