Rally

The Norwegian’s i20 Coupe WRC slid into a ditch on a fast right-hander shortly after passing a tractor which was being driven down the road in the Sherwood test. The tractor had been working on a chicane, pushing a straw bale back into place after Jari-Matti Latvala’s Toyota collided with the third-stage obstacle, moving the bale out of position. Penasse told Motorsport.com: “They ... Keep reading View the full article

Ostberg was forced to sit out of the previous round in Spain to make way for rally winner Sebastien Loeb as he made his final of three appearances for Citroen. But C3 WRC driver Ostberg benefitted from a low running order, which defined the legs, to take a 5.4-second advantage over Esapekka Lappi from the first three stages of the season finale. Points leader Ogier was first onto the gravel ... Keep reading View the full article

The five-time World Champion heads into what's shaping up as a thriller decider with a three-point lead over Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, while Toyota driver Ott Tanak is still in contention as well with a 23-point deficit to the Frenchman. With both Neuville and Tanak yet to win a title, Ogier reckons his bulging trophy cabinet could provide an edge in the battle for this year's honours. He ... Keep reading View the full article

Petter Solberg, who competed against Loeb throughout his World Rally Championship and World Rallycross career, asked his rival if he would offer his 17-year-old son some advice on asphalt driving. Solberg Jr and Loeb shared a Peugeot 208 R2 for two days earlier this year. The two days were split, with one including technical, twisty and bumpy roads and the other taking in a more fast and ... Keep reading View the full article

Ogier leads the WRC heading into this weekend's Rally Australia by three points over Hyundai's Thierry Neuville, with Toyota driver Ott Tanak a further 20 points back. M-Sport is chasing Toyota for the manufacturers crown and is currently 25 points behind its Japanese rival with 43 points on offer in Australia. Wilson concedes that the manufacturers title is unlikely, and that Ogier's title ... Keep reading View the full article

Wednesday 07 November 2018 – Autosport International will launch the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship on the first public day at Birmingham’s NEC on Saturday 12 January. In what will truly be a WRC Super Saturday, all of the drivers, co-drivers and team principals will be in one place and on hand to talk about the 2018 championship and share their opinions before the season-opener in ... Keep reading View the full article

Nine-time WRC champion Loeb's future remains unclear after Peugeot's decision to close his main programme in World Rallycross, although he has secured a deal to contest the 2019 Dakar Rally in a privately-run Peugeot. Shortly after Peugeot's RX exit, which took Loeb by surprise, he claimed his first WRC win in six years by triumphing in Catalunya on the last of the three rounds he contested ... Keep reading View the full article

Loeb was part of Peugeot's factory assault on the Dakar for the past three years, and led on every occasion. But crashes and mechanical problems meant second in 2017 would be his best result. Following Peugeot's withdrawal from cross-country rallying, Loeb's former teammates Stephane Peterhansel, Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres have all moved to the X-raid team's Mini project. Loeb had ... Keep reading View the full article

When Citroen announced Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi as its WRC line-up it suggested there would be no third C3. It went into this season intending to field Kris Meeke full-time with Breen and Loeb sharing the second car and team backer Khalid Al-Qassimi making occasional appearances in a third entry. Mads Ostberg then secured a part-time deal with the team too, with his role expanded ... Keep reading View the full article

Meeke had avoided the championship since being dropped by Citroen following Rally Italy in May. But he attended last weekend's Catalunya event to meet Toyota team members and finalise plans for testing in Finland this week. "I haven't watched any coverage for three years, which is probably another signal that I wasn't actually enjoying it very much," said Meeke. "But then this morning ... Keep reading View the full article

Nine-time WRC champion Loeb made a comeback with a three-event programme for Citroen this year and took a shock triumph in Catalunya on the last of those outings at the weekend. That Citroen deal was thought unlikely to continue into 2019, when the team will run Loeb's former arch-rival Sebastien Ogier after signing him from M-Sport Ford. But Loeb now has no full-time programme for next ... Keep reading View the full article

The Spaniard’s deal has been expected for some time and Motorsport.com understands it was only held up by the absence of a calendar for him and the team to decide which seven rallies he will contest. Asked earlier this week about Sordo’s progress this season, team principal Michel Nandan was full of praise, telling Motorsport.com: “Dani’s had one of his best years, maybe even his best ... Keep reading View the full article

The nine-time WRC champion carried a 7.1-second advantage over Ogier into the final two stages, but suffered issues on both that took the result down to the wire. On SS17, while donutting at a roundabout, he used too much throttle and the rear of his Citroen C3 span round. He lost close to eight seconds after coming to a stop. M-Sport’s Ogier, by contrast, was fastest through the stage by ... Keep reading View the full article

As Ogier attempts to chase down championship leader Thierry Neuville ahead of the season finale in Australia, the M-Sport driver had sat in second and just 4.7s adrift of rally leader Jari-Matti Latvala. Loeb was another 3.3s further back in third, as he makes his final planned appearance of the season for Citroen. Neuville was fifth, having struggled on the wrong tyres earlier in the ... Keep reading View the full article

The changing weather conditions meant running order proved critical across the afternoon’s four asphalt stages; those late onto the routes struggling in heavy rain. After Ott Tanak suffered a puncture on the morning’s final leg that cost him his commanding 32.9-second lead, Hyundai’s returning Dani Sordo had led his home event. But Sordo lost out to Latvala on the first use of Savalia ... Keep reading View the full article

Heading into the final stage of the morning, Tanak held a comfortable 32.9-second lead over Sordo courtesy of a Toyota strategy gamble that was fortunate to pay off. Both Tanak and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala gambled on full wet tyres, due to the conditions on the day’s opening SS8 as the rally returned to asphalt routes. Due to badly placed spectators, however, the stage was cancelled and ... Keep reading View the full article

Referred to as the ‘day of gravel’, in recent years the rally’s second day has shaken up the competitive order before a return to asphalt legs on Saturday and Sunday. It proved favourable for Tanak. Despite a continuation of the morning’s damper problems, he extended his lead in his Yaris to 26.8 seconds over returning Hyundai driver Dani Sordo. Tanak said: “The dampers really ... Keep reading View the full article

After retiring from the lead last time out at Wales Rally GB on the back of three consecutive wins, Tanak entered Spain 21 points adrift of leader Thierry Neuville. But Tanak was able to capitalise on off-road incidents for his two main rivals to move top on the third stage of the rally. M-Sport’s Ogier held a 3.7-second advantage after the opening asphalt stage but Tanak cut that to just ... Keep reading View the full article

Ogier – who trails Neuville by seven points in the standings – rounded the tight and twisty 3.2km asphalt test in 3m35.3s, besting the Belgian by a brilliant 3.7s. "It won't be easy for the rest of the weekend,” said Ogier. “We had a good strategy on the tyres but now tomorrow we have a little less tyres than everyone else." Neuville had rolled in the pre-event shakedown, and thanked ... Keep reading View the full article

The WRX will be run over 11 rounds in 2019, having been held over 12 events in recent seasons. For the first time the series will be book-ended by flyaway events, beginning in Abu Dhabi at the Yas Marina Circuit in April before concluding on the last weekend in November in South Africa. The calendar retains a similar look outside of Portugal's exit and the Germany round at Estering being run ... Keep reading View the full article