Rally

The event will remain in Saudi Arabia for the fifth year running, and will be held from 5 to 19 January. The 5,000-kilometre route, encompassing a prologue and 12 competitive stages, will begin in the historic town of Al-Ula before competitors venture across the Empty Quarter to the Red Sea town of Yanbu. Organisers state that 60% of stages will be new, with the most ...Keep readingView the full article

Ogier started the day 0.1 seconds behind Lappi but managed to overhaul the Finn to take an 18.2s lead into the afternoon. Lappi reduced Ogier's lead across the afternoon before the latter ran off the road in stage 14, handing Neuville, who won five of the day's eight stages, the lead over Lappi by 36.4s. World champion Kalle Rovanpera inherited third (+1m50.7s) after a trouble-free run ...Keep readingView the full article

Tanak’s Ford Puma initially ground to a halt after running through a water splash in sight of the finish on stage 10. The 2019 world champion lost 20 seconds as the car stalled, although he was able to engage EV mode briefly to finish the stage. Once across the finish line the Puma suffered a complete electrical system blackout caused by water entering the car. Tanak was sitting in sixth ...Keep readingView the full article

The eight-time world champion started the loop 0.1s adrift but ended with an 18.2s lead after the pair enjoyed a thrilling battle before Lappi's challenge began to unravel in the final two stages. Hyundai's Thierry Neville maintained third spot, 6.5s behind Lappi, while world champion Kalle Rovanpera headed to service in fourth, 1m03.5s in arrears. Toyota's Elfyn Evans was forced to nurse ...Keep readingView the full article

Loubet endured an eventful Friday at the rough gravel event which ultimately ended with a crash on stage seven. The Frenchman started the day strongly, running as high as third overall after the morning loop. However, his rally began to unravel when he suffered a gear selection issue at the start of stage five that prevented the 2019 WRC2 champion from starting on time, resulting in a ...Keep readingView the full article

The eight-time world rally champion was largely in command during Friday morning’s loop of stages, winning two of the three tests to open up a 16.3s lead over Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi. The highlight of the loop was a faultless first run through Monte Lerno (49.9km), where he was 12.7s faster than anyone else. However, wet weather dominated the afternoon loop which Ogier’s feels caught ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finn revealed in the buildup to the rally that he intended to try an experimental set-up he’d discovered in testing prior to the event. After winning Thursday night’s super special, Lappi started the day with a 0.2s lead over Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. But he ended Friday morning 16.3s behind Ogier, electing for a more hard tyre focused strategy in the morning’s 49.9km ...Keep readingView the full article

Eight-time world champion Ogier took a 16.3s lead over Lappi heading into the afternoon's three stages after winning two of the three morning tests, held in largely dry conditions. However, Lappi starred in the wet to grab the rally lead on the final stage of the day, despite picking up a left rear puncture. Lappi's team-mate Thierry Neuville headed to the service in third, 18.6s adrift ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver was struggling for grip before going off the road less than two kilometres from the end of the extended 49.9km stage, introduced for the 20th anniversary of the Italian World Rally Championship event. Sitting sixth overall, Sordo was fighting for grip from his hard tyres when he slid off the road at a tight left-hander. The Spaniard elected to push on in the hope it would ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver, returning to the World Rally Championship after sitting out last month’s visit to Portugal, won two of three gruelling gravel stages to head to midday service with a 16.3s lead. M-Sport’s Pierre-Louis Loubet drove around an engine issue to sit third (+22.0s), with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, fourth (+25.9s) and team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, fifth (+30.1s). Hyundai’s Thierry ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finn successfully navigated the 3.23km test, held across a mix of tarmac and gravel surfaces in host city Olbia, to clock a time 0.2s faster than M-Sport’s Ott Tanak. "This is fun. You have enough space, it's wide enough, you can play with the car,” said Lappi, who is planning to run a measured gamble on set-up for this weekend’s rally. “On the gravel you just go fully sideways ...Keep readingView the full article

Sardinia is renowned for producing rough gravel stages but a revised route for this weekend's 20th-anniversary event is set to deliver perhaps the toughest conditions of the season. Four-time Sardinia winner Sebastien Ogier, returning to the championship this weekend after sitting out Portugal, is expecting a gruelling rally after likening the stages to those seen in Kenya, which has earned a ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 world champion has been struggling to unlock the set-up sweet spot in his Puma this season which has hampered the Estonian's pace outright pace. In Portugal last month, Tanak identified that the car's suspension was an area earmarked for improvement. Since the event, M-Sport's suspension supplier Reiger has provided upgraded components which were run for the first time during the ...Keep readingView the full article

The championship has been pushing for a meeting with the series' drivers to discuss the future direction of the category following Thierry Neuville's comments in Portugal last month, when he declared the WRC needs to "change" to improve engagement with manufacturers, media and fans. A meeting was initially tabled to take place at this weekend's Rally Sardinia but instead will happen in an ...Keep readingView the full article

“We often say that the best drivers are perhaps not the ones driving, but those that have never had the opportunity,” says 2001 world rally champion co-driver and FIA deputy president Robert Reid, as he watches on as FIA Rally Star finalists strap themselves into a Ford Fiesta Rally3 car, for a first taste in remote Sardinia. It’s a statement that perfectly explains why the FIA has ...Keep readingView the full article

Sardinia is renowned for its brutal rough gravel stages that test the WRC drivers and cars to the limit, and this year marks the event's 20 year anniversary. Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera heads to the Italian island leading the championship by 17 points after scoring a much needed victory in Portugal last month, ending a drought since lifting the 2022 world title in ...Keep readingView the full article

The defending world champion is leading the standings heading into this weekend's Italian round, but will face a tall order to repeat the drought-breaking victory he scored in Portugal last month. Sitting atop the standings will mean Rovanpera will be disadvantaged by road cleaning on Sardinia's rough and dusty roads. The 22-year-old also has openly admitted that this event is arguably a ...Keep readingView the full article

No matter what the business, if you stand still and fail to innovate as markets change there is a risk of being left behind and the prospect of not achieving the potential. This is the crux of Thierry Neuville’s comments made in the lead up to Rally Portugal. The Hyundai driver claimed that the WRC is facing a critical point and needs to “react” and “change” to improve its appeal to ...Keep readingView the full article

The experienced engineer has previously held the technical director role at Volkswagen during its domination of the World Rally Championship, where it scored four drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles form 2013-2016. He then joined former VW motorsport boss Jost Capito as technical director at Williams before leaving the F1 team last year. His appointment at Hyundai arrives after new team ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota has today announced that the eight-time world champion will join the reigning world champion squad for the championship's annual visit to Africa, from 22-25 June. The rally will be Ogier's fifth appearance of the season, having elected to sit out Sweden in February and the gravel round in Portugal earlier this month. The Frenchman has already tasted victory twice this year, winning in ...Keep readingView the full article