1. MotoGP: At least three manufactures have multiple race winners
This seems like an easy prediction but it not be as easy as it seems on paper.
The 2018 season had three different manufactures win a race but Yamaha won once. In 2017, there different manufactures won a race but Andrea Dovizioso was the only winner for Ducati. It last happened in 2016 when Marc Márquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jack Miller won for Honda, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo won for Yamaha while Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone won for Ducati. Suzuki had one victory with Maverick Viñales.
The 2019 season sees Márquez and Lorenzo team at Honda, Danilo Petrucci joining Dovizioso at Ducati, Rossi and Viñales staying put at Yamaha and Álex Rins stays at Suzuki with Joan Mir moving up from Moto2.
It doesn't seem like KTM or Aprilia are quite there yet to win races but the other four manufactures appear to have the pace. The question is will one manufacture dominate enough to keep others from winning? This is particularly aimed at Honda.
Márquez is coming off nine victories and he has never won fewer than five in a season since joining MotoGP. Lorenzo had a mini revival last season with three victories before injuries cut his season short. If the factory Honda team is on the mark entering each race it seems like the team could win 15 times. Meanwhile, Ducati has Dovizoso, who has carried the flag for a few seasons and Petrucci, who has been quick but hasn't been consistently in the top five.
When it comes to Yamaha, it feels like the team could turn it around. The team has more room to go up than down from one victory but Rossi turns 40 years old a month before the season opener. We have seen Rossi prove everyone wrong and comeback and win races when it seemed he had slipped. He came back from injuries at Mugello in 2008, he returned to his winning ways after his brief stint at Ducati and now he is facing time and coming off a winless season. Rossi had his shots in 2018. He almost had Malaysia had he not fallen late in the race. He was third in the championship. Viñales might end up topping the Yamaha riders but Rossi likely will not be that far off.
Suzuki made big gains in 2018 and Rins would have won at Valencia had the weather not been so poor. However, I do not see Mir coming in and contending for race victories in year one.
If three manufactures are going to do it, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha are the three.
The 2018 season had three different manufactures win a race but Yamaha won once. In 2017, there different manufactures won a race but Andrea Dovizioso was the only winner for Ducati. It last happened in 2016 when Marc Márquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jack Miller won for Honda, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo won for Yamaha while Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone won for Ducati. Suzuki had one victory with Maverick Viñales.
The 2019 season sees Márquez and Lorenzo team at Honda, Danilo Petrucci joining Dovizioso at Ducati, Rossi and Viñales staying put at Yamaha and Álex Rins stays at Suzuki with Joan Mir moving up from Moto2.
It doesn't seem like KTM or Aprilia are quite there yet to win races but the other four manufactures appear to have the pace. The question is will one manufacture dominate enough to keep others from winning? This is particularly aimed at Honda.
Márquez is coming off nine victories and he has never won fewer than five in a season since joining MotoGP. Lorenzo had a mini revival last season with three victories before injuries cut his season short. If the factory Honda team is on the mark entering each race it seems like the team could win 15 times. Meanwhile, Ducati has Dovizoso, who has carried the flag for a few seasons and Petrucci, who has been quick but hasn't been consistently in the top five.
When it comes to Yamaha, it feels like the team could turn it around. The team has more room to go up than down from one victory but Rossi turns 40 years old a month before the season opener. We have seen Rossi prove everyone wrong and comeback and win races when it seemed he had slipped. He came back from injuries at Mugello in 2008, he returned to his winning ways after his brief stint at Ducati and now he is facing time and coming off a winless season. Rossi had his shots in 2018. He almost had Malaysia had he not fallen late in the race. He was third in the championship. Viñales might end up topping the Yamaha riders but Rossi likely will not be that far off.
Suzuki made big gains in 2018 and Rins would have won at Valencia had the weather not been so poor. However, I do not see Mir coming in and contending for race victories in year one.
If three manufactures are going to do it, Honda, Ducati and Yamaha are the three.
2. Indy Lights: Three continents produce race winners
It might come as a surprise to you that no European driver won in Indy Lights in 2018. The four winners were Mexican Patricio O'Ward, American Colton Herta, Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia and Brazilian Victor Franzoni. It was the first time Europe had been shut out in Indy Lights since 2005.
I think that will change in 2019 and not only will we have a European winner but winners from North and South America as well.
