Rally

Ireland has emerged as a candidate to rejoin the WRC calendar from as early as next year, having previously hosted WRC rounds in 2007 and 2009, both won by Sebastien Loeb.WRC officials revealed last year at the Acropolis Rally that Ireland was a potential viable candidate with discussions underway regarding a new project.Since then, Motorsport Ireland issued a letter of intent to its member ...Keep readingView the full article

The 45th edition of Dakar begins on 5 January and Audi will once again line up at Al-’Ula with a fleet of three cars, as it aims to become the first manufacturer to win the overall cars category with an electric-powered car.Audi has gone to great lengths to improve the RS Q e-tron, despite its upcoming Formula 1 project with Sauber taking some resources away from its rally-raid programme.Changes ...Keep readingView the full article

The Japanese marque has been developing a Rally2 version of its GR Yaris since 2022 as it bids to join the customer rally car market.Now the GR Yaris Rally2 has been granted homologation from the FIA, Toyota will join WRC rivals Hyundai and M-Sport Ford in the Rally2 arena, alongside Skoda and Citroen.The GR Yaris Rally2 has been primarily developed for customer rallying. Chairman Akio Toyoda ...Keep readingView the full article

Last year’s championship runner-up was forced to sit out December’s FIA prize giving in Baku after injuring his ribs when he came off his bike in the days prior to the ceremony. As a result, Evans missed out on some running in Finland last month while he completed his recovery.“I’m sorry I can’t attend the FIA prize giving in Baku tonight and celebrate the end of the 2023 season," read a ...Keep readingView the full article

The Japanese squad heads into the 2024 season as the reigning manufacturers’ champions after its GR Yaris won nine of 13 events last year.While the Toyota was the car to beat last year, it wasn’t completely bulletproof. However, the team is expected to roll out upgrades to further improve the GR Yaris in certain areas for the 2024 campaign, which begins in Monte Carlo later this month.Last ...Keep readingView the full article

In September, Audi revealed its significantly upgraded electric Dakar entry, the RS Q e-tron E2. This was followed by a recent announcement from the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship’s Committee that a balance of performance shift in the T1.U class for prototype cars using renewable energies – which includes the RS Q e-tron E2 – will see entries granted an additional 15kW, which is ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2024 Dakar Rally will be the fifth successive event to take place entirely in Saudi Arabia, but organiser ASO has laid out a route that will be vastly different to previous years.One of the biggest highlights of this year’s challenge is a two-day ‘chrono stage’, where competitors will have until 4pm to cover as much ground as possible before halting at the next bivouac they come across ...Keep readingView the full article

There was no shortage of headlines to result from a 23-race Formula 1 calendar in 2023, MotoGP's addition of sprint races at every round and the influx of manufacturers arriving into the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar class.Our team of writers scouring the paddocks of international and national motorsport series has diligently covered 24-hour races and border-crossing rallies, showpiece ...Keep readingView the full article

Drivers always have a soft spot for machines that deliver a maiden world title and that’s exactly why World Rally Championship legend Juha Kankkunen lists the Peugeot 205 T16 as his favourite car.Kankkunen’s pick, which carried him to the first of four world titles in 1986, is arguably one of the WRC’s most revered vehicles. The Peugeot 205 T16 embodied the pinnacle of the infamous ...Keep readingView the full article

The format of WRC events has been a hot topic this season with the Hyundai driver one of the most vocal in pushing for the championship to improve its overall appeal.WRC drivers have been critical of the current event format with the length of the days and road sections a particular bone of contention.In response to the criticism a raft of proposals have been collated by the WRC Commission before ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai has bolstered its ranks for next year with 2019 world champion Tanak joining the squad from M-Sport for a second spell at the Alzenau operation. The Estonian will reunite with Neuville to ensure the Korean brand has two lead drivers capable of challenging for the world title.Abiteboul made his intentions clear at the start of the 2023 campaign that Neuville was Hyundai’s number one ...Keep readingView the full article

The world champion squad has selected two young Japanese rally talents Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita to join the initiative, which aims to promote a young Japanese driver to its WRC team.Toyota began the WRC Challenge programme in 2015, with its biggest success story being Katsuta, who has since progressed to become a regular podium finisher and will drive Toyota's second WRC entry next ...Keep readingView the full article

The Ford squad had previously declared its intention to opt for a young driver line-up for next year after 2019 world champion Ott Tanak elected to rejoin Hyundai for 2024.Fourmaux emerged as a likely candidate to fill the void after M-Sport offered the Frenchman an outing in a Puma Rally1 at last month's Japan season finale in November as a reward for a series of strong showings driving for the ...Keep readingView the full article

The son of 2003 world rally champion Petter Solberg has inked a new deal with the Czech manufacturer and will remain in the WRC's second-tier category in 2024.Solberg had been linked to a possible step up to Rally1 next year with seats available at M-Sport-Ford.The 22-year-old's new deal is with Skoda Motorsport directly rather than with the Toksport Skoda team, which he drove for this year on his ...Keep readingView the full article

The World Motor Sport Council agreed to a WRC Commission proposal for Rally1 cars to compete on WRC events without running the standard plug-in hybrid system.Instead, they will have to carry the equivalent weight of the full EV system in ballast and won’t be eligible for manufacturers’ championship points.Running without the 100kW Compact Dynamics hybrid unit will result in a reduction of ...Keep readingView the full article

The former Renault Formula 1 boss joined Hyundai this year as team principal of its motorsport activities that includes the World Rally Championship and customer programmes in rallying and TCR.After impressing management in his first season, it has now been announced that Abiteboul will conduct a dual role as president and team principal effective from next year. Outgoing president Sean Kim, who ...Keep readingView the full article

The intense battle between Lancia and Audi at the 1983 World Rally Championship will feature in a new movie by Lionsgate.Race for Glory: Audi vs Lancia focuses on the true life events of the intense rivalry between the two marques as they competed for the manufacturers’ title. Directed by Stefano Mordini (The Invisible Witness and Steel), the film will focus on the “real life David vs ...Keep readingView the full article

Confirmation that the WRC will embrace a new points structure in order to spice up the final day of events was ratified at the World Motor Sport Council in Baku earlier this month.Now the FIA has published the WRC's 2024 sporting regulations which include the exact details of the new points structure. Under the new system, the sliding scale of 18-15-13-10-8-6-4-3-2-1 points will be awarded at the ...Keep readingView the full article

Earlier this year, the Romanian manufacturer announced plans to compete in the Dakar in 2025 following what labelled as a "test phase" during 2024, when it will enter selected events of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.Al-Attiyah, who has won the Dakar in 2011, 2015, 2019, 2022 and 2023, will join World Rally legend Loeb and Spanish driver Cristina Gutierrez in Dacia's official line-up.The ...Keep readingView the full article

The reigning world rally champions have opted for a bold new matte black livery, which replaces its traditional red, white and black colours that have been a mainstay since Toyota returned to the WRC in 2017.A similar colour scheme featuring Toyota’s GR branding will adorn the Japanese brand’s GR010 Hypercar entries in the 2024 World Endurance Championship."Until now it was red and white ...Keep readingView the full article