Rally

The team's future in the WRC was called into question at last weekend's Acropolis Rally following the publication of an interview with driver Pierre-Louis Loubet in French media that suggested the squad could be absent from next year's Rally1 field.The article has since been labelled "fake news" and has been removed.M-Sport has endured a challenging 2023 campaign which Wilson admits has been a ...Keep readingView the full article

The FIA launched a WRC tyre tender in July inviting tyre brands to submit their interest in becoming the championship's sole tyre supplier, with the current tender expiring at the end of next year.The tyre tender will cover a three-year period from 2025 to 2027, the last year of the contract coinciding with the WRC's expected move to new regulations.Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli is currently ...Keep readingView the full article

WRC Promoter has collated a raft of ideas over the last three months to improve the championship, having faced criticism from drivers concerned by the WRC's appeal and perceived lack of direction.Following comments made by Hyundai's Thierry Neuville to Motorsport.com at Rally Portugal, the WRC Promoter invited drivers to a meeting to share their ideas to help improve the category's appeal in ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC made the move to introduce hybrid power with its Rally1 regulations last year which coincided with a pioneering decision to adopt 100% sustainable fuel, provided by P1 Racing Fuels.However, the championship’s long-term future from 2027 and beyond has prompted the FIA to investigate a range of propulsion methods to future-proof the championship and align it with the automotive market ...Keep readingView the full article

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem revealed at last weekend’s Acropolis Rally that the three-time WRC constructors’ winner (1995-1997) is considering a possible return to the championship.Subaru has a rich history in the WRC, running Colin McRae (1995), Richard Burns (2001) and Petter Solberg (2003) to world drivers' titles before exiting at the end of 2008 due to the global financial ...Keep readingView the full article

The reigning world champion recorded his third WRC victory of 2023 in one of the most brutal and unforgiving events in recent memory, taking the win by 1m31.7s from title rival and Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans.The Acropolis is renowned for being a rally of attrition but conditions for this year were even more challenging following Storm Daniel, which brought torrential rain to the region in the ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver was one of two Rally1 entries to complete the event's attritional 15 stages without a delay, affording the Finn a comfortable winning margin of 1m31.7s over title rival and team-mate Elfyn Evans.Rovanpera led the rally after winning Thursday night's asphalt super special in Athens but dropped to third when the rally tackled Greece's notoriously rough gravel roads.The stages were ...Keep readingView the full article

The championship leader could afford to back off during the pair of stages, ending the loop with a 1m29.32s lead over title rival and team-mate Elfyn Evans, who snatched second from Hyundai's Dani Sordo.Sordo started the morning in second spot but trailed Evans by 2.7s heading into the final stage.M-Sport's Ott Tanak maintained fourth (+4m25.8s) ahead Hyundai's Esapekka Lappi (+6m18s) and Toyota's ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver headed to Greece sitting 36 points adrift of Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, but was in strong position to close the gap after starting Saturday with a 25.5s advantage over the third-placed Finn.Neuville delivered an impressive performance over Saturday morning’s stages to lead Sebastien Ogier by 10.9s. However, the Belgian's rally unravelled when he hit a hole the road on stage ...Keep readingView the full article

The eight-time world rally champion was locked in a fight for victory with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, with the pair swapping positions across Saturday’s stages.Ogier inherited the rally lead on stage nine when Neuville a hit a hole in the road that caused terminal suspension damage.That left Ogier, who is driving a part-time WRC season this year, with a 12.4s advantage over Toyota team-mate ...Keep readingView the full article

Championship leader Rovanpera started the day third, 25.5s adrift, but returned to the service park with a 2m04.4s rally lead over Hyundai's Dani Sordo.Hyundai's Neuville retired from the lead on the afternoon's first stage handing the advantage to Ogier.However, the Toyota driver then lost four minutes to a suspension issue on the afternoon's last test, dropping the Frenchman to fourth overall.As ...Keep readingView the full article

Neuville held a 10.9s lead over Toyota's Sebastien Ogier heading into stage 10, the second pass through Pavliani stage, but came to a halt 11 kilometres into the 24.25km rough gravel test.Neuville's i20 N Rally1 car suffered a bent front right wheel and damaged the suspension following an unfortunate impact with a hole in the road.The car came to a halt at the roadside, where the damage proved too ...Keep readingView the full article

Overnight leader Neuville lost the rally lead to Toyota's Ogier in the day's opening gravel test but fought back to build up a 10.9s margin at the end of the Saturday morning loop.Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera meanwhile boosted his victory hopes with two impressive stage wins to sit 23.7s adrift in third.However, Rovanpera's nearest championship rival and team-mate, Evans was forced to stop ...Keep readingView the full article

Storm Daniel has wreaked havoc in Greece this week severely affecting preparations for this weekend’s 70th anniversary Acropolis Rally.Torrential rain disrupted the recce schedule, while the extreme conditions made making accurate pacenotes impossible. The weather has drastically improved since the drivers completed their original recce, which has left the roads in vastly different shape from ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finnish driver's i20 N Rally 1 car suffered a radiator leak thought to have been triggered by a nasty compression during the Loutraki stage.Lappi was forced to pull over after completing stage four to conduct repairs where he was able to limit the loss of water.As water continued to escape from his car Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm secured some water bottles at the stage end to re-fill the ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai driver Neuville won only one of Friday's five stages, but the defending rally winner clocked a series of consistent times to lead 2011 Acropolis conqueror Ogier by 2.8s.Championship and overnight rally leader Kalle Rovanpera managed to limit the damage of starting first on the road to end Friday third, 25.5s adrift, with Toyota title rival Elfyn Evans a further 5.5s back in ...Keep readingView the full article

The M-Sport driver ended Friday morning's two-stage loop in fourth, 8.3s adrift of leader Hyundai's Thierry Neuville before drama struck in the tyre fitting zone.Tanak's Ford Puma developed a water pump issue that triggered frantic work on the car, with Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja assisting mechanics in finding a fix for the problem.The issue was resolved but at a cost as Tanak left the ...Keep readingView the full article

Neuville completed the rally's first loop of gravel stages with a slender 2.0s advantage over overnight leader Rovanpera, who impressed despite starting first on the road.Toyota's Sebastien Ogier, on his WRC return, reached the morning tyre fitting zone in third (+4.6s) ahead of M-Sport's Ott Tanak (+8.3), with title contender Elfyn Evans in fifth, 12.5s adrift.Hyundai's Esapekka Lappi (+14.0s) ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver set the pace on the 1.48km asphalt stage, held in front of a bumper crowd that had congregated around the Athens harbour.The stage was the first competitive running for WRC crews after organisers were forced to cancel the shakedown stage in host city Lamia due to the effects of Storm Daniel.Torrential rain and thunderstorms have caused flash flooding across Greece but organisers ...Keep readingView the full article

The three-time constructors' champion became synonymous with the WRC in the 1990s and 2000s winning drivers' titles with Colin McRae (1995), Richard Burns (2001) and Petter Solberg (2003).Subaru, however, exited the WRC at the end of 2008 due to the global financial crisis.The brand has however remained involved in rallying through the Subaru Motorsports USA programme, which competes in the ...Keep readingView the full article