Liam Doran banned for 2017

[mark_l]

Autosport is reporting Liam Doran has been banned by the MSA for the 2017 season.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report...to-altercation

Does this mean he cannot compete anywhere in the world, or could he just apply for a licence from another country and compete in a non FIA series?

[steve_r]

Yet he is commentating on Motorsport TV coverage to WRX. Great PR move by them...

[Pozi]

Originally Posted by steve_r

Yet he is commentating on Motorsport TV coverage to WRX. Great PR move by them...

I have just read that UK coverage has gone from Quest to Motorsport TV so that will stop most people from hearing him anyway.....

[chunder]

Lol exactly

Couldn't care less. After the numerous exploits of this person, quite why anyone involved with rallycross would want him anywhere near anything promoting the sport is beyond me (other than his financial clout). He can't control his temper and seems to be mixing with the kind of people and products that make people behave very differently when they "take" them. If you know what I mean.

Tainted goods, leave well alone.

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by Pozi

I have just read that UK coverage has gone from Quest to Motorsport TV so that will stop most people from hearing him anyway.....

Yep - I doubt I'll see any of the coverage this year.

[Silhuette]

I bet there are quite a few mechanics breathing a sigh of relief now.

Is there anyone who can compete with the number of rolls and crashes he piled up in the 2015 season? Or indeed 2016 - even left without a car for half the season.

[chunder]

To be fair I think his driving had improved somewhat after the first ban.

This is to do with what happened at Gatebil, and I for one am absolutely staggered at Monsters stance, I can only think there is more to Doran being sponsored by them than simply driving. Lord only knows what it might be.

[crossfades]

He has a "young" or "hip" attitude, a cool guy basically. He is perfect for marketing an energy drink that is targeted against youngsters. His driving style as well that was quite aggressive at times in the past surely brought the attention of many.

All the dumb things he does though brings down the brand or makes it look bad. I too have wondered why Monster seems to look the other way when he does these things

[FIRE]

Why is WRX hiring him for commentating? In a way they say the f word to MSA. And Doran has an awful voice which isn't very suitable for tv.

[Silhuette]

His driving improved? Did he not DNF his final two races of the 16 season? 25 starts 0 wins 0 podiums?

Makes me wonder which level he started improving from. FIA should pay him to stay away.

[chunder]

He was not as much of a banger driver as much as he was before put simply.

Scores make no difference, that Mini was a crock of poo from the moment it was launched really.

[crossfades]

IMO the Mini was the first manufacture car of this era and a very good car. The smaller engine was extremely good and the weight reduction made the car even better.

With the removal of the weight reduction and jrm introducing an own engine, the car had seen its best days though.

[Distracted]

The Mini seemed to do okay with Guy Wilkes.... Never been a fan of Doran. He has everything at his fingertips and seems quite happy to **** it away. Hopefully he'll grow up on his year away.

[chunder]

Why would be grow up, he is still being paid and sponsored by a huge company.

For me, that would make me wary of Monster's involvement with any team, I would be concerned at their motives at being involved with someone so out of control he has twice thrown seasons away.

that for me says more about Monster than Doran, Liam can do something about it, Monster really should have.

[Distracted]

Yep, Monster don't give a damn so long as they have publicity.

[chunder]

Says a lot about their policy and their approach to the general public really.

I think there is more to Doran's relationship with monster than mere performance to be honest, not sure what, and not prepared to say.

[HoleInTheHedge]

To give credit where it's due, I thought Liam gave a very good commentary.....

[Silhuette]

Allright, so now I'm curious. Does anyone know where we can find stats on Dorans performance in the 14-16 season?

I'll readily admit I mostly remember some of his wild antics, rolls and torpedoing other drivers. For all I know, he is an awesome driver who just has a lot of bad luck. On track and off.

[chunder]

rallycross online will have his results from his time in ERC.

His best years were his last year in his own Fiesta, and the first few years with Hansen's C4 and then on his own. Never did as good in the DS3.

