Rally-eMag Dec. 2013 / The Inside View
The Inside VieW
By: Anna Louise Rudd
Images: Qatar M-Sport WRT
Anna Louise is the Press Officer of the Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team.
she is the one who knows what’s going on with anyone in the team, from the
drivers to the bosses, to the mechanics and the engineers. In her monthly
column she gives you a peek behind the scenes of a world rally teaM.
What a year 2013 has been. In terms of expectations, this has been one of the best seasons
in M-Sport’s long and prestigious history. At the
beginning of the year, I don’t think anyone could
have imagined that we would finish as vice champions in the drivers’ standings, and I only wish I
had made that bet back in January!
Thierry [Neuville] and Nicolas [Gilsoul] were nothing short of sensational this year, and I feel privileged to have witnessed their development first
hand. As Thierry said at the end of event press
conference in Wales, they came to M-Sport as
two little children, and we took them under our
wing.
36/64
They truly gelled within the team and it will be
very emotional to see them line-up in rival machinery in Monte-Carlo next year. But this is not
the time to lament on what might have been were
Thierry to be back behind the wheel of a Fiesta,
this is the time to celebrate what was and look
ahead to what will be.
After retiring early on last year’s season opener, who would have thought that these talented
young Belgians would go on to claim seven podium finishes and come tantalisingly close to securing a maiden WRC victory? If I were an egoist,
I would say that I predicted it all along ;)
I may have only been in this sport a short three
years – something which makes me a real baby
of the service park – but I have never come
across a pairing who work as hard as Thierry and
Nicolas. Yes, they are talented, but so are a lot
of drivers. In my mind, it is their sheer determination, professionalism and drive which makes
them such a success story.
There is one example
of this which stands
out in my mind. In
Australia, a number of
drivers were struggling
with their pacenotes on
the first day, but while
others made the decision to look over their
onboards that evening
and enjoy their lunch
during midday service,
I didn’t see Thierry and
Nicolas once. They
were in the engineering office – conscientiously making adjustments to their notes,
and it paid off as they
were straight on the
pace that afternoon!