The hottest battle in the WRC next year!

Who gets your vote?

Petter should beat him if his bad luck doesn't strike! He is a up and coming star of the future!

petter every time!!

Petter, you have to love him don't you? ;) :D

Burnsie all the way m8!

Petter 'disco dancing champ' Solberg, although I wouldn't mind being proven wrong.

[Edited by MooseRacer - 8/19/2003 11:17:34 PM]

Petter.

Rich

Petter. As well as being a more agressive driver he has a personality, Burns does nothing but complain. Mansell of the loose surface.

Petter.

Petter, for sure. I don't think he signed up for 3 more years to become the second driver either. Car's being devloped for his style and with some success I would say.
So, will Burns settle as 2nd driver as Tommi did and will he contribute to the team as much as Tommi do?? That's remains to be seen. Surely, next season will be a entertaining and close one I think. Looking forward to it already!

Cheers
STIVII

[Edited by STIVII_Otou-san - 8/20/2003 6:32:19 PM]

Not much support for Burns on here then!

Where does it say petter #1 and burns #2?

Another vote for Petter and it's looking very good for the manufacturers championship in 2004.

Anyone know who the 3rd Subaru driver will be?

while Petter is still and up n comer...

Burnsie is a champ.
sure his attitude can vary...
but dont we all have our moments :)

i think Burns is quicker... for now.

but Petter will be there... SOON.

and afaik? Subaru's only running the 2 cars...
not heard any rumors of a 3rd driver....

cya
Jamie
www.subiegal.com

Petter for me.

3rd Driver - New WRC reg for 2004 - each team must run a 3rd car and the driver must not have had a podium finish in the last 3 years.

Burns has joined as equal number 1 driver for 2004.

I think Petter will slightly edge it, given he has had 2 recent wins, and Richard hasn't had a win for more than 2 years when the Peugeot has been the car to beat. But I don't think that any of them will worry too much about that type of thing. It's not really in Petter nature and Richards leading the championship when it's clear Marcus is the faster. The main thing is to get Subaru back to the top, and with active suspension due very soon, next year looks very good.

I don't think the teams have to run 3 cars on all rounds. Subaru are looking at a limited 3 car program, and a few other teams are saying it will depend on if there's 14 or 16 rounds to the championship for next year. Alistair for the 3rd driver, gets my vote.


David

If Petter drives like he did to get his two victories, ie using the Burns approach, then it will be very even.

If Petter drives like he normally does and looses two minutes on the first day after going off, ie like McRae, then he will be a distant second.

Clearly going against the general opinion here but it's still Burns all the way for me, massively impressed with the sheer consistency this season.

But to be fair, Petter, he's clearly a bit good........it's gonna be interesting.

They're both fantastic drivers, Burns will be happier in the Scoob I reckon :)

Still, it has to be Petter, both for Scoobychick's reasons (;):D) and Nigelward makes a very good point :D

He's all grown up now and it's showing :cool::D

Burns will give Petter a fright when he is back in the Impreza. He has never felt comfortable in the Peugeot yet still manages to run very competitively. People are forgetting Burns is kicking Rovampera's arse when just driving for a finish, he is also kicking almost everyone elses too, and when he has to, he can set fastest stage times. He was right in there for a win in Finland until his car broke a front wheel bearing, unlike gronholme, Burns got the car to service and gathered up more points. Burns is the kind of driver Subaru needs, he is a much better choice than Colin.

Petter is a great driver, but i still dont think he is quite there yet, he needs a bit more time. Tommi has been asleep all year so isnt a good barometer.

Subaru are looking very promising for 2004, now if only Pirelli could make some tyres that work on tarmac!

I agree with John, Burns is the man and once back in the scoob will be back to his winning ways :)

Subaru have hired him again because he is Mr consistancy, rather than the 1 win & 13 crashes approach of Colin ;)

One thing you can count on is that Richard & Petter will push each other to new highs.

Richard should be world champ this year & will probably pick up a win or two towards the end on the Cat or GB, with the remaining bias on tarmac events his only serious challenge will be from Loeb.

I don't care, I'm just hoping for a fantastic season for Subaru! It will make for entertaining viewing, that's for sure.

Petter. :D

He will be next year's World Champion and I really hope he does it. He really, really deserves it. :D

I'm with Chiark on this one, who cares as long as Subaru win both manufactuer's and driver's championship. I would probably, if pushed like to see Burns shade it, cos after all he is English. http://www.stopstart.fsnet.co.uk/flags/england.gif
As for all the votes for Petter, it's typical that us English love to knock a winner, we all love to hate Mansell, Burnsie, Fogarty etc, just because they're good at what they do and don't mind telling you about it.

I haven't knocked Burnsie, I merely posted a vote for Petter......

(LMW in disguise)

IMHO if you read this from start to finish you can see who is the better driver.

p.s just booked tickets for rally GB wooooooo hoooooooo :D

I also agree with John. Burns has got that exra quality of thinking his way through a rally. Flat out from day one is great to watch, but over the course of a season, flat out = more retirements than finishes. He can go extremely quick if he has to, but going as quick as you need too is sometimes harder than pushing flat out ala Petter and Macrash. I love Petter, and as he matures (and slows down) he will become world champ, but lets get behind a Brit for a change with real talent. Petter will get a lot out of Richard. He won the world title for Subaru, after being let go by them, and then went to a team who now, clearly don't like him, and he's winning there as well. How many of us could perform that well in those conditions. Personally, I think Gronholms put the boot in, and I'm glad Burnsies stuck it up him !
Come on Subaru 2004.

Pardon me if I'm wrong, but is the object of any sport not to win? The only reason Burns has a job at all is because there is more than one car in the top teams. There has been much more of a swing towards the manufacturers title in recent years which gives drivers like him a seat. The points system also favours these drivers which is demonstrated in Burns's championship position. I think it is completely flawed that someone who has not won a rally can win the title.

Drive carefully.

Derek.

[Edited by Derek FKS 85 - 9/9/2003 3:24:10 PM]

The object of winning a championship is to score the most points. Any driver who won all the rallies would win the championship, so consistantly flat out drivers will still beat burnsie in granny mode, so how come he's still at the top. Awarding the title to the driver with most wins, could see the championship going to a driver with only three wins potentially, or having a three way tie, with the title then being awarded for the most stage wins possibly. Whatever way the points were awarded, I reckon that Burnsie would change his driving to suit, which is why I made the original comment about his adaptability and thinking his way through the championship. Any of these guys in the top twelve are phenominally quick, and to consistantly score podium finishes in a car that he's not suited to is a massive achievement. I expect Robert Reids laundry bill is still as large this season as when the two of them were with Subaru.

Here, Here, Don't blame Burnsie for making the most of the points system.

The new points system encourages consistancy not wins !

:)