He’s the YouTube sensation whose videos have been viewed more than 100 million times, and now Irish rally fans can see Ken Block in person when he takes part in this weekend’s Joule Donegal International Rally. The American is the top rally stunt driver in the world with over 13 million followers on social media. But Block is […]
By:Luke Barry Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Dani Sordo sensationally won Rally Italy, as Toyota’s Ott Tanak lost his power steering on the final stage of the rally.Tanak headed into the powerstage 26.7 seconds ahead of Sordo, but plummeted down to fifth after spinning his Toyota and losing two minutes as he wrestled with his […]
DANI SORDO CLAIMED HIS SECOND CAREER VICTORY AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON AFTER FINAL-STAGE HEARTBREAK FOR LONG-TIME LEADER OTT TÄNAK. Tänak was on course for his third consecutive FIA World Rally Championship victory and the series lead when a steering problem on his Toyota Yaris in the final speed test cost more than […]
ANDREAS MIKKELSEN WON SUNDAY MORNING’S OPENING TWO SPEED TESTS AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA IN HIS QUEST TO WRESTLE FOURTH PLACE AWAY FROM ELFYN EVANS.The Norwegian, driving a Hyundai i20, stopped the clocks two-tenths quicker than the Welshman in the opening Cala Flumini speed test. He then regained another 5.5sec in the following Sassari – Argentiera […]
By: Luke Barry Toyota World Rally Championship driver Ott Tanak has pulled clear of Hyundai rival Dani Sordo to lead Rally Italy by 25.9 seconds with four stages remaining on Sunday.Tanak began Saturday 11.2s shy of Sordo, but won all three of the morning’s tests to rocket into a 6.4s lead heading into the afternoon […]
OTT TÄNAK CHARGED INTO THE LEAD OF RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA ON SATURDAY MORNING WITH A REMARKABLE CLEAN SWEEP OF SPEED TEST VICTORIES.Having started the longest and toughest leg 11.2sec adrift of overnight leader Dani Sordo, the Toyota Yaris driver completed the morning’s three special stages with a 6.4sec advantage over the Spaniard. After winning the […]
OTT TÄNAK PRODUCED A STUNNING DRIVE IN SATURDAY’S OPENING SPEED TEST AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA TO CLIMB TO SECOND OVERALL. The Estonian won the 14.97km Coiluna – Loelle test by 6.5sec in his Toyota Yaris from overnight leader Dani Sordo. That was enough to demote Teemu Suninen, who was a further half second back, to […]
By: Luke Barry Hyundai’s Dani Sordo is expected to inherit the lead of the World Rally Championship’s Rally Italy round when nominal times from a stage cancellation are finalised.Sordo began the afternoon loop 0.7 seconds behind Toyota’s Ott Tanak in third, and duly beat his rival by that same 0.7s to draw level with […]
By David Evans Autosport.com Citroen will consider pulling Sebastien Ogier out of Saturday’s Rally Italy stages if the French firm feels there is nothing to gain from the C3 WRC running first on the road. Ogier retired from Rally Italy after breaking a steering arm on the final stage of Friday’s morning loop. Returning under […]
CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS OF THE MOMENT SÉBASTIEN OGIER’S SARDINIA AMBITIONS CAME TO A ROCKY HALT. There was huge drama at Rally Italia Sardegna on SS4 on Friday morning, when WRC Championship leader Sébastien Ogier came into contact with a huge rock, forcing him into retirement for the remainder of the day. Setting off first […]
JARI-MATTI LATVALA LED A CLOSELY-FOUGHT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA AFTER A HOT AND DUSTY QUARTET OF SPEED TESTS ON FRIDAY MORNING WHICH ENDED IN RETIREMENT FOR WRC LEADER SÉBASTIEN OGIER.Latvala headed Toyota Yaris team-mate Ott Tänak by 2.8sec, but the morning ended in disappointment for Ogier who parked his Citroën C3 1km from the start of […]
TEEMU SUNINEN WON FRIDAY MORNING’S OPENING TWO SPEED TESTS AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA TO CHARGE INTO THE LEAD. The Finn, partnered by experienced co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen for the first time, relegated overnight leader Sébastien Ogier by winning the Tula special stage by 4.8sec from Ford Fiesta team-mate Elfyn Evans. He repeated the feat in Castelsardo, […]
SÉBASTIEN OGIER CLAIMED AN EARLY LEAD AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA ON THURSDAY NIGHT AFTER HEADING A CITROËN RACING 1-2 IN THE OPENING SPEED TEST. The WRC leader defeated title rival Ott Tänak in the headline heat at the 2km fan-favourite Ittiri Arena speed test to edge team-mate Esapekka Lappi by a tenth of a second […]
