Rally

Paddon, who was gearing up for his first WRC round since last year's Rally Australia, hit a rock and went off the road in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC on Monday. The accident tore the car’s aluminium sumpguard in half and ended the Kiwi driver’s hopes of taking part in this weekend's Rally Finland. Paddon told Motorsport.com: “After the accident I thought about things and asked myself ...Keep reading View the full article

The Kiwi was halfway through his pre-event test in the Ford Fiesta WRC when he hit a rock in a blind corner, sending him off the road at high speed. Team principal Richard Millener did not blame Paddon for what he saw as a freak accident. "When you test on a road like that, these things can happen," Millener told Motorsport.com. "We saw pretty much the same thing happen with Seb [Ogier] in ...Keep reading View the full article

The 31-year-old has won three rallies so far this year in his Yaris WRC, but the occasional fragility of the car has fuelled rumours that he could be up for grabs and exit the Toyota Gazoo World Rally Team run out of Finland by four-time WRC drivers' champion Tommi Makinen. Rallies editor David Evans joins Jack Benyon to discuss the likelihood of Tanak walking away from what is the fastest car ...Keep reading View the full article

The Llandudno-based event is part of Solberg Sr’s Farewell Tour and, according to him, the perfect place to introduce his son to rallying’s highest level. Solberg dominated Rally GB from 2002 until 2005 and lifted the first of three FIA world titles at the 2003 event. Solberg told Motorsport.com: “To end my professional career in this place, where so much happened and with Oliver ...Keep reading View the full article

Bottas made his competitive rallying debut aboard a Ford Fiesta WRC in January’s Arctic Rally and has since tested M-Sport’s Fiesta R5. Toyota Gazoo Racing sporting director Kaj Lindstrom told Motorsport.com that Bottas’ outing in the Yaris was just for fun. Lindstrom joked: “There is no contract. He was happy in the Arctic Rally, but we have the best car and he wanted to try ...Keep reading View the full article

Evans finished the event in fourth place but, following physio work on his back, medical specialists have advised against tackling a rally of similar nature in a fortnight’s time. Rally Finland’s roads are notorious for fast jumps and potentially heavy landings. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team principal Richard Millener told Motorsport.com: “To say we’re disappointed with this news is ...Keep reading View the full article

Last weekend's candidate event reportedly ran without any safety issues and – pending an FIA report from the governing body's WRC manager Andrew Wheatley and safety delegate Michele Mouton – it is expected to be included on the 2020 calendar, which Motorsport.com understands is likely to be confirmed this week. "As far as WRC Promoter is concerned, the Safari Rally should be back to the ...Keep reading View the full article

A fastest time in the fourth and final qualifying session of the weekend elevated the Olsbergs MSE driver to second overall. He then won the first semi-final by passing Niclas Gronholm in the final corners to secure pole position for the final. In the main event, Eriksson took the lead at the opening corner as a fast-starting Gronholm from the second row headed straight into the turn two joker ...Keep reading View the full article

Bakkerud beat RX Cartel teammate Liam Doran to the first corner in the last race of Q1 and led from the front to set the fastest time. But by virtue of a randomly reversed race order for Q2, Bakkerud was forced to run in the first race on track, after heavy rain had fallen on the Holjes circuit. Running in the only race where all five cars ran wet tyres, Bakkerud again led from the front and ...Keep reading View the full article

Overlooked for a Hyundai return in favour of Craig Breen, Paddon decided not to ‘cry about the decision’ and get on with finding an alternative. His agreement, which is for one event at the moment, with the British team was concluded in two days, just ahead of the Monday deadline for the Jyvaskyla-based event. Paddon told Motorsport.com of his desire to be back at the highest level. He ...Keep reading View the full article

The KTM star has already began the transition from two wheels to four, having made a number of starts in the car category at the Finke Desert Race over recent years, as well as appearances in both the Stadium Super Trucks and the Supercars-run SuperUtes series. He even went heartbreakingly close to winning this year's Finke in his Red Bull-backed Trophy Truck, a mechanical problem on the return ...Keep reading View the full article

Adamo's opposite number at Toyota, Tommi Makinen, has always talked of the need for each of the four WRC manufacturers to have a top-line driver to help maintain the parity of competition in the series. Read Also: Why Tanak's 'head or heart' call will shape WRC 2020 Amid increased talk of high-level discussions between Hyundai and Tanak, Adamo said he had a different ...Keep reading View the full article

The result of the vote is likely to come on Friday, but could be pushed back until early next week. Sources close to the governing body have outlined the vote will include a proposal to add, as expected, Rally Japan and the Safari Rally. The proposal does not include Corsica, but Germany is on the schedule as a reserve event. More WRC news: Hybrid World Rally Cars to be ...Keep reading View the full article

The Japanese driver will also campaign the Toyota in October's Rally Spain, and there’s speculation that his programme could be a precursor to all 14 rounds in a Yaris WRC next season. Katsuta will remain in a Markko Martin Motorsport-run Ford Fiesta R5 car for Rally Finland and Rally GB. He will miss Rally Turkey and was never scheduled to take part in Australia. The 26-year-old driver ...Keep reading View the full article

The 18-year-old's management will invoke a clause in his current two-year Skoda deal to depart the Czech manufacturer at the end of the year. Motorsport.com's sources have indicated he will drive a third Yaris WRC from the start of 2020. All parties have denied the deal is done, but Rovanpera's manager Timo Jouhki told Motorsport.com he thought the current WRC 2 Pro leader was ready for the ...Keep reading View the full article

Following news from the World Motor Sport Council recently that plans remain underway to introduce electric cars into World RX’s main category from 2021, series promoter IMG has confirmed that its proposed Projekt E concept will begin next year. Branding the concept as an “electric development series”, running at selected European rounds of the calendar, IMG says the “underlying aim of ...Keep reading View the full article

The decision ends weeks of speculation about who would step in for the team’s resident drivers Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo, both of whom had made it clear they didn’t want to compete on the August 1-4 event. Breen will be partnered by co-driver Paul Nagle, who had worked with Kris Meeke at Citroen and has been competing alongside Breen in Ireland this season. Breen will attend ...Keep reading View the full article

The pair will headline the Crosscar Star Challenge event on the eve of the World Rallycross Championship's Swedish round. The Crosscar buggy race will mark Gronholm's first outing since calling time on his WRC career after Rally Sweden in February, while Hansen hasn't competed in a rallycross event since the final round of the Swedish Rallycross Championship in 2012, where he finished on the ...Keep reading View the full article

The Spaniard delivered a sensational second career victory in Alghero last week, but will be waiting by the telephone to hear from team principal Andrea Adamo about his next outing. Rally Finland remains the big question for Hyundai, and asked if he would like to do the event, Sordo told Motorsport.com: “What do you want me to say? I don’t know. "It’s not my preferred rally, but maybe ...Keep reading View the full article

The Estonian led the Sardinian event into the final stage and looked set to collect a fourth win of the season that would move him back to the front of the field in the championship race. Instead, he suffered a heart-breaking final-stage failure that left him fifth at the finish. Tanak’s Yaris WRC wasn’t the first to suffer steering problems in Italy, with teammate Jari-Matti Latvala forced ...Keep reading View the full article