Rally

The FIA World Rally-Raid Championship’s Committee announced an immediate change in the Balance of Performance to give cars in the T1.U class for prototype cars using renewable energies – which includes Audi’s RS Q e-tron E2 – an extra 8kW, which is believed to be worth 11bhp. A statement read: “Following the data analysis of the vehicles entered in the T1.U and T1+ categories on the ...Keep readingView the full article

Dakar legend Stephane Peterhansel led across the opening 282km of Wednesday’s 425km special, finding better speed and rhythm with his Audi RS Q e-tron E2 over the sand and dune terrain after heavy rain on Tuesday, but he was reeled in by Loeb over the gravel and rocky landscape that ended the stage. The nine-time World Rally champion officially took the lead on the stage at the 327km ...Keep readingView the full article

The Spaniard, who is bidding for his fourth victory in the Rally-Raid classic, lost a huge amount of time to his rivals after he was forced to stop twice for problems with his Audi RS Q e-tron E2. He started the 467km special between Alula and Ha'il with an advantage of 2m12s over reigning champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Toyota, with both drivers having scored one stage win apiece during the ...Keep readingView the full article

Sainz arrived at the 467km special between Alula and Ha'il with a small advantage of 2m12s over reigning champion Al-Attiyah, with both drivers having scored one stage win apiece during the opening two days of action in Saudi Arabia. But the Spaniard received a big hit to his hopes of adding a fifth Dakar win to his CV when his Audi RS Q e-tron E2 broke down 213km into the stage with problems ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota's Al-Attiyah overturned a 1m34s deficit to Erik van Loon on the final split of the 430km Sea Camp to Alula stage, the fourth-longest stage of the 2023 Dakar, to win Monday's contest by 14s from the Overdrive entrant. The stage win promoted the Qatari driver and co-driver Mathieu Baumel to second place, 2m12s behind Audi's Sainz in the overall classification. Sainz was first on the ...Keep readingView the full article

It was Sainz’s teammate Mattias Ekstrom who led the majority of the 367km special near Sea Camp in Saudi Arabia, the former DTM ace grabbing the lead at the first checkpoint and steadily building his advantage from there on. But the complexion of the stage changed completely between the final two checkpoints, with Sainz producing a heroic effort to jump from fourth - and more than two minutes ...Keep readingView the full article

Speaking to the media, including Motorsport.com, shortly before the Dakar began with Saturday’s Prologue stage, Audi ace Sainz said he did not want to comment on the words of Toyota rival Al-Attiyah, who claimed Sainz “always tries to complain about a lot of things”. Audi’s hybrid-electric RS Q e-tron E2 will be at least 100kg heavier than its petrol-powered rivals in the German ...Keep readingView the full article

The 45th edition of Dakar kicked off on New Year’s Eve with a short 13km timed run on the shores of Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, with the entire section designed around the Sea Camp that also serves as the first bivouac of the rally. Although there was little opportunity to gain time on rivals, the Prologue was fairly significant as it helps determine the starting order for the first stage proper ...Keep readingView the full article

The Japanese brand proved a dominant force this year, winning seven of the 13 events as Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen claimed the drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns, while Toyota sealed a sixth WRC manufacturers’ title. The GR Yaris emerged as the fastest and most reliable of the all-new Rally1 cars, but its dominance began to wane as Hyundai became stronger in the second half of the ...Keep readingView the full article

After making a stage-winning debut last year, Audi’s hybrid-electric RS Q e-tron E2 will be at least 100kg heavier than its direct rivals in the German manufacturer’s second outing in Saudi Arabia. Event organiser ASO revised the technical regulations for this edition of the Dakar, which starts on Saturday, with the minimum weight of hybrid or electric cars entered in the T1U division ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC underwent its biggest sweep of rule changes for a generation leading to all-new hybrid powered cars. Introducing a bespoke 100kW hybrid unit to the cars was among a myriad changes to the regulations as the WRC introduced tougher spaceframe chassis, while the effectiveness of aerodynamics was reduced by around 15%. Trick centre differentials were also removed in favour of a simpler ...Keep readingView the full article

The British squad endured a difficult 2022 campaign as the team fell behind its WRC rivals, recording only one victory and a total of three podiums across 13 events with its Ford Puma Rally1. However, M-Sport has reshuffled its pack for 2023, signing 2019 world champion Tanak to lead its attack alongside Pierre-Louis Loubet, who has received a promotion to a full-time seat after an impressive ...Keep readingView the full article

Developed with the Dakar Rally in mind, the challenge for Sparco’s designers was to develop a practical garment that acted like a fireproof racesuit for drivers that also was resistant to water, wind, and temperature changes too. In this new Motorsport.com video, we introduce you to the new Adventure Jacket, designed and manufactured by Sparco, with exclusive features to ensure greater ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finn sampled the Hyundai i20 N for the first time this month following his high-profile full-time switch from the world champion Toyota to fill the vacant Hyundai seat left by Ott Tanak, who has since joined M-Sport Ford. Lappi has so far clocked up almost 600 kilometres of running in the i20 N having tested the car on Tarmac in Germany and on snow at the team's testing ground in ...Keep readingView the full article

Audi held a presentation at Carlos Sainz Karting in Las Rozas in Madrid ahead of Sainz Sr and co-driver Lucas Cruz embarking on their 11th Dakar together. Its RS Q e-tron E2 is an evolution of the car that Sainz drove to two stage wins this year, but he was thwarted in his bid for overall honours due to navigational issues. Audi has improved the aerodynamics and reduced the car’s weight by up ...Keep readingView the full article

Greensmith’s future at the Ford squad appeared uncertain after the team entered three cars for next month’s Monte Carlo Rally with the Briton’s name omitted from the roster. Instead, the team will field Ford Puma Rally1s for new signing Ott Tanak and Pierre-Louis Loubet on a full-time basis, while privateer Jourdan Serderidis will pilot the third car. Serderidis will also feature at ...Keep readingView the full article

Monte Carlo Rally organisers confirmed that it has received the maximum 75 entries for the 2023 curtain raiser featuring 10 Rally1 cars including three Pumas. M-Sport had yet to declare the number of Pumas it would run in Monte Carlo before entries for the 19-22 January season opener closed at midnight last Friday. The identity of the third driver that will join the recently announced Ott ...Keep readingView the full article

Fourmaux has been selected to pilot one of two M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta Rally2s next year alongside WRC2 regular Gregoire Munster, who will switch from Hyundai to Ford machinery. The news ensures Fourmaux remains with the British outfit following a disappointing 2022 campaign driving one of the team's three Ford Pumas in the WRC's top Rally 1 class. The announcement also follows confirmation ...Keep readingView the full article

M-Sport on Thursday announced the 25-year-old Frenchman will join the recently confirmed Ott Tanak as part of the Ford squad's roster for the 2023 season. As previously reported, Loubet was in the frame for a promotion to a full-time seat for the first time in his top-flight WRC career after an impressive seven-round campaign with M-Sport this year. Loubet clinched three stage wins and led a ...Keep readingView the full article

The son of 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg had been in talks with M-Sport to secure a Rally1 drive but was also working on a WRC2 programme as a backup option, after being dropped from Hyundai's Rally1 squad at the end of this season. Solberg's WRC2 plans had initially revolved around driving a Volkswagen Polo but this week the Swede was seen testing the new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2. The ...Keep readingView the full article