Rally

The Korean manufacturer has decided not to renew Penasse’s contract and will undergo a restructure of its squad mid-season. Penasse was a key figure in Hyundai’s return to the WRC in 2013 and has played a part in building the team into a championship winning outfit, alongside team boss Andrea Adamo, resulting in back-to-back manufacturer titles in 2019 and 2020. The news of his impending ...Keep reading View the full article

Neuville lost his 5.1s lead to Toyota’s Rovanpera on the first of the afternoon stages after the Finn took a commanding win on stage 5, although the Hyundai driver fought back to win the next test, regaining the lead with a 10s overall advantage. However, the final stage of the day threatened to turn the rally on its head. Neuville suffered a rear tyre delimitation, a front right off ...Keep reading View the full article

The son of 2003 WRC champion Petter was handed a second WRC opportunity having been drafted into Hyundai’s 2C Competition squad at the Kenya event in place of Pierre-Louis Loubet. The drive arrived after an impressive seventh on debut at February’s Arctic Rally Finland. However, his Safari outing proved to be a brief one for the 19-year-old after sustaining severe damage to his i20 from ...Keep reading View the full article

Hyundai driver Neuville set an impressive pace, winning two of the three challenging gravel tests in Kenya’s bushland to open up a 5.1-second lead over Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera, with Ott Tanak third some 26.2s adrift. While Neuville starred, title contender Evans was forced to retire after hitting a rock on stage 3, while Sordo also spun into a ditch. Championship leader Ogier is seventh ...Keep reading View the full article

The Toyota driver had been running strongly in the particularly challenging 32.68km Kedong test, the longest of the rally, when drama struck. Evans, running fourth overall, made a minor cut on a slight right-hander heading into a left turn but clipped a rock in the process, which damaged his front-right suspension leaving his wheel hanging off the car. The incident happened a little more ...Keep reading View the full article

Kenya's iconic Safari Rally is an all-new event for the entire World Rally Championship field, having last appeared on the calendar 19 years ago. A blend of completely fresh stages in extreme conditions where crews will be unable to drive flat out for the entire event is likely to result in much closer battle for victory between the Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport Ford crews. M-Sport has ...Keep reading View the full article

The reigning world champion made light work of the 4.48km two-by-two Kasarani gravel test held in front of a vocal crowd at Kenya’s capital city Nairobi. The stage marked the first WRC action in Africa since the 2002 Safari Rally. Soft compound shod Ogier managed to comfortably beat Hyundai’s Ott Tanak on the hard tyres in their race around the stage, posting a 3m21.8s time to top the ...Keep reading View the full article

Returning to the WRC after almost two decades away, Safari Rally Kenya is expected to offer drivers arguably the toughest test of the season with its mix of extreme road conditions and the additional prospect of crews coming across wildlife on the stages. Several drivers have reported sightings of wild animals on the stages, located on private farmland, during the recce earlier this week ...Keep reading View the full article

Kenya’s Safari Rally returns to the World Rally Championship calendar after a 19-year hiatus, providing crews a brand new set of stages and challenges. While the rally is no longer the marathon epic of the past, the event is likely to be the toughest of the season, courtesy of its mix of ultra-fast sections, tough rocky roads, soft sinking sand and the chance of meeting wild animals en ...Keep reading View the full article

Ogier remains a key player in the WRC silly season with the seven-time champion’s future yet to be finalised as the championship prepares to usher in new hybrid Rally1 regulations next year. The reigning champion has indicated that he wishes to contest a part campaign next year having added an extra year than originally anticipated to his WRC career this season after COVID-19 wiped out the ...Keep reading View the full article

Kristoffersson will campaign the S1 in his first rallycross season racing anything other than a Volkswagen since his debut in the discipline in 2013. EKS JC, an amalgamation of Mattias Ekstrom's EKS outfit and Joel Christoffersson's JC Raceteknik squad, which won the World RX Teams' title last year with Ekstrom and Robin Larsson, will field Kristoffersson and Belgian Enzo Ide for its World RX ...Keep reading View the full article

Zasada is set to make an incredible comeback driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3 car managed by M-Sport Poland at the African event, which returns to the WRC after a 19-year hiatus. During a distinguished career, Zasada won the European title in 1966, 1967 and 1971 and finished runner-up on three more occasions. He was an official driver for Steyr Puch, Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz and was named ...Keep reading View the full article

The double MotoGP race winner’s place at the Tech 3 squad is under threat, with KTM Moto2 rider Raul Fernandez expected to step up and join Remy Gardner at the team next year. Petrucci says he hasn’t had any discussions with KTM yet about 2022, but only wants to race with the Austrian manufacturer. Should he ultimately lose his ride, Petrucci says he is not currently entertaining a ...Keep reading View the full article

The Cross-Country World Championship will become a reality for the first time in history after years of negotiations and behind-the-scenes work between Dakar's promoter and the governing body of motorsport. The proposal, as Motorsport.com has learned, was discussed extensively by ASO and the FIA since last winter and was put to a e-vote by the World Motor Sport Council last ...Keep reading View the full article

Team principal Richard Millener alongside boss Malcolm Wilson and a host of staff are set to be operating the outfit from the UK for the return of the Safari Rally after its 19-year hiatus. Only a skeleton staff, including members from M-Sport Poland, will be deployed to Kenya while the team has also elected to withdraw its WRC2 entry for Teemu Suninen. COVID-19 travel restrictions have ...Keep reading View the full article

America has emerged as a key market for the WRC to conquer having been absent from the region since the 1988 Olympus Rally in Washington, won by Lancia's Miki Biasion. The championship sees the USA as an untapped audience and one that could prove beneficial in attracting not only new fans but potential partners. The WRC's current footprint in North America extends thus far to Mexico, which ...Keep reading View the full article

The WRC will usher in a new era next year as the championship launches its Rally1 ruleset that will produce all-new faster cars featuring a plug-in 100kW hybrid system and a much tougher safety cell to protect the driver and co-driver. Hyundai, Toyota and Ford, through M-Sport, have reaffirmed their commitment to the series' new regulations but it is hoped more manufacturers will be enticed to ...Keep reading View the full article

The two-time Dakar champion took his unique Mitsubishi Trophy Truck to a thrilling victory at the there-and-back race to seal a first Finke crown on four wheels. The Red Bull-backed entry looked like a sure thing for much of the event, Price and navigator Mark Dutton comfortably topping the prologue on Saturday before setting a record-breaking pace out to Aputula on Sunday. Their time of ...Keep reading View the full article

The son of 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg will make his second appearance in a Hyundai WRC car in the championship at the iconic Kenya event (24-27 June), which returns to the championship after a 19-year hiatus. Solberg was set to contest Rally Sardinia earlier this month before having to withdraw from the event after his father contracted COVID-19. As a result, the 19-year-old was forced to ...Keep reading View the full article

The WRC will usher in new Rally1 regulations next year which will see all-new faster cars constructed with a plug-in 100kW hybrid system and a much tougher safety cell to protect the driver and co-driver. Introducing hybrid to the WRC has been a key part in ensuring Toyota, Hyundai and Ford, through M-Sport, remain in the series for the next three years. All three teams have been testing their ...Keep reading View the full article