We may have seen a familiar face on the top of the first WRC podium of 2017, but there is a new flavour to the year.
It is tempting to think of Sebastien Ogier’s victory at the Monte Carlo Rally after being forced to switch to the M-Sport run Ford team as a case of just sheer talent that outshines all the others. That is most certainly a very large part of Ford’s first WRC win in five years – as well as Volkswagen quitting the WRC – but the fact of the matter is that Ogier chose the blue oval over the other factory drives that were available.
Former four-time WRC champion and the leader of Toyota’s WRC team, Tommi Makkinen, revealed that Ogier’s test with the Yaris WRC convinced him that driving for the Japanese marque on their return after 17 years was not the right way to go.
Ford’s investment with the WRC program, coupled with Malcom Wilson still very much hungry to win rallies and a world championship have resulted in the Fiesta WRC being a machine that Ogier feels he can pilot to success no matter what the challenges.
And he was certainly challenged this time around as the Monte started with stages that had the kind of winter weather hazards that can catch even regular motorists off-guard. It caught him off-guard too on the second of the five days as he ran wide on a right-hand hairpin and went off into a ditch. The fumble dropped Ogier down to ninth overall with Thierry Neuville in the lead and looking like he would hand Hyundai victory in the WRC season opener.
But the second most winningest driver in WRC history slowly started making his way up the order as his fancied rivals fell by the wayside. The much talked about Chris Meeke crashed out of the event while even Neuville ran too wide and ended up with a puncture. Toyota’s Juho Hanninen ran into a tree on the inside of a hairpin. Hyundai’s Haydon Paddon suffered a crash that unfortunately resulted in a spectator – who was in a no-go zone – being severely injured before succumbing to those injuries. Paddon’s car was pulled out of the rally.
Surprisingly enough, Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala, the driver with the reputation for being erratic mastered the very tricky conditions at the Monte to claim second place for the Japanese marque. However, if not for engine issues for M-Sport’s Ott Tanak, Latvala would have been third. Tanak’s Fiesta developed problems late on the final day with the car operating on only two of its engine’s four cylinders.
MIGHTY BEASTS
That technical glitch aside though, the new breed of WRC cars lived up the promise of performance that an extra 80 bhp, increased downforce, a wider track and an active centre differential was expected to bring. Not to mention striking looks with the cars looking fearsome with their extended wheel flares and downforce creating bodywork and rear wings.
In its bid to increase its reduced popularity, the WRC is attempting to bring back the spectacle of the fabled Group B era, minus the killer cars. This generation is far more advanced and even though the 400-odd bhp they are supposed to have doesn’t match the 600 bhp of the most potent Group B machine, the difference is night and day. Progress is a real thing and advanced electronics, a far better understanding of aerodynamics means the 2017 vintage would leave even an S4 in its wake. Finland should be fun.
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