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Post by loebfan on May 9, 2010 0:13:34 GMT
Ogier finishes second 2.4 seconds behind Latvala. He did a very good rally but if only he didn't spin at the end...
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Post by Roo on May 9, 2010 3:20:44 GMT
What an incredible rally! That's three close, dramatic finishes in three years for Rally New Zealand! Two things spring to mind following this rally. Firstly, in order to finish the rally, first you must finish. All the pace setters and stage winners on this rally all had problems and made mistakes at various stages. Loeb, Petter, and Ogier. Ogier was consistently quick on a new, foreign rally for 399km of the 400km of competitive stages. A fantastic effort for a young driver on a rally he had never competed in before, just a shame he lost it in the final stage. And the Mr. Consistency of the rally rather surprisingly was Latvala. Hopefully a confidence booster for the Ford team. Secondly, I'm finding near to impossible to pick a winner in the tipping!
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Post by Will on May 9, 2010 19:14:46 GMT
Oh my actual God. That rally was epic! Such a shame about Ogier/Solberg though. Awesome drive by Loeb.
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Post by Vivski on May 11, 2010 2:48:29 GMT
I think Loeb won a lot of fans with that rally. He made 3 mistakes, but he pushed like hell and showed just how fast he can be. Put over a minute into everyone on day 2 alone!!
Loeb crashing early was the best thing that could happen in the rally. It meant that instead of playing games and driving 80% until the last day, everyone had to push maximum!
I got the MotorsTV footage, so I had an hour of highlights each day. Lots of incar footage. It was obvious just how hard they were pushing! You got a good idea of the different driving styles as well.
Petter & Sordo - aggressive Loeb & Ogier - smooth and precise, trusting of the front-end Hirvonen & Latvala - sideways early, not so trusting of the front-end Wilson - no trust at all, scandi flicks and very sideways into every turn
That rally was incredible! That's how it should be every rally! It reminded me of the days of drama between Makinen, Burns, McRae, Gronholm & Sainz. When they were all pushing at the limit, something was bound to happen!
Ogier, Latvala, Loeb & Solberg were all in a position to win the rally on the final stage. Watching the incar footage, you could see the tension. I knew something was going to happen.
Well done to Loeb for having the guts to push like crazy and risk it all going for the win.
Bring on more rallies like that one!!
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Post by Hurricane on May 11, 2010 11:03:38 GMT
Very, very, very good rally. ;D The only thing I got to add to Vivski's comment is that it's sad Hirvonen can't keep up anymore..
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Post by Mixa on May 11, 2010 12:38:20 GMT
Yeah Citroen is slightly better car at the moment. Citroen is better balanced and all Ford drivers even at the Stobart squad are saying that them have trouble with the back of the car as it keeps to sideways on the corners,specially the issue has been bad on these type of roads where road isnt so clean. Latvala´s win was pretty much out of luck. Ford won 1 stage during the rally where Citroen won 19 of them. Latvala was consistant,avoided the mistakes and had an okey road position all the time. Nice win still,no doubt on that one!
What comes to Mikko Im really surprised that he cant keep up with the leaders. Its amazing what kind of speed he kept a couple of years and was able to keep up with Loeb without doing mistakes. Now he has been doing mistakes but still cannot keep up the speed. Maybe the new point system is ticking at his mind and as he is the Ford#1 he also has to score the points for manufacturers. I still wouldn´t rule him out yet. Sordo´s case is quite similar. Excellent rally Sweden, continued where he left.. team started to speak for first wins,Sordo started to speak for them... a couple of bad rallyes.. you find Petter and Ogier going faster and he is out of confident.
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Post by tfliprex on May 12, 2010 4:27:02 GMT
Oh my, what a rally this was indeed! I was extreemly surprised by Ogier's performance this time around. He had excellent control over the C4 this time. Petter continues to impress me, what a changed driver he is compared to the last two years. He is rebuilding his confidence and once more finding himself really giving a headache to people as Loeb, Hirvonen, Sordo and others. Hirvonen was an "non-entity" this rally, he seemed to blend with the surroundings. Something happened to him and I do not think that it has to do with the pointing system. I believe that his major concern is the fact that the C4 is a better vehicle than the Focus. When you look at the stage winners, you see that the C4 holds the most wins, so this is putting pressure on him and the other Ford drivers. And to further develop this idea, just look who won: Latvala. He just stuck to the middle of the road and just kept it safe the whole time, while the C4's were fighting against each other. I think that this "fighting" is what caused C4 drivers to take more risks than necessary. Latvala's win was handed to him, he did not earn it. Instead of thanking Ford, he should thank Citroen for not stopping the C4 battles. Hirvonen lost confidence either in himself or the car. Loeb was phenomenal, what a driver he is. He went beyond flat out; he didn't drive through the stages, he flew through them! It is very enjoyable to see someone like him, or anyone, drive in such a manner; really what a phenomenal drive. I can't wait to see this rally on tv. Flip
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Post by tfliprex on May 12, 2010 21:42:48 GMT
After Ogier's wonderful run this rally; these news should make you wonder what is Citroen gearing to do... Flip
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Post by Hurricane on May 13, 2010 10:38:45 GMT
I was surprised they haven't already put him in place of Sordo this year.. I think it was pretty obvious last year that they were planning to do this. Now they just admit it.
I'd advise Sordo to look for a new team..
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