Метка: wrc

Rally Di Roma outlines project to secure WRC

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Rally di Roma Capitale has its sights set on joining the World Rally Championship in the future with organisers “working hard” to elevate the event to rallying’s top-flight.

The Italian asphalt rally, that begins in the nation’s capital city Rome, has been steadily growing in stature having earned a place on the European Rally Championship calendar in 2017.

Last weekend the rally, based around the town of Fiuggi, completed its 12th edition under management led by former rally driver and 2014 world production champion Max Rendina.

It appears this is the latest ERC event that aspires to make the jump to the WRC following in the footsteps of Latvia — Rally Liepaja — that earned promotion from ERC this year, while Rally Islas Canarias will step up to WRC level in 2025.

Speculation surrounding the event’s WRC ambitions circulated during the WRC’s Italian round in Sardinia in June. Rally di Roma’s future wishes were outlined to Motorsport.com after Citroen driver Andrea Crugnola claimed victory in last weekend’s rally that marked the fifth round of the 2024 ERC.

“We are working for that [to reach the WRC] and that is not only our mission because we have to talk with the FIA and the WRC Promoter and the Italian federation [ACI] but we are working hard for that. If we do not succeed we will try again,” said Rendina.

It is understood that 2026 is realistically the earliest the event could secure a WRC should their bid be successful given Sardinia is contracted to host next year’s Italian round.

Rally di Roma

Rally di Roma

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

The island’s gravel roads have hosted the championship every year, barring 2009, since the event moved from Sanremo on the mainland in 2004. Italy has also been represented in the WRC by Rally Monza in 2020 and 2021 when COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

Rendina has stipulated that the event’s showpiece Super Special stage at Rome’s famous Colosseum is a key part of its WRC project for the future.

To make the graduation to WRC the event will most likely need to increase its overall competitive stage kilometres from its current 189.52km total.

“The only thing that nobody can copy is the Colosseum [stage] so if the WRC project become a reality, it will be part of the game maybe with a longer stage with different characteristics,” he added.

Read Also:

Former WRC driver Hayden Paddon has contested the last two editions of Rally Di Roma and believes the event has the potential to step up to the WRC, and feels the Colosseum offers a great opportunity to bring rallying to the uninitiated.

“I think all ERC rallies are good enough to be at the WRC level. We have seen with Latvia that events can prove themselves before they go into WRC,” Paddon, who finished sixth last weekend, told Motorsport.com.

“The way the rallies are run, the organisation, the itineraries it is all the same you could copy and paste it into a WRC event so that is why these are all good dress rehearsals if they do get an opportunity in WRC.

“It’s [the Colosseum] pretty unique and that is the beauty of super special stages it is about taking rallying to the people, and it is irrelevant what us drivers think, it is about getting in front of people who may not normally see a rally car. That is one of the most unique and historic monuments in the world and here we are rallying around it.”



Source link

Toyota reveals new liveries for WRC Rally Finland

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota has unveiled special liveries that will adorn entries for Kalle Rovanpera and Sebastien Ogier for next week’s World Rally Championship round in Finland.

The Japanese brand will field an expanded five-car Rally1 line-up at the team’s home event with both part-time drivers Rovanpera and Ogier competing alongside full-time entrants Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, while rising star Sami Pajari will make his Rally1 debut at his home event.

In the lead-up to the rally, Toyota has revealed that the Rovanpera and Ogier entries will run using special liveries inspired by the limited edition Rovanpera and Ogier edition road-going GR Yaris models launched earlier this year.

Evans and Katsuta will compete utilising the team’s usual 2024 colour scheme, while Pajari’s GR Yaris will feature a predominantly white livery.

Rovanpera heads to his home event yet to stand on the top step of the podium after finishing second in 2022 before crashing out of the lead last year.

“Every year, Rally Finland is quite a special occasion. Of course, it’s our home rally and one of the nicest events to do with lots of fans and family around,” said Rovanpera, who has taken wins in Kenya, Poland and Latvia this year.

Toyota Racing liveries for Rally Finland

Toyota Racing liveries for Rally Finland

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It’s always exciting and the stages are really nice but quite demanding also. Having legendary roads like Ouninpohja on the schedule this year will be amazing.

“Our approach and our target will be like on every rally we’ve done this year: try to do the best job we can to fight for the win and bring good points for the team.

