DAVID EVANS
I’ve never presumed to have many mates among those who spend their time in the World Rally Championship’s spotlight. I’d like to think I have a decent working relationship with most drivers and co-drivers down the years. But mates, not so much.
That said, I’ve known these four blokes so long, I think they might well qualify. Which made Friday and Saturday all the harder to watch. Seeing Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle’s Citroen C3 WRC when they’d finished with it was pretty unpleasant. Catching up with an all-in-one-piece Nagle in service was a highlight of the weekend. I didn’t see Meeke again, but the tone of the text messages descended to the inappropriate quickly enough to indicate he was of sound mind and body.
And the same could be said for Hayden Paddon and Seb Marshall. I make no secret of my desire to see these boys climb to the top of the tree, few work harder, even fewer are more deserving.
When Seb showed me the onboard of their Portuguese departure, it was impossible not to be grateful for the FIA’S exceptional regulations for the modern-day World Rally Cars.
Committed in a big-speed right-hander, Paddon caught sight of a rock in the line. Opening the steering slightly – to avoid what would have been a rally-ending rock – was enough to tip the Hyundai into a bit of a skid. Just at the point where you or I would have opened the door and jumped out, the Kiwi flipped the i20 down a gear and buried the throttle to pull it out of the ditch into which it had slipped. Just as it was coming out… BANG!
That’ll be the end of the drainage culvert then. The left-front suspension leg, complete with wheel, was ripped clean off and hurled a very long way clear of the car.
Mads Ostberg was first on the scene and listening to his emotions at seeing Paddon struggling and in pain, quite frankly, turned the stomach.
Enough of that. They’re all here and they’ll all be back on it in the way that only they can in Sardinia next month. Heroes all.
Now, just one more thing to talk about: chicanes and penalties. Elsewhere in MN, you’ll read a detailed analysis of M-sport’s appeal against the Rally Mexico decision which cost Sebastien Ogier his power stage points. I’m not about to go over it all again here, all I want to do is use this space to implore FIA rally director Yves Matton to take control of this one. For a very long time we’ve had fantastic co-operation between the manufacturers and that’s helped to bring us to the sensational, never-better and never-faster generation we’re enjoying right now.
What we don’t need is the teams going at each other. Regardless of who spoke to which stewards about what – and I’m in no position to speak definitively on this – it’s 15-all between Hyundai and M-sport Ford. And that’s where it has to stay.
Mr Matton, give us a regulation to stop this. And do it now. Then we can get back to enjoying the best sport in the world.