Метка: Rally Latvia

Sebastien Ogier declared fit for WRC return in Latvia

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Ogier will make a return to the World Rally Championship in Latvia after being declared fit to compete following a reconnaissance crash that ruled him out of Poland.

The eight-time world champion and co-driver Vincent Landais escaped serious injury after being involved in road traffic accident while preparing pacenotes ahead of Rally Poland last month.

Ogier spent a night in hospital following the head-on collision with a road car, before being discharged wearing a neck brace. The Frenchman was forced to withdraw from event with his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 entry being taken over by two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who went on to win the rally.

Ogier has since undergone further medical checks after returning home and on Thursday was back behind the wheel of a Sebastien Ogier edition GR Yaris road car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

It was previous unclear if the Frenchman would return for next week’s round in Latvia which was recently added to the 40-year-old’s partial WRC campaign.

However, Toyota has now confirmed that Ogier and co-driver Landais are fit to compete.

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It was quite unfortunate what happened during our preparations in Poland,” Ogier said.

“Now after some rest, and some good help from my medical team, I could recover pretty quickly and I’m looking forward to being back in a rally car in Latvia. The challenge of a new rally is generally something I like and that’s one of the reasons we added this event to our programme.

“The target for us will be to find the feeling for the very high-speed roads quickly after missing Poland, but I’m always excited for a new challenge and let’s see what we can do.”

Toyota will field a four-car line-up for the WRC’s first visit to Latvia which will include full-time drivers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, and Rovanpera.

A total of 10 Rally1 cars are set to take part with Hyundai represented by championship leader Thierry Neuville, Ott Tanak and Esapekka Lappi. M-Sport will enter three Ford Pumas for Adrien Fourmaux, Gregoire Munster and home hero Martins Sesks.

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The other byproduct of M-Sport’s non-hybrid WRC experiment

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


M-Sport is hopeful the strong debut of its non-hybrid version of its Ford Puma World Rally Championship car will help stimulate its Rally1 car sales.

The Ford squad took advantage of a new FIA regulation introduced this year that allows teams to enter non-hybrid powered Rally1 cars in WRC events by fielding rising star Martins Sesks in Poland earlier this month.

Without the hybrid, the car produced 130 fewer horsepower and had to carry 100 kilograms of ballast to be located in pace of the hybrid unit and its relevant equipment in the car.

The idea behind the FIA’s regulation tweak was to provide a cheaper Rally1 option at €150,000 less than the €800,000 hybrid version and offer a Rally1 platform to help younger drivers bridge the gap from Rally2 to Rally1.

Its maiden outing in Poland, supported by the WRC Promoter, resulted in an impressive drive from 2023 European Rally Championship Sesks, who finished fifth overall and came within 0.3s of claiming a stage win.

While the project’s main focus was to offer a young driver the experience of Rally1, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener says the rally put the car in the shop window for prospective buyers.

Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Martins Sesks, Renars Francis, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: Tomasz Kaliński

M-Sport bases a core part of its business on building and selling rally cars but has sold only one Puma Rally1 since its introduction in 2022.

“I hope [we can sell some more cars]. That was also part of the goal to showcase it and show that you can still come here and have fun and be in amongst the top guys and more importantly a long way ahead of Rally2,” Millener told Motorsport.com.

“We wanted to prove it can do that and still be competitive and it can give this opportunity to youngsters to come and prove what they can do.

“People were saying if you just remove the hybrid, it is a Rally2 car but if you had watched Martins in a Rally2 car he would never have had the same feeling or feedback. These Rally1 cars are amazing to watch and that is why I always say that we can’t get rid of them. We must have a top category in WRC and something like this to showcase what this is about.”

Sesks’ pace across Poland’s high-speed gravel stages raised questions surrounding the necessity of the hybrid units in Rally1 cars moving forward, but Millener feels this outing masked the hybrid’s true performance.

“It would be a very different conversation if we were at a different rally,” he added.

“We know on the fast rallies it [the hybrid] is less advantageous, but you can still see that Martins was on the edge everywhere and probably the bits he was missing out on were the bits where people were using the hybrid.

“It definitely goes to show the hybrid is still a requirement to win but he did a fantastic job without it.”

Sesks will pilot a full hybrid version of the Puma when the WRC visits Latvia next week, which marks the final round of his two-rally programme.

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WRC confident it can keep manufacturers amid Hyundai future rumours

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The World Rally Championship is doing “everything” to keep its current manufacturers and create a series that can attract at least one new marque in 2027, according to the championship’s promoter.

Rallying’s top flight has long been striving to broaden its manufacturer base, having operated with three brands – namely Toyota, Hyundai and Ford via M-Sport – represented in the top class since Citroen’s exit at the end of 2019.

