Rally

The Japanese marque has been a mainstay of the Dakar since the event's inception in 1979, scoring nine wins in the motorcycle class since then. However, its last triumph came all the way back in 1998, when Stephane Peterhansel took the last of his six Dakar wins on two wheels on a Yamaha. Success has been harder to come by in recent years amid the domination of KTM and Honda, with its last ...Keep readingView the full article

Officials have today confirmed that the two passes through the 20.49km Ortrask will be removed from the rally itinerary due to reindeer that are grazing in the area, that are unable to be moved safely. Ortrask was due to host stages 9 and 13 of the rally on Saturday and as result of the situation they won’t be replaced, meaning the rally will now be contested over 17 competitive stage instead ...Keep readingView the full article

The nine-time WRC champion made a triumphant return to the category last month to score his 80th career win at last month’s Monte Carlo Rally season opener, alongside debutant co-driver Isabelle Galmiche. The drive with M-Sport was agreed as a one-off appearance although the British squad revealed following the event that it would like to see Loeb return for further events this season if an ...Keep readingView the full article

Bertelli was set to pilot a fourth Puma at the snow rally from 24-27 February, for what would have been his debut in the WRC's new Rally1 hybrid machinery. However, work commitments have forced the Italian to abandon plans a week out from the event. The semi-professional rally driver works in the fashion industry and the event clashes with Milan Fashion Week. Bertelli competed in two WRC ...Keep readingView the full article

The 15-time WRC rally winner was one of Loeb's fiercest rivals, finishing second to the Frenchman on four occasions in the championship from 2008-2012. The closest fight came in 2009 when the Finn, driving for M-Sport, was pipped to the title by a single point. While Hirvonen bowed out of the WRC at the end of 2014, nine-time champion Loeb, aged 47, has continued to compete in sporadic ...Keep readingView the full article

The Frenchman has travelled to M-Sport's UK base this week to lend his support to the staff as they work on building up a new Puma from scratch in time to compete on the snow of Rally Sweden at the end of the month. Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria were lucky to emerge unhurt after a frightening crash in last month's WRC opener in Monte Carlo. The 26-year-old misjudged a left hander ...Keep readingView the full article

The reigning world champion squad has selected three young Japanese rally talents in Hikaru Kogure (20), Nao Otake (21) and Yuki Yamamoto (24) to join the initiative which aims to promote a young Japanese driver to its WRC team. Toyota began the programme in 2015, with it biggest success story being Katsuta, who has since progressed to drive Toyota's fourth WRC entry in 2020, before contesting ...Keep readingView the full article

The Yaris was victorious on nine of the 12 World Rally Championship events in 2021, scooping both the manufacturers’ crown and a 1-2 in the drivers’ table with Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans. Autosport readers have voted the Yaris the best rally car of 2021, ahead of its WRC rivals the Hyundai i20 Coupe and Ford Fiesta, and the Dakar Rally-winning Mini JCW Buggy. It is the third ...Keep readingView the full article

Ogier won five rounds on his way to the crown with Toyota in his final full-time WRC campaign. Autosport readers have voted Ogier the top rally driver of 2021, ahead of Toyota team-mates Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanpera, and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville. It is the seventh time the Frenchman has won the honour. Ogier’s victory was announced on 6 February at the Autosport Awards, which ...Keep readingView the full article

The 24-year-old is set to return to rallying’s top tier with the British squad following a series of appearances for Hyundai customer team 2C Competition across 2020 and 2021. Loubet’s last top flight WRC outing came at the Acropolis Rally in Greece last September, before an entry in October’s Rally Spain was withdrawn due to a broken hip suffered after being hit by a car in a road ...Keep readingView the full article

The new World Rally Championship season began last month in Monte Carlo with the rally director role vacant after Matton's surprise decision to leave the role, the former Citroen WRC boss had held since 2018. Matton, instrumental in the formation of the new Rally1 regulations, announced his departure a matter of days after the FIA welcomed its new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and deputy ...Keep readingView the full article

The factory GasGas rider headlines strong early interest in the two-wheel class for the famous high-speed blast from Alice Springs to Aputula and back. Sanders, who won two full stages on the Dakar this year, will ride a GasGas MC450 for what will be his Finke debut. He will be joined in the Bikes field by the likes of four-time Finke winner Ben Grabham, two-time winner Rick Hall and ...Keep readingView the full article

This year the WRC has undergone a regulations overhaul with the design and construction of all-new Rally1 hybrid machines powered by 100% sustainable fuel. It is the first move by the WRC to embrace a more environmentally-friendly future following in the footsteps of other motorsport disciplines, including the Dakar Rally, which welcomed its first all-electric entry from Audi this ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota completed a test on snow-covered gravel roads with its new hybrid Rally1 GR Yaris in Finland last week, as the squad stepped up preparations for Rally Sweden at the end of the month. Rovanpera was joined in the test by Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Esapekka Lappi, who will take over the third GR Yaris driven by eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier in Monte Carlo for ...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 World Rally Championship pyramid. Estonia’s Jurgenson was declared the winner of the European final, featuring 89 finalists from 22 nations, held at Germany’s Estering rallycross circuit last weekend. The 22-year-old came through a series of challenges, including a ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai Motorsport driver was forced to retire from last weekend’s Monte Carlo Rally on Sunday after the Swede and his co-driver Elliott Edmondson were feeling unwell, as a result of being subjected to exhaust fumes coming into their i20 N for two days. Hyundai attempted to fix the problem on Friday but it continued on into Saturday, contributing to Solberg losing concentration and ...Keep readingView the full article

The two-time WRC title runner-up showed glimpses of his pace behind the wheel of Toyota's 2022 WRC challenger during an ultimately frustrating debut at Monte Carlo last weekend. Evans was seemingly on course for a podium, occupying a comfortable third position, before a "clumsy" error on Saturday's stage 11 ended his hopes. The Welshman was able to recover from clipping a grass bank thanks ...Keep readingView the full article

Northern Ireland was tipped to fill the vacant TBC 18-21 August round on this year's WRC calendar, before it was announced last week that the event was no longer viable. It's the second time Rally Northern Ireland's bid to join the calendar has failed after an attempt last year, meaning the UK will be absent from the calendar again, the last event being Wales Rally GB in 2019. The bid headed ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 and 2020 WRC manufacturers' champions faced a myriad of reliability issues during a particularly challenging start to the WRC’s new hybrid era, leaving the team firmly behind its rivals Toyota and M-Sport Ford. This week the team will sit down to address its problems with deputy team director Julien Moncet confirming its staff will now have to double its efforts to catch the ...Keep readingView the full article

The M-Sport driver produced a measured drive to third at last weekend’s WRC season opener to kick off his 2022 campaign with a tidy haul of points. Competing in his first event as a full-time WRC driver for the Ford squad, the Irishman delivered a clever drive across the four days, electing not to be drawn into full attack mode all the time to ensure he brought the new Puma home 1m39s behind ...Keep readingView the full article