Going into Christmas we only know of four drivers confirmed for the 2019 Indy Lights season and they come from two continents. Ohio's Ryan Norman will return to Andretti Autosport. Zachary Claman De Melo will be full-time in Indy Lights at Belardi. Parker Thompson joins fellow Canadian Claman De Melo on the Indy Lights grid with Team Pelfrey. Dutchman Rinus VeeKay moves up after winning the Pro Mazda title with Juncos Racing.
VeeKay has been stout in his two years in the Road to Indy and Juncos Racing is a proven Indy Lights race winner. Norman improved immensely from 2017 to 2018 but I am not sure if he will have enough to win in 2019. Claman De Melo has already won in Indy Lights and I think he will challenge for the title while Thompson should be competitive.
There are still many openings and we still need a third continent to be represented on the grid.
At the Chris Griffis Memorial Test, Norman was fastest while Oliver Askew and Robert Megennis were both quick. Franzoni participated with Belardi and he was also quick. If there is another European driver to keep an eye on it is Frenchman Julien Falchero, who tested at Homestead with Andretti Autosport earlier this month. Falchero contested in the GP3 Series and in the European Le Mans Series this season.
There is a lot of time between now and the start of the Indy Lights season. The series has a test in February at Circuit of the Americas. I am sure there will be a few South American drivers added to the grid and I am sure one or two will have what it takes to win a few races. Who knows, maybe the grid sees drivers from Japan, Australia and other parts of the world in 2019.
I think that will change in 2019 and not only will we have a European winner but winners from North and South America as well.
Going into Christmas we only know of four drivers confirmed for the 2019 Indy Lights season and they come from two continents. Ohio's Ryan Norman will return to Andretti Autosport. Zachary Claman De Melo will be full-time in Indy Lights at Belardi. Parker Thompson joins fellow Canadian Claman De Melo on the Indy Lights grid with Team Pelfrey. Dutchman Rinus VeeKay moves up after winning the Pro Mazda title with Juncos Racing.
VeeKay has been stout in his two years in the Road to Indy and Juncos Racing is a proven Indy Lights race winner. Norman improved immensely from 2017 to 2018 but I am not sure if he will have enough to win in 2019. Claman De Melo has already won in Indy Lights and I think he will challenge for the title while Thompson should be competitive.
There are still many openings and we still need a third continent to be represented on the grid.
At the Chris Griffis Memorial Test, Norman was fastest while Oliver Askew and Robert Megennis were both quick. Franzoni participated with Belardi and he was also quick. If there is another European driver to keep an eye on it is Frenchman Julien Falchero, who tested at Homestead with Andretti Autosport earlier this month. Falchero contested in the GP3 Series and in the European Le Mans Series this season.
There is a lot of time between now and the start of the Indy Lights season. The series has a test in February at Circuit of the Americas. I am sure there will be a few South American drivers added to the grid and I am sure one or two will have what it takes to win a few races. Who knows, maybe the grid sees drivers from Japan, Australia and other parts of the world in 2019.
3. Supercars: There will be first-time winners in at least two of the three endurance rounds
To explain this one a little bit better: a driver will get his or her first victory in one of the endurance race, as in a driver that has not won the Bathurst 1000 will win the Bathurst 1000 and the same for the Sandown 500 and Gold Coast 600.
Defending champion Scott McLaughlin and 2016 champion Shane van Gisbergen have yet to win the Bathurst 1000 and the Sundown 500. Van Gisbergen has come close in both. It is only time before he wins The Great Race but it would come to the surprise of no one if McLaughlin kept him waiting another year and the DJR Team Penske driver took the honor in 2019.
Scott Pye has finished runner-up in the last two years at Bathurst and he picked up his first, and so far only, victory at Albert Park in 2018. The superteam of Walkinshaw Andretti United did well in year one but the sophomore season must see a leap forward and it is not crazy to think Pye could win at one of the three endurance races. On top of that, teammate James Courtney has not won the Bathurst 1000 nor the Sandown 500.
Erebus Motorsport's David Reynolds won at Surfers Paradise in 2013 and won at Bathurst in 2017 but he has yet to win the Sandown 500. Could 2019 be the year Reynolds completes the trio?
Those are five names to keep an eye on when Supercars enter October.
Defending champion Scott McLaughlin and 2016 champion Shane van Gisbergen have yet to win the Bathurst 1000 and the Sundown 500. Van Gisbergen has come close in both. It is only time before he wins The Great Race but it would come to the surprise of no one if McLaughlin kept him waiting another year and the DJR Team Penske driver took the honor in 2019.
