Hyundai’s plan to help Tanak unlock potential from WRC car
Tanak has struggled to adjust to the i20 N Rally1 following his return to the Korean manufacturer this season but showed signs he’s made a stride forward by challenging for victory in Portugal earlier this month. Tanak was able to find a way to drive around his set-up struggles on Portugal’s gravel roads to finish […]
WRC’s 2025 rule change will create “pretty crap” car
Abiteboul made the claims after his Hyundai team conducted computer simulations of the 2025 rules to see how removing hybrid, and modifications and air restrictor. will affect the current Rally1 car. This comes after Toyota tested a physical GR Yaris, which featured a modified rear wing, that driver Elfyn Evans described as “not so exciting”. […]
Has the WRC finally turned a corner in its promotion pursuit?
Harmony within the World Rally Championship has been a rare commodity over the last 12 months. Conflict over a lack of promotion or uncertainty over future technical regulations has been a regular theme. But at Rally Portugal last weekend, there was a moment where the WRC Promoter, key stakeholders and the FIA all appeared to […]
Evans feels “new ideas” are required after WRC Portugal struggles
The Toyota driver felt that “everything he touched went wrong” last weekend as he witnessed his six-point deficit to championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville balloon to 24 points. Evans’ difficulties began on Friday as he and his Toyota team-mates Sebastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta struggled to find a balance with their GR Yaris […]
Tanak not far from “being in the fight” after Portugal WRC victory challenge
The 2019 world champion ignited his season last weekend by ending a 2024 podium drought after losing out in an intense victory battle with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Prior to Portugal, Tanak had struggled for form since rejoining Hyundai this year, headlined by mistakes in the season opener in Monte Carlo and in Sweden, followed by […]
Neuville stunned by almost “impossible” result in WRC Rally Portugal
The Hyundai driver had downplayed chances of a strong result in the first event of the WRC’s traditional gravel season given the disadvantage of opening the gravel roads on Friday. An impressive performance on Friday, which included a stunning stage win on Arganil, limited the time loss to 18.1s to keep the Belgian firmly in […]
Surpassing Markku Alen’s WRC Portugal record “means a lot”
Eight-time world champion Ogier added yet another record to his glittering resume by scoring a record sixth career Rally Portugal after beating Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 7.9s. The triumph marked Ogier’s 60th WRC win and his second from three rallies during a part-time campaign for Toyota this year. Rally Portugal, one of the founding members […]
Ogier makes history with record sixth Portugal win
Eight-time world champion Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais managed to avoid drama from 22 challenging gravel stages to take a second win from his 2024 partial campaign by 7.9s from Tanak, who secured his best result of the season so far. Ogier’s run to victory helped the Frenchman eclipse 1978 world champion Markku Alen as […]
Ogier holds rally lead, Evans hit by overheating drama
Thick fog provided a curveball for the field, but it failed to derail Ogier as the eight-time world champion led Tanak by 10.1s after the morning’s three stages. Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville held onto third [+1m12.1s], while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux [+1m44.0s] leapfrogged Hyundai’s Dani Sordo [+2m44.2s] into fourth. Toyota’s Evans completed the three stages, but an […]