There’s every chance that Croatia Rally might prove to be the biggest test yet of this World Rally Championship season.
It might not push cars to the limit in the same way as the high altitude stages of Mexico or the deep freeze of Sweden, but changeable weather and conditions means teams and drivers will be tested just as hard albeit in a very different way.
But rather than feeling intimidated by the challenge ahead, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener and the rest of his team are relishing the prospect of pushing the boundaries once again.
“Croatia is probably one of the trickiest on the calendar,” Millener explained to DirtFish.
“The first year we came here, I drove the through the stages on the recce and instantly you’re like, ‘This is a hard rally.’
“You’ve got sections of road that can be 500m long with six different types of Tarmac and you’ve got really steep, fast downhill bits, you’ve got bits up in the mountains, you’ve got bits in the countryside.
“You’ve got cuts, you know, the weather is often quite unpredictable.
“The cuts are very wet at the moment. Even if the rally dries out there’s a good possibility that it’s going to be so tricky with the cars pulling mud out on the road and then there’s bound to be showers this weekend I’m sure at some point. So you’ve got the wrong tire choice or whatever.
“I really like it – it’s really exciting for that reason alone. You know, I think the team love these kind of events where there’s a lot of input from us from a tactical point of view on tires and strategy. You know, that’s bringing everyone into it. If you have a completely dry rally, you kind of send the guys on their way and that’s it.
“So I think it will be exciting.”
With the stage conditions as they are, getting the strategy right could be the difference between winning and finishing over a minute down on the lead.
And it’s that jeopardy which fuels the tension and excitement.
“Yeah, if you think back to Germany where we used to have three different days with three different types of conditions… no, it was never boring. And this is the same,” Millener said.
“Like I say, it’s one that I look forward to because you feel like at the end of the weekend, whoever gets the victory will be a worthy winner and it makes you really feel like you, as a team, have done the most you can to get that position.”
But while strategy will be absolutely key in the pursuit of victory, Toyota drivers Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier also believe that starting first on the road will be an advantage, especially in terms of managing any tire issues.
“It’s difficult because the amount of cuts here is huge and there’s not so many you can avoid,” said Ogier, who will start first on Friday.
“You cannot force to go in there because the roads are narrow and you need to do the line. So yeah, it will be paramount this weekend.
“Being first on the road, I have a chance on the first pass to avoid some of the more tricky ones let’s say, but the rally is long.
“If it goes well you are then starting Saturday at the back of the pack and then you don’t have so much chance to decide your line anymore. And that’s the moment where it becomes more tricky.
“So yeah, we’ll see. I tried to note as much as I could every rock, every sharp edge that I’ve seen, but at some moments, like I say, there is some we will have to face and hopefully we won’t be unlucky.”
Rovanperä agreed, adding that avoiding muddy cuts will be where drivers can find the biggest gains.
“I think after the rain and what we saw on the recce, it seems that for sure it will be again best to start first because it will be quite wet and muddy cuts,” he said.
“So for sure, the first car will be gaining the most.
“But hopefully we will not be too far back and we can stay in the fight even starting third so I think still will be tricky for the guys behind all the time.”
