this icon FITS PERFECTLY
Apr. 3rd, 2009 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
was_tansu_now_badhedgehogGuess who was leading the rally by over 10 seconds after superspecial + two stages proper?
Guess who has now rolled.
On his birthday, as well.
Driver and codriver OK physically, but bloody hell.
This is happening more and more often, and the team boss will not have infinite patience. I know that there are often backward steps on a learning curve, but it looks like something about Latvala's psychological approach is broken at the moment and needs a-fixin'. I hope he doesn't run out of chances to fix it before he gets ditched from the team. On the other hand, maybe that would be a good thing for him in the long run.
But poor lad. On his birthday.
Edited to add: Having heard an interview where the poor chap admits that he has let the team down too many times now, and his future is "open", let's consider options...
1: Marcus Grönholm. Marcus is the obvious option, if he would come back to the team for the next few rallies or the rest of the season. With Marcus back in the team, Ford would have two podium places pretty much sewn up for every rally. He won't come cheap, though.
2. Toni Gardemeister. Toni is at a bit of a loose end. He's sorting out sponsorship for the Azores round of the IRC at the moment, don't know if a deal's been done. Toni would be ideal as a second driver for the team, as he's very consistent, very skilled, and has only been let down by his car over the last couple of years, not by his own mistakes. I believe Toni would reliably get good results. The question is whether he's fast enough to beat Dani Sordo on a regular basis.
3. Petter Solberg. Petter Solberg is one of the best drivers, especially on gravel, as he proved in Cyprus. He has gone to all the trouble of forming his own rally team, but at the end of the day he wants to be in a paid position in a manufacturer's team. If it didn't mess up any options for next year, I think he'd be happy to join a team for a few rallies. The question is whether Malcolm Wilson would bits back his pride (several years ago Petter had a contract to go to Ford and threw it over for a contract at Subaru) and give him a shout.
4. Chris Atkinson. At a loose end. Very fast, very good driver. Does still have a little tendency to crash, which is the problem in the first place with Latvala. Atko has gotten over it mostly. Mostly.
5. PG Andersson. At a loose end. Great young driver, fast, much more reliable than the reliability of his last years car would have one believe. Deserves a chance, but maybe isn't reliable enough yet.
More and more, I think that the best thing would be for young Latvala to sort his head out while not under huge pressure to get consistent third places. There's a lot to sort out - problems with competitive thought processes, problems with making mistakes when making the notes, problems trusting in where the correct braking point is. There were times last year when he said he had his head sorted, and I bloody knew from listening to him that he hadn't really. There are a whole bunch of unhelpful habits standing in the way of a ferocious natural talent, and he just has to sort them out. I think he can do it, but I'm less and less sure that he can do it while still in the team and under the pressure that the team are under to regain the manufacturer's title.
Guess who has now rolled.
On his birthday, as well.
Driver and codriver OK physically, but bloody hell.
This is happening more and more often, and the team boss will not have infinite patience. I know that there are often backward steps on a learning curve, but it looks like something about Latvala's psychological approach is broken at the moment and needs a-fixin'. I hope he doesn't run out of chances to fix it before he gets ditched from the team. On the other hand, maybe that would be a good thing for him in the long run.
But poor lad. On his birthday.
Edited to add: Having heard an interview where the poor chap admits that he has let the team down too many times now, and his future is "open", let's consider options...
1: Marcus Grönholm. Marcus is the obvious option, if he would come back to the team for the next few rallies or the rest of the season. With Marcus back in the team, Ford would have two podium places pretty much sewn up for every rally. He won't come cheap, though.
2. Toni Gardemeister. Toni is at a bit of a loose end. He's sorting out sponsorship for the Azores round of the IRC at the moment, don't know if a deal's been done. Toni would be ideal as a second driver for the team, as he's very consistent, very skilled, and has only been let down by his car over the last couple of years, not by his own mistakes. I believe Toni would reliably get good results. The question is whether he's fast enough to beat Dani Sordo on a regular basis.
3. Petter Solberg. Petter Solberg is one of the best drivers, especially on gravel, as he proved in Cyprus. He has gone to all the trouble of forming his own rally team, but at the end of the day he wants to be in a paid position in a manufacturer's team. If it didn't mess up any options for next year, I think he'd be happy to join a team for a few rallies. The question is whether Malcolm Wilson would bits back his pride (several years ago Petter had a contract to go to Ford and threw it over for a contract at Subaru) and give him a shout.
4. Chris Atkinson. At a loose end. Very fast, very good driver. Does still have a little tendency to crash, which is the problem in the first place with Latvala. Atko has gotten over it mostly. Mostly.
5. PG Andersson. At a loose end. Great young driver, fast, much more reliable than the reliability of his last years car would have one believe. Deserves a chance, but maybe isn't reliable enough yet.
More and more, I think that the best thing would be for young Latvala to sort his head out while not under huge pressure to get consistent third places. There's a lot to sort out - problems with competitive thought processes, problems with making mistakes when making the notes, problems trusting in where the correct braking point is. There were times last year when he said he had his head sorted, and I bloody knew from listening to him that he hadn't really. There are a whole bunch of unhelpful habits standing in the way of a ferocious natural talent, and he just has to sort them out. I think he can do it, but I'm less and less sure that he can do it while still in the team and under the pressure that the team are under to regain the manufacturer's title.
