Toyota ‘back in the fight’ for WRC title after Rally Chile
Toyota World Rally Championship boss Jari-Matti Latvala says it’s a “big relief” for his team to be back in the manufacturers’ title fight after dominating Rally Chile. Latvala had all but written off the team’s title hopes after a difficult Acropolis Rally Greece earlier this month left Toyota facing a 35-point deficit with three rounds […]
Kalle Rovanperä seals victory for Toyota at Rally Chile
Toyota’s Kalle Rovanperä survived challenging foggy conditions to record a fourth win from a partial World Rally Championship campaign at Rally Chile. Reigning world champion duo Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen tamed 16 tricky stages, some of which were affected by treacherous thick fog and slippery conditions, to beat Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans by 23.4s. […]
Rovanpera fights through thick fog to extend lead
Kalle Rovanpera increased his Rally Chile lead over Toyota World Rally Championship team-mate Elfyn Evans after emerging from treacherous fog that severely reduced visibility. The reigning world champion extended his margin to 20.3s over Evans with two stages of the final gravel rally of the season remaining. Hyundai’s Ott Tanak held third [+40.1s] ahead of […]
Evans rues unfortunate WRC Chile “double whammy”
Elfyn Evans has explained how he paid the price for an unfortunate “double whammy” of events that resulted in losing the Rally Chile lead to Toyota team-mate Kalle Rovanpera. Evans had enjoyed one of the strongest Saturday mornings of the season, winning two of the three stages to open up an 11.3s lead over reigning […]
Kalle Rovanperä leads as thick fog shuffles the order
Kalle Rovanpera moved ahead of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans to lead Rally Chile as thick fog turned the fight for the World Rally Championship victory on its head. The reigning world champion started Saturday in third but emerged through treacherous weather and incredibly poor visibility to head overnight leader Evans by 15.1 seconds going into […]
Ogier concedes WRC title run is over after Chile retirement
Sebastien Ogier believes his bid for a record-equalling ninth World Rally Championship title is over after retiring from Rally Chile. The Toyota driver headed into the final gravel round of the season 38 points adrift of championship leader, Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, having emerged as a serious title contender after winning Rally Finland in August. Ogier’s […]
WRC Chile: Elfyn Evans leads Rovanperä
Elfyn Evans claimed two of the three Saturday morning stages to extend his Rally Chile lead as reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä emerged as his nearest rival. Evans, who was handed a three-second overnight lead following a change to his notional stage one time, completed a trio of abrasive gravel stages with a 11.3s margin […]
Ogier retires after hitting rock in stage eight
Sebastien Ogier’s World Rally Championship title hopes have suffered a blow after retiring from Rally Chile on stage eight. The eight-time world champion hit a rock with the front-right wheel of his GR Yaris, 400 metres from the finish of stage eight (Lota, 25.6km). Ogier hit the rock on the entry to a slow left-hander […]
Elfyn Evans keeps WRC Rally Chile lead after Hyundai protest
Toyota’s Elfyn Evans has held onto the Rally Chile lead after stewards rejected a protest from the Hyundai World Rally Championship team against the reallocation of a notional stage time. Hyundai’s Ott Tanak ended Friday’s six stages with a 0.4-second margin over Evans before stewards received a request to review the notional time issued to […]