“I haven’t managed to get the very best result on Rally Finland but I don’t want to place any extra stress on achieving that. I just want to treat it like any other rally and try to do my best.”

This will be Ogier’s first start in Finland since his eighth title-winning year in 2021. The Frenchman heads into the event having claimed two wins and three second-place finishes from his five starts this season.

“Rally Finland is a unique event in the championship that I think every driver loves to drive. It’s also a difficult rally, where the local drivers have always been very strong, but this is the kind of challenge that I like and it has been a rally that I really wanted to do again after a couple of years away,” said Ogier.

“It’s also a home event for the team, of course, and I’m happy to be part of this strong line-up and I’ll try to bring everything I can to achieve the best team result. After a break from driving in really fast rallies, I think I had some good speed and a good weekend in Latvia, and I hope to bring that to Finland.”

Read Also:



Source link

Hyundai WRC future to be clarified “in very near future”

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai is yet to commit to the 2026 World Rally Championship, but team principal Cyril Abiteboul says rallying is the «manufacturer’s roots» and he is not «over with rally».

The long-term future of the Korean marque in the WRC is unclear with the brand understood to be gearing up to join the World Endurance Championship with a Hypercar programme in the near future.

Hyundai is one of two full manufacturer teams in the WRC having rejoined the championship for a second spell in 2014, and has gone on to win two manufacturers’ titles in 2019 and 2020.

Speculation over the car maker’s future in the series emerged during Rally Poland last month with Abiteboul unable to confirm the marque’s plans in the WRC beyond 2025.

In Latvia last weekend the former Renault Formula 1 boss told Motorsport.com that he is pushing for Hyundai to continue in the WRC and that news surrounding its 2026 plans will come in the «very near future.»

Abiteboul has been a key player in pushing the FIA to U-turn on its move to change the current Rally1 technical regulations for 2025 and 2026 ahead of all-new rules for 2027.

«We are in rally and we want to make this work, for the rest there is an ongoing process and ongoing investigation. But first and foremost, I want to secure at least one championship, he said.

«We are here next year and then it’s an annual revision of our plans in WRC. The first thing was to get stability in terms of regulations and the next thing is to understand the direction that rally is taking as a sport as a property and making sure that there is still a fit between where Hyundai wants to go in terms of marketing and the sport.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

«I can tell you that I’m pushing in that direction. I’m not letting go. I’m not over with rally. As far as I am concerned, I’m pushing rally to adopt directions that are sensible for Hyundai.

«I believe that this is our roots in motorsport and cutting your root is something you need to be very sensible about doing it’s always a bit dangerous to cut your root. You have seen me and other people from the Hyundai group looking into different disciplines, but no decision is made. We want to make this work.

«There is no need to make a commitment to 2026 yet, but you can expect some clarification about where we stand in the very near future.»

One reason why a Hyundai exit would seem a strange decision is the fact the marque has committed significant resources to improving its i20 N for 2025.

Hyundai had planned to homologate an entirely new car before the FIA’s proposals to change the rules, which it has since U-turned on, forced the team to scrap its plan and resort to only an evolution of its i20 N Rally1 car for next year.

Abiteboul says the team has taken delivery of some of its components for the 2025 upgrades, and work is underway to complete the project ahead of next year. 

«We are now at a point where we are going to take delivery of some of the components of next year’s car, which is a big evolution,» he added.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

«We are really looking forward to maximising the resources, the focus that we have on that preparation.

«It’s coming together. We have already received the first parts. You will find out soon [what we are doing] with the homologation dossier. There are quite a few changes but it is not the entire programme that we were aiming to do with a new car homologation, it’s a subset of it.

«Hats off to the design office, they have not completed it yet, but they have delivered despite all the unknowns and the very late information provided about the technical content of the regulations.»



Source link

Hyundai WRC status to be clarified “in very near future”

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai is yet to commit to the 2026 World Rally Championship, but team principal Cyril Abiteboul says rallying is the «manufacturer’s roots» and he is not «over with rally».

The long-term future of the Korean marque in the WRC is unclear with the brand understood to be gearing up to join the World Endurance Championship with a Hypercar programme in the near future.

