Colin Clark’s WRC driver ratings are back!
The voice of rally has had his say over the Rally1 drivers in Sardinia, and this is his verdict:
Sébastien Ogier 9/10
In Portugal a couple of weeks ago you could have easily argued that Tänak was the fastest man and was unlucky not to have taken the win. But this one wasn’t about speed, it was about experience, craft, patience and nouse, and Ogier had all of that in bucketloads.
Again we saw him strategically controlling things from the front, building a cushion and then when the circumstances dictated, happy to ship a handful of seconds where the risk was too high. It was a masterclass in strategy and patience that many of the young guns in the field could do with studying.
Ogier is still a formidable opponent. In the past he intimidated and dominated the opposition with his raw speed – now he does the same, but with his consistency and acute strategic awareness. If he does deide to contest the remainder of this year’s championship I’m not betting against him taking title number nine.
Kalle Rovanparä 7/10
A podium finish from second on the road would be a banging result here for most drivers – but not Kalle. He sets such high standards that anything less than a push for the win is inevitably a disappointment.
Flashes of absolute brilliance hint at a welcome understanding of how to work the Hankook rubber to the max, but if he is to offer up a challenge for this year’s title then more consistency has to be the target.
Plenty of positives to take forward to Greece.
Elfyn Evans 7/10
Another driver who needed to take a patient and strategic approach here in Sardinia, Elfyn will have studied the history of this event and would have been well aware of the punishing attrition rate that marks this one out as one of the toughest. He knew that a trouble free rally would bag good points here and that’s exactly how it played out.
First on the road is a frustrating place to be here but patience and neatness pay off, and Elfyn will be happy with his points hail from the island.
Sunday could maybe have been a little more fruitful but overall, a good result for the man with championship aspirations.
Takamoto Katsuta 5/10
A fifth place finish here actually flatters to deceive a little – this was far from one of Taka’s finest outings.
If anyone was going to capitalise on the road cleaning effect, it should have been Taka. A lack of confidence and too many silly little mistakes marked this down as a messy result however and a missed opportunity.
With a host of Japanese drivers waiting in the wings, Katsuta needs to take that step forward sooner rafter than later or the pressure may well start to mount.
Sami Pajari 7/10
A strong and impressive opening two days here set Sami up for one of the best results of his fledgling Rally1 career. However a small mistake early on Sunday took the shine off what would have been a very impressive performance.
Sunday mistakes are always frustrating, and Pajari has made a few, but overall he will pleased with his continued progress.
Admirable focus and concentration over two days is great, but maintaining it for another rally is the challenge for every young driver. However, Pajari continues to impress with his steady progress.
Ott Tänak 8/10
Not quite the pace we saw from Tänak in Portugal, and there’s no question that’was down to the pernickety nature of car setup on that delicate i20 N Rally1.
But once again Tänak looked composed and confident. And perhaps most importantly his demeanour was remarkably positive.
Ott showed commendable discipline in not pushing the car beyond what it was capable of delivering and surviving, and that approach earned him good championship points and most importantly built on his positive momentum that suggests he’s a genuine title contender once again this year.
Thierry Neuville 5/10
Thierry is still searching for that elusive win that might just kick start his championship defense this season. But on the evidence of this performance, it’s still some way off.
Neuville is out of sorts and his Friday afternoon mistake points to perhaps more deeper issues in the relationship between Thierry, the car and, most importantly, the tires.
Flashes of pace are not enough, Neuville has to regain that battling spirit and brawling ability to wrestle good points hauls from even the most desperate of situations that very much typified his title run last year.
Adrien Fourmaux 3/10
Another enormously disappointing result here for Adrien. There is no questioning his pace, he led this event after five stages, but there is something that is still not quite clicking in his approach and rally craft.
Too often he gets himself into a strong position to fight at the top and then throws it all away with some very silly mistakes.
Fourmaux can win events this year, but perhaps with a slightly different, more canny approach.
Grégoire Munster 3/10
Much like his two other young team-mates, Munster got sucked into a pointless intra-team battle and carried away with the opportunity that the road cleaning presented to him.
Had he not made that mistake, a great result was possible here for Grég and he will look back on that with some degree of regret.
Some credit for keeping it clean through Saturday and Sunday but precious few positives to take away from this one.
Josh McErlean 3/10
Josh has shown commendable progress in his debut year in a Rally1 car but this was undoubtedly a missed opportunity.
His new-found respect for the challenges of road opening was refreshing to hear and I’m certain he will have learned a lot about approach, strategy and discipline.
Mãrtiņš Sesks 1/10
I hate being hard on young drivers, but sometimes a little tough love goes a long way.
Mãrtiņš’ mistake on SS2 was unforgivable. Yes all youngsters make mistakes, but you have to show some degree of intelligence and discipline.
Sesks has worked really hard to put together a fantastic opportunity to show us all what he is capable of – but going home after SS2 does nothing for him or his reputation.
That stage was always gojng to be the most challenging of the event and all three of the M-Sport youngsters showed ill discipline, impatience and awful judgement in their approach.
Sesks compounded that with an ill-advised social media post from the road side that suggested indifference, when contrition was perhaps the more sensible optic.
I really like this young driver but he now has to work harder than he’s ever worked in his life to capitalize on that golden ticket M-Sport and his backers have given him.
