Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho and off to Sweden we go!
author: Leon Botha
If there was a prize for the best looking most romantic rally in the world no one would have been too surprised to see it go to Rally Sweden?
The incredible scenery around Karlstad where Rally Sweden has been a fixture for many years and will probably be for the next few if there is a WRC event for them to host. The settings looks more fit for the soft landing or departure of Father Xmas’ twenty four wheel drive S2012 Sledge than for humans to do break neck speeds through the snow chutes!
The romantic motorsport setting is however somewhat disturbed by the open but “secret” problems between BMW and Prodrive Mini, which the former has been threatening to derail for quite a while. This added to the problems the FIA are experiencing surrounding the WRC promoter after the collapse of North One and the unsuccessful negotiations with Eurosport may derail the whole lot?
This will however not be the first time both BMW and the FIA have been a bit of a pain in the backside with their sometimes funny-(not haha) but rather strange decisions and in both cases we may be dealing with companies too important for their T-shirts?
In fairness one has to say that none of us are truly up to date with the problems in the BMW/ProDrive camps, although money, power and control may be at the forefront in both cases?
I have always been a camp-fighter for talent instead of money and that was in the past one of the main reasons why I found myself in the middle of some serious discussions.
These fights are never sorted out, let alone won, without some bad publicity and sometimes it is best to simply keep quiet and walk away as I did from certain activities I was involved in.
Problem is that walking away never solves problems – all it does is it manifests in other areas and it is not strange for people to come back and say “why did you not warn us?” then of course the most useless thing to say is: “But I did!”
To write about this sort of problem while you talk about the Rally Sweden feels like pissing in the pure white snow, but I am concerned – not only for the situation locally but also the red lights flickering internationally.
It has never been possible and, especially now that we are in direct competition with animation that is almost better than the real thing – well to be honest it is better as nothing is impossible for it, to present a spectacle without spending serious money?
You do get the exception where a fantastic film is produced on a low budget, which proves of course that it is possible? But then on the other hand it is and will always be easier to do anything when the chequebook is swollen and the balance patient!
If you believe that the initial people who started rallying were poor, think again.
Motorsport has never been and will never be for the poor, which of course is the case with anything outside of work! Work has been designed with poor people in mind and play for those who benefit from the hard work of others!
Sponsorships make certain things more affordable for the “poor” (poor in motorsport is when you earn less than R225K per month on your investments) and due to the sponsors’ contributions, more people than mainly the rich can come out to play! That is also normally when talent plays a bit of a role as well.
In the case of the FIA money is not money if you do not add six noughts to the two or even three leading numbers and the spectacle seems to have been driven over the top?
I believe we have reached the magic tipping point that arrives in a sport when it becomes too expensive even for relatively big sponsors to stay in the game.
I am not talking about the Red Bull, Vodaphone, Abu-Dhabi, motor-manufacturer, Microsoft or Apple budgets, I am talking about the typical big national company with limited budget to be able to carry the can for an event!
Look at the guarantees you need to put on line for a F1 event. The President has to put his wife online – luckily our President has a few spare so we might even pull that off, especially when they decide to nationalise the mines and so on?
|
|
Sebastien Loeb trying hard in 2011
|
We will have to wait and see what happens to the WRC series – because if they fail to pull in the sponsors then I have very little hope for the rest to come together on National level?
Luckily I see the Rally Commission says it is working towards a WRC event and there may even be a Knight in black armour hanging about to blow a massive amount of money should we have to pay for our own TV rights over and above the costs for such an event?
Sweden – normally the hunting grounds of the Ford team and some people even see it as the only weakness in Sebastien Loeb’s armour who has only managed one win eight years ago while Ford blocked their French rivals completely from all podium positions in 2008 and last year as well.
This year may change the situation when Hirvonen who absconded to join the French army, may just repeat what Gronholm managed in a Peugeot in 2004 for the French but you have to keep in mind that he won two of them in a row now and will be looking for his third one.
So far is looks as if the conditions will definitely be “well snowed” which will obviously bring out the best in the number of snow specialists such as Petter Solberg.