FRENCHMAN Sébastien Ogier has ruled out a third victory of the season as he continues a pitched FIA World Rally Championship battle with rivals Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville in the eighth round at Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend. As current standings leader, the six-time champion must open the gravel roads in Friday’s first leg […]
SÉBASTIEN OGIER RECOVERED FROM AN EARLY HIT TO POST FASTEST TIME AT A ROASTING RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA ON THURSDAY MORNING. The Frenchman was one of several drivers to swipe a gatepost after 2km of his opening run through the 3.92km Olmedo dirt road speed test. The impact damaged his Citroën C3’s rear suspension, leaving the […]
FIA World Rally Championship leader Sébastien Ogier has ruled out prospects of a third victory of the season in Italy this weekend. Ogier must open the gravel roads in Friday’s first leg at Rally Italia Sardegna and believes the handicap will be too great to overcome during the final two days. Starting first in the […]
As the 2019 World Rally Championship enters the second half of the season, Citroën Total World Rally Team crews Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia and Esapekka Lappi / Janne Ferm prepare to tackle one of the year’s most technically demanding events. The notoriously challenging Rally Sardegna is set against the magnificient backdrop of the clear […]
A record 31 cars have so far been entered for the World Rally Championships Candidate Event/Africa Safari Rally. The entries include nine foreigners and proves the interest the event is generating as the country gears up to return to the World Rally series. Belgian Giancarlo Davite navigated by Sylvia Vinevogel of Burundi is among the […]
Although leading APRC Rally Montre at the time, broken suspension on Stage 9 prevented Mike Young from posting his first win in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship driving the CUSCO TRD Yaris 4WD. Co-driver Malcolm Read showed his amazing skills by rebuilding the suspension on the road-section afterwards, but the time lost proved too […]
David Evans Motorsport.com Despite social media speculation last week, it looks like a fourth Toyota Yaris WRC at Rally Spain will be used by Takamoto Katsuta rather than Alonso. The Salou event was always scheduled for Toyota’s junior driver and the team’s sporting director Kaj Lindstrom admitted that hadn’t changed – although Katsuta could compete […]
With little time to relax after an eventful round in Portugal, the FIA World Rally Championship contenders are preparing for another hot, dry and dusty gravel encounter on round eight of the 2019 season, Rally Italia Sardegna (13-16 June). The sunny Mediterranean island of Sardinia has hosted the Italian stop of the series since 2004, […]
HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT FANS’ LOYALTIES WILL BE SPLIT THIS WEEKEND AS SÉBASTIEN LOEB HEADS FOR RALLYE VOSGES – GRANDE EST IN FRANCE, LEAVING HIS COLLEAGUES TO ROUND EIGHT OF THE WRC AT RALLY ITALIA SARDEGNA. The nine-time world champion is delighted to be competing on the Alsatian roads on which he grew up, while Thierry Neuville, […]
Andreas Mikkelsen says he’s “excited to get back behind the wheel” on this weekend’s Rally Italia Sardegna after watching Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville claim a podium place finish on Rally Portugal. Mikkelsen returns alongside Neuville and Dani Sordo for round eight of the season after being dropped for the Portuguese event in favour of nine-time champion Sebastien Loeb and the Norwegian wants to prove he still has the pace […]
Further details of the next generation of World Rally Cars will be revealed following next week’s meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. Matton says competitiveness and cost-effectiveness are high on the list of priorities for the WRC’s new era. “The target is to stay at the same cost [as the current cars],” he […]
WRC’s gravel run continues onto Rally Italia Sardegna Story by: Hyundai We are hoping fortune will shine on us in Sardinia as we seek a return to winning ways after a frustrating run of WRC events.The Mediterranean island has been kind to us in the previous seasons. We claimed victory there twice, in 2016 and […]
M-SPORT HAS TAKEN THE WRAPS OFF ITS EAGERLY-AWAITED ALL-NEW FORD FIESTA R5, WITH WHICH IT HOPES TO MAKE ITS MARK IN THE WRC 2 PRO AND WRC 2 CATEGORIES OF THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP. Its predecessor is M-Sport’s most successful global rally car with more than 250 in competition. The British-based company hopes the […]
Michele Mouton, president of the FIA’s Women and Motorsport Commission (WMC), is championing the next generation of female motorsport professionals through the FIA’s Girls On Track – Karting Challenge. The WMC creates a safe space and culture that allows women to participate in all aspects, on all levels of motorsport. The FIA (International Automobile Federation) […]
