Elfyn Evans’ challenge for the WRC Championship all but evaporated this morning after crashing into a barn door in stage 11.

Rovanpera spun in stage 10 and lost half his lead to third placed Thierry Neuville which became second after Evans’ exit. In the final stage before the mid-day service, Rovanpera eased up on his relentless pace, which allowed the Belgian crew into the lead with an 11.1 second lead.

Ott Tanak is in a lonely third, followed by Sebastian Ogier

Kalle Rovanperä brushed aside Friday’s punishing conditions at Central European Rally as he stormed – literally and figuratively –  to a commanding 36.4-second lead over Thierry Neuville.

Heavy rain and perilous mud greeted the FIA World Rally Championship crews as they tackled the rally’s first full day, which featured six asphalt stages in the Czech Republic.

Opening the road, points leader Rovanperä took full advantage of the less muddied road and reached the mid-day tyre fitting zone 29.2sec clear of the chasing pack after winning all three of the morning’s super-stages.

The Toyota GR Yaris champion-elect demonstrated it was no fluke, dominating the afternoon loop of repeated stages widening his gap yet further.

As it stands, Rovanperä is in the pound seats to claim his second-consecutive WRC title unless team-mate Elfyn Evans – who languishes 47.2sec behind him in third overall – can stage a spectacular comeback.

“It has been super tricky today,” Rovanperä said. “Luckily, the weather was on our side for once with the starting position – it was good to be the first car on the road. We can be happy with our day.”

Neuville initially led after Thursday’s opening pair of super special stages but fell to third on Friday morning in stage four after struggling with his car’s set-up and a misted-up windscreen. The Belgian felt his i20 N Rally1 would have benefitted from softer suspension springs but, with no service halt between loops, changes were not possible.

Nevertheless, he maintained the pressure on Evans and, after overtaking the Welshman to claim the runner-up spot in the final stage, ended 10.8sec in front.

Also feeling at odds with his car’s handling was M-Sport Ford Puma man Ott Tänak who ended a lonely fourth overall – 43.2sec adrift of Evans, describing his Puma as undriveable, but with 56.4sec in hand over fifth-placed Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta.

Sébastien Ogier’s hopes of winning his ‘home’ rally disintegrated early in the day when the Frenchman limped through the opening stage with tyre damage caused by a broken wheel. He fought back to claim sixth, just 3.2sec ahead of Teemu Suninen.

Aside from Neuville, Suninen was the only other Hyundai driver remaining after his compatriot Esapekka Lappi crashed heavily from third overall on SS5. The Finn, starting his first asphalt rally in the i20, placed seventh overall ahead of Puma youngster Grégoire Munster.

Also having his patience tested was Pierre-Louis Loubet, who dropped more than five minutes on SS8 when he went off the road and picked up wheel damage.

Saturday begins with two stages in Austria before a quick hop across the border to the Knaus Tabbert Bayerischer Wald blast in Germany. After service in Passau, the loop is repeated once more.

In WRC2, Yohan Rossel, one of three title contenders, crashed out in Friday morning’s first stage, while points leader Andreas Mikkelsen lost ten minutes after going off the road in stage four

Leading positions after Friday:

1. K Rovanperä / J Halttunen FIN Toyota GR Yaris 1h 13m 5.1s

2. T Neuville / M Wydaeghe BEL Hyundai i20 N +36.4s

3. E Evans / S Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris +47.2s

4. O Tänak / M Järveoja EST Ford Puma +1m 30.4s

5. T Katsuta / A Johnston JPN Toyota GR Yaris +2m 26.8s

6. S Ogier / V Landais FRA Toyota GR Yaris +2m 35.9s

Thierry Neuville grabbed a slender overnight lead as the first-ever Central European Rally got under way on Thursday.

Thousands of spectators descended on Czech capital Prague earlier today to witness the FIA World Rally Championship’s cars and stars flagged away by Czech President Petr Pavel. Two quickfire super special tests followed as the rally journeyed back into south-eastern Germany where the Passau service park is located.

Neuville, driving a Hyundai i20 N, was third-fastest through the opening stage at Cluchle’s horseracing arena but a benchmark time for Circuit of Klatovy saw the Belgian leapfrog M-Sport Ford Puma driver Ott Tänak to lead by 1.2sec overnight.

“It was not the greatest stage,” Neuville said of his run over the damp roads of SS2. “I think it was in between the wet and the soft [tyres], and I decided to go to the soft at the very last moment. The anti-cut [devices] were reflecting from the light so we couldn’t see very well, but we had a clean run through.”

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier reported that he “did not have a good feeling” aboard his Toyota GR Yaris but did enough to secure the final podium spot. He trailed Tänak by 4.6sec with team-mate Kalle Rovanperä, the championship leader, a single tenth behind.

Rovanperä could clinch his second consecutive WRC title this week, depending on how he fares against colleague Elfