Rally

The 1994 British rally champion and WRC podium finisher received his first outing in a fully-fledged Rally1 hybrid after piloting the car Jourdan Serderidis will drive at Rally Mexico later this month. Wilson was called upon to shake down the Puma at M-Sport’s purpose-built 1.7mile test track located adjacent to the British team’s Dovenby Hall headquarters in Cumbria. The 67-year-old has ...Keep readingView the full article

Rough gravel rallies proved to be a weakness for the GR Yaris last year in an otherwise dominant 2022 campaign for the Japanese marque that resulted in a drivers’ and constructors’ title double. Abrasive gravel rallies in Sardinia and Greece were the only events Toyota failed to score a podium last season. The lack of pace in these conditions has pushed the team to find solutions to avoid a ...Keep readingView the full article

Last month Ford announced a plan to expand its motorsport commitments by returning to F1 as an engine supplier in conjunction with current world champions Red Bull, coinciding with the launch of F1's new engine rules. The American brand confirmed that its F1 expansion would not affect its current motorsport programmes, including its long-standing relationship with the WRC through British squad ...Keep readingView the full article

Mexico’s high-altitude rough gravel stages return to the WRC for the first time since the COVID-shortened event in 2020. The rally will also mark the first gravel round of the 2023 season and a maiden run for the Rally1 hybrid cars at significantly high altitude. Due to a ban on testing outside of Europe, WRC teams Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford have been preparing for the rally by trying ...Keep readingView the full article

One of the WRC's most famous events, known as the "Gravel Grand Prix", is set for a fresh look this year, with more than half the route changed, while almost a third of the mileage will be completely new for drivers. The ninth round of the 13-round WRC season (3-6 August) will be contested over 22 stages, totalling 320.56 kilometres. The route includes the return of the Myhinpaa test, which ...Keep readingView the full article

New signing Ott Tanak's triumph in Sweden earlier this month ended the Ford squad's WRC victory drought that had stretched back to January 2022, when Sebastien Loeb scored a famous win in Monte Carlo. This latest win came following a faultless drive from Tanak in only his second WRC appearance driving the Ford Puma. The Estonian however scored only one stage win, proving that the current ...Keep readingView the full article

Latvala’s Toyota squad has headed to Spain this week for a multi-day test, beginning today, to prepare for next month’s opening gravel rally of the season in Mexico. While Toyota largely dominated the 2022 season by sweeping both the drivers’ and constructors’ titles, the GR Yaris showcased weakness on rough gravel rallies such as Sardinia and the Acropolis compared to its Hyundai and ...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 Northern ...Keep readingView the full article

"It has been such a horrible, horrible black place where I was last year. Don't let anyone ever put you down, because only you know your true potential. The people close to me know it and finally, we managed to get it back out again. I'm just so happy to be back fighting at the front again with this amazing team, amazing car." This emotional response from Craig Breen after returning to the ...Keep readingView the full article

The Mythical Cars Rally is brand new event held in Varzi, northern Italy from 24-27 May that will be open to Group A machinery from 1994 through to the World Rally Car era that ended in 2021. Organiser Automobile Club Pavia plan for a seven-stage rally on the asphalt roads around the town, comprising 80 competitive kilometres. It is hoped a selection of iconic machines from the Group A and ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC has today announced that the Baltic nation's Tet Rally Liepaja event, which has featured in the European Rally Championship, will be promoted to WRC status from next year. Tet Rally Latvia takes place on gravel roads and has a reputation for being one of the most challenging rallies in Europe. The rally will cover a widespread area of Latvia, stretching from the cities of Riga and ...Keep readingView the full article

As previously reported, the WRC Promoter revealed plans in May last year to revamp its visual platform, known as Rally.TV, in a bid to grow the discipline in new markets. "We want to reach new markets, we want to enter new markets and implement in new countries so this is our plan to develop the TV so we are very, very confident," said WRC Promoter managing director Jona Siebel at Rally ...Keep readingView the full article

The famous rough gravel rally has penned a two-year contract extension with the WRC following the event's successful return to the top tier of rallying in 2021 after an eight-year hiatus. The Acropolis Rally has earned itself the reputation as one of the toughest rallies in the world, and is a founding member of the WRC’s inaugural season in 1973. Last year the rally welcomed the return of ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver battled with his GR Yaris across the snow rally resulting in the Welshman finishing a distant fifth, 1m24.0s behind winner M-Sport’s Ott Tanak. The lack of pace came as a surprise given Evans had challenged for the victory in Sweden 12 months ago. Heading into the second round of the championship, Evans had shown strong pace behind the wheel of the ...Keep readingView the full article

Top Performer - Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja No matter what the discipline, the best drivers are those who can conjure a victory while driving cars that are not the fastest. Ott Tanak is most definitely one of those drivers, as he again proved with his run to victory in Sweden. The M-Sport Ford Puma wasn’t the quickest on the Swedish snow but Tanak was able to coax enough from it to ...Keep readingView the full article

Breen impressed throughout on his first start of a partial campaign for Hyundai this year after leaving a full-time seat at M-Sport over the off-season. The Irishman, boosted by a favourable road position, found himself with an opportunity to claim a maiden WRC win after scoring four stages wins that resulted in a rally lead that lasted until Saturday night. Breen was locked in a tense ...Keep readingView the full article

Last year's Sweden winner Rovanpera expected a tough fight opening the snow-covered roads as the best-placed of the full-time WRC drivers at the previous round in Monte Carlo. Rovanpera was able to show flashes of speed to score six stage wins, more than another driver, but could only finish fourth after losing a fight with Hyundai's Thierry Neuville. The 22-year-old ultimately finished ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 world champion headed to Sweden with low expectations given he is yet to fully acclimatise to the Puma following his high-profile switch from Hyundai back to M-Sport this season. Tanak had struggled for consistent outright pace in January’s season opener in Monte Carlo, where he finished fifth, but on the Swedish snow the 35-year-old showed improved pace. The Estonian wasn’t the ...Keep readingView the full article

The Estonian delivered a measured and faultless drive to come through a tense head-to-head with Hyundai’s Craig Breen, that dominated the majority of the weekend. Competing in his second event driving the M-Sport Ford Puma following his switch from Hyundai, Tanak claimed a 18.7s victory from Breen. Hyundai deployed team orders ahead of the final stage by making Breen check in late to put him ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 world champion managed to pull a further 3.0s clear of Hyundai rival Craig Breen to lead the Irishman by 11.2s with two stages remaining at the snow rally. Equipped with fresh studded tyres, Tanak was able to clock the second fastest time on Stage 16 (Vastervik, 26.4km), while Breen, utilising a mix of new and worn tyres, was only able to post a time good enough for fourth. Tanak's ...Keep readingView the full article