¿Who is the most proper driver to remplace Gronholm?

[Ford Capri 2.8i]

+1

[dannyroz]

^ ur just bias to Norwegians

[redbaron]

+2, I think Hirvonen and Latvala as well.

I am however surprised by the comeback of Duval. He drives more consistent than ever and drives very mature. The problem of a Hirvonen-Latvala combo at Ford is the lack of competitive tarmac pace. Hirvonen is this year not really able to match the pace of Loeb and Sordo. Maybe Ford orders him to finish and score points instead of driving as fast as possible.

So if Latvala starts making big mistakes at the last rallies of this season, maybe Ford will consider hiring Duval instead.

[redbaron]

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas ^ not sure about Duval. Now he drives without the pressure of being an official driver. While he was in Citroën, he used to commit lots of stupid mistakes, so many that his co-driver decided to quit LOL! some how now he has nothing to lose and so much to win - but may be being an official Ford driver we would have the old Duval once again :bah:

I do think Duval experiences still a lot of pressure. He now needs to drive fast and reliable to change his image of the guy who makes stupid mistakes. This is probably his last chance.

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas The main problem I see with Latvala is his lack of pace on tarmac and his relatively unexperience, with Hirvonen not being actually a veteran either. May be they should sign Gardemeister or Rovanpera, with contrasted experience and good either in tarmac or gravel... and sign Latvala for 2009

I am glad you see the the same problem as me, so I am not the only one who sees it. The problem of Gardemeister and Rovanpera are the lack of starts at recent competative WRC events. Those guys are experienced and fast, but are they fast enough to help Hirvonen?

[Ford Capri 2.8i]

After reading your opinion; i got the following conclusions

IMO the best combination is the same as I said in the beginning; although the Duval option for tarmac rallys is a good option because for me he is the third fastest on tarmac in a similar level to Daniel Sordo, and slighly worse than Sebastien Loeb

[dannyroz]

Duval is not an option at all. I forgot which rally he made his comeback in but he was leading and as soon as he felt the pressure, he cracked.

Petter aint going anywhere and Henning is good but for some reason I dont think he will get his shot.

As for tarmac, I dont believe it is as important now to be a tarmac specialist then in previous championships. Marcus is def. not a tarmac specialist but he still proves to be damn good, and so does Hirvonen. And Hirvie has shown he could win rallies when his teammate is out and he needs to step up.