Rally

At the 2021 opener, Thierry Neuville and new co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe are the highest-placed i20 WRC crew in fourth after three days of competition, seven seconds off a podium place, while teammate Dani Sordo is over a minute behind the Belgian pairing in fifth. The mixed-surface event started in promising fashion for the Alzenau-based squad, with Ott Tanak charging into an early lead on ...Keep reading View the full article

Last week at Motorsport.com, we delved into the best 1991 had to offer and dusted off several motorsport gems - from arguably Ayrton Senna’s greatest Formula 1 title, to the worst F1 cars of the year, and the all conquering TWR Jaguar XJR-14. Through Motorsport.tv, we have the luxury of an extensive archive of action to alleviate boredom and brighten up tough lockdown moments. So as the ...Keep reading View the full article

On Friday, Ogier had lost half a minute following a puncture on the penultimate stage of the day, although he immediately reclaimed 16s from his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans before the overnight halt. Restarting in the dark in order to comply with local COVID-19 legislation, Ogier then resumed his imperious progress on the opening 18.3 km La Breole – Salonnet stage. The Frenchman ...Keep reading View the full article

The 2019 World Rally champion clipped the front-left tyre of his i20 Coupe WRC close to the start of this morning’s opening La Breole – Selonnet special stage and suffered a punctured tyre, dropping two places from third to fifth as a result. Worse was to follow for Tanak as he picked up a right-rear puncture on the next test – the run from Saint-Clemen to Freissinieres where he crashed ...Keep reading View the full article

Ogier had lost the lead of the event on the penultimate stage, when the front-left tyre on his Yaris WRC punctured and cost him the best part of 35 seconds in lost time. That promoted Hyundai’s Ott Tanak up to second and handed the initiative to Ogier’s Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans, who held a 20.4 second buffer with only the run from Chalancon to Gumiane left. However, a sensational ...Keep reading View the full article

A very early alarm call awaited the mechanics and crews in readiness for an 06:10 start time, the schedule for this weekend’s event being dictated by local COVID-19 measures. Compliance meant that the first two stages of the day would be run in the dark and, with uncertain conditions in the mountains, this led to plenty of hesitancy among the crews which handed a clear advantage to seven-time ...Keep reading View the full article

The Estonian claimed victory on both of the first two stages as he returned to an event that saw him fly 40 metres down a mountainside in 2020.Tyres were the major talking point of the day, with Pirelli replacing Michelin as the WRC’s new control supplier.A shortage of pre-event testing in the truncated close season caused many teams to run conservatively; all the more so as no Shakedown was ...Keep reading View the full article

A consistent run of points scoring finishes and two victories in Sweden and Turkey meant the Welshman was tipped to become the first British WRC champion since Richard Burns in 2001 before disaster struck. A 14-point lead over team-mate Sebastien Ogier prior to the final round of 2020 was negated by a crash on the Saturday leg of the Rally Monza finale that demoted him to second in the ...Keep reading View the full article

The Estonian caught many paddock figures off guard when he decided to leave Toyota in the middle of his title-winning 2019 campaign and join Thierry Neuville at Hyundai. The year didn't get off to the best of starts with a scary high-speed accident on his debut for the Korean manufacturer on the Monte Carlo Rally, but Tanak regrouped to finish runner-up in Sweden and Mexico, before winning on ...Keep reading View the full article

It will be the Frenchman’s first ever rally experience, and his first proper outing in an A110S since he tried it out at the Nordschleife over the Eifel Grand Prix weekend last year. Ocon, who will run with his F1 number #31 on the blue-liveried car, will get a morning shakedown in the official VIP course car on Thursday before having a high-speed run when the World Rally Championship season ...Keep reading View the full article

Ogier’s last full season in the rallying's top division will get underway at Rallye Monte-Carlo on Thursday afternoon where the Frenchman is targeting a record-breaking eighth victory at the Gap-based event. Once again, the 37-year-old starts as the bookies’ favourite, but he is predicting a five-way scrap for the title in 2021. Elfyn Evans pushed the Frenchman close last year and held a ...Keep reading View the full article

Rallying has an enduring appeal for millions around the world, adding rich diversity to the range of motorsport disciplines. But what does the long-term future for rallying look like? For the first #ThinkingForward of 2021 we speak to WRC Director Peter Thul about the qualities needed to excel in rally, why WRC is backing F1’s strategy that hybrid engines and biofuels are the future ...Keep reading View the full article

Honda rider Benavides isn't the first person from Argentina to win the Dakar - that honour went to Marcos Patronelli, who triumphed in the quads category in 2010. But the 32-year-old from Salta is the first to do so in arguably the most competitive class of all, motorcycles. Despite having been a regular frontrunner since his 2016 debut, Benavides isn't necessarily a household name for Dakar ...Keep reading View the full article

Three-time Dakar champion Al-Attiyah suffered a second successive defeat to the JCW buggies fielded by X-raid Mini in 2021, losing out on the crown by just under 15 minutes to Stephane Peterhansel. Buggies have now won Dakar five times in the last six years thanks to Peugeot and Mini, with only Al-Attiyah's triumph in 2019 on a Toyota Hilux 4x4 preventing two-wheel drive cars from securing a ...Keep reading View the full article

On Friday the Belgian announced that his 10-year partnership with fellow countryman Nicolas Gilsoul – which stretched back to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge – had ended due to contractual reasons. The pair shared the same car together as recently as Tuesday of this week when they tested the i20 Coupe WRC on Pirelli’s new tyres as part of their preparations for the Gap-based Tarmac ...Keep reading View the full article

X-raid Mini driver Peterhansel clinched a record-extending 14th Dakar title on Friday, beating Al-Attiyah by just under 15 minutes in what was effectively a two-horse race between the duo for victory. It marked the fifth win for a buggy in the Dakar in six years, with Al-Attiyah's 2019 triumph in a four-wheel drive Toyota Hilux in Peru the only exception. The Qatari driver has been ...Keep reading View the full article

Hyundai i20 WRC driver Neuville has entered next week’s shortened Rallye Monte-Carlo with Martijn Wydaeghe in the navigator’s seat. However, it has yet to be confirmed by Neuville or Hyundai Motorsport whether Wydaeghe’s involvement will extend beyond the opening round. Announced this morning, the decision brings to an end Neuville's ten-year partnership with Gilsoul. “We ...Keep reading View the full article

Sunderland launched himself into contention for a second Dakar victory, with a commanding stage win on the penultimate day of the Saudi Arabian event. But the British rider still faced a five-minute deficit to Honda rider Benavides heading into Friday's decisive stage, and faced the added difficulty of having to make up the time while being first in the running order, making navigation that ...Keep reading View the full article

Peterhansel grabbed the lead after the second of the 12 stages and never surrendered it thereafter, eventually claiming victory by 14m51s from the factory Toyota of Al-Attiyah. The X-raid Mini driver won only a single stage in the entire rally-raid - the ninth test around Neom - his lowest tally since 2015, when he drew a blank on Peugeot’s return to the category. However, he showed ...Keep reading View the full article

The Frenchman, 52, crashed 178 kilometres into Sunday's seventh Dakar stage. After being found unconscious he was rushed to hospital in Sakaka for surgery before being placed in an induced coma. He was then transferred to hospital in Jeddah ahead of the trip back to France, however he sadly passed away before arriving back in his homeland. "During his transfer by medical plane from Jeddah ...Keep reading View the full article