Hyundai is one of two full manufacturer teams in the WRC having rejoined the championship for a second spell in 2014, and has gone on to win two manufacturers’ titles in 2019 and 2020.

Speculation over the car maker’s future in the series emerged during Rally Poland last month with Abiteboul unable to confirm the marque’s plans in the WRC beyond 2025.

In Latvia last weekend the former Renault Formula 1 boss told Motorsport.com that he is pushing for Hyundai to continue in the WRC and that news surrounding its 2026 plans will come in the «very near future.»

Abiteboul has been a key player in pushing the FIA to U-turn on its move to change the current Rally1 technical regulations for 2025 and 2026 ahead of all-new rules for 2027.

«We are in rally and we want to make this work, for the rest there is an ongoing process and ongoing investigation. But first and foremost, I want to secure at least one championship, he said.

«We are here next year and then it’s an annual revision of our plans in WRC. The first thing was to get stability in terms of regulations and the next thing is to understand the direction that rally is taking as a sport as a property and making sure that there is still a fit between where Hyundai wants to go in terms of marketing and the sport.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

«I can tell you that I’m pushing in that direction. I’m not letting go. I’m not over with rally. As far as I am concerned, I’m pushing rally to adopt directions that are sensible for Hyundai.

«I believe that this is our roots in motorsport and cutting your root is something you need to be very sensible about doing it’s always a bit dangerous to cut your root. You have seen me and other people from the Hyundai group looking into different disciplines, but no decision is made. We want to make this work.

«There is no need to make a commitment to 2026 yet, but you can expect some clarification about where we stand in the very near future.»

One reason why a Hyundai exit would seem a strange decision is the fact the marque has committed significant resources to improving its i20 N for 2025.

Hyundai had planned to homologate an entirely new car before the FIA’s proposals to change the rules, which it has since U-turned on, forced the team to scrap its plan and resort to only an evolution of its i20 N Rally1 car for next year.

Abiteboul says the team has taken delivery of some of its components for the 2025 upgrades, and work is underway to complete the project ahead of next year. 

«We are now at a point where we are going to take delivery of some of the components of next year’s car, which is a big evolution,» he added.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

«We are really looking forward to maximising the resources, the focus that we have on that preparation.

«It’s coming together. We have already received the first parts. You will find out soon [what we are doing] with the homologation dossier. There are quite a few changes but it is not the entire programme that we were aiming to do with a new car homologation, it’s a subset of it.

«Hats off to the design office, they have not completed it yet, but they have delivered despite all the unknowns and the very late information provided about the technical content of the regulations.»



Source link

M-Sport to investigate further Sesks WRC Rally1 outings

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


M-Sport will investigate further opportunities to field Martins Sesks in the World Rally Championship following stunning displays in Poland and Latvia.

Sesks made his Rally1 debut with the Ford team as part of a two-round agreement facilitated by the WRC Promoter and partners of last year’s European Rally Championship runner-up.

The Latvian made an immediate impact finishing fifth on his debut in Poland driving a non-hybrid Ford Puma. Last weekend he stepped up to the hybrid specification Rally1 car in Latvia, where he lit up the timing screens, scoring two stages wins and challenged for a podium before a mechanical issue on the final stage dropped the 24-year-old to seventh.

When asked if there is a chance Sesks could return for more outings with the team, M-Sport team principal Richard Millener told Autosport/Motorsport.com: “I would love to [do something] and I will certainly spend a bit of time trying to see what’s possible.

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: M-Sport

“I have to be honest, M-Sport didn’t fund any of this. We just helped with the car and we got the budget as low as possible to get it done. Other partners in the WRC Promotor and Martins partners made this happen. 

“If we could find a way to get him involved again, it would be great.

“He’s proven in two rallies you can keep up with WRC guys. I think you would definitely consider him if you had the opportunity.

“He’s just worked very well when I was with the team, everybody and his approach and his attitude and his charisma and the way he does the stage-end interviews and how he is with the fans. There are a lot of new Martins Sesks fans at the minute.”

Sesks is set to continue his European Rally Championship campaign this weekend at Rally di Roma in Italy, where he will drive a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car.

“This experience with M-Sport has been amazing, I was enjoying so much being here with the team,” said Sesks.

“The team has become like a family now, we were really working shoulder to shoulder to get the result and I think we fit in well.”

