Rally

The Belgian got caught in the ruts at a right-hand corner early in the 1.2-mile test and the Hyundai rolled and came to rest on its roof. The shakedown stage was stopped while the car was recovered, but Neuville will not have time to take another run before the season’s penultimate WRC round gets underway in Barcelona on Thursday evening. “It was a square right,” the championship ... Keep reading View the full article

The 2014 World RX teams’ champions returned to the series full-time in 2018 with a pair of new Mk8 Ford Fiesta STs for former race-winning drivers Kevin Eriksson and Robin Larsson, but is yet to qualify for a final with one round remaining. OMSE has built 30 Fiesta Supercars in the last decade, and is currently involved in running the RallyX Nordic Championship along with the RX2 support ... Keep reading View the full article

The former Citroen, Peugeot and Prodrive Mini driver says four-time world champion Makinen brings a different dimension to the team. Meeke has shied away from direct comparisons between the Yaris WRC he spent last week testing and the Citroen C3 WRC he drove until the French squad dropped him in May. He has, however, hinted at an improved working environment compared with what he knew at ... Keep reading View the full article

The Finn, who was confirmed in a Yaris WRC for another season last week, suffered a shocking run through the mid-season, but has recovered to score three podiums from the last four rallies – and finished second on the two most recent rounds in Turkey and Wales. Makinen conceded Latvala had been unlucky, suffering the brunt of Toyota’s mechanical problems, but has complimented Latvala on a ... Keep reading View the full article

The French marque revealed on Thursday that it will withdraw from World RX after the season finale in South Africa next month. Jean-Philippe Imparato also confirmed that nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, the only driver other than Johan Kristoffersson to have won a round of World RX so far this season, will remain a PSA driver, having raced with Peugeot in World RX since ... Keep reading View the full article

The French marque announced its departure on Thursday morning, along with news about the development of a new range of electrified sports vehicles from 2020. It cited that uncertainty surrounding the sport’s switch to electric cars, which was postponed from by a year to 2021, as the reason for leaving the sport it entered as a full works programme for the first time this ... Keep reading View the full article

The 27-year-old Finn is looking forward to furthering his WRC education alongside the five-time champion, while Citroen will be looking to him and his illustrious teammate to ensure the C3 WRC challenges for victory on every round in 2019. Lappi said: “Obviously, I'm delighted to be joining the team and to be the future teammate of Sebastien. It’s a good opportunity for me to keep ... Keep reading View the full article

The Finnish-based squad communicated Meeke’s signing on Wednesday morning, while Jari-Matti Latvala will also remain in a factory Yaris WRC alongside Ott Tanak, who was already under contract. Meeke effectively replaces Esapekka Lappi, who has been announced as Sebastien Ogier's teammate at Citroen in 2019. “It’s a huge pleasure and honour for me to become a Toyota driver,” said ... Keep reading View the full article

Meeke and Nagle have worked together on and off for the last 11 years, but Nagle had remained alongside the Dungannon driver for the last four and a half years at Citroen. Neither has commented on the decision, but Motorsport.com understands the split is entirely amicable and both have reported they could work together again in the future. There was speculation at last weekend’s Raglan ... Keep reading View the full article

This year's Rally GB was the last in the current agreement with the Welsh Government. Wales has renewed its support for the event for the next three years, but Motorsport.com understands the WRC promoter is requesting a change of format that could mean the event moving. Rally GB has been based in Wales since 2000 courtesy of some of the longest-standing support in the history of the ... Keep reading View the full article

Kristoffersson, who had saved a set of new tyres for the final stages of the event, survived a challenge from fast starting teammate Petter Solberg from row two in the run to T1 to win his semi-final and net pole position for the final. The final took two attempts to complete after a crash for Peugeot driver Kevin Hansen, who was taken to a hospital, on the fourth lap forced a red flag. In ... Keep reading View the full article

Kristoffersson, who had saved a set of new tyres for the final stages of the event, survived a challenge from fast starting teammate Petter Solberg from row two in the run to T1 to win his semi-final and net pole position for the final. The final took two attempts to complete after a crash for Peugeot driver Kevin Hansen, who was taken to a hospital, on the fourth lap forced a red flag. In ... Keep reading View the full article

Having topped day one, Kristoffersson was only sixth fastest in Q3 on Sunday morning as Audi driver Andreas Bakkerud shut the door on the double champion in the run to turn one. Bakkerud had run the same tyres in morning warm up that he then used to launch into Q3 40 minutes later, any heat retained in the rubber doing a solid job of helping the Norwegian make a good getaway. But, although ... Keep reading View the full article

Kristoffersson claimed the first race victory of the weekend in Q1 but his time was immediately bettered by Solberg, the Norwegian sitting top of the pile at the end of the session. With the start positions for Q2 dictated by the classifications from Q1, the teammates started side-by-side in the final race of the day and it was Kristoffersson who made the best launch. But, starting on the ... Keep reading View the full article

The schedule was confirmed at Friday's meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, which took place in Paris. As revealed by Motorsport.com this week, Japan has lost the slot it held on WRC Promoter's draft calendar, with Corsica now confirmed in its place. But the 2019 WRC season will feature a new round next season, with an event in Chile occurring in May a fortnight after the round in ... Keep reading View the full article

Spa will replace Mettet as the series' Belgian round, following a split between the Walloon circuit and the World RX promoter last month. Although no track layout has been released, the rallycross circuit at Spa will include the famous Eau Rouge corner. "The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is delighted to welcome the Benelux round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship next year," said Spa ... Keep reading View the full article

While Solberg’s PSRX Volkswagen Sweden team mate Johan Kristoffersson has claimed back-to-back World RX titles in the last two years, Solberg has only won one event, at Lydden Hill in May last year. The Norwegian revealed last month that he has been suffering with lung disease Sarkoidose since being diagnosed a year ago, but he is feeling increasingly back to normal. Despite admitting to ... Keep reading View the full article

The Honshu-based event, which is scheduled to run its candidate rally next month, was dropped to reduce a proposed 15-round calendar to a more financially viable 14. The decision was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the WRC Commission on Thursday. Motorsport.com understands that the FIA invited WRC Promoter to ‘review’ its initial 14-round proposal to include the Tour de Corse. It ... Keep reading View the full article

The 39-year-old was dropped from the factory Citroen squad earlier this year after a string of errors and has kept a low-profile while working on his return. But having now joined the WRC's in-form team in Toyota, is a refreshed Meeke a true rival for the likes of Sebastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak next year? Autosport's Tom Errington and Group National Editor Jack Benyon ... Keep reading View the full article

The Northern Irishman’s deal to partner Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala in a Yaris WRC is set to be announced next week. Meeke’s return will follow news of Esapekka Lappi’s move from Toyota to Citroen, which is reckoned to be coming out of Paris on Thursday October 18. Motorsport.com’s sources confirmed Meeke agreed terms with Toyota last week. Toyota team principal Tommi Makinen ... ... Keep reading View the full article