Scott Pye has finished runner-up in the last two years at Bathurst and he picked up his first, and so far only, victory at Albert Park in 2018. The superteam of Walkinshaw Andretti United did well in year one but the sophomore season must see a leap forward and it is not crazy to think Pye could win at one of the three endurance races. On top of that, teammate James Courtney has not won the Bathurst 1000 nor the Sandown 500.
Erebus Motorsport's David Reynolds won at Surfers Paradise in 2013 and won at Bathurst in 2017 but he has yet to win the Sandown 500. Could 2019 be the year Reynolds completes the trio?
Those are five names to keep an eye on when Supercars enter October.
4. World Superbike: At least two riders with new teams win a race
Jonathan Rea is likely going to win 66% of the schedule and the championship. But other riders are going to win races and Chaz Davies isn't going to clean up the rest of the races.
Riders are moving on and some are moving in and Ducati's new addition Álvaro Bautista has tipped as a challenger to Rea. The Spaniard did not win once in his nine years in MotoGP and he only had three podium finishes in 158 starts. We are approaching ten years since Bautista's most recent victory, in 250cc at Barcelona. I think he will get a few victories and give Davies a run for the best Ducati rider.
What about the man Bautista is replacing, Marco Melandri? The Italian moves over to GRT Yamaha, the second team in the stable and it is difficult to see him topping the factory duo of Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes.
Ducati is not the only team that has shuffled the deck. Tom Sykes has left Kawasaki after nine seasons and he will join BMW. The German manufacture has had World Superbike success before but it took four seasons for BMW to get its first WSBK victory in 2012, coincidentally Melandri got that victory, but after good seasons in 2012 and 2013, the manufacture pulled support. It could be an uphill battle for Sykes.
If Sykes is going to BMW, what about his replacement? That would be Leon Haslam, the reigning British Superbike champion. Haslam has won in WSBK with Suzuki and Aprilia and Rea will be tough to beat. Sykes topped Rea only once in 2018 but if there is a day when Rea is just off or he falls off, Haslam could be in position to clean up the mess and keep Kawasaki on the top step of the podium.
Riders are moving on and some are moving in and Ducati's new addition Álvaro Bautista has tipped as a challenger to Rea. The Spaniard did not win once in his nine years in MotoGP and he only had three podium finishes in 158 starts. We are approaching ten years since Bautista's most recent victory, in 250cc at Barcelona. I think he will get a few victories and give Davies a run for the best Ducati rider.
What about the man Bautista is replacing, Marco Melandri? The Italian moves over to GRT Yamaha, the second team in the stable and it is difficult to see him topping the factory duo of Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes.
Ducati is not the only team that has shuffled the deck. Tom Sykes has left Kawasaki after nine seasons and he will join BMW. The German manufacture has had World Superbike success before but it took four seasons for BMW to get its first WSBK victory in 2012, coincidentally Melandri got that victory, but after good seasons in 2012 and 2013, the manufacture pulled support. It could be an uphill battle for Sykes.
If Sykes is going to BMW, what about his replacement? That would be Leon Haslam, the reigning British Superbike champion. Haslam has won in WSBK with Suzuki and Aprilia and Rea will be tough to beat. Sykes topped Rea only once in 2018 but if there is a day when Rea is just off or he falls off, Haslam could be in position to clean up the mess and keep Kawasaki on the top step of the podium.
5. World Supersport: Yamaha has fewer than 75% of total podium finishes
Yamaha smoked the World Supersport field in 2018. The manufacture swept all 12 races, swept the top six positions in the championship and accounted for 30 of 36 podium positions, with Yamaha having at least two riders on every podium.
Yamaha has had a rider on the podium for 24 consecutive races and I think the manufacture will continue to be strong in 2019 but I think they lose a bit of their grip. For starters, 2018 champion Sandro Cortese moves up to World Superbike. Secondly, the injury and forced retirement of Kawasaki rider Kenan Sofuoglu definitely helped Yamaha have the dominant season it had in 2018. MV Augusta rider Raffaele De Rosa deserves a shout out for his five podium finishes in 2018.
I think a few non-Yamaha riders will step up and get some good results. After scoring 83.333% of the podiums in 2018, I think Yamaha will score no more than 26 podium finishes in 2019.
