DAVID EVANS
“And so, the WRC lost to womens’ cricket...”
W omens’ cricket. Don’t get me wrong, I was chuffed to see England’s ladies edge India in this year’s World Cup final. But, team award at the BBC’S Sports Personality of the Year?
I’m not so sure. Disappointingly, actual team of the year wasn’t even nominated. How could the BBC get this one so wrong?
How’s it possible that nobody even thought to include M-sport World Rally Team in the nominations? What a story… British privateer team takes on the world’s biggest car makers and beats them. Sorry, realise I’m preaching to the converted on these pages. But it’s an absolute shocker.
What’s doubly disappointing is the lack of recognition for what the championship has achieved this season. The WRC had been in the doldrums for a while. Let’s face it, without Volkswagen arriving and taking control of the promotion of the championship in 2013, the last four years would have been pretty appalling. Thankfully, WRC Promoter has found both its feet and its voice and is now showing some real strength in the direction of commercial operations. This was a genuine breakthrough year for rallying, with the fastest and most exciting sport ever. And we lost to womens’ cricket. Let’s move on, shall we. I don’t want to leave this column on a low, so I’m going to look forward to next year. And, as you’ll see opposite, testing for Monte Carlo began in earnest last week (the week before if you were Toyota). I love seeing the cars back in the mountains, it signals the start of a new chapter. Twelve months ago, we stood on the brink of something completely different – but none of us had a clue what was coming. Would the cars be too fast? How dominant would Citroen’s return be? And Sebastien Ogier driving for a privateer team, how would that work?
It worked out brilliantly, that’s 2017, not just the Frenchman in his Fiesta. Forget 2018 being the tricky second album; year two is going to be outstanding and even better than the one just past.
The cars won’t be any quicker, but everybody starts with a real understanding of where they are and what they’ve got. And there are potential winners everywhere. Everywhere.
We start next season with every team having at least two previous winners (Citroen’s second is an Alsatian called Sebastien) and a total of 11 drivers who have topped the WRC podium, and stand a very real chance of doing so again.
Do you know who I want to win Monte Carlo? Dani Sordo. The Spaniard’s one of the most sincere and decent drivers I’ve known and, when everything comes together, he can’t half drive a car. And Sweden? Hayden Paddon. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see the Kiwi start his season in the best possible fashion, helping somehow erase the memory of last year’s tragic opening round?
And then what would happen at Hyundai? The civil war many are predicting would be upon us in time for Mexico.
There’s interest and intrigue aplenty for next season. Maybe the BBC will finally wake up to it.