13 replies to this topic

[J]

Any info about the reasons?

-J

[Cinquecento]

It's been rumoured for a year now. Is it official?

[J]

it´s official.

-J

[BRG]

This has been on the cards for quite a while and I imagine that McRae's decision to move to Citroen has precipitated a final split. What is a bit surprising is that it happens immediately, not at the endof the season. You would think that it would be better to soldier on for the last coupel of events, and try to go out on a high note by winning Rally GB. But maybe relations have deteriorated too far for that.

Rally driver/co-driver realtionships are funny things. You don't need to be best friends or anything, but you do have to be comfortable with each other and in each other's company. Most importantly, you both need to trust the other to do their job as well as possible. The driver needs to rely on the co-driver not to make mistakes on the timing, rules and regulations and most importantly in making and reading the pace notes. The co-driver has to be able to rely on the driver to get the maximum performance from the car without (a) breaking it, or (b) throwing it upside down into the ditch.

It is this trust that I believe has been eroded over the last two years - Colin no longer trusts Nicky not to make some small errors, and Nicky no longer trusts Colin to bring them home in one piece. So a change is the best thing for both. McRae can build a new relationship with Derek Ringer and Nicky will doubtless find another top ride, if he still wants that, although I wonder if he has had enough of the WRC treadmill for a while?

[J]

BRG,

Has there been any single event (for example RAC ´01)that started the downward spiral, or just little things adding up?

-J

[logic]

I wouldn't want to be co-driver for McRae, he seems to crash much :

[BRG]

J

I don't recall anything major, or at least not anything that was aired in public. And they are of course claiming it is an amicable split, believe that as you may!

So I think it must have been a continual process of erosion of trust. I think that some of their accidents may have been partly due to mistakes in the pace notes, but whether that was Grist's or McRae's fault will probably never been known. After all the driver actually writes (or rather, dictates) the pace notes, but the co-driver influences them as well in how he reads them, and how he develops them when there is a second run at a stage.

[Schummy]

I wonder if Colin is doing it as a "personal" escape goat. I mean if he wants to test if he can be more regular with another copilot. I suppose he knows he is extremely fast, but he must wonder if he just lacks a copilot who can make him more reliable (thru pace notes). In the end it would be he doesn't trust Grist in that respect.

Obviously, I don't have any "inside information" about it, but I'll be curious for next season, and how it develops.

[BRG]

Schummy

I think there is truth in your suggestion. If Colin no longer has absolute faith in Nicky, then it will be reflected in his speed. And all the misfortunes that they have had with the Focus - unreliability, uncompetitive tyres, too many accidents - must start to erode their confidence in themselves as a team and start them each questioning subcionsciously whether the other is puling his weight fully.

I think a clean break, with a new car, new team and new partner, is the best thing for Colin McRae at the moment. Maybe 2003 will see him back at his best! If so, then Peugeot may have a fight on their hands at last.

[Cinquecento]

When did Colin and Nicky begin their collaboration? My view has been that Nicky has helped McRae takie it steadier than in his early years, when he was all over the place. Somehow I think that Nicky is the one who's feeling disappointed here after things haven't progressed to a new level this year. Certainly looked gutted to me sitting in the ditch in New Zealand. Be as it may, they've always been the partnership to watch.

[BRG]

McRae and Grist have been together since 1997. Before that, Colin was paired with Derek Ringer (with whom he will now be partnered again) during his formative British championship years, through his WRC win in 1995, to the end of 1996. The change from Ringer to Grist was thought by some to be an attempt to bring more maturity to McRae's driving, Grist having a good record at WRC level and being more highly regarded and more experienced at that time than Ringer.

[Todd]

I would take the job of being Colin McRae's codriver. I could cut out caffeine and stop eating foodstuffs that border on poison for the adrenaline rush. I can't think of another job that would be as exciting. Where do I sign up?

[ForzaF1]

I could do it!...

"three left plus...200... 2 left and 100 4 right cresting, OH ****!"

[Schummy]

Originally posted by Todd
I would take the job of being Colin McRae's codriver. I could cut out caffeine and stop eating foodstuffs that border on poison for the adrenaline rush. I can't think of another job that would be as exciting. Where do I sign up?

Being your nick as it is, I don't think Ford is going to allow it!