DAVID EVANS
“The French Ford should emerge from the doldrums”
At the time of typing, and before I get too engrossed in this column and forget, there’s still no news on whether Sebastien Ogier will get his four powerstage points back from Rally Mexico.
The very fact that the FIA is taking so long to deliberate means it’s absolutely anything but as clear cut as many in the sport would have had you believe. It’s going to be fascinating to hear the outcome and, whichever way the decision falls, precedent will have played a significant role both before and after.
The bigger question you and I want answering in Portugal this week also centres on our world champion: can Ogier find his form again? There was talk of the Ford being off the pace in South America, yet still the champ managed to bang in second quickest on the powerstage. Let’s see. Undoubtedly, Toyota and Ott Tanak are sailing through a pretty deep purple patch right now, but I have a feeling the French-flagged Fiesta could be about to come charging out of a brief stay in the doldrums.
The other talking point in Matosinhos (apart from the fish, which is ace) will be Hyundai. The Koreans are running four i20s for the first time this season, with Hayden Paddon back for the first time since Sweden.
For me, the only guy that’s safe in that squad right now is Thierry Neuville. The Belgian’s showing his strength and speed in fine style, but right on his tail is Dani Sordo. Where did that come from? Understandably a touch miffed by such a line of questioning, the WRC’S most cheerful of Spaniards defended himself in Argentina, telling us: “I can drive on gravel as well, you know…”
And then some. He’s Hyundai’s second highest stage winner so far this season and he’s led for four times the number of stages that Andreas Mikkelsen has managed. Had Dani not dropped it in Monte Carlo and missed Sweden (a Paddon round), he would undoubtedly have been ahead of Mikkelsen in the championship standings. Having scored on two more rounds, Mikkelsen is nine points ahead of Sordo. That just doesn’t make sense.
What happened to the masterful Mikkelsen we saw in Australia last year? With very little experience of the i20, he bossed an event he thoroughly deserved to win. We’ve seen precious little of that form or speed so far this year.
As for Sordo, well, we’ve seen it time after time down the years, when his seat’s under threat, he finds that edge and drives some of his best events ever. It’ll be fascinating to see what Paddon’s impact will be on a kitchen that’s already uncomfortably overcrowded with chefs.
Just before I go, have you seen Akio Toyoda’s latest missive? After disappointing first-quarter results for Toyota, the president has lined up an executive committee labelled – by him – “the seven samurai”. These chaps are tasked with cutting costs across the board. Toyoda added: “A life-or-death battle has begun. Cost reduction is crucial. It is a fight to restore our original strength.”
Let’s just hope the seven samurai see the huge benefit and value in what Tommi, Tanak and Toyota are doing in the WRC right now.