Rally of Turkey.

[LotusLocost]

Yes the rally is over and i feel sorry for my Norwegian hope..
And gaining more and more respect for Sebastien Loeb. (Not that I didn`t have respect for him before this rally )
The guy is absolutely amasing!! hardly ever a mistake in that car for sure!!

Unfortunatly I didn`t get to see the rally this weekend so some things are confusing for me:
Have searched a bit and can`t find out why Francois Duval didn`t compete..
Does anybody have some info.. Is it because of poor results this season?
Or is he in some sort of trouble with the Citroen Team??
And the come-back of Carlos Sainz.. Is it for the rest of the season or just for this rally?

Hope some of you guys have some info

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by LotusLocost

why Francois Duval didn`t compete..

Because he is crap, apparently.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

Because he is crap, apparently.

yup, basuically, sainz stood in for him and scored more points in this 1 rally than duval has in all of the rounds together this year

[Jack_Bauer]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

Because he is crap, apparently.

Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

Basically the story goes that Citroen brought him in as a second driver to just pick up some decent points finishes and help the team to the constructors title. Duval, however, had other ideas! He decided to try his best to match the no.1 driver Loeb to prove a point to Citroen and the rest of the world. It seems to have backfired spectacularly because he ended up trying to drive way beyond his ability and ended up having silly accident after silly accident. After Cyprus(?) his co-driver refused to get into a rally car with him again because he had become so dangerous, and so Citroen decided enough was enough. Hence Carlos Sainz's hasty and unexpected return from retirement.

Apparently the fall-out between Duval and his co-driver was because Duval wasn't paying full attention to the pace notes and was braking later than he should have and taking too much speed into corners. The co-driver was then having to interrupt his pace notes to tell him to slow the f**k down which in turn distracted Duval from his driving, causing him to fling the car off the road. All highly unprofessional and very stupid/wreckless!

[johnnyperl]

Originally Posted by LotusLocost

The guy is absolutely amasing!! hardly ever a mistake in that car for sure!!

Nobody's perfect

[Rockefella]

Originally Posted by johnnyperl

Nobody's perfect

He was trying to do that, honest.

[johnnyperl]

Originally Posted by Rockefella

He was trying to do that, honest.

He wanted to make the highlight reel, of course.

[henk4]

What people tend to forget most of the time is how well balanced the Xsara actually is. It is not only the quality of the rider but also the car is playing a role. Obviously because the car is already out of production for a consoderable time and also because Citroen is retiring from WRC by the end of this year, not much money will go into its further development. Still Loeb can win with it in any way he wants, and without saying anything negative about Carlos' qualities, it is of course a mockery that on his comeback after 6 months absence he simply manages to bring the car home on fourth place, ahead of Martin.

And yes Duval and his Co-driver split up, bascially because Duval did not want to listen. According to a Belgian TV station he grew up without listening to anybody, including his parents. When such people hit the limits things normally go hopelessly wrong.

[johnnyperl]

Originally Posted by henk4

What people tend to forget most of the time is how well balanced the Xsara actually is. It is not only the quality of the rider but also the car is playing a role. Obviously because the car is already out of production for a consoderable time and also because Citroen is retiring from WRC by the end of this year, not much money will go into its further development. Still Loeb can win with it in any way he wants, and without saying anything negative about Carlos' qualities, it is of course a mockery that on his comeback after 6 months absence he simply manages to bring the car home on fourth place, ahead of Martin.

And yes Duval and his Co-driver split up, bascially because Duval did not want to listen. According to a Belgian TV station he grew up without listening to anybody, including his parents. When such people hit the limits things normally go hopelessly wrong.

do you know where there is any info on the xsara's hydrolic anti-roll system?

[henk4]

Originally Posted by johnnyperl

do you know where there is any info on the xsara's hydrolic anti-roll system?

I am not sure whether the Xsara uses any "Citroen" haydraulics in the suspension. Certainly not in the road going version. They tried to use it in the BX4x4, but that did not work out well, to put it mildly.

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by johnnyperl

Nobody's perfect

Nobody's perfect Part II

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by henk4

What people tend to forget most of the time is how well balanced the Xsara actually is. It is not only the quality of the rider but also the car is playing a role. Obviously because the car is already out of production for a consoderable time and also because Citroen is retiring from WRC by the end of this year, not much money will go into its further development. Still Loeb can win with it in any way he wants, and without saying anything negative about Carlos' qualities, it is of course a mockery that on his comeback after 6 months absence he simply manages to bring the car home on fourth place, ahead of Martin.

And yes Duval and his Co-driver split up, bascially because Duval did not want to listen. According to a Belgian TV station he grew up without listening to anybody, including his parents. When such people hit the limits things normally go hopelessly wrong.

I imagine Citroen had to beg Saintz to get back. Pulling in after a retirement of 6 months probably isn't as easy as it sounds.

With what is quoted above being said, do you think Citroen could match the Xsara with the likes of the STi if it did furthur research and do you think it will have chance next year, say it chooses to stay?

I can't really answer the first by myself but I believe very strongly in the second, provided that Loen is still with them.

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by spi-ti-tout

With what is quoted above being said, do you think Citroen could match the Xsara with the likes of the STi if it did furthur research and do you think it will have chance next year, say it chooses to stay?

What are you talking about? Isn't the Xsara beating the impreza on an almost regular basis already?

[spi-ti-tout]

Originally Posted by Wouter Melissen

What are you talking about? Isn't the Xsara beating the impreza on an almost regular basis already?

But many people are refusing to understand that by saying its all Loeb's doing. In the street, I think the STi and MR would run rings around the little Xsara. The Xsara isn't built for speed. Back on the rally track I'm sure if Citroen tweaked the Xsara a bit they could actually get a bit more - from the car and the people. Shifting it a bit, it's a shame all of the Evo's engineering had to go to waste. I can't say whether its the drivers or the car.

[Wouter Melissen]

Originally Posted by spi-ti-tout

But many people are refusing to understand that by saying its all Loeb's doing. In the street, I think the STi and MR would run rings around the little Xsara. The Xsara isn't built for speed. Back on the rally track I'm sure if Citroen tweaked the Xsara a bit they could actually get a bit more - from the car and the people. Shifting it a bit, it's a shame all of the Evo's engineering had to go to waste. I can't say whether its the drivers or the car.

What does the street have to do with a rally car? I could be mistaken, but there does not seem to be a 4wd turbocharged xsara in the current or previous citroen line-up.