Britain’s John Lloyd leads the list of foreign drivers keen to compete in the grueling Safari Rally, which serves as a candidate event for the World Rally Championship.World Rally Championship Safari Rally Project chief executive officer Phineas Kimathi said entries for the July 5 to 7 rally close on June 19. Zambia star Leroy Gomes, […]
VODAFOD.NE RALLY DE PORTUGAL WINNER OTT TÄNAK HAS EXPLAINED HIS LATE DECISION TO THROW AWAY BONUS POINTS FROM THE WOLF POWER STAGE IN AN EFFORT TO ENHANCE HIS WRC TITLE BID Tänak and championship leader Sébastien Ogier started Sunday’s closing Fafe speed test first and third in the rally standings. It meant they would finish […]
By: David Evans Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville has defended his team’s tactical approach to last week’s Rally of Portugal.The Korean squad altered the order of Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo on three occasions, positioning the i20 Coupe WRCs on the road to run directly ahead of Neuville to sweep the stones and clean the […]
By: Luke Barry Motorsport.com Toyota’s Ott Tanak won his second successive WRC round with victory on Rally Portugal ahead of Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, as teammate Kris Meeke retired on the final stage.Meeke was running third heading into the Power Stage, but clipped something on the inside of a right-hander that instantly broke the front-right corner […]
OTT TÄNAK CLAIMED HIS SECOND CONSECUTIVE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY IN PORTUGAL ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. The Estonian led Vodafone Rally de Portugal from Friday morning to back up last month’s victory in Chile by 15.9sec in his Toyota Yaris. Thierry Neuville finished second in a Hyundai i20 after Kris Meeke spun his Yaris in […]
By: Luke Barry Toyota’s Ott Tanak is within touching distance of victory on Rally Portugal, as Kris Meeke dropped behind World Rally Championship rival Thierry Neuville with a costly spin.Despite starting the leg just 4.3 seconds apart, both Toyota drivers were preoccupied with keeping Hyundai’s Neuville behind them rather than fighting each other. Meeke managed […]
OTT TÄNAK WITHSTOOD SUSTAINED PRESSURE FROM BEHIND TO INCREASE HIS LEAD AT VODAFONE RALLY DE PORTUGAL ON SUNDAY MORNING.Luilhas begins on narrow roads with small banks on either side. It’s generally fast with some long straights. After a twisty section from 2.3km, the stage opens out and there are fast corners between huge boulders. At […]
By: Luke Barry Toyota’s Ott Tanak clung onto the lead of Rally Portugal over Kris Meeke and Thierry Neuville, as both he and teammate Jari-Matti Latvala suffered damper issues.Latvala had carved 12.2 seconds out of Tanak’s lead on Saturday morning after selecting a harder tyre compound than his immediate rivals, but his work was undone […]
Latvala turned up the heat in the sandy Amarante speed test, the longest of the rally, to set a second fastest time following victory in the previous Cabeceiras de Basto stage. His win double slashed Tänak’s overnight 17.3sec lead to 5.1sec. The brake problems which hindered Tänak in the opening test were finally resolved before […]
By: Luke Barry Toyota’s dominance of the World Rally Championship on Rally Portugal continued on Saturday morning, but Jari-Matti Latvala has sliced rally leader Ott Tanak’s advantage to just 5.1 seconds.Tanak’s morning was not plain-sailing, as the Estonian “f***ed” the brakes aboard his Yaris to lose nine seconds to stage eight winner Kris Meeke. His […]
OTT TÄNAK PRESERVED HIS VODAFONE RALLY DE PORTUGAL LEAD ON SATURDAY MORNING DESPITE A MAJOR SCARE WHEN THE BRAKES ON HIS TOYOTA YARIS WORLD RALLY CAR FAILED.The Estonian pulled into the finish of the opening Vieira do Minho speed test with a concerned look on his face. Tänak was asked if he had an issue […]
OTT TÄNAK LED A CLEAN SWEEP OF THE PODIUM POSITIONS FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING AFTER FRIDAY’S TOUGH OPENING LEG OF VODAFONE RALLY DE PORTUGAL.He was one of the few drivers to avoid trouble in hot and dusty conditions to build a 17.3sec advantage in a Yaris World Rally Car over Jari-Matti Latvala. Kris Meeke completed […]
By: David Evans Ott Tanak continues to lead the World Rally Championship’s Portugal round ahead of Toyota teammates Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke, as M-Sport driver Teemu Suninen’s podium challenge faded. Latvala reduced Tanak’s advantage from 6.9 seconds to 5.4s on the first stage of the afternoon, but immediately fell back again on stage five […]