Rally

Toyota is refusing to give up the World Rally Championship fight in Chile this weekend despite previously admitting that its title hopes are “pretty much gone”.The Japanese manufacturer has won the previous three WRC constructors’ and drivers’ titles but its hopes of retaining the crowns have come under serious threat from Hyundai.Despite winning six of the 10 rounds this season - two more ...Keep readingView the full article

The World Rally Championship is confident Paraguay will offer the series a "unique new story" next year following last weekend's successful test event.Paraguay is set to make its WRC debut next year as the gravel rally joins an expanded 14-round 2025 calendar after signing a multi-year agreement.Last weekend, WRC event director Simon Larkin, alongside representatives from Toyota, M-Sport-Ford, the ...Keep readingView the full article

The Monza Rally Show will return this year with World Rally Championship teams and drivers set to attend the event at the famous Italian circuit.The event will celebrate Pirelli's four-year stint as the WRC's sole tyre supplier with the championship set to welcome Korean tyre manufacturer Hankook as its control tyre from next season.Pirelli will promote the 6-8 December event in conjunction with ...Keep readingView the full article

"It is easier to dream about doing something when you have seen someone doing it."Those are the words of champion co-driver Reeta Hamalainen that strike at the core of what the World Rally Championship is attempting to achieve with its new women's talent development programme. This global talent search aims to not only unearth the next top female rally driver, who could one day follow in the ...Keep readingView the full article

Lando Norris took a break from his Formula 1 title fight to drive a LEGO Technic McLaren P1 supercar around Silverstone. Having won two grand prix this season, Norris knows that the secret behind a good team is to have the right building blocks in place – and he had 342,817 LEGO Technic pieces constructed into the life-size P1, designed by 23 specialists from the LEGO Group and ...Keep readingView the full article

The World Rally Championship has selected the three female drivers from its inaugural women’s driver development programme that will receive a fully-funded drive at the Central European Rally.Lyssia Baudet (Belgium, 21), Claire Schonborn (Germany, 25), and Suvi Jyrkiainen (Finland, 24) were chosen from a group of 15 finalists that had been whittled down from an array of applications from across ...Keep readingView the full article

Sami Pajari says there is no pressure to deliver results in his surprise two extra World Rally Championship Rally1 outings in Chile and Central Europe.Toyota announced last week that the Finnish rising star would replace its full-time driver Takamoto Katsuta in Chile to pilot one of the team’s four GR Yaris Rally1 entries at the gravel rally (26-29 September).It was also announced that Pajari ...Keep readingView the full article

The World Rally Championship is set to feature new event formats for selected rounds next season as it looks to add more variety to its calendar.The championship has long been investigating changes to the length of its events with Rally Italy Sardinia trialling a condensed 48-hour concept earlier this year.This followed a raft of proposals made by the FIA’s newly created working group designed ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota needs to have at least three full-time drivers contesting the 2025 World Rally Championship, according to team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.His comments followed a difficult weekend at the Acropolis Rally, where Latvala admitted that the team’s drivers’ and manufacturers’ title were “pretty much gone” following a 1-2-3 for rivals Hyundai.Reflecting on the way the title race has ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota has elected to replace Takamoto Katsuta with protege Sami Pajari for the next round of the World Rally Championship in Chile later this month.This is part of a decision to hand Finnish duo Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen a further two WRC Rally1 outings in Chile and at the following Central European Rally after impressing to finish fourth on their top-flight debut in Finland last ...Keep readingView the full article

An enforcement of hybrid unit safety measures effective from last weekend's Acropolis Rally could increase costs for World Rally Championship teams moving forward.Since the introduction of hybrid power to WRC Rally1 cars in 2022, engineers have been able to reset shock errors on the Compact Dynamics designed unit if they go above a certain threshold.However, from last weekend, the hybrid unit user ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans says he needs to "get back to normal ways" and "enjoy" being behind the wheel after an Acropolis Rally that severely dented his World Rally Championship title aspirations. The Toyota driver headed to Greece hoping to re-ignite his championship hopes after a driveshaft failure, followed by a crash on Sunday in Finland, left the Welshman with a zero-points score. However, Evans could ...Keep readingView the full article

The radical World Rally Championship points system introduced this season that has divided opinion is being reviewed and could undergo a change next year.This year’s all-new points structure has proved a hot topic among competitors and fans thanks to its complexity and weighting that many feel has devalued the overall rally victory.This year, points have been split across Saturday and Sunday ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota’s chances of winning the World Rally Championship manufacturers' crown are “pretty much gone” after Hyundai scored a 1-2-3 at the Acropolis Rally, reckons team boss Jari-Matti Latvala.The reigning manufacturers’ champions endured a weekend to forget, leaving Greece 35 points behind Hyundai in the championship standings with only three rounds of the season remaining.Toyota’s rally ...Keep readingView the full article

Sebastien Ogier has revealed that a puncture contributed to his final stage roll at the Acropolis Rally that has “put ourselves in a bad position” in the World Rally Championship title battle.The eight-time world champion appeared on course to finish second behind eventual winner and title rival Thierry Neuville before crashing out on the rally-ending Power Stage that halted any hopes of ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville believes his Acropolis Rally victory is a significant moment and a "big release of pressure" in his pursuit of a maiden World Rally Championship title. Neuville clinched his second win of the season after coming through one of the most demanding events in recent WRC history where eight of the nine Rally1 cars hit trouble. The Hyundai driver recovered from an engine issue on ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville clinched victory in the toughest Acropolis Rally in recent years to boost his World Rally Championship title hopes after rival Sebastien Ogier rolled on the final stage.WRC points leaders Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe claimed a second win of the season by 1m36.8s from team-mate Dani Sordo, with Ott Tanak third [+2m57.3s] to complete a surprise Hyundai 1-2-3. Neuville’s ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville edged closer to a second World Rally Championship victory of the season to boost his title hopes at the Acropolis Rally after navigating through Sunday morning’s stages.The championship leader managed to tread the fine line between pushing and not overstepping the limit to take a 1m02.4s lead into the Power Stage.That lead is now over title rival Sebastian Ogier who managed to ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville is refusing to get carried away with his Acropolis Rally lead ahead of what is expected to be the roughest stage of the World Rally Championship event on Sunday.This year’s edition of the Acropolis Rally has proved to be among the toughest in recent years with all five drivers mathematically in the title fight finding trouble.Neuville managed to avoid trouble through ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville successfully navigated through another brutal day at the Acropolis Rally to lead the World Rally Championship event into the final day.The championship leader survived six rough gravel stages, without a service, to lead Hyundai team-mate Dani Sordo by 54.9s, provisionally claiming the maximum 18 Saturday points.Sordo took two points away from Neuville’s title rival Toyota’s ...Keep readingView the full article