Rally

Hyundai Motorsport has appointed former FIA Road Sport Director Andrew Wheatley as its World Rally Championship sporting director with immediate effect. Wheatley will take up a newly created role within the Korean marque’s WRC operation for the remainder of this season and next, reporting to Hyundai president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul. Read Also: WRCOtt Tanak reverts to ...Keep readingView the full article

A new expanded behind the scenes documentary series covering the 2025 World Rally Championship will hit screens next month. Following the successful debut of the More than Machine series that followed M-Sport-Ford’s 2024 WRC campaign, a second series has been commissioned that will follow M-Sport as well as rivals Toyota and Hyundai. The new seven-part series produced by Superlative ...Keep readingView the full article

Kalle Rovanpera has outlined the biggest challenges that lie ahead of a switch from the World Rally Championship to single-seater racing in Super Formula next year. Rovanpera stunned the motorsport world by announcing bold plans to quit rallying at the end of the season and embark on a plan to climb the circuit racing ranks, with the goal of competing at the highest level possible. Read ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak will use an older-specification Hyundai i20 Rally1 car at next week’s Central European Rally, with the 2019 world rally champion deeming it better suited. The decision follows a back-to-back test of the 2025-specification car and last year’s model, without the hybrid unit as per this year’s regulations, following last month’s round in Chile. Hyundai has so far struggled ...Keep readingView the full article

The lure of competing at the highest level possible in circuit racing and the chance to do something ”really unique” are behind Kalle Rovanpera’s decision to leave the World Rally Championship for Super Formula. The two-time world rally champion will next year make the rare switch from rallying to single-seaters, beginning with a two-year stint in Japan’s Super Formula, in a ...Keep readingView the full article

Kalle Rovanpera will switch from rallying to circuit racing next year after confirming plans to leave the World Rally Championship for Japan’s Super Formula single-seater series. The move will see the two-time world champion leave the WRC at the end of the season after six years competing in rallying’s top tier with Toyota, beginning in 2020. The 25-year-old will continue his ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville is convinced Hyundai’s upgraded 2025 World Rally Championship challenger has more potential than its predecessor despite struggles unlocking its speed this season. The reigning world champion admitted he was worried by the gap in performance between Hyundai and Toyota after Rally Chile, where Neuville revealed that the team had tried several set-ups, but was ultimately unable ...Keep readingView the full article

A proposal to ensure World Rally Championship competitors and personnel receive the necessary time to recover between days on rallies has been tabled by the WRC Commission. Rally itineraries has been a hot topic within the WRC for some time with the matter brought into sharp focus at this year’s Rally Portugal. The event’s itinerary drew criticism from drivers. Toyota’s Kalle ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai has announced that Ott Tanak will no longer score manufacturer points for the team this year in a move that appears set to boost his World Rally Championship title hopes. Tanak’s title bid was dealt a blow in Chile earlier this month when he suffered an engine failure while leading the rally. After fitting a spare engine, Tanak reported that it was also down on power and ...Keep readingView the full article

The World Rally Championship’s Italian round will move to Rome from 2027, while existing host Sardinia will stage next year’s round before the switch. The WRC announced its 14-round 2026 calendar in August with the location of Italy’s round to be confirmed, with both Sardinia’s gravel stages and Rome’s asphalt roads vying to host the event, which has moved to an October slot instead ...Keep readingView the full article

Kalle Rovanpera says wins will be required from the final rounds of the World Rally Championship season to stand any chance of lifting a third world title. The Toyota driver headed into last weekend’s Rally Chile sitting second in the standings seven points adrift, but left South America 21 points behind Sebastien Ogier, who shot into the championship lead after taking a fifth win of the ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans will give it his “best shot” but admits Sebastien Ogier is “going to take some beating” to claim a maiden World Rally Championship title with three rounds remaining. Evans lost his grip on the championship lead to his Toyota team-mate after losing out in a head-to-head fight for victory in Chile last weekend by 11s. The victory was Ogier’s fifth from eight rounds as ...Keep readingView the full article

Newly crowned WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg feels he’s done “everything he can” and is now hopeful of a graduation to the World Rally Championship’s top tier next season. Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson clinched a maiden WRC2 title in style by taking a fifth class win of the year in Chile, driving a Printsport-prepared Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car. The triumph is the latest ...Keep readingView the full article

Sebastien Ogier leads the World Rally Championship after defeating Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans to claim his fifth victory of the season and maximum points in Chile. Seeking a record-equalling ninth world title, Ogier, who is contesting a partial season, boosted his bid after coming through a titanic battle with Evans across Chile’s 16 stages in changeable weather to win by 11.0s. Ogier ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans says the fight for victory at Rally Chile is “all to play for” but it won’t be “easy” to overhaul World Rally Championship title rival and Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier. Evans heads into the final day of the gravel rally 6.3s behind Ogier as the Toyota duo appear set for a head-to-head battle for victory, which could be crucial in the title race. Searching for a ...Keep readingView the full article

Stewards have issued the Rally Chile organiser with a suspended €15,000 fine and a reprimand, following a safety breach that resulted in a vehicle driving on a stage in the opposite direction. According to a stewards report, an unauthorised vehicle entered stage seven on Saturday morning. The unauthorized vehicle passed through the flying finish travelling in the reverse direction of the ...Keep readingView the full article

Sébastien Ogier opened up a 6.3s lead over World Rally Championship title rival Elfyn Evans heading into the final four stages of Rally Chile, as Hyundai’s victory charge faded on Saturday. Eight-time world champion Ogier started Saturday just 2.3s off the lead in third, but dropped to as low as fourth after being too cautious in wet conditions that plagued the morning stages. However ...Keep readingView the full article

Protecting his spare engine for a chance to fight for Super Sunday points is the reason behind Ott Tanak’s decision to retire from Rally Chile for a second time. Tanak rejoined the rally after his Hyundai team fitted a spare engine to his i20 N Rally1 car overnight, following an engine failure during Friday’s stage six while leading the rally by 9.7s. The two-time Rally Chile winner lit ...Keep readingView the full article

World Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans delivered a wet weather masterclass to vault from fifth to first in Rally Chile as overnight leader Adrien Fourmaux slipped to third. Toyota’s Evans transformed a 13.1s deficit into a 5.6s lead over team-mate Sebastien Ogier as wet weather shook up the leaderboard after nine of 16 gravel stages. Hyundai’s Fourmaux managed to hold onto third ...Keep readingView the full article

Adrien Fourmaux leads Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville, after a dramatic Friday afternoon headlined by a suspected engine issue for World Rally Championship title contender Ott Tanak. Fourmaux inherited the rally lead after Tanak hit trouble in stage six to end the day with a one second lead over Neuville, who launched an impressive fightback after a frustrating morning. Toyota’s Sébastien ...Keep readingView the full article