WHY ARE SUBARU & SOLBERG SO FAR OFF THE PACE IN THE WRC.
12 September 2007, 07:10 PM
#32
Most people know why Subaru are off the pace in the WRC as the car is not a match for the more nimble citroen and focus, it would be interesting to know what the citroen and ford weighs in comparison with the Subaru.
At the end of the day its all about power to weight ratio and the subaru just cannot compete at the min against 2 far better packages from ford and citroen, personally i think subaru as well as changing the car need a change of drivers to freshen things up as Petter Solberg as been off the pace quite a bit this year and that wasn`t soley down to the car as Chris Atkinson easily out performed him in the last rally. Atkinson is a very inconsistent performer, he can have great pace one minute and in the next rally he can be struggling from the off.
I wouldn`t mind seeing Mikko Hirvonen at Subaru as he only knows one pace and that is flat out and he is a very reliable driver, maybe partner him with another up and coming talent in Danni Sordo who would give Subaru some good points on tarmac and he is getting a lot better on gravel.
At the end of the day its all about power to weight ratio and the subaru just cannot compete at the min against 2 far better packages from ford and citroen, personally i think subaru as well as changing the car need a change of drivers to freshen things up as Petter Solberg as been off the pace quite a bit this year and that wasn`t soley down to the car as Chris Atkinson easily out performed him in the last rally. Atkinson is a very inconsistent performer, he can have great pace one minute and in the next rally he can be struggling from the off.
I wouldn`t mind seeing Mikko Hirvonen at Subaru as he only knows one pace and that is flat out and he is a very reliable driver, maybe partner him with another up and coming talent in Danni Sordo who would give Subaru some good points on tarmac and he is getting a lot better on gravel.
12 September 2007, 08:15 PM
#33
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Rob, You are probably right on the power to weight ratio, saying that I bet Prodrive are on the FIA min weight limit with there WRC Impreza of 1230KG so power to weight I would have thought should be on par with the Fords and Citroens, some how though they are lacking hugely overall.
As for Hirvonen, I would be surprised if Malcolm Wilson lets him go for next season, Ford has the best car and drivers ( excluding Loeb, who I would put equal with Gronholm ), overall Ford are the leading crew contesting the WRC at the moment, very closely followed by Citroen.
Arron.
As for Hirvonen, I would be surprised if Malcolm Wilson lets him go for next season, Ford has the best car and drivers ( excluding Loeb, who I would put equal with Gronholm ), overall Ford are the leading crew contesting the WRC at the moment, very closely followed by Citroen.
Arron.
Last edited by Arron; 12 September 2007 at 08:17 PM.
12 September 2007, 09:01 PM
#34
I think there a few reasons. One is they lost ground when Richard sadly fell ill and couldnt drive for the team as planned, so they lost the person who was going to be the team lead driver, who was a super test driver as well as on event driver and could have led them forward.
They dumped Hirvonen and went with Atkinson, a very bad mistake, i said so at the time so am not using hindsight, having watched Miko on numerous rallies i could see he would come good.
The team is running on a shoestring, the WRC team is a small scale operation compared to Ford and Citroens efforts.
They thought they were off the pace because of tyres, that wasnt the reason and now they know they have fundemetal weaknesses compared to the oposition, maybe if they werent on Pirelli's they would have realised earlier the car was the problem, not the tyre.
Petter isnt the man he was, i think the shunt in Germany when Phil was very lucky to escape unharmed had an effect. He is a great guy but i think he needs a change.
The rally program is not David Richards priority anymore either, that has to have had an effect, even if only a relatively small one.
So they have too small a budget and team, the wrong drivers and an out of date car. Apart from that it's perfect.
I feel for the engineers at Prodrive, they are doing a good job with what they are given to work with. I wish them the best of fortune with the new car and hope it's a fresh start, but i am not holding my breath unless there is a shift in some of the other things above.
They dumped Hirvonen and went with Atkinson, a very bad mistake, i said so at the time so am not using hindsight, having watched Miko on numerous rallies i could see he would come good.
The team is running on a shoestring, the WRC team is a small scale operation compared to Ford and Citroens efforts.
They thought they were off the pace because of tyres, that wasnt the reason and now they know they have fundemetal weaknesses compared to the oposition, maybe if they werent on Pirelli's they would have realised earlier the car was the problem, not the tyre.
Petter isnt the man he was, i think the shunt in Germany when Phil was very lucky to escape unharmed had an effect. He is a great guy but i think he needs a change.
The rally program is not David Richards priority anymore either, that has to have had an effect, even if only a relatively small one.
So they have too small a budget and team, the wrong drivers and an out of date car. Apart from that it's perfect.
I feel for the engineers at Prodrive, they are doing a good job with what they are given to work with. I wish them the best of fortune with the new car and hope it's a fresh start, but i am not holding my breath unless there is a shift in some of the other things above.
12 September 2007, 10:59 PM
#35
Subaru will be back where they belong sooner rather than later, the WRC has always swung in roundabouts where you get one manufacturer dominating the final positions for a period of time. Its basically who has the best engineering package for that year along with the best technical people on board, prodrive to me really miss Dave Richards input into the rally team.
Maybe Subaru need to break away from prodrive and do it in house or bring in another company for fresh ideas and a new approach, something somewhere isn`t right as they have been struggling for a long while now.
Maybe Subaru need to break away from prodrive and do it in house or bring in another company for fresh ideas and a new approach, something somewhere isn`t right as they have been struggling for a long while now.
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