He is a very gifted driver, but then you would be with that much time in the hot seat. But his explosive temper has let him down now so many times it is either going to take someone to knock it out of him, or a very lengthy or permanent ban with his continued lapses into thug life.

[Pozi]

Originally Posted by chunder

rallycross online will have his results from his time in ERC.

His best years were his last year in his own Fiesta, and the first few years with Hansen's C4 and then on his own. Never did as good in the DS3.

He is a very gifted driver, but then you would be with that much time in the hot seat. But his explosive temper has let him down now so many times it is either going to take someone to knock it out of him, or a very lengthy or permanent ban with his continued lapses into thug life.

He actually came 2nd in 2012 with the DS3, the 5th in 2013, Bakkerud was 4th in the sister car although they were actually pretty equal in terms of overall performance.

It was downhill from then on with his ban in 2014 for the incident at Lydden and the rental drivers in all 4 cars not managing to do much with them. 2015 it was hardly worth him turning up, especially for Germany where the car failed scrutineering.

I have to agree with the rest of your comments though, especially the one at the top of the page!!

[chunder]

I have seen a number of things that worried me.

When the team was expanded to another car aswell as his, they went through a lot of drivers, Jeanny, Skorupski, Henning Solberg (who was none too complimentary about the car) and another guy. Tohill had a really tough year in one of his old cars and the cars used in the UK series have been very hit and miss.

His car dumped petrol or oil over the track at a BSB event he was supposed to be demonstrating at, which meant a long stoppage to the session and potentially lethal implications on a very dangerous bike track. I have heard rumours of numerous parts failures on customer cars. And I am sure something happened at Goodwood a few years ago with one of his cars, can't recall.

On the plus side I think he tries to push the envelope with his cars, as you should, so maybe that explains the odd issue. But oil and fuel leaks are pretty basic engineering issues.

[Pozi]

Originally Posted by chunder

And I am sure something happened at Goodwood a few years ago with one of his cars, can't recall.

I think he run out of petrol mid run, if so that is a bit of a school boy error but in line with the rest of your observations.

[Silhuette]

No, I was at Goodwood and it was an electric issue. Lots of excuses over how busy they had been, but it really makes no difference in motorsports - either you run or you don't run.

Only looks worse if the fault is simply down to not being prepared.

[rallycrossnl]

Results found with the 'google':
WRX
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liam_D...onship_results

Old championship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liam_D...onship_results

[tbtstt]

Bit late to this topic as I haven't been on the forum much over the weekend. I'm actually pretty surprised that the MSA have taken action following the incident at a non-UK track day. Given how public the fallout was though, perhaps they had no choice but to act?

Originally Posted by Distracted

The Mini seemed to do okay with Guy Wilkes....

Not defending Liam, but this isn't really a fair comparison. When Wilks posted a decent result in the MINI, the 1.6L cars were still on a level playing field with the 2.0L cars. Remember that Liam took a win on the first outing with the car (though I admit the conditions played a big part in that)

As a 1.6L the car was decent. Even with the weight penalty last year Liam managed to do OK (look at semi-final 2 in Germany). The transition to 2.0L is where it all went wrong. I personally think JRM underestimated just how much engineering was required for the transition. The 2.0L engine they picked never seemed to work properly either. Would love to be a fly on the wall at JRM and see exactly what has/is happening there!

Originally Posted by Silhuette

No, I was at Goodwood and it was an electric issue. Lots of excuses over how busy they had been, but it really makes no difference in motorsports - either you run or you don't run.

I believe the car ran out of fuel half way up the hill, it was openly discussed on Facebook (by Liam). I think they said "electrical issue" on the day to save a bit of face?

As others have already said, the LD Motorsport DS3's were very quick that first year, but the team seemed to grow too quickly the subsequent year. I personally think that Liam is a talent behind the wheel, but he does seem to have a habit of acting like a tit in front of people!