Rally

Top Performer - Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe It was a masterclass display from Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe on Catalunya’s fast tarmac roads. At times the pair were simply untouchable. The crushing win, their second of the season, was made all the more impressive given the struggles with the Hyundai i20 on Friday morning when Neuville was reduced to using the handbrake to ...Keep readingView the full article

Following last Friday's FIA World Motor Sport Council, the WRC released next year's schedule, with a tarmac event listed as TBC for 18-21 August. The FIA has been outspoken about its wishes to bring the championship back to the United Kingdom, which last hosted a round in 2019 with Wales Rally GB, before COVID-19 cancelled last year's event. Rally GB organisers considered moving the event to ...Keep readingView the full article

The WRC will move to new hybrid Rally1 regulations next year with Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford currently developing brand new cars incorporating a 100kW hybrid systems. Originally the move to Rally1 sparked the end of the much loved World Rally Car era, but the FIA has since confirmed to Autosport/Motorsport.com that the generation of vehicles introduced in 2017 will still be able to ...Keep readingView the full article

Spain’s tarmac roads offered the Toyota driver the first realistic chance of sealing this year’s championship in what will be his last full-time season in the WRC. Ogier only needed to outscore teammate Elfyn Evans by six points to claim the title in Spain, but struggles in finding a set-up to extract the best out of his Yaris plagued his weekend. The seven-time champion could only ...Keep readingView the full article

The Finnish driver started on the second row of the grid, having led his semi-final for much of the duration, but was ultimately overtaken at the end of the semi race by Johan Kristoffersson. In the final, top qualifier and pole starter Timmy Hansen took the lead into turn one, as Kristoffersson tucked in behind his compatriot’s Peugeot 208 with his Audi S1, Kristoffersson having made a ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver kept his title aspirations alive with a drive to second at Rally Spain, finishing 24.1s behind eventual winner, Hyundai's Thierry Neuville. Championship leader Ogier only needed to outscore Evans by six points on the Spanish tarmac to secure an eighth world title, but a strong performance from the Welshman ensured the title fight will go down to the wire, closing the gap to 17 ...Keep readingView the full article

Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe were seen pushing their i20 with flames bellowing from the rear after it failed to start prior to Sunday’s final stage. Luckily the rally leaders, who had built up a comfortable lead of more than 20 seconds, were able to push the car to the regroup section where marshals could assist them in firing up the car. As a result, Neuville successfully ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota driver overtook a vehicle while using the hard shoulder during a road section on the way to Saturday’s final stage on the streets of Salou. The incident was a breach of FIA Sporting Code Article 34.3.1 which states drivers must obey local traffic laws. On Sunday FIA stewards fined Ogier €2000 for his actions which comes after a €200 fine for wearing his balaclava ...Keep readingView the full article

Along with co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe. Hyundai’s Neuville was at times untouchable across the all tarmac event to see off Evans by 24.1s, claiming a second win of the season following a triumph at Belgium in August. Evans led the rally on Friday morning but a string of eight consecutive stage wins saw Neuville assert his authority, transforming a 0.7s lead heading into Saturday into a ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver continued to have the measure over Evans in the two morning stages to pull 20.6s clear heading into the final service of the event. “The performance has been good, but also the car gave me the necessary confidence," said Neuville. “We have seen on many rallies there is always one car a little bit ahead of the other, and I think this weekend our package has been ...Keep readingView the full article

The seven-time world champion headed into the penultimate round of the season motivated to wrap up an eighth world title, with Spain’s tarmac roads reducing the impact of being the roadsweeper on the opening day. Ogier can secure the championship if he outscores his Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans by six points. However, the Frenchman has struggled for confidence in his Yaris and with ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver was untouchable at times, winning six of the day’s seven stages on Spain’s fast tarmac roads to pull 16.4s clear of Toyota’s Elfyn Evans heading into Sunday’s final four stages. After winning Stage 4 on Friday afternoon, Neuville rattled off eight consecutive stage wins before championship leader Ogier ended the streak on Stage 12. Evans ended the day in ...Keep readingView the full article

The Peugeot 208 campaigner lined up alongside main title rival Johan Kristoffersson for Q1, but as Hansen took the standard line, Kristoffersson dived straight into the extra-route joker lap at the first corner. With British Rallycross Championship points leader Ollie O’Donovan opting to take the standard route on the opening tour, Kristoffersson had to overtake the Irishman on the uphill ...Keep readingView the full article

The FIA confirmed at Friday’s World Motor Sport Council meeting that the new device, mandatory on all Rally1 hybrid cars next year, will take the form of a forward facing in-car camera. A statement issued by the FIA, which also confirmed the 2022 calendar, revealed that the camera will have the ability to scan the stage for hazards and can be used to analyse the position of ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver delivered a faultless drive in at times tricky foggy conditions to transform his 0.7s overnight lead to a 9.0s advantage over Evans. While Evans was unable to compete with Neuville, the Welshman remains comfortably ahead of title rival Sebastien Ogier, who could wrap up an eighth crown this weekend if he outscores Evans by six points. Ogier appears out of contention for ...Keep readingView the full article

Tanak crashed out of the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship after a high-speed incident on stage four while occupying sixth position. The Estonian misjudged a section of the Tarmac road and clattered into a tree stump, which has damaged the chassis of the i20 Coupe. The crash was the second high-profile moment Tanak suffered on the opening day of the event coming two stages ...Keep readingView the full article

The Hyundai driver delivered a string of fast times, winning all three afternoon stages to leapfrog Toyota's Evans into a 0.7s lead at the end of Friday. Neuville had struggled with chronic understeer in the morning pass through the stages but his pace was transformed after midday service. Evans maintained his strong speed but was rattled by a tankslapper on Stage 5, but he incredibly ...Keep readingView the full article

The full WRC calendar for the start of the category’s new Rally1 hybrid era has been ratified following Friday’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. The famous gravel roads of New Zealand had been set to make a return in 2020, having last featured in 2012, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that last year and this season. In a bid to ensure it has the best chance ...Keep readingView the full article

The 2019 world champion went off the road only 3.6km into a second pass of the high-speed 20km Vilaplana Tarmac stage. Both Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja were reported to be OK following the crash. Details of exactly what happened remain scant but it appears Tanak's i20 Coupe may have slid off line on a patch of gravel and run off the road. Television cameras captured the car parked ...Keep readingView the full article

The Toyota pair are locked in a fight for the championship, with Ogier set to claim an eighth world crown if he outscores Evans by six points on the tarmac in Spain. It was Rally Finland winner Evans who took first blood, sweeping the three morning stages to open up a 7.9s lead over Hyundai's Thierry Neuville following a strong start from the Belgian. Ogier struggled to match the pace of his ...Keep readingView the full article