Rally

Top Performer - Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja Victory in Finland driving inferior machinery against the might of Toyota on home soil, and the in-form Kalle Rovanpera, was something special. Hyundai's Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja were simply in a different league in Finland and rightfully deserve the top performer award. The fact Tanak described this as his "best" and "most satisfying" win ...Keep readingView the full article

Tanak and Hyundai caused an upset by winning in the Toyota WRC team’s backyard last weekend, ending the Japanese marque’s 100 percent winning record at the fast gravel event since rejoining the WRC in 2017. Despite missing out on the victory, Toyota showed its strength with all four GR Yaris entries finishing inside the top six. Championship leader Kalle Rovanpera headed the team’s ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver put up strong fight to deliver hoards of supporters a first home grown Rally Finland winners since 2017, but fell just 6.8s short to an inspired Hyundai driver Ott Tanak last weekend. Faced with the disadvantage of opening the roads, Rovanpera managed to recover from a 21.0s deficit to Tanak after Friday's running, as an intense head-to-head with the Estonian unfolded across ...Keep readingView the full article

Lappi was seemingly on his way to a comfortable third place finish on home soil when drama struck in Sunday’s penultimate stage. The Finn got caught in a rut at a left hander which pitched his GR Yaris into a roll, with the car rotating three times before landing on its wheels. The crash ripped the rear wing from the car, smashed the windscreen and damaged the radiator. It was the second ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 world champion produced an against the odds performance to defeat rally favourite Kalle Rovanpera and a fleet of Toyotas to end the Japanese manufacturer’s run of winning every Rally Finland since rejoining the championship in 2017. Tanak admitted he had to be in maximum attack mode for the entire rally, since assuming the lead on Friday morning to ultimately beat Rovanpera by 6.8s ...Keep readingView the full article

Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja produced one of the best drives of their WRC careers to tame a Hyundai i20 N that is short of being the best car in the championship to defeat Rovanpera on home soil by 6.8s after an intense duel. The 2019 world champion assumed the lead on Stage 2 on Friday, and from there the Estonian was on maximum attack delivering a string of blistering stages times to ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai and Toyota led calls for amendments to the new Rally1 hybrid regulations after Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans were forced to retire from last month’s Rally Sweden due to faults with the control 100kW hybrid unit. Tanak was fighting for the victory in Sweden when his hybrid unit displayed a red warning light that forced his Hyundai team to retire the car under safety grounds. This was the ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota and Hyundai have led calls for new Rally1 sporting regulations to be tweaked after issues with the control hybrid unit forced Hyundai’s Ott Tanak and Toyota’s Elfyn Evans to retire from Rally Sweden last month. Newly installed Rally Director Andrew Wheatley has confirmed to Motorsport.com that proposals formed to address Tanak’s retirement will be discussed at Saturday’s World ...Keep readingView the full article

The Frenchman is set to rejoin rallying's top tier this year after signing a deal to contest seven WRC rallies for British operation M-Sport, beginning with April's Rally Croatia. In order to prepare for his first WRC event with the squad, Loubet and co-driver Vincent Landais will team up with M-Sport for a familiarisation outing with the car in a round of the Belgian Rally Championship. The ...Keep readingView the full article

Suninen was picked up by the Korean marque late last year after walking away from a split WRC/WRC2 drive with M-Sport midway through 2021. The Finn contested Rally Spain last November before earning a shock promotion to Hyundai’s factory WRC squad to stand in for 2019 world champion Ott Tanak, who was unable to drive the season- ending Rally Monza due to personal reasons. Impressed by the ...Keep readingView the full article

Wheatley has been promoted into the role having previously held the World Rally Championship category manager post since joining the FIA in 2019. Prior to working for the FIA, Wheatley worked in the Belgian and Polish rally championships before taking up a business development role at British rally squad M-Sport in 2005, after joining the company in 1999. It was in this position that ...Keep readingView the full article

The long-time host of the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix was incorporated into a series of stages to conclude the Ypres Rally on its WRC debut last year, an event won by local favourite Thierry Neuville of Hyundai. Spa’s inclusion created spectacular vision of the cars using iconic parts of the circuit, including Eau Rouge. However, it also divided fans and drivers as teams were forced to make ...Keep readingView the full article

Julius Seebach admits he had a lump in his throat when Audi’s ground-breaking RS Q e-tron off-roader rolled away from the startline at the Dakar Rally in January. “Stephane Peterhansel was the first to start as he was the winner last year [in a Mini JCW buggy],” explains the managing director of Audi Sport, “and it was a very emotional moment given the car had only been finished just ...Keep readingView the full article

The New Zealander will pilot a Hyundai i20 N Rally 2 car, backed by Hyundai New Zealand, in selected events this year before contesting a full season in 2023. Paddon announced he will reunite with long-time co-driver John Kennard for the programme, a rekindling of a partnership that claimed victory at Rally Argentina when competing as a factory Hyundai driver in 2016. The 34-year-old ...Keep readingView the full article

Traditionally, the WRC has factored a snow event into its calendar, with Sweden the spiritual home of the winter rally, having only be absent from the schedule on four occasions since the championship's inception in 1973. Sweden returned to the WRC calendar this season, in a new location of Umea, 800km northeast of its previous home in Karlstad, following a COVID-19 induced lay off last ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finn took over Toyota's third GR Yaris he will share with eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier this season for the first time last weekend. The snow event also marked his return to the Toyota factory team he drove for in 2017 and 2018 and only his second top-flight start since 2020. Despite limited time at the wheel of the new hybrid GR Yaris compared to his teammates and rivals, Lappi ...Keep readingView the full article

Top Performer - Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen There is a case to be made for Kalle Rovanpera's third WRC win, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen, as his best yet and perhaps the most telling for the future. Rovanpera scored a maiden win on gravel in Estonia and blitzed the field at his Acropolis debut last year, but this win is his first having to open the road on an event. Eight-time ...Keep readingView the full article

Both manufacturers were forced to retire cars involved in the battle for victory at last weekend’s Rally Sweden after suffering failures with the control hybrid unit. Under the current FIA regulations surrounding the new hybrid component, drivers and teams are unable to continue if warning lights appear, or if there is an absence of active lights on a hybrid unit, even if the car can still ...Keep readingView the full article

The Korean marque showed a significant improvement in speed and reliability on the snow highlighted by Neuville leading the event on Friday before ultimately finishing second, 22s behind winner Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera. Neuville’s teammate Ott Tanak was also in contention for victory on Friday having clinched two stage wins, before a hybrid issue forced him out of the event. The Estonian ...Keep readingView the full article

Rally Sweden returned to the WRC schedule this year but in a new location in the city of Umea after the COVID-19 pandemic force the cancelation of the event last year. The event’s move approximately 800km north of its spiritual home in Karlstad was taken to ensure competitors would face full snow conditions after rallies where snow has been limited in the Varmland region of the country. As ...Keep readingView the full article