WRC Croatia: Sami Pajari leads after drama as Thierry Neuville closes
Toyota’s Sami Pajari will hold an overnight World Rally Championship event lead for the first time in his career after emerging from a dramatic opening day in Croatia.Pajari produced an impressive drive through what proved to be eight tricky asphalt tests that resulted in retirements for championship leader Elfyn Evans, Monte Carlo winner Oliver Solberg, […]
Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg both out early at WRC Rally Croatia — what happened?
Elfyn Evans says he was simply “caught out” by a corner at Rally Croatia as the World Rally Championship leader suffered a rare back-to-back rally retirement. The Toyota driver took early command in Croatia winning the opening two stages to open up a 15.8s lead before that advantage was wiped out on stage three. Evans usually carried […]
WRC Croatia: Elfyn Evans crash hands Sami Pajari rally lead as early drama continues
Toyota’s Sami Pajari has inherited the Rally Croatia lead after a dramatic Friday morning that saw the World Rally Championship’s top two Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg crash out.Pajari, searching for a maiden WRC win, completed a tricky morning loop of asphalt stages with a surprise 8.4s lead over Safari Rally Kenya winner Takamoto Katsuta, with […]
Hyundai brings updates to WRC Rally Croatia, but will it be enough?
Hyundai has brought updates to Croatia to improve its World Rally Championship car on tarmac, but will have to wait until Rally Portugal in May to debut its full development plan.The Korean team started the 2026 season on the backfoot with its i20 N struggling to deliver consistent speed, particularly in low grip conditions on […]
How Takamoto Katsuta’s maiden WRC win is impacting his mindset
Takamoto Katsuta revealed he feels ‘lighter’ and “more relaxed” now that the burden of trying to clinch a maiden World Rally Championship victory has been lifted. The Toyota driver will head into this week’s Croatian round of the 2026 campaign after he and co-driver Aaron Johnson secured a breakthrough victory at Safari Rally Kenya last […]
Hyundai unveils Craig Breen tribute livery for WRC Croatia
Hyundai has unveiled a special livery for this week’s Croatian round of the World Rally Championship, which pays tribute to the late Craig Breen. Breen passed away in a pre-event test accident preparing for the Croatia Rally in 2023 while driving for the factory Hyundai team. Ever since Breen’s tragic passing the team has carried […]
Storm damage forces changes to WRC Rally Islas Canarias route
Organisers have been forced to make minor route changes for the World Rally Championship’s visit to the Canary Islands later this month due to damage caused by a recent weather event.Last month the Canary Islands were hit by Storm Therese, which resulted in high winds and heavy rain battering the Spanish archipelago. The storm caused […]
Former FIA vice president and WRC boss Morrie Chandler dies at 85
Former FIA vice president for sport and World Rally Championship commission president Morrie Chandler has died, aged 85. Chandler will be remembered as a towering figure whose influence on motorsport stretched far beyond his native New Zealand across a career spanning more than five decades. Before rising to top administrative roles at MotorSport New Zealand and later […]
How Toyota’s new flying Finn is starting to make WRC headlines
Oliver Solberg, Elfyn Evans and now Takamoto Katsuta have grabbed World Rally Championship headlines with victories this year, but Toyota’s other young driver Sami Pajari is fast becoming its next star. Right now, Toyota has an embarrassment of riches within its WRC driver roster. All five of its drivers, Evans, Solberg, Katsuta, Pajari and part-timer and […]