With the eventual bow out of Citroen and Peugot, I thought the balance of power would shift, and teams like Subaru and Mitsubishi would have a chance at stocking their rosters with quality drivers. Apperently I was wrong:
http://www.speedtv.com/articles/rally/auto/19996/
If this is the case, and the privateer team is well funded as well as smart enough to by the existing hardware from Citroen, it may be a long season if Subaru and Mitsu can’t further develop their cars to compete.
Yep, certainly looks like the French cars will stay at the top, even without the support of the manufacturers. Of course, I think Loeb could win even if he was driving a Skoda…
Sony getting into rally?! HUGE!
“Yet unlike Peugeot, which has already announced it will switch its motorsports focus to an attempt at becoming the first manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered prototype, Citroen has sustained it could return to rally’s top tier already in 2007.”
-Peugeot wants to win lemans with a diesel?!!?!?! SWEET!!!
I, of course, thought of you when I read that part initially. And Sony’s been backing Loeb all this year (don’t know about last year). But in reagards to Sony backing Loeb/Grunholm, that’s a little suprising, considering that Sony is cutting back over 20% in the next year.
“Yet unlike Peugeot, which has already announced it will switch its motorsports focus to an attempt at becoming the first manufacturer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a diesel-powered prototype”
i want ONE
No it’s not. They have to advertise for Gran Turismo 5 
Maybe this time they’ll actually put up-to-date rally cars in then…
What… you don’t like the FWD Xsara??? Why ever would that be?
Looking better…
Did you watch Japan last weekend? Both Subaru & Mitsu looked good. I think Galli is going to turn some heads, if they can keep the Evo together.
It’s tough to say if the privateer team can consistantly run with the factory teams. I guess it depends on how much Sony is going to put into it. As I was so recently reminded, “It’s all about cash!” - PW
It should be interesting either way. Maybe Skoda w/McRae can make some in roads. I’d like to see the Higgins bros get a ride in a big team, they’ve spanked the BRC long enough.
BTW - I have Rally Japan on VHS is any one wants it.
Yeah, I watched Rally JApan (it’s still on the DVR). Mitsu is getting better; I felt really bad for Peter, that rock popped out of nowhere. They didn’t stand a chance. It was starting to look like the other teams were going to finally give Loeb some competition. I hope Skoda signs McRae and Grist, if only to keep Grist away from an interviewer’s microphone. If they score some points, that’s a bonus.
Unless Sony piles up stacks of cash, this years French cars are not going to be able to compete with next year’s factory stuff. Take a look at the privateers who run previous years cars now, you don’t see them up at the top very often and some of their drivers are damn good also (Henning Solberg et al). Without the factory engineering and R&D support or an establishment like Prodrive, privateers are just not competitive.
Also there were rumors going back months that the successor to Audi’s R8 would be a diesel, so I think there would be some stiff competition in that realm also.
I’d usually agree with ya Kevin. A privateer team would not be able to keep up with factory backed teams. But with Sony providing funding, despite their apparent financial issues, Oreca running the team and Loeb and Gronholm driving… I just hope that the factory teams won’t drop the ball and relax just because Citroen and Peugeot will not be present.
I would think Citroen would give enough R&D support. They probably had a lot of data on next year’s car, and what’s to stop the privateer team from using, or even modifying that information?
Personally, I’m kind of surprised. I though Loeb, with all the one-off appearances for the Pescarola Prototype (LeMans) team would give road racing a shot full time.