Rally

Loeb and new co-driver Isabelle Galmiche dominated the trio of asphalt stages, held in tricky icy conditions, as the nine-time world champion quickly gelled with the new M-Sport Ford Puma. A series of strong times helped the pair climb to the lead after Ogier and Benjamin Veillas dropped 15.8s on the stage 5, after opting for a curious approach on the ice, allowing Evans to also leap into ...Keep readingView the full article

The M-Sport Ford driver misjudged a left hander resulting in his Puma ploughing into a rock face, triggering a series of rolls over the Armco barriers, with the car coming to rest 30 metres into a ravine. Luckily, Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria emerged unscathed from the crash but the Puma suffered significant damage. Fourmaux had been sitting fourth in the overall standings, 17.9s ...Keep readingView the full article

The opening stages held on mountain roads at night proved to be a battle of the two WRC legends that aren't contesting the full 2022 season, as eight-time champion Ogier and nine-time champion Loeb continued their earlier shakedown tussle. Ogier, eight times a Monte winner, once again showed his class on the chilly asphalt to open out a 6.7-second lead over Loeb, the seven-time Monte winner ...Keep readingView the full article

A short and narrow Sainte-Agnès/Peille shakedown stage provided the first glimpse of the new Rally1 cars in a timed environment as they completed final preparations for the rally which begins on Thursday night. Newly-crowned eight-time champion Ogier, partnered with new co-driver Benjamin Veillas following the retirement of his long-time partner Julien Ingrassia, clocked the fastest time after ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC is set for its most unpredictable season for decades courtesy of sweeping new Rally1 regulations, built around hybrid-powered cars. Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford have worked around the clock designing and constructing all-new cars from the ground up. Heading into this weekend's season opener it's unclear which team or driver has adapted to the new rules the best during the ...Keep readingView the full article

The newly-crowned, eight-time WRC champion will scale back his rally commitments to four or five rallies for Toyota this year, meaning he won’t defend his title as rallying’s top tier enters a new hybrid Rally1 era this season. Ogier revealed last year that he wishes to dovetail a partial rally programme in Toyota’s third GR Yaris alongside possible outings in the World Endurance ...Keep readingView the full article

The nine-time champion is set to make a return to the WRC this weekend having agreed a deal to pilot a fourth M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 at the famous Monte Carlo event he’s won seven times. Discussions regarding Loeb’s WRC return began midway through last year before talks concluded with an agreement for one event only as it stands. In order to take up the drive, Loeb was released from a ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC is set for a voyage into the unknown at this weekend’s Monte Carlo opener as Hyundai, Toyota and M-Sport Ford debut all-new hybrid cars built to Rally1 regulations. Such a seismic shift in the rules has left drivers unsure what will unfold on the famous Monte Carlo asphalt. Faced with the prospect of adjusting to hybrid power, reduced aerodynamics and simpler front and rear ...Keep readingView the full article

New Rally1 regulations centred on hybrid-powered cars have provided the series with arguably its biggest rules shake-up for a generation, and promise to deliver the most unpredictable season for decades. Last year the WRC said goodbye to its ‘modern Group B’ monsters, and the all-new 500bhp beasts are set to be unleashed on the world’s toughest stages. Toyota, Hyundai and a rejuvenated ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC’s two most successful drivers are set to do battle on the famous Monte Carlo asphalt, where they have shared 15 victories between them, for the first time since 2020. Newly-crowned eight-time champion Ogier is set to contest the event as part of a partial campaign for Toyota, following a decision to scale back his WRC commitments this year. He'll face off against nine-time champion ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC released a 13-round schedule last year including a tarmac TBC meeting to be held from 18-21 August, with Rally Northern Ireland strongly tipped to fill the slot. However, Motorsport.com understands that plans to host a rally out of Belfast are no longer viable for 2022. As a result, the UK will be once more without a WRC round this year, having been absent from the calendar since the ...Keep readingView the full article

The new M-Sport Ford signing saw his Monte Carlo pre-event test this week cut short after clipping a bridge parapet, which sent his Ford Puma off the road and into a roll down a 15 metre drop, before coming to rest on its roof. Luckily Breen and co-driver Paul Nagle were able to escape from the cockpit unhurt and M-Sport was able to retrieve the car from the mountainside with a crane and ...Keep readingView the full article

The Japanese marque unveiled its new weapon at the WRC’s official 2022 season launch at Hangar-7 in Salzburg, Austria, in front of new FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Toyota has elected to continue with the same red, black and white factory livery that made its debut on the Yaris last season. However, to highlight the new Rally1 regulations there is clear hybrid branding on the flanks of ...Keep readingView the full article

The semi-works Ford squad has unveiled a bold new livery for its voyage into the WRC’s new hybrid era, with the team opting for a striking purple and blue colour scheme, featuring sponsorship from energy drinks manufacturer Red Bull. M-Sport was the first of the three WRC manufacturers to showcase its Rally1 prototype, choosing to launch at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed ...Keep readingView the full article

After dropping the best part of an hour behind Al-Attiyah with a mechanical failure and navigational drama in the first week, Loeb mounted a strong comeback in the second half of the rally, setting a series of quick times - including victory in Stage 8 - in a bid to unseat his Qatari rival. However, the gap to Al-Attiyah ultimately proved too large to overcome and he was forced to settle for ...Keep readingView the full article

The German manufacturer made a splash on its Dakar debut this year, with its hybrid RS Q e-tron winning four of the 12 stages - including three in the second half of the rally. It could have realistically contended for overall honours against the Toyota and Bahrain Raid Xtreme teams, with only a crash for Stephane Peterhansel on Stage 1 and navigational dramas for Carlos Sainz and Mattias ...Keep readingView the full article

Quentin Lavallee, chief mechanic of the #726 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 that the PH Sport team had managed to bring back to Dakar Classic, died from injuries sustained in a road accident 234km into the transport section. The incident occurred at 11:30 local time and, according to local authorities, involved the assistance car and a local truck. The Frenchman was only 20 years old. The team's ...Keep readingView the full article

Dubai-based Briton Sunderland managed to get through Friday's 12th and final stage of the Saudi Arabian marathon with his advantage at the head of the field in tact, beating Honda's Pablo Quintanilla by three minutes and 27 seconds. It marked a maiden title for KTM sub-brand GasGas, also ending a run of two wins for Honda and giving KTM a first overall success since the Dakar moved away from ...Keep readingView the full article

After near-misses in the previous two years, Al-Attiyah led the 44th running of Dakar from start-to-finish in the new Toyota Hilux T1+, eventually taking the top honours by 27m46s over Sebastien Loeb (Prodrive/Bahrain). The Qatari driver won only two of the 12 stages, both in the first week, but showed remarkable consistency throughout the event while his rivals fell by the wayside with ...Keep readingView the full article

Sunderland went into the relatively short 164km run from Bisha to Jeddah of nearly seven minutes over his nearest rival, Honda's Pablo Quintanilla. Despite running second on the stage, Sunderland did enough to maintain his advantage to the finish, dropping just 3m25s to stage winner Quintanilla to beat the Chilean by 3m27s in the final standings. It marks Sunderland's second triumph on the ...Keep readingView the full article