Show Petter a fan and he instinctively goes up about 1200rpm and three gears – Rally Sweden passes on his doorstep - so expect a magnificent performance from the Lithuanian or Norwegian whichever you prefer. He last won this event in 2005 driving a Subaru Impreza and he is of course the last World Champion pre-Loeb!
Needless to say Petter will not let anyone take “his” win away on this rally.
Young Latvala will have to come to his senses and do his best to get onto the podium this weekend without trying to sit like Ken Block and drive like him as well. He has a huge responsibility on his shoulders although I have a feeling that Solberg is going to come out of 2012 better off than Jari-Matti?
Sebastien Loéb will tell you if you want to know that he has been unlucky so far in this event as it was never really a “snow” event in which he could open all taps and when it was he was always sweeping the road to the benefit of the rest.
So don’t be too surprised if he gets in the Citroen and wins this event, but my money will be on Hirvonen if I have to choose a winner in a Citroen? His ice-suspension setup experience that he brought to Citroen may be his downfall as Loeb seems to be very impressed with the newfound handling?
A factor that will count in Hirvonen’s as well as Solberg’s favour is the fact that the teams will be running the same tyres. Sounds strange, but Loéb always seem to do better than the rest the moment a driver gets to choose tyres?
This is what actually made the hell of a big difference on the Monte Carlo. He simply kept on choosing the right compound every time!
|
|
Hirvonen 2011 in Sweden
|
Will Dani Sordo be able to repeat his incredible second overall he managed in Monte Carlo? No he will not!
I think the crap between BMW and Prodrive, the uncertainty and then of course the car that has no proven record on ice, will simply be too much for him to handle. We all hope he wins overall just to show BMW a point, but one must also admit that the BMW threats are more business like than spiteful if you look at the present lack of TV deals, the bumbling along of the FIA and probably other factors as well?
To crown this all JWRC Patrik Sandell received some support from his Swedish heroes, Bjorn Waldegard, Stig Blomqvist and Thomas Radström who made it possible for him to compete in a Mini! Just imagine young Ashley Haigh-Smith for instance receive some support from some peoples’ heroes like Sarel van der Merwe, Jan Hettema and say Serge Damseaux? Now that will be a blessing, but I will bet you a few dollars that only Serge will know who we are talking about?
That is so typical of the SA Motorsport “heroes” – they take and take and then disappear over the horizon only popping back when they need a bit of praize or recognition again?
Then we get to my favourite Qatari, old Nasser Al-Attiyah who will also be running a Citroën DS3. This man is a sand expert, who can sit under boiling conditions for a day long squinting his eyes and nailing one dune after the other – and that’s that? Yes?
I wonder – I do believe that he will not be put to shame by a set of camel balls if we need to compare and I think if this crazy (and I say that with respect) driver makes it around the chutes of ice and he starts to get the hang of it – BEWARE Al-Attiyah might just be there! I do however believe that he will treat the ice with more respect, although he will not be last, not second last and probably not far from the top five spots overall. He is a natural and a natural can drive anything anywhere!
Some other drivers to watch will be the two talented Norwegian drivers who will be campaigning Fords Mads Ostberg and Eyvind Brynilsen. The latter lost his Skoda drive last year and will want to prove a point.
Henning Solberg will be the sole entry for the Go Fast Energy World Rally Team as Mathew Wilson broke his ankle during a run in the mountain or something as silly as that. Henning can do it on a good day, but he has not had many recently.
Sebastien Ogier and team mate Andreas Mikkelsen will be running S2000 Skodas while Hayden Paddon will also be seen in one.
Per-Gunnar Andersson and Alister McRae will be running Protons.
The Swedish Touring Car Champion Richard Goransson will try his hand in a WRC Mini Countryman – although he did drive in the Group N category once before and finished 17th, it will be interesting to see what happens here?
We have been assured by the FIA that there will at least be timing equipment – which obviously also came at a hell of an expense – but nothing is clear as far as TV coverage goes!
Can you imagine the Rally Sweden action in digital format?
Ag please dear godliness of rallies – make this happen and when you are finished will you please come have a look see here locally?
|
|
