reporter

Toyota snatching the World Rally Championship manufacturers' crown on the final stage of the season was a great advert for rallying, according to team boss Jari-Matti Latvala. The Japanese brand overhauled an unlikely 15-point deficit to Hyundai coming into the Japan season finale, culminating in an extraordinary final stage showdown.They were tied on points heading into the Power Stage after ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville has said his ability to keep calm in moments of adversity and his "never give up" attitude were key to finally clinching the World Rally Championship title.The five-time WRC runner-up (2013, 2016-2019) took the last step and became a world champion after finishing sixth in a dramatic season finale in Japan.Having led the championship since winning January’s Monte Carlo opener ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville clinched a career-defining maiden World Rally Championship title in dramatic circumstances at this weekend’s Rally Japan.Often regarded among the best drivers never to win a WRC title, the Belgian can now lay that claim to rest after he and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe beat Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja to a long-awaited crown.Neuville entered the ...Keep readingView the full article

Elfyn Evans won the World Rally Championship season finale in Japan while Toyota snatched the manufacturers’ title in a Power Stage thriller after Thierry Neuville had already been crowned world champion.Evans and co-driver Scott Martin clinched their first WRC win of the season for Toyota after Hyundai’s Ott Tanak crashed out of comfortable 38s lead on stage 17, which handed Hyundai team-mate ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak has explained the crash he described as a “proper disaster” that handed team-mate Thierry Neuville the World Rally Championship crown and dented Hyundai’s manufacturers’ title bid.Tanak started Sunday with a commanding 38 second rally lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans but his Rally Japan victory bid unravelled in the most spectacular fashion on stage 17.The 2019 world champion ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak has dramatically crashed out of the lead of Rally Japan which has handed Thierry Neuville the World Rally Championship and swung the manufacturers title battle towards Toyota.Tanak started Sunday with a 38 second rally lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans which he needed to maintain to keep his WRC title hopes alive.However, Sunday morning’s opening stage (Nukata, 20.23km) proved decisive ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville says he cannot afford to cruise through the Rally Japan’s final leg to secure a maiden World Rally Championship title following a stirring Saturday fightback.The WRC points leader started Saturday outside the points-paying positions in 15th after Friday’s costly turbo failure dashed hopes of a relatively comfortable run to score the six points required to seal the ...Keep readingView the full article

Toyota will need a “maximum performance” from its drivers and “a little bit of support” from M-Sport Ford to deny Hyundai the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in Japan. This year’s championship will go down to the wire with Toyota trailing Hyundai by 11 points heading into the final five stages of the Rally Japan season finale on Sunday.Toyota began the weekend 15 points ...Keep readingView the full article

An investigation into how an unauthorised vehicle entered a live World Rally Championship stage at Rally Japan is underway, an incident which the FIA has described as "a very serious issue."A minivan entered stage 12 (Ena) on Saturday morning, forcing officials to cancel the test after six of the eight Rally1 crews posted times.Television cameras captured a vehicle that was stationary facing in ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville boosted his World Rally Championship hopes by provisionally claiming more than half of the points needed to secure the title, while rival Ott Tanak extended his Rally Japan lead.Six points from the Japan season finale will secure a maiden title for Neuville, but that task was hanging in the balance after a turbo issue on Friday left the Hyundai driver in 15th position at the start ...Keep readingView the full article

The 12th stage of the World Rally Championship season finale was cancelled due to an unauthorised vehicle entering the closed road.Six of the eight Rally1 crews successfully completed a run through the 16.47km Ena test but officials were forced to abandon the stage before rally leader Ott Tanak and Toyota Elfyn Evans could begin.Luckily the appearance of the unauthorised vehicle was flagged to ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville kickstarted his Rally Japan recovery on Saturday morning to close in on the World Rally Championship points-paying positions, while title rival Ott Tanak witnessed his lead trimmed by Elfyn Evans. Neuville, now driving a fully-functioning Hyundai i20N after Friday’s power issue, managed to haul himself up tot 11th spot as Tanak kept his championship hopes alive by continuing ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai has apologised to Thierry Neuville and is planning to change “everything” on his car after a suspected turbo related issue dented his World Rally Championship title hopes in Japan.Championship leader Neuville can clinch the crown by scoring six points at the season finale, but that prospect has been made much tougher after his i20 N suffered a mysterious loss of power in stage four on ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak ignited his slim World Rally Championship hopes with a dominant drive to lead Rally Japan on Friday after a power issue proved costly for title favourite Thierry Neuville.The Hyundai driver successfully navigated through the day’s eight stages to open up a 20.9s lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, with M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux in third, 1m53.9s back.Tanak realistically needed ...Keep readingView the full article