Read Also:



Source link

The father-son bond that extends to the WRC stages

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


“I really wanted him to be a good footballer, but it didn’t work out. There was absolutely no expectations whatsoever from my behalf, for him to ever become a professional driver. I’m very proud obviously, he’s surpassed my expectations many years ago and still going strong.”

The words are those of Gwyndaf Evans, who speaks with a beaming smile as he recounts how his son Elfyn has developed into Britain’s brightest hope to follow in the footsteps of world rally champions Colin McRae and Richard Burns.

The football career may not have panned out, but football’s loss is very much rallying’s gain. The younger Elfyn has so far chalked up eight World Rally Championship wins, and this year the factory Toyota driver is once again firmly in the fight to claim rallying’s ultimate prize.

Growing up in north-west Wales with a father that lit up the British rallying scene in the 1980s and 1990s, it was perhaps inevitable that Elfyn would get the rallying bug, despite Gwyndaf’s efforts to steer him away.

“It was never the target at all,” the 1996 British Rally Championship winner and runner-up on four further occasions explains to Motorsport.com at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. “But the more we got involved with him, the more he wanted to progress. Probably I was quite strict with him. I set some targets and he had to achieve targets before we would move further up or get further support.

“But ultimately it paid off, because he superseded my expectations and the level of commitment. As a family and with motorsport, we like to keep our feet on the ground. We like to be normal people and still do today.”

Gwyndaf Evans in his prime was one of Britain's foremost rally drivers, and prior to winning the BRC title in 1996 finished fifth on the WRC's RAC Rally in 1995

Gwyndaf Evans in his prime was one of Britain’s foremost rally drivers, and prior to winning the BRC title in 1996 finished fifth on the WRC’s RAC Rally in 1995

Photo by: Motorsport Images

It comes as no surprise that Elfyn’s earliest rally memories are of his father, who also ran a family garage and drove a school bus to make a living, grappling a Ford Escort RS2000 on Welsh gravel roads. But like many growing up in this era, it was a certain McRae that also made an impression.

“Obviously I followed Dad competing from the beginning,” says Elfyn. “I would say probably the first memory is spectating Rally GB. I remember being quite young and actually seeing Colin McRae. I was waiting to see Dad, but Colin was the first car that came into view with the Impreza at completely 90 degrees, the old super spectacular. That’s probably one of the first memories.

“And I have a vague memory of sitting in a RS2000 around Boreham [Ford Motorsport’s base in Essex] and not being able to see anything, but being jerked about in the belts. Those would be two of the earliest memories I have.”

«Dad is a pretty hard worker, both in the business and in terms of the driving as well. Obviously, I’ve been guided from him as to how to apply myself in that regard»
Elfyn Evans

Once it was clear Elfyn was to follow in his father’s wheeltracks, Gwyndaf certainly provided a benchmark to learn from. Aside from his domestic prowess against the likes of Alister McRae, Martin Rowe and Mark Higgins in the BRC, Evans Sr was able to ruffle the feathers of the world’s best on Rally GB. Sixth was his best result in the famous 1995 WRC title showdown. But as Elfyn recalls, the pair didn’t actually do a lot of driving together.

“Obviously some of his driving ability [has rubbed off] I would say, but growing up we did surprisingly little driver training together,” says Elfyn. “There was a year in 2009 where I did things I shouldn’t have done on the road, and I had this driving ban [for dangerous driving].

“But that was probably the year I picked up and learned the most, even though I didn’t do any driving myself. Dad was still doing a bit, and I sat with him on a few tests and probably studied a bit more, and that was probably the year that I picked up more from a driving point of view.

“I remember being back in my first test in the Fiesta after that year away, and I could beat him straight away. So, I’d obviously been studying a little bit. Otherwise, dad is a pretty hard worker, both in the business and in terms of the driving as well. Obviously, I’ve been guided from him as to how to apply myself in that regard, and that’s probably taken me a good step of the way.”

Elfyn Evans applied himself to learning from his father and the studying paid off by winning the WRC Academy title in 2012

Elfyn Evans applied himself to learning from his father and the studying paid off by winning the WRC Academy title in 2012

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Gwyndaf chimes in: “I was over 40 before he could beat me though”, before explaining the moment he realised that his son had the potential to become the force in rallying he is today.

