Inside the WRC’s search for its next Michele Mouton
«It is easier to dream about doing something when you have seen someone doing it.» Those are the words of champion co-driver Reeta Hamalainen that strike at the core of what the World Rally Championship is attempting to achieve with its new women’s talent development programme. This global talent search aims to not only unearth […]
WRC selects women’s driver development programme winners
The World Rally Championship has selected the three female drivers from its inaugural women’s driver development programme that will receive a fully-funded drive at the Central European Rally. Lyssia Baudet (Belgium, 21), Claire Schonborn (Germany, 25), and Suvi Jyrkiainen (Finland, 24) were chosen from a group of 15 finalists that had been whittled down from […]
No pressure on Pajari after surprise Toyota Rally1 call-up for WRC Chile
Sami Pajari says there is no pressure to deliver results in his surprise two extra World Rally Championship Rally1 outings in Chile and Central Europe. Toyota announced last week that the Finnish rising star would replace its full-time driver Takamoto Katsuta in Chile to pilot one of the team’s four GR Yaris Rally1 entries at […]
WRC set to feature a variety of format lengths in 2025
The World Rally Championship is set to feature new event formats for selected rounds next season as it looks to add more variety to its calendar. The championship has long been investigating changes to the length of its events with Rally Italy Sardinia trialling a condensed 48-hour concept earlier this year. This followed a raft […]
Toyota needs three full-time WRC drivers in 2025
Toyota needs to have at least three full-time drivers contesting the 2025 World Rally Championship, according to team principal Jari-Matti Latvala. His comments followed a difficult weekend at the Acropolis Rally, where Latvala admitted that the team’s drivers’ and manufacturers’ title were “pretty much gone” following a 1-2-3 for rivals Hyundai. Reflecting on the way […]
Pajari to replace Katsuta in Chile as Toyota hands protege another Rally1 drive
Toyota has elected to replace Takamoto Katsuta with protege Sami Pajari for the next round of the World Rally Championship in Chile later this month. This is part of a decision to hand Finnish duo Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen a further two WRC Rally1 outings in Chile and at the following Central European Rally […]
New WRC hybrid unit measures could raise costs for teams
An enforcement of hybrid unit safety measures effective from last weekend’s Acropolis Rally could increase costs for World Rally Championship teams moving forward. Since the introduction of hybrid power to WRC Rally1 cars in 2022, engineers have been able to reset shock errors on the Compact Dynamics designed unit if they go above a certain […]
Evans striving to refind driving enjoyment after WRC Acropolis setback
Elfyn Evans says he needs to «get back to normal ways» and «enjoy» being behind the wheel after an Acropolis Rally that severely dented his World Rally Championship title aspirations. The Toyota driver headed to Greece hoping to re-ignite his championship hopes after a driveshaft failure, followed by a crash on Sunday in Finland, left […]
New WRC points proposals under review for 2025
The radical World Rally Championship points system introduced this season that has divided opinion is being reviewed and could undergo a change next year. This year’s all-new points structure has proved a hot topic among competitors and fans thanks to its complexity and weighting that many feel has devalued the overall rally victory. This year, […]