Four big questions as WRC begins its gravel season in Portugal
The World Rally Championship heads into a crucial part of the title race, with this weekend’s Rally Portugal beginning a run of seven consecutive gravel rallies. Toyota’s Elfyn Evans holds a 43-point lead over team-mate Kalle Rovanpera, with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville third 50 points adrift, heading into round five, but the next run of gravel […]
Martins Sesks working on expansion to 2025 WRC programme with M-Sport Ford
Martins Sesks is working to add a seventh round to his partial 2025 World Rally Championship programme with M-Sport-Ford that continues at Rally Portugal this week. The 2023 European Rally Championship runner-up burst onto the WRC scene last year after a trio of impressive outings for the Ford squad in Poland, his native Latvia and […]
Rally Portugal set to feature record-equaling WRC Rally1 line-up
Rally Portugal will welcome the strongest Rally1 line-up since 2022 when it hosts the next round of the World Rally Championship later this month. Twelve Rally1 cars are set to tackle Portugal’s 24 gravel stages for round five of the season from 15-18 May. Toyota will once again field five GR Yaris Rally1 cars with […]
Hyundai’s plan to help Tanak unlock potential from WRC car
Tanak has struggled to adjust to the i20 N Rally1 following his return to the Korean manufacturer this season but showed signs he’s made a stride forward by challenging for victory in Portugal earlier this month. Tanak was able to find a way to drive around his set-up struggles on Portugal’s gravel roads to finish […]
Has the WRC finally turned a corner in its promotion pursuit?
Harmony within the World Rally Championship has been a rare commodity over the last 12 months. Conflict over a lack of promotion or uncertainty over future technical regulations has been a regular theme. But at Rally Portugal last weekend, there was a moment where the WRC Promoter, key stakeholders and the FIA all appeared to […]
Evans feels “new ideas” are required after WRC Portugal struggles
The Toyota driver felt that “everything he touched went wrong” last weekend as he witnessed his six-point deficit to championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville balloon to 24 points. Evans’ difficulties began on Friday as he and his Toyota team-mates Sebastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta struggled to find a balance with their GR Yaris […]
Tanak not far from “being in the fight” after Portugal WRC victory challenge
The 2019 world champion ignited his season last weekend by ending a 2024 podium drought after losing out in an intense victory battle with Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier. Prior to Portugal, Tanak had struggled for form since rejoining Hyundai this year, headlined by mistakes in the season opener in Monte Carlo and in Sweden, followed by […]
Neuville stunned by almost “impossible” result in WRC Rally Portugal
The Hyundai driver had downplayed chances of a strong result in the first event of the WRC’s traditional gravel season given the disadvantage of opening the gravel roads on Friday. An impressive performance on Friday, which included a stunning stage win on Arganil, limited the time loss to 18.1s to keep the Belgian firmly in […]
Surpassing Markku Alen’s WRC Portugal record “means a lot”
Eight-time world champion Ogier added yet another record to his glittering resume by scoring a record sixth career Rally Portugal after beating Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 7.9s. The triumph marked Ogier’s 60th WRC win and his second from three rallies during a part-time campaign for Toyota this year. Rally Portugal, one of the founding members […]