“He wanted to do the WRC Academy, which was a huge commitment from myself,” remembers Gwyndaf. “I did a deal and I said, we can find enough budget to go and do three WRC rallies, Finland, France and the RAC in an R2 Fiesta [in 2011]. I said ‘you’re going to have to prove to me that you’re good enough to have a commitment from me and sponsors to go and do the Academy the following year’.

 

“We had a lot of friends and a lot of help, no doubt we couldn’t have done it without them. We went over to Finland, and we did a small rally, small test, and I sat in with him. Honestly, it blew my mind even then how quick he was and how efficient he was behind the wheel. I could barely tell him anything because I was just taken aback. And now he has gone on and won Finland [at WRC level] twice.

“During that test, some of our Finnish friends came to me and they said ‘we have been watching your son, he’s incredible’. And I thought ‘if that is coming from Finnish rally enthusiasts that know their stuff, then we were on the right track.’”

Elfyn was indeed on the right track. In 2012 he won the WRC Academy, the R2 title in the BRC and the UK Fiesta Sport Trophy. The following season he made his top-flight WRC debut, finishing sixth in Sardinia for M-Sport. A first podium arrived in Argentina in 2015 before Evans played a starring role in arguably M-Sport’s greatest day in 2017. He took a maiden win at his home round in Wales as the British squad sealed the drivers’, co-drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns with Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia.

His greatest successes have come since joining Toyota in 2020. Evans has finished as the WRC runner-up in three of the past four seasons and last year became the first Brit to win the WRC’s holy grail, Rally Finland, for a second time.

Through all of this, the father-son bond has remained strong and that relationship has even extended into a professional sense on WRC events. This is because Gwyndaf is part of Elfyn’s trusty route note crew, alongside the latter’s former co-driver Daniel Barritt. The duo diligently pass through the stages two hours before they are live, to pass on any valuable changes of road conditions before Elfyn charges by.

Evans is now a two-time Rally Finland winner, becoming the first Briton ever to win the WRC's most fabled event twice

Evans is now a two-time Rally Finland winner, becoming the first Briton ever to win the WRC’s most fabled event twice

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

Route note crews are a valuable part of the modern-day WRC, given rallies are often won over seconds rather than minutes. That’s a point Elfyn can attest, having been on the wrong side of a 0.6s defeat to 2021 title rival Ogier in Croatia. Any information that can be passed from route note crew to driver can be crucial but, as Elfyn explains, Gwyndaf hasn’t just landed this important role just by being his father.

“It has obviously been going quite well,” says Elfyn. “He puts a lot of energy and I think I would struggle to find anyone else to do that.

“Obviously, he’s in the position because he does a good job at it, not because he’s my dad. I keep stressing that when people ask; I’m never going to find anybody to put as much energy in that job as he does. In terms of preparation, he does a similar level of studying the videos too.

«It is feeding back any hazards, but without slowing him down. That is the difficult bit»
Gwyndaf Evans

“We are in high level sport and like any other, we are looking for all the fine details and want things as accurate as possible. It is a challenging job, where the stages are always evolving, and there’s an element of anticipation if you’re running a bit further back on the road of what the cars in front will do.

“Ultimately, conditions can change a lot in two hours. So in a world where we want all the finest information, finest details, it’s very hard to get that right. He can keep his job for now,” Elfyn adds with a wry smile.

Hard is indeed the operative word as Gwyndaf interjects to share just how difficult the role is not only in a professional capacity but in an emotional sense given the recipient of the information.

“It is bloody difficult, I can tell you,” he smiles. “It is hard graft and the pressure is at 120%. But it’s so rewarding when he does well.

Gwyndaf Evans has for several years worked to help his son on route note crew duties

Gwyndaf Evans has for several years worked to help his son on route note crew duties

Photo by: Toyota

“Basically, about two hours before the stage goes live we drive around the special stages with Elfyn’s final version of the pace notes. Dan reads the notes back to me and I will call out if there’s any gravel or mud, water and any hazards basically.

“It’s another set of eyes on the notes, although I can’t change much at that speed anyway. It is feeding back any hazards, but without slowing him down. That is the difficult bit; you don’t want to say everything, because you don’t want to slow him down, but equally you don’t want him to go off the road.

