Rally

The Toyota driver went off the road 13.8 kilometres into stage seven (Mortagua, 18.5km) while occupying sixth position after difficult day opening the gravel roads. It is unclear exactly what happened to the Welshman that has triggered a premature end to his day. The Toyota team has confirmed Evans and co-driver Scott Martin climbed out of the car and are okay after the incident. Evans was ...Keep readingView the full article

Tanak produced an impressive showing in his M-Sport Ford Puma, winning one of the three morning stages to lead Toyota's Rovanpera by 3.0s. Dani Sordo led Hyundai's effort completing the loop in third, 3.6s adrift, but ahead of team-mate Thierry Neuville, 14.6s back, and road sweeper Elfyn Evans, who is 18.0s off. Pierre-Louis Loubet and Esapekka Lappi completed the Rally1 field after Toyota's ...Keep readingView the full article

Miami Grand Prix to Rally Portugal isn't a usual back-to-back but this is the reality for the 45-year-old former racing driver turned driver coach. The last 10 years have seen Pinto become part of Stroll's support team travelling to every grand prix acting as the Canadian's driver coach. However, it is now Stroll, who will be supporting his coach, when Pinto lines up on the Portugal ...Keep readingView the full article

Evans arrives in Portugal sharing the championship lead with his part-time Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier after claiming an emotional first win for 18 months on Croatia's asphalt roads last month. The victory resulted in the Welshman leaping up the championship standings that are the closest since 2001, with five drivers covered by 11 points. However, Evans now faces the prospect of cleaning ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai signed Breen to share its third factory i20 N alongside veteran Sordo this season. The latter has been a mainstay of the squad since the marque's return to the WRC in 2014, moving to a part-time role in 2018. Sordo was announced to pilot the third car at this weekend's Rally Portugal before Breen's tragic passing while testing for the fourth round of the championship in Croatia last ...Keep readingView the full article

Rallying’s top flight has attempted to attract new marques in recent years, and this was one of the key objectives behind the introduction of its Rally1 hybrid regulations last year. Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford committed to the new rule cycle until 2024, but the move to hybrid vehicles has so far yet to lure any additional manufacturers. As reported last week, the WRC has identified ...Keep readingView the full article

Portugal’s rough stages represents the start of the WRC’s gravel season with this round the first of seven consecutive rallies held on the loose surfaces. After scoring an emotional first WRC win in 18 months, Toyota’s Elfyn Evans heads to Portugal tied at the top of the standings with team-mate and eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier. However, 2021 Portugal winner Evans will ...Keep readingView the full article

The USA has emerged as a contender to join the WRC schedule for the first time since the Olympus Rally in 1988. A brand new event is being planned in Chattanooga in southeast Tennessee, utilising gravel roads located in in the Cherokee National Forest and around the Ocoee River region in Polk County. The planning committee for the project features an experienced group of rally competitors ...Keep readingView the full article

The new FIA initiative open to 17-26 year-old aspiring rally drivers aims to provide a pathway for future talent onto the WRC pyramid. Peruvian driver Cilloniz took the title after seeing off competition from Maja Hallen Fellenius (Sweden), Kristie Ellis (South Africa) and Pragathi Gowda (India) at the Maggiora Offroad Arena in Italy on Thursday. The four finalists were put through their ...Keep readingView the full article

The Irishman teamed up with Breen for the final WRC round in Japan last year ahead of the 2023 campaign with Hyundai, which would have seen the duo share the third factory i20 N. Fulton was alongside Breen for what was the 33-year-old’s final WRC event at Rally Sweden, where the pair finished second, before the former tragically died in a testing accident ahead of last month’s WRC round in ...Keep readingView the full article

The team had been yet to announce its plans beyond Portugal for the third car since Craig Breen’s passing, until today’s announcement that Sordo will now add Sardinia (1-4 June) to his programme. It is unclear who will pilot the car in the remaining seven events on the calendar. The South Korean squad will return to fielding three cars at next week’s Rally Portugal, an event which ...Keep readingView the full article

The eight-time world champion, who is again contesting a partial campaign this year, had been tipped to make the trip to the Italian gravel rally held from 1-4 June. Toyota has now moved to confirm Ogier’s attendance after the Frenchman completed a pre-event test in Sardinia last week. Ogier will be absent from the service park at the next WRC event held in Portugal next week. Ogier is ...Keep readingView the full article

The younger brother of the late 1995 world rally champion is the latest name to join the entry list for this all-new rally event held in Varzi, northern Italy from 24-27 May, which celebrates Group A machinery from 1994 through to the World Rally Car era that ended in 2021. McRae is set to pilot an Impreza which is the same specification as the one which won the 1995 WRC title. The ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC has previously indicated that four manufacturer teams at the top level would be its ideal prospect for the championship moving forward. Since Citroen's exit at the end of 2019, the championship has operated with three teams comprising Toyota, Hyundai and the semi-works M-Sport Ford, which are committed until at least the end of 2024. The introduction of the new Rally1 hybrid ...Keep readingView the full article

The five-time World Rally Championship rally winner was invited by the Hyundai Portugal squad to deputise for Breen, who lost his life in a Rally Croatia testing accident earlier this month. Breen had been competing in the Portuguese national championship alongside his WRC commitments for the Hyundai factory team. The Irishman won the opening round in Fafe but crashed out of the following round ...Keep readingView the full article

The asphalt round joined the WRC in 2021 and has quickly built a reputation as one of the most challenging tarmac rallies on the schedule. Last weekend’s rally won by Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, held in front of a healthy four-day crowd, was the event’s last of its current contract. However, WRC event director Simon Larkin has indicated that the rally will receive a slot on the 2024 calendar ...Keep readingView the full article

The UK has become a backbone of rallying’s top flight, appearing on the inaugural calendar in 1973 and holding a spot on the schedule until 2019 courtesy of Rally GB, formerly known as the RAC Rally. However, the event dropped off the calendar in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has failed to return. A bid fronted by promoter Bobby Willis to bring the WRC back to the UK in ...Keep readingView the full article

The world rally champion finished fourth on Croatia’s asphalt roads after a difficult event that was hampered by a lack of outright pace on Friday and a wheel failure. Rovanpera lost more than two minutes when he struck the same pothole in stage 2 as Toyota team-mate Sebastien Ogier, who also suffered a flat tyre. The Finn however struggled to find the sweet spot in his GR Yaris until ...Keep readingView the full article

Competing in Croatia less than a week following Craig Breen's shock passing was always going to be incredibly difficult. But the World Rally Championship should be proud of its fitting tribute and celebration of one of its most loved characters. Emotions were still raw in the service park while many still struggled to accept the loss of the factory Hyundai driver, who died whilst preparing to ...Keep readingView the full article

The 33-year-old factory Hyundai WRC driver tragically died in a testing crash in preparation for Rally Croatia a fortnight ago. Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul explained the details of the accident last week, revealing that a fence post had intruded the cabin of the i20 N. The team is working alongside the FIA in carrying out a full investigation into the incident. FIA rally director ...Keep readingView the full article