Last weekend’s Rally Sweden was a good example of how a rally can be a story of ifs, buts and maybes, as many of the leading protagonists spent more time than they would have liked “hugging” snow banks.
It’s been an interesting start to the season that has seen, not surprisingly, Ott Tanak leading the WRC after two rounds.
Let’s look at the teams one by one and how they’re faring.
Despite only having a two car team, Citroen would be well satisfied with their start to the year. Victory for Seb Ogier in Monte Carlo was tempered by a mechanical failure for Esapekka Lappi, but their fortunes were reversed in Sweden.
Road-sweeper Ogier got sucked into a snow bank on the first day and lost any chance of a good result, while Lappi was blessed with a huge slice of luck after a high-speed spin that should have seen the car roll out of the rally.
He recovered well, however, and even out-paced Thierry Neuville on the final day to finish a brilliant second.
Hyundai have started strongly too, although the lack of an event win this season may already be hurting the Korean make.
Thierry Neuville has been fast and lies second in the title race, but new signing Sebastien Loeb has been disappointing as he comes to grips with a new make of rally car for the first time in his long and illustrious WRC career.
Loeb used a gutsy tyre choice to take a victory on tarmac late last year, but already it’s clear that he’s facing a tougher task to get near the winning pace at Hyundai.
The team’s third driver, Andreas Mikkelsen, crashed out of Monte Carlo and then finished fourth in Sweden; a strong start, but really nothing to write home about yet.
Manufacturers’ champions Toyota have again started well, and had it not been for wheel problems in Monte Carlo, Tanak could well have had two wins from two starts.
The Yaris and the Estonian are clearly the class of the WRC at present, and not even his team-mates can get close.
Jari-Matti Latvala has had his usual inconsistent start to a season, and while he’s shown good pace at times, it’s this inconsistency that will probably never see the popular Finn win the WRC crown.
Third driver, Kris Meeke, has perhaps been the star of the season so far. While a pair of sixth places is nothing to get too excited about, one needs to remember that the Irishman missed half of last year after being dumped by Citroen.
His Power Stage win in France – when both Ogier and Neuville were fighting for the win – was impressive stuff, and went some way to Meeke silencing his many critics.
M-Sport’s season is probably going about as well as most people expected, with no podiums and a team of drivers that many believe won’t challenge for victories this year.
Yet, in Sweden, the team’s Ford Fiesta WRCs took more stages wins than both Citroen and Hyundai, and Teemu Suninen was a surprise event leader after the opening day.
Had Elfyn Evans not spun at a junction on day one he, too, could have been on the podium, proving the car’s potential.
M-Sport have been buoyant about the car’s upgrades and it’s potential to cause some surprises this year, so there’s plenty to remain positive about for Blue Oval fans.
Next comes Mexico, the WRC’s first gravel event of the year and, in reality, the first non-specialist rally of the season.
While the high altitude of stages causes some challenges for teams, it will give us all our first indication of whether a road-sweeping Tanak is still the man to beat, or whether anyone else is able to step up to the plate and challenge the Ogier juggernaut.
It’s been a thrilling start to the season, and the good part is it’s only just getting started!
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