“I would say it is a big role. We have to believe that, because obviously you need a lot of strength in that car. People don’t realise we start at three in the morning and we don’t get back until late at night.”

Pushing the professional aspect of this job to one side, Gwyndaf simply wants the best for his son. Elfyn has already surpassed the achievements of his own rally career and, sitting just 13 points adrift in the title race with five rallies to go, has his sights firmly set on ending Britain’s two-decade wait for a world rally champion.

Evans is in a three-way fight for the 2024 WRC title with Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak

Evans is in a three-way fight for the 2024 WRC title with Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak

Photo by: Toyota Racing



Source link

Should the WRC re-introduce qualifying? The teams have their say

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


There were perhaps only two words mentioned more than ‘Martins’ and ‘Sesks’ when the World Rally Championship visited Latvia last weekend, and those were ‘road position’.

Championship leader Thierry Neuville reignited a debate surrounding how the WRC determines the road order for rallies. The very nature of rallying means that someone is always going to be disadvantaged by road position.

For gravel rallies, being first to tackle the stages is costly on the timing screens unless the weather intervenes, while being first on the road for asphalt events is often seen as an advantage as the roads often become dirtier and slower with every pass as gravel is dragged out from cuts.

Under the current regulations, the championship leader is required to open the roads on the first day of competition which is designed to level the playing field and create a closer championship battle by preventing the leader from running away aided by a favourable road position. The road order is then flipped for the second leg using the finishing positions from the first day.

In Latvia, road order frustrations bubbled to the surface, led by Neuville, who feels it’s time for the regulations to change.

«Why I should have the pain in the ass all weekend, all year long,» said Neuville. «We did a great job in the beginning of the year, and now there’s no reward at all.

«We could have, whoever it is, Ott, Elfyn or myself, the winner of the championship at the end of the year winning maybe one rally. When [Sebastien] Ogier was opening the road there was some tarmac rally in the middle of the gravel rallies, and now we have seven gravel rallies in a row, what can you do?

«Even with a 40-point lead, there’s no way to keep those points, so we have to fight.»

Latvia created a perfect storm for this outburst as unusually only three of the 15 stages across Friday and Saturday were repeated making the road cleaning effect worse. Most WRC events operate loops of three or four stages that are repeated reducing the damage of road cleaning.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

To further exacerbate this road cleaning phenomenon was the fact that four of the 10 car Rally1 field were part-time drivers meaning those quartet benefitted from favourable road positions compared to the full-time drivers due to their position in the championship.

This is not the first time this debate has reared its head as eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier during his era of dominance fought to change the rules for many years but subsequently lost. So, is it time to rethink how the road order is determined?

Re-introducing the qualifying stage was a hot topic in Latvia. The European Rally Championship, also operated by the WRC Promoter, runs a qualifying stage. Last year the fastest 15 drivers from the Qualifying Stage selected their starting position for leg one with the fastest qualifier picking first followed by the remaining 15 drivers.

This year the rules have been tweaked with the fastest drivers from the stage starting in that order for asphalt rallies or flipped for gravel rallies.

A similar system was in place in the WRC from 2012-2013 before it was scrapped following the dominance of Ogier in 2013.

But among the teams, views are indeed divided as to whether WRC should consider a change of rules.

Hyundai – Full-time drivers should be rewarded more

Hyundai has supported the view of its lead driver Neuville, but team principal Cyril Abiteboul says the problem is more complex than just finding a solution to reward the championship leader more in terms of road position.

The former Renault Formula 1 boss believes that the increase in part-time drivers, with Toyota now fielding two multiple world champions in some events, in addition to the new points system that has decreased the value of an overall win, has exacerbated the road order dilemma.

«I think we have a perfect storm right now between a situation with part-time drivers, which is not in our hands, which is in Toyota’s hands, our main competitor. It’s a disadvantage for the drivers’ championship, but it’s clearly an advantage on the manufacturer championship,» said Abiteboul.

«We have a regulation that doesn’t really impose any sort of nomination of permanent drivers so that could be the first thing that could be very easily fixed, just a word change in the regulations.

«We have also a situation of a calendar which has a sequence of gravel events. And ultimately maybe we also need also to look into a qualifying stage, but we should not be looking into that in isolation. If we do something, we need also to connect that to the points system. It’s a whole package, I think sometimes in motorsport and maybe a bit more so in rally we still need to grow in maturity and in ability to address complex situations.

