WRC title a reward for “years of fighting and never giving up”
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 […]
How Neuville’s long and winding road led to WRC glory
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 […]
Evans wins, Toyota snatches WRC manufacturers title in final stage thriller
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 a comfortable […]
Tanak explains «proper disaster” WRC title deciding crash
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 […]
Tanak crash hands Neuville the WRC title
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, […]
“I still need to drive fast” on Sunday to clinch maiden WRC title
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 […]
Toyota “may need support from Ford” to win WRC title at Rally Japan
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 […]
Investigation underway into «very serious» WRC Rally Japan safety breach
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. […]
Neuville salvages points in fightback, Tanak extends lead
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 […]