Pace Notes
The tactical battle came to the fore again in Rally New Zealand and David Evans was there to see who was playing the games
Breakfast, just after dawn in the Novotel, Hamilton. The battle lines have been drawn early. There's a red and blue side of the restaurant on Sunday morning. It's the last day of Rally New Zealand and it's Citroen versus Ford. The needle which has been building all year is about to explode on the best roads in the world.
And it's a needle brought about by the current regulations: the old running order chestnut.
Transcending the divides like a sort of world rally united nations, I shake hands with both sides. But not with Sebastien Loeb. He's not here. Ten minutes later and the restaurant empties of the drivers, co-drivers and team personnel. Twelve minutes later, Loeb arrives. He's in a hurry for coffee and a ride to the service park. That wasn't tactics. He just hates getting out a bed a second earlier than he really has to.
Share Or Save This Story
The outrageous mountain-climbers that became Pikes Peak legends
Ranking lost WRC legend Richard Burns' 10 best rallies
What to expect from the WRC's venture to the Arctic
Autosport 70: How Richard Burns scaled the WRC mountain
Colin McRae's 10 greatest rallies ranked
Autosport 70: A world rally legend says goodbye?
Watch: The champions of rallying's craziest decade
FIA reveals 'Rally Star' prize scheme to find next WRC champion
Williams to “compromise” next season ahead of 2026 rules overhaul
Top five roles on Motorsport Jobs this week
Alpine open to entering IMSA with LMDh car in the future
Sauber last scored a year ago - how is Audi planning to arrest that poor form?
When a generation of drivers learned skills for life from an atypical academy scheme
The enduring power of Prodrive at 40
Inside the archive that keeps motorsport’s most closely-guarded secrets
The choppy waters McLaren has navigated behind the scenes of its F1 success
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