Yamaha has had a rider on the podium for 24 consecutive races and I think the manufacture will continue to be strong in 2019 but I think they lose a bit of their grip. For starters, 2018 champion Sandro Cortese moves up to World Superbike. Secondly, the injury and forced retirement of Kawasaki rider Kenan Sofuoglu definitely helped Yamaha have the dominant season it had in 2018. MV Augusta rider Raffaele De Rosa deserves a shout out for his five podium finishes in 2018.
I think a few non-Yamaha riders will step up and get some good results. After scoring 83.333% of the podiums in 2018, I think Yamaha will score no more than 26 podium finishes in 2019.
6. Blancpain GT: The Spa 24 Hours winner wins one of the three Blancpain GT championships
Blancpain GT keeps reinventing itself and that is not necessarily a compliment. This focuses on the European-based championships, what will be called the Blancpain GT Series, Blancpain Endurance Cup and the World Challenge Europe series.
The Spa 24 Hours might be the signature event in the Blancpain GT and SRO universe but the notable thing is how infrequent the winner of that race has taken a title. Since the introduction of the Blancpain GT Series in 2014, the last time a Spa 24 Hours winner took one of the three titles was Laurens Vanthoor in 2014, when the Belgian won the Blancpain GT Series championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series title.
Since the establishment of the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2011, the only other driver to win the title and the Spa 24 Hours in the same year was Maximilian Buhk in 2013.
It is bound to happen again and four years is long enough.
The Spa 24 Hours might be the signature event in the Blancpain GT and SRO universe but the notable thing is how infrequent the winner of that race has taken a title. Since the introduction of the Blancpain GT Series in 2014, the last time a Spa 24 Hours winner took one of the three titles was Laurens Vanthoor in 2014, when the Belgian won the Blancpain GT Series championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series title.
Since the establishment of the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2011, the only other driver to win the title and the Spa 24 Hours in the same year was Maximilian Buhk in 2013.
It is bound to happen again and four years is long enough.
7. Asian Le Mans Series: One of the three class champions go to Le Mans and finish in the top six in class
The Asian Le Mans Series has some good entries this year and when looking at the teams it would not come as a surprise if any of them did well at Le Mans.
Spirit of Race and Algarve Pro Racing have split the first two races but United Autosports leads the championship with two rounds to go. Inter Europol Competition leads in LMP3 ahead of two United Autosports cars and Inter Europol Competition had a respectable season in LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series. CarGuy Racing leads the GT championship but current FIA WEC GTE-Pro driver James Calado is currently in the line-up but we have seen Ferrari fill GTE-Am entries with respectable professionals.
Le Mans is a deep field and it will be tough to finish at the front in LMP2 against the full-time WEC entries and ELMS entries but it is not crazy to think United Autosports could end up at the front with its ALMS entry.
Spirit of Race and Algarve Pro Racing have split the first two races but United Autosports leads the championship with two rounds to go. Inter Europol Competition leads in LMP3 ahead of two United Autosports cars and Inter Europol Competition had a respectable season in LMP3 in the European Le Mans Series. CarGuy Racing leads the GT championship but current FIA WEC GTE-Pro driver James Calado is currently in the line-up but we have seen Ferrari fill GTE-Am entries with respectable professionals.
Le Mans is a deep field and it will be tough to finish at the front in LMP2 against the full-time WEC entries and ELMS entries but it is not crazy to think United Autosports could end up at the front with its ALMS entry.
8. Super Formula: There are at least three winners under the age of 30
The last time Super Formula introduced a new car was 2014 and that year there were only two winners under the age of 30, Kazuki Nakajima and Tomoki Nojiri. However, in the five seasons since then Super Formula has gotten much younger as the series has transformed again into a development series for drivers with Formula One aspirations.
Top, young drivers from Europe are heading to Japan at a large rate and the grid is getting noticeably younger and add to that a new car with the Dallara SF19 replacing the SF14, it will be a somewhat level season between veterans and rookies. The veterans will still have the upper hand with track knowledge but Stoffel Vandoorne, Pierre Gasly and Felix Rosenqvist all went to Super Formula and were competitive off the crack of the bat.
The name to keep an eye on in 2019 is Dan Ticktum. The 19-year-old Red Bull development driver will be with Team Mugen, replacing defending champion Naoki Yamamoto, who moves to Team Dandelion Racing with his 2018 teammate Nirei Fukuzumi and Nojiri flips from Team Dandelion Racing to Team Mugen. Nojiri will be under 30 for the first five rounds. Fukuzumi turns 22 years old in January and he did not score points in his first year after splitting the year with Formula Two but he should be in competitive equipment.