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

«I think we do have this year a system that is causing a lot of frustration for very committed drivers like Thierry and Ott, and I think that we should reward a little bit more the commitment and reward more the win and the risks that are being taken.

«In Latvia, there is no real fight and why? It is because the win is not really rewarded and win for whoever is not opening the road is not really possible and having no fight, no risk and therefore little mistake. If you seem there’s been very few mistakes done this weekend and I think it’s down to that situation, which ultimately is not good for the fan.»

Toyota – Qualifying hinders development of young drivers

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is firmly against bringing back qualifying and for one simple reason it can hamper the development of young talent, especially when testing is heavily restricted.

While he understands why the top drivers are frustrated by the penalty of having to open the road due to their success in previous events, he feels qualifying would put too much pressure on young drivers trying to develop and make the leap into the top class.

«It is not good for the young drivers. I know the top drivers hate being first car on the road,» said Latvala.

«These days it is so limited with testing so how can you come and show you your potential, it is impossible.

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: Red Bull Content Pool

«It has been in the World Rally Championship that somebody will suffer, and it is the fastest guy that needs to pay a little bit of a penalty for one day. It has always been like that.»

M-Sport- Ford – Qualifying could have robbed WRC of Sesks story

M-Sport shares Latvala’s view that the current road order system doesn’t require change but the Ford squad’s team principal Richard Millener says that the WRC must remember it is an entertainment business.

Millener feels that had there been qualifying in Latvia it could have robbed the WRC of Martins Sesks incredible fight for a podium in only his second Rally1 start. Granted if qualifying was in place there is still a good chance Sesks would have earned a top road position such was the speed he delivered.

«We should keep exactly what we have got. If you put in qualifying or have the road order swapping around there is a 90% chance this whole Sesks story wouldn’t have happened,» said Millener.

«Yes, I get it Thierry has had a tough weekend it has not been easy for him, but he is still leading the championship. As Kalle [Rovanpera] and Elfyn [Evans] said winning a championship isn’t easy. Everyone has been in that position.

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: McKlein / Motorsport Images

«We have to step away from what the teams want, they just what to win. The fans love what we have, the battle is close. We’re an entertainment business and we have got a fantastic championship going on, so some people will win some people will lose out.»

Autosport/Motorsport.com says

As the opinions above have shown the topic is a divisive one among the teams. The bottom line at the moment is the WRC has a thrilling title race on its hands with the top three covered by 13 points. The title fight is indeed exciting, but it is difficult to know if that outcome has been determined more by road position, the effect of part-time drivers or the new points system.

There is no doubt qualifying is probably the fairest way to determine road order for the championship’s top drivers and it could provide the WRC with a new product to market to new fans. For example in Formula 1 qualifying is often more exciting than the races themselves and it could draw an audience.

The fans also do want to see the best drivers battling against each other for the top positions which at the moment is rarely seen. On the other hand, this then opens a Pandora’s Box scenario where a driver could dominate and the championship could be over way before the end of the season.

Latvala and Millener have pointed out it qualifying would make life tougher to blood young talent and fresh faces are what the WRC is crying out for. Sesks’ is the perfect example of that, his performances in Poland and Latvia were gripping to follow and drew people to the WRC.

As much as I would love to see how qualifying could work in today’s WRC, perhaps the easiest fix right now is to ensure the championship leader is rewarded more by a calendar where a couple of asphalt events can split up the current run of seven consecutive gravel rallies.



Source link

Neuville, Tanak free to fight for WRC title

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai has reiterated its drivers Thierry Neuville and Ott Tanak are currently free to fight for the World Rally Championship without fear of team orders, according to team principal Cyril Abiteboul.

The Korean manufacturer’s two full-time drivers Neuville and Tanak are split by eight points in the title race after last weekend’s Rally Latvia with five rounds of the season remaining.

Neuville has led the championship since winning the opening round in Monte Carlo in January although his advantage was cut significantly in Latvia after struggling while opening the road at the high-speed gravel rally.

The Belgian had taken a 15-point margin over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans and 21-point lead over Tanak heading into the rally, but events in Latvia has left the top three covered by 13 points.