World Rally Championship title favourite Thierry Neuville believes the power issue suffered on Friday morning at Rally Japan isn’t mechanical but is unsure if it can be fixed.Neuville’s WRC title hopes took a knock when his Hyundai i20 N suddenly slowed during stage four (Shinshiro, 17.41km) costing the Belgian 37.7s to title rival and team-mate Ott Tanak. The championship leader only needs to ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville’s World Rally Championship title hopes took a knock after suffering a power issue while Toyota’s Elfyn Evans moved into the Rally Japan lead.Championship leader Neuville won the day’s opening test and was sitting in second before a sudden loss of power hampered the Belgian, who only needs to score six points this weekend to secure a maiden world title.Evans shot from third ...Keep readingView the full article

For the Las Vegas GP we’re doing something we've never done before: We’re bringing you into the room with us — and a few special guests. Come on to the Motorsport ClubhouseDuring the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we have Parker Kligerman and Landon Cassill, former racers, commentating on the action via livestream — plus a Discord and prize giveaways. No doubt it will be a little chaotic, just ...Keep readingView the full article

For the Las Vegas GP we’re doing something we've never done before: We’re bringing you into the room with us — and a few special guests. Come on to the Motorsport ClubhouseDuring the Las Vegas Grand Prix, we have Parker Kligerman and Landon Cassill, former racers, commentating on the action via livestream — plus a Discord and prize giveaways. No doubt it will be a little chaotic, just ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai has not ruled out the possibility of running a fourth car in the next year’s World Rally Championship, with a decision likely to come at Rally Japan.Hyundai’s top management will be heading to this weekend’s WRC season finale where it is understood discussions regarding its plans for next year will be held.The team is expected to field three significantly updated i20 N Rally1 ...Keep readingView the full article

M-Sport-Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux grabbed an early Rally Japan lead after winning the opening super special stage at the World Rally Championship season finale.The final round of the season began with a 2.15km asphalt head-to-head super special stage held inside Toyota Stadium in Toyota City.Fourmaux faced eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier in a two-lap duel in front of a packed stadium ...Keep readingView the full article

Thierry Neuville has opened up on the balancing act he faces in Japan to secure a maiden World Rally Championship crown and contribute to Hyundai’s manufacturers’ title bid.Neuville heads into the season finale as the heavy favourite to claim what would be a career-defining title, with a 25-point lead over Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak. The Belgian only needs to score six points to seal the ...Keep readingView the full article

Hyundai has expressed concerns over the performance of next year’s World Rally Championship non-hybrid powered Rally1 cars and is asking the FIA to reconsider changes to the air restrictor.The FIA confirmed last week that hybrid power will be dropped from the WRC’s top tier Rally1 cars in 2025 in a move triggered by a rise in costs to service and repair the control 100kW Compact Dynamics ...Keep readingView the full article

23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, will add a third full-time car next year. Alongside the No. 23 of Bubba Wallace and the No. 45 of Tyler Reddick, they will also field the No. 35 Toyota Camry with Riley Herbst behind the wheel.Herbst, 25, brings Monster Energy with him as a primary sponsor, which already backs 23XI's Tyler Reddick ...Keep readingView the full article

Ott Tanak will be able to fight “without his hands tied” at the World Rally Championship title-deciding Rally Japan, according to Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul.Both the drivers' and manufacturers’ titles will go down to the wire on Japan's asphalt stages this weekend, with the former to be fought between Hyundai team-mates Thierry Neuville and Tanak.Neuville leads 2019 champion ...Keep readingView the full article