However, in Poland earlier this month reports circulated that Hyundai is gearing up to launch a Hypercar programme in the World Endurance Championship, casting doubt over the Korean carmaker’s long-term future in the WRC.

Hyundai Motorsport’s president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul has said that an announcement about its motorsport plans, including WRC, will come in due course – which could arrive in September. 

The news comes just a month after the FIA made a U-turn on its plans to change the technical regulations for next year, after coming under pressure from WRC manufacturers, and instead opted for stability for the next two years, ahead of all-new regulations for 2027.

Asked about the speculation surrounding Hyundai, the WRC Promoter believes the championship can maintain its current manufacturers and add one more in 2027.

“I cannot say I have no doubt [all of our current brands will stay] because it’s not our decision, but I’m confident that we will create such a good championship that it’s worth to be there,” Peter Thul, WRC Promoter’s Senior Director of Sport, told Motorsport.com.

“And on top of that, I also hope if we have good [2027] regulations done by the end of the year to get at least one more manufacturer going into 2027. This is our target.

Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

“This is our wish, because we have to move the championship forward. And again, I cannot comment on internal thoughts of manufacturers. But as I said, it has to be so attractive that they want to stay in. This is what we can do, and we have to do.

“We will do everything to keep these three on board and we have had good discussions with them. We are open to any suggestions. I think we have never had so much good discussions, whether it’s regulations or sporting regulations.”

The WRC Promoter has declared the FIA’s push towards stability until the end of 2026 as the “right decision”, but Thul has reiterated a need for the 2027 regulations to be issued this year to help manufacturers understand the championship’s future direction.  

“I’m quite positive, I think [the FIA’s call for stability in technical regulations] is the right decision,” Thul added.

“It was good to discuss about all the kind of things, and what we now have is stability. But for us, even more important is that the regulations for 2027 are now done in a very fast way. That means we need it this year because we have to think about the future – I think that everybody knows that there is a need and there is a lot of work already ongoing.

“Let’s say we are not doing the rules, but we know what’s going on and I’m very confident. It’s getting in the right direction. I think everybody has a common sense how it should look like. The only thing is how much flexibility has to be in for the different kinds of drivetrains, this I don’t know.”

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WRC confident it can keep manufacturers amid Hyundai future rumours

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The World Rally Championship is doing “everything” to keep its current manufacturers and create a series that can attract at least one new marque in 2027, according to the championship’s promoter.

Rallying’s top flight has long been striving to broaden its manufacturer base, having operated with three brands – namely Toyota, Hyundai and Ford via M-Sport – represented in the top class since Citroen’s exit at the end of 2019.

However, in Poland earlier this month reports circulated that Hyundai is gearing up to launch a Hypercar programme in the World Endurance Championship, casting doubt over the Korean carmaker’s long-term future in the WRC.

Hyundai Motorsport’s president and team principal Cyril Abiteboul has said that an announcement about its motorsport plans, including WRC, will come in due course – which could arrive in September. 

The news comes just a month after the FIA made a U-turn on its plans to change the technical regulations for next year, after coming under pressure from WRC manufacturers, and instead opted for stability for the next two years, ahead of all-new regulations for 2027.

Asked about the speculation surrounding Hyundai, the WRC Promoter believes the championship can maintain its current manufacturers and add one more in 2027.

“I cannot say I have no doubt [all of our current brands will stay] because it’s not our decision, but I’m confident that we will create such a good championship that it’s worth to be there,” Peter Thul, WRC Promoter’s Senior Director of Sport, told Motorsport.com.

“And on top of that, I also hope if we have good [2027] regulations done by the end of the year to get at least one more manufacturer going into 2027. This is our target.

Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

“This is our wish, because we have to move the championship forward. And again, I cannot comment on internal thoughts of manufacturers. But as I said, it has to be so attractive that they want to stay in. This is what we can do, and we have to do.

“We will do everything to keep these three on board and we have had good discussions with them. We are open to any suggestions. I think we have never had so much good discussions, whether it’s regulations or sporting regulations.”

The WRC Promoter has declared the FIA’s push towards stability until the end of 2026 as the “right decision”, but Thul has reiterated a need for the 2027 regulations to be issued this year to help manufacturers understand the championship’s future direction.  

“I’m quite positive, I think [the FIA’s call for stability in technical regulations] is the right decision,” Thul added.

“It was good to discuss about all the kind of things, and what we now have is stability. But for us, even more important is that the regulations for 2027 are now done in a very fast way. That means we need it this year because we have to think about the future – I think that everybody knows that there is a need and there is a lot of work already ongoing.

“Let’s say we are not doing the rules, but we know what’s going on and I’m very confident. It’s getting in the right direction. I think everybody has a common sense how it should look like. The only thing is how much flexibility has to be in for the different kinds of drivetrains, this I don’t know.”

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