Rally

Ott Tanak says Thierry Neuville is “not safe yet” after taking a nibble out of his Hyundai team-mate's World Rally Championship lead at Rally Chile. The 2019 world champion outscored Neuville by five points last weekend to reduce the deficit in the title race to 29 points with two rounds of the seasons remaining in Central Europe and Japan, and 60 points on the table. In what proved to be a ...Keep readingView the full article

Esapekka Lappi says he isn't afraid by his uncertain World Rally Championship future as Hyundai continues to evaluate its driver options for its third car next year.The two-time WRC rally winner confirmed that his future is yet to be determined with last weekend's Rally Chile set to be his final event of the year with the Korean marque.Last season, Lappi contested a full-time season with Hyundai ...Keep readingView the full article

Yohan Rossel has been officially declared the winner of WRC2 at Rally Chile after stewards rejected a protest from Oliver Solberg.WRC2 title contender Solberg lodged a protest asking the stewards to re-evaluate a notional time awarded to Rossel that helped the Citroen driver to victory on Sunday. Rossel vaulted from third to WRC2 class lead when stewards deemed Solberg had hindered the Frenchman ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says it’s a “big relief” for his team to be back in the manufacturers’ title fight after dominating Rally Chile.Latvala had all but written off the team’s title hopes after a difficult Acropolis Rally Greece earlier this month left Toyota facing a 35-point deficit with three rounds of the season remaining.However, Toyota issued the ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera survived challenging foggy conditions to record a fourth win from a partial World Rally Championship campaign at Rally Chile.Reigning world champion duo Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen tamed 16 tricky stages, some of which were affected by treacherous thick fog and slippery conditions, to beat Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans by 23.4s. Hyundai’s Ott Tanak completed ...Keep readingView the full article

Kalle Rovanpera increased his Rally Chile lead over Toyota World Rally Championship team-mate Elfyn Evans after emerging from treacherous fog that severely reduced visibility.The reigning world champion extended his margin to 20.3s over Evans with two stages of the final gravel rally of the season remaining.Hyundai’s Ott Tanak held third [+40.1s] ahead of championship leader Thierry Neuville ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans has explained how he paid the price for an unfortunate “double whammy” of events that resulted in losing the Rally Chile lead to Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.Evans had enjoyed one of the strongest Saturday mornings of the season, winning two of the three stages to open up an 11.3s lead over reigning world champion Rovanpera.But the Welshman, searching for a his first win in a ...Keep readingView the full article

Kalle Rovanpera moved ahead of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans to lead Rally Chile as thick fog turned the fight for the World Rally Championship victory on its head.The reigning world champion started Saturday in third but emerged through treacherous weather and incredibly poor visibility to head overnight leader Evans by 15.1 seconds going into Sunday’s final four stages.Rovanpera took the ...Keep readingView the full article

Sebastien Ogier believes his bid for a record-equalling ninth World Rally Championship title is over after retiring from Rally Chile.The Toyota driver headed into the final gravel round of the season 38 points adrift of championship leader, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, having emerged as a serious title contender after winning Rally Finland in August.Ogier’s three wins and three second-place ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans claimed two of the three Saturday morning stages to extend his Rally Chile lead as reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä emerged as his nearest rival.Evans, who was handed a three-second overnight lead following a change to his notional stage one time, completed a trio of abrasive gravel stages with a 11.3s margin over Toyota team-mate Rovanperä.Hyundai’s Ott Tänak slipped from ...Keep readingView the full article

Sebastien Ogier’s World Rally Championship title hopes have suffered a blow after retiring from Rally Chile on stage eight.The eight-time world champion hit a rock with the front-right wheel of his GR Yaris, 400 metres from the finish of stage eight (Lota, 25.6km).Ogier hit the rock on the entry to a slow left-hander but the impact seemingly broke something on his Yaris, which then slowly ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans has held onto the Rally Chile lead after stewards rejected a protest from the Hyundai World Rally Championship team against the reallocation of a notional stage time.Hyundai’s Ott Tanak ended Friday’s six stages with a 0.4-second margin over Evans before stewards received a request to review the notional time issued to Evans following the cancellation of stage one.Only ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak admitted he was surprised to be fighting for the Rally Chile victory having initially written off his chances after Friday’s first stage.The Hyundai driver delivered an impressive drive from second on the road to lead Toyota's Elfyn Evans by 0.4 seconds at the end of Friday's six stages.Tanak will, however, head into Saturday’s stages trailing Evans by three seconds after officials ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans has been handed the Rally Chile lead after World Rally Championship officials issued an adjustment to the notional stage one time awarded to the Toyota driver.Evans had ended Friday’s six stages trailing Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 0.4s but a change in the notional time awarded to the Welshman for the interrupted opening stage has put Evans into a three second lead.Only Thierry ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak held off World Rally Championship title rival Elfyn Evans to claim a slender 0.4s Rally Chile lead on the opening day of the final gravel round of the season.Tanak was never totally comfortable with his Hyundai i20 N through the day’s six slippery gravel stages but consistent pace helped the Estonian snatch the lead away from Evans.Evans issued a fightback on the final stage of the ...Keep readingView the full article

Sebastien Ogier has explained the reason for his short replies in Rally Chile stage-end interviews stating, "We have been told by the top of the FIA to shut our mouths".The eight-time world rally champion's reaction follows being handed a €30,000 suspended fine from the FIA for comments he directed at officials at the end of the opening stage at Acropolis Rally Greece earlier this month.As a ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans snatched the Rally Chile lead from Toyota World Rally Championship team-mate Sebastien Ogier after the Frenchman was forced to change a wheel on stage three.Evans delivered strong pace throughout the morning's gravel stages to head to midday service with a 2.2s lead over Toyota team-mate and reigning world champion Kalle Rovanpera.Toyota protege Sami Pajari climbed to third [+6.6s} ...Keep readingView the full article

M-Sport is treating Martins Sesks’ Rally Chile outing as an “extended audition” in the World Rally Championship as the Ford team continues to assess the young driver’s skills for the future.Rising star Sesks and co-driver Renars Francis have earned a third outing in Ford Puma Rally1 this year following impressive displays to finish fifth and seventh respectively in Poland and Latvia rounds ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tänak says it’s “really difficult to know how to act” in interviews following the FIA’s sanctions for comments made by World Rally Championship rival Sebastian Ogier and Formula 1’s Max Verstappen.The Hyundai driver has raised concerns after the FIA handed Ogier a €30,000 suspended fine for comments the Toyota driver directed at officials regarding hanging dust at the end of the ...Keep readingView the full article

The FIA is confident it is not too late to attract new manufacturers to the World Rally Championship in 2027 amid plans to announce new technical regulations in December.The world motorsport governing body has been working for more than 18 months to devise the future direction of the Rally1 and Rally2 WRC classes in a bid to safeguard the involvement of current marques and attract new brands to ...Keep readingView the full article