Sebastien Ogier extends lead as Thierry Neuville stumbles
Sebastien Ogier delivered a stunning time in stage five to lead the Central European Rally from World Rally Championship title rival Kalle Rovanpera while Thierry Neuville and Gregoire Munster made costly mistakes. Ogier took a 1.6s advantage into Friday morning’s stages, but managed to end the loop with his lead increasing to 3.9s over Rovanpera, as […]
Sebastien Ogier edges into early lead
Sebastien Ogier moved into an early lead over title rival Kalle Rovanpera after the opening two stages of the World Rally Championship’s return to asphalt at the Central European Rally. Ogier, seeking a record-equalling ninth world title, continued his impressive form by setting the pace in Thursday’s stages to open up a 1.6s lead over […]
Elfyn Evans hit with WRC Central Europe penalty for contact with hay bale
World Rally Championship title contender Elfyn Evans has been handed a five-second penalty after making contact with a hay bale during the opening stage of the Central European Rally. Evans, co-driven by Scott Martin, clouted a hay bale that formed part of a chicane during the first pass through the 12.83km Golf und Therme test […]
Oliver Solberg “dreams” of full-time WRC seat as Kalle Rovanpera speculation swirls
Oliver Solberg is hoping to have clarity on his World Rally Championship future in the coming weeks having emerged as a leading contender to replace Kalle Rovanpera at Toyota for 2026. Toyota has a vacancy in its driver line-up for next season following the news that double world champion Rovanpera will leave the WRC to […]
Hyundai hires former FIA rally boss in new WRC role
Hyundai Motorsport has appointed former FIA Road Sport Director Andrew Wheatley as its World Rally Championship sporting director with immediate effect. Wheatley will take up a newly created role within the Korean marque’s WRC operation for the remainder of this season and next, reporting to Hyundai president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul. Read Also: “Wheatley […]
WRC launches new documentary series
A new expanded behind the scenes documentary series covering the 2025 World Rally Championship will hit screens next month. Following the successful debut of the More than Machine series that followed M-Sport-Ford’s 2024 WRC campaign, a second series has been commissioned that will follow M-Sport as well as rivals Toyota and Hyundai. The new seven-part […]
The challenges Kalle Rovanpera will face in single-seater switch
Kalle Rovanpera has outlined the biggest challenges that lie ahead of a switch from the World Rally Championship to single-seater racing in Super Formula next year. Rovanpera stunned the motorsport world by announcing bold plans to quit rallying at the end of the season and embark on a plan to climb the circuit racing ranks, […]
Ott Tanak reverts to older-spec Hyundai for WRC’s return to asphalt
Ott Tanak will use an older-specification Hyundai i20 Rally1 car at next week’s Central European Rally, with the 2019 world rally champion deeming it better suited. The decision follows a back-to-back test of the 2025-specification car and last year’s model, without the hybrid unit as per this year’s regulations, following last month’s round in Chile. Hyundai […]
Kalle Rovanpera to leave WRC for Super Formula in 2026
Kalle Rovanpera will switch from rallying to circuit racing next year after confirming plans to leave the World Rally Championship for Japan’s Super Formula single-seater series. The move will see the two-time world champion leave the WRC at the end of the season after six years competing in rallying’s top tier with Toyota, beginning in […]