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 […]
Officials cancel Rally Japan stage 12 due to unauthorised vehicle
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. […]
Evans trims Tanak’s lead, Neuville closes on points
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 […]
Hyundai apologises to Neuville after WRC title blow in Rally Japan
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 […]
Tanak boosts title hopes as Neuville’s power woes continue
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 […]
Neuville unsure if power issue can be fixed at Rally Japan
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 […]
Neuville suffers power issue as Evans claims the lead
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 […]