Abiteboul mentioned before the start of the season that his drivers would receive “absolute parity” from the team, but there would be a point in the season when an internal review would take place where team orders could be implemented.

With the title race so finely poised, Abiteboul expects his drivers to continue to fight each other for the title.

Podium: Winners Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1, second place Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1, third place Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Podium: Winners Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1, second place Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1, third place Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Fabien Dufour / Hyundai Motorsport

“Of course, they can fight, and they have to fight. If one of the two is not fighting, it means probably losing a position to our competition from a team perspective or in the drivers’ championship, which we have no reason to do at this point,” Abiteboul told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“I would say that we would not be shy if there is a necessity to [back one of our drivers in the future], but I don’t think that there is a necessity to right now.

“We’ve done some stuff over the weekend that maybe went under the radar. Esapekka [Lappi] let Thierry go by on Friday and played a team game and that helps. These are the sort of things that we are doing.

“But when it’s so tight, and Elfyn is very close obviously and [Sebastien] Ogier is coming back quick I don’t think there is much you can ask for at this point in the season, so we’ll keep on pushing for giving the best possible condition to these two guys and if something was to occur in the season, we would do it. But it’s obviously not the right moment.”

Although frustrated at being hampered by road position in Latvia, Neuville is refusing to let his desire to score a maiden world title drop.

“We will continue pushing. We’re still first in the championship. The next event [in Finalnd] will be very challenging as well but what can we do?” Neuville told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“Obviously I would have loved to be first on the Power Stage [in Latvia], but again, the conditions weren’t good enough and on Sunday morning I was spinning a lot of wheels, trying to push the maximum and I was using a lot of the tyres.”

Tanak’s timely haul of 22 points in Latvia despite a myriad of problems, including being delayed by an inflatable promotional arch, has brought the Estonian firmly into the title fight, which he expects will continue until the final round.

“The rally [in Latvia] has not been good. The rally has been full of entertainment, so we’ve been always fighting back,” Tanak told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“We had a wrong tyre choice in the first stage and then after we struggled with the car, and then we lost the brakes. It’s always been a hard fight, but then Sunday went in our favour [scoring the maximum 12 points].

“We are just playing, and this [title fight] will go until the end of the year so we will see.”

Hyundai also leads the manufacturers’ championship by a point from Toyota heading in Finland next month.

Read Also:



Source link

FIA conducting WRC Latvia arch incident review, Tanak apologises

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The FIA is conducting a review into a “potentially dangerous” incident where an inflatable promotional arch halted Ott Tanak during the World Rally Championship’s visit to Latvia.

Read Also:

The WRC title contender collected a deflated promotional arch that was lying in the road after Toyota’s Elfyn Evans made contact with the structure while recovering from a wild slide moments earlier.

The stage wasn’t red-flagged quickly enough to avoid Tanak’s i20 N becoming entangled in the felled structure. Officials eventually red-flagged the stage to clear the incident and issued nominal times to Tanak, Adrien Fourmaux and Takamoto Katsuta, who were also impacted. 

When television crews spoke to Tanak at the end of the stage, the frustrated driver took aim at race control, saying: “I think this exactly describes how we are in safe hands in terms of race control. Probably they were having a nice meal and good wine when on the cameras you could see the road is blocked and there is a car coming. Well done race control, you are really taking care of us.”

“We are ok but f****** hell, you could see the road was blocked and you keep it running. Hopefully, it was a good wine.”

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Ott Tänak, Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

Hyundai team principal Cyril Abiteboul called for transparent review of the incident to understand how it can be avoided in the future.

At the end of the rally, the FIA, Rally Latvia organisers and Hyundai released a joint statement confirming that a review is underway and that Tanak has apologised for his comments directed at rally control.

“Following the incident involving Car 8 [Tanak] on Special Stage 14, a thorough review by the FIA is ongoing. The driver, Ott Tanak and team representative met with the FIA representatives on site to review the situation, which all agree was potentially dangerous,” read the statement.

“Discussing the situation, Tanak agreed that his comments following the stage were not in the best interest of the sport, but that they were made in the moments immediately following the incident. He apologised for his comments about Rally Control but welcomed the upcoming review.

“Hyundai Motorsport, the organiser and the FIA are collaborating to better understand the incident and to work together towards the continuous improvement of the safety systems in the sport, which is a critical goal of the FIA.”



Source link