Nick Cassidy is 24 years old and the vice-champion could return. Cassidy was the only driver under 30 to win in 2018. Lucas Auer is 24 years old and he joins Super Formula after four years in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Other drivers under 30 that could return to Super Formula and have a shot at victory include Ryō Hirakawa, Yuji Kunimoto, Nobuharu Matsushita and Pietro Fittipaldi.
I think 2019 will be the year of the young driver.
Top, young drivers from Europe are heading to Japan at a large rate and the grid is getting noticeably younger and add to that a new car with the Dallara SF19 replacing the SF14, it will be a somewhat level season between veterans and rookies. The veterans will still have the upper hand with track knowledge but Stoffel Vandoorne, Pierre Gasly and Felix Rosenqvist all went to Super Formula and were competitive off the crack of the bat.
The name to keep an eye on in 2019 is Dan Ticktum. The 19-year-old Red Bull development driver will be with Team Mugen, replacing defending champion Naoki Yamamoto, who moves to Team Dandelion Racing with his 2018 teammate Nirei Fukuzumi and Nojiri flips from Team Dandelion Racing to Team Mugen. Nojiri will be under 30 for the first five rounds. Fukuzumi turns 22 years old in January and he did not score points in his first year after splitting the year with Formula Two but he should be in competitive equipment.
Nick Cassidy is 24 years old and the vice-champion could return. Cassidy was the only driver under 30 to win in 2018. Lucas Auer is 24 years old and he joins Super Formula after four years in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Other drivers under 30 that could return to Super Formula and have a shot at victory include Ryō Hirakawa, Yuji Kunimoto, Nobuharu Matsushita and Pietro Fittipaldi.
I think 2019 will be the year of the young driver.
9. Super GT: We do not see a DTM crossover event or entry during the season
Both series are finally adopting "Class One" regulations after years of conversations. Super GT cars will do it in 2020 and Super GT has already done test runs at Hockenheimring but the actual feat of having a crossover event was planned for 2019 but I do not think it is going to happen.
For starters, DTM is just getting ahold of the "Class One" regulations and Aston Martin will be in its first year as a manufacture. The proposed crossover event will require Balance of Performance because Super GT has yet to adopt "Class One" regulations. The series isn't ready to take on the Japanese teams of Super GT. The German teams will not want to enter a race and be smoked by Super GT opposition.
Another problem is where and when would this race take place? It does not seem like there is enough time to schedule one in 2019. The Super GT season goes until November and while DTM ends a month before that it is hard to imagine Super GT would want a race scheduled in the middle of October. If this race is going to happen then it will need plenty of planning and occur at a time and a location that suits both series.
With that said, I do not see Lexus or Honda or Nissan taking a car or two over to the Norisring or Assen in July nor do I see Audi, BMW or Aston Martin entering a car or two at the Motegi Super GT final after the DTM season is over.
And if it is a crossover event, it is not going to be some exhibition, mini race held during a Super GT or DTM weekend with like eight cars competing in a ten-lap race. This has to be a legitimate race with the best from each side for a longer distance.
For starters, DTM is just getting ahold of the "Class One" regulations and Aston Martin will be in its first year as a manufacture. The proposed crossover event will require Balance of Performance because Super GT has yet to adopt "Class One" regulations. The series isn't ready to take on the Japanese teams of Super GT. The German teams will not want to enter a race and be smoked by Super GT opposition.
Another problem is where and when would this race take place? It does not seem like there is enough time to schedule one in 2019. The Super GT season goes until November and while DTM ends a month before that it is hard to imagine Super GT would want a race scheduled in the middle of October. If this race is going to happen then it will need plenty of planning and occur at a time and a location that suits both series.
With that said, I do not see Lexus or Honda or Nissan taking a car or two over to the Norisring or Assen in July nor do I see Audi, BMW or Aston Martin entering a car or two at the Motegi Super GT final after the DTM season is over.
And if it is a crossover event, it is not going to be some exhibition, mini race held during a Super GT or DTM weekend with like eight cars competing in a ten-lap race. This has to be a legitimate race with the best from each side for a longer distance.
