Tanak heads Rovanpera after superspecial dominance
M-Sport driver Tanak clocked the fastest time through the two passes of the famous street stage held around the Unesco World Heritage site in downtown Guanajuato. Tanak’s times moved the Estonian into a 1.7s advantage over Toyota’s reigning world champion Rovanpera, while Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi will head into Friday’s gravel stages, 2.2s adrift in third. […]
Mexico will help define Hyundai’s WRC development strategy
This weekend marks the first gravel rally of 2023 and the third different surface in as many rounds, following the asphalt of Monte Carlo in January and the snow of Sweden last month. It is also the third round since former Caterham and Renault Formula 1 boss Abiteboul took over as team principal at Hyundai […]
Mexico will be most demanding for WRC hybrid unit
This weekend will see Rally1 cars tackle high altitude for the first time courtesy of Mexico’s iconic mountainous stages located as high as 2,800 metres above sea level, which return to the WRC for the first time since 2020. In previous years, the thinner air has reduced internal combustion engine power by as much as […]
Toyota confident it will be competitive on rough gravel in Mexico WRC
The reigning world champion squad has been working to solve its pace deficit on rough gravel which was highlighted in Sardinia and Greece last yearm, the only events a Toyota failed to score a podium in 2022. Toyota team boss Jari-Matti Latvala says its problems stemmed from the GR Yaris’ suspension, but after a successful […]
Test event announced as WRC Rally USA 2024 bid progresses
As reported in January, Rally USA emerged as a genuine candidate to join the calendar next year when the WRC stated its desire to run a test event this year, which has now come to fruition. Chattanooga, located in southwest Tennessee, has been selected to host a Rally Tennessee demonstration event from 7-8 April, followed […]
Себастьен Лёб выступит на Ралли Азорских островов
В 2022 году, когда в чемпионате мира по классическому ралли дебютировали гибридные машины Rally1, в составе коллектива M-Sport Ford WRT четыре этапа провёл 9-кратный чемпион WRC Себастьен Лёб. Ветеран мирового ралли даже выиграл одну гонку, а его опыт оказался полезен для команды, но в 2023-м пилот остался без места в чемпионате мира. Приняв участие в […]
When a timely beer helped Hyundai to a maiden WRC podium
It’s not often that beer and sporting success go hand in hand. However, wind back the clock to Rally Mexico 2014 and this popular beverage played an unlikely, yet vital cameo in saving Hyundai from the heartbreak of throwing away a first World Rally Championship podium at the final hurdle. The moment is among motorsport’s […]
Hydrogen power requires «couple more years» of development, says Toyota WRC boss
Toyota is among the pioneers of hydrogen power in motorsport having invested heavily into developing the fuel as a future environmentally sustainable power source. Last year, the Japanese marque entered a hydrogen-powered GR Corolla into the Fuji 24 Hours, which was driven by then-Toyota CEO and president Akio Toyoda and Latvala. Toyota also used the […]
FIA introduces rule to make WRC Rally1 cars louder in EV mode
Following a a discussion during last week’s World Motor Sport Council in Bahrain, the world motorsport governing body has ratified a new rule which will be enforced from 1 May. The new regulation will require WRC teams Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport-Ford to fit a sound module to their respective cars, which must produce a minimum […]