10. DTM: Aston Martin has fewer drivers in the top ten of the championship than BMW in 2012
The last time a manufacture entered DTM was BMW in 2012 and the first year went pretty well. Bruno Spengler won the championship, Spengler won the second race of the season, BMW won five of ten races and the manufacture ended with four drivers in the top ten of the championship.
I do not think Aston Martin will match those numbers. Though BMW's success also came in a season where a new car was introduced, Aston Martin's DTM arrival was announced quite late and, while Aston Martin will work with HWA, the long-established Mercedes-Benz team, will run the operation, I think Audi and BMW will battle for the championship.
Aston Martin will have good days and with 20 races it is not crazy to think the British manufacture will win a race or two or three but I am skeptical it can have a championship contender and I am not sure it can put four drivers in the top ten.
I do not think Aston Martin will match those numbers. Though BMW's success also came in a season where a new car was introduced, Aston Martin's DTM arrival was announced quite late and, while Aston Martin will work with HWA, the long-established Mercedes-Benz team, will run the operation, I think Audi and BMW will battle for the championship.
Aston Martin will have good days and with 20 races it is not crazy to think the British manufacture will win a race or two or three but I am skeptical it can have a championship contender and I am not sure it can put four drivers in the top ten.
11. World Touring Car Cup: The average age of the top three in the championship is at least ten years lower than 2018
Super Formula is not the only championship that will get younger in 2019. The first year of the World Touring Car Cup was a year of the veterans.
Gabriele Tarquini won the championship at 56 years old, Yvan Muller was second at 49 years old and Esteban Guerrieri was third at 33 years old. The average age of the top three was 46 years old.
There is a chance Tarquini and Muller finish in the top three again, which means a 30 year old would have to finish in the top three. That might not happen unless the 23-year-old Yann Ehrlacher or 30-year-old Nathanaël Berthon return and finish in the top three.
Tarquini will have competition from inside the Hyundai camp with Norbert Michelisz returning and Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg join the series. Johan Kristofferson joins the series after winning the World Rallycross title. The Swede will run a Volkswagen with Sébastien Loeb Racing and Rob Huff will be one of his teammates.
Andy Priaulx returns to touring car competition but he will drive a Lynk & Co 03 TCR, a Chinese manufacture and Thed Björk, Ehrlacher and Muller will be his teammates.
Many more entries will be announced but I think the top of the grid will get younger.
Gabriele Tarquini won the championship at 56 years old, Yvan Muller was second at 49 years old and Esteban Guerrieri was third at 33 years old. The average age of the top three was 46 years old.
There is a chance Tarquini and Muller finish in the top three again, which means a 30 year old would have to finish in the top three. That might not happen unless the 23-year-old Yann Ehrlacher or 30-year-old Nathanaël Berthon return and finish in the top three.
Tarquini will have competition from inside the Hyundai camp with Norbert Michelisz returning and Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg join the series. Johan Kristofferson joins the series after winning the World Rallycross title. The Swede will run a Volkswagen with Sébastien Loeb Racing and Rob Huff will be one of his teammates.
Andy Priaulx returns to touring car competition but he will drive a Lynk & Co 03 TCR, a Chinese manufacture and Thed Björk, Ehrlacher and Muller will be his teammates.
Many more entries will be announced but I think the top of the grid will get younger.
12. WRC: Citroën moves up at least two positions in the manufactures' championship and wins at least four rounds including one of the first five
Citroën is back to talking the World Rally Championship seriously.The French team has signed six-time reigning champion Sébastien Ogier from M-Sport Ford and Esapekka Lappi joins the team from Toyota.
Citroën finished fourth in the manufactures' championship last year with 237 points, 87 points behind Ford and 104 points off Hyundai. It will be tough to catch Toyota and it will be tough to beat Hyundai. With Ogier leaving Ford, I think that is an easy manufacture to jump.
If Ogier couldn't lose the championship driving for what is a customer team in M-Sport I can't see him falling off joining Citroën, a championship-caliber manufacture when it puts forth the effort. Hyundai will be tough. It has brought Sébastien Loeb out of retirement for a handful of races. Thierry Neuville is still there although Neuville fell off when it came to crunch time.
Toyota is the manufacture to beat. Jari-Matti Latvala won the finale but Ott Tänak kept up with Neuville and Ogier for majority of 2018.
It might come down to what Lappi produces. He won Rally Finland in 2017 and last year he had three podium finishes but Lappi consistently scored points with ten finishes in the points out of 13 rallies and that got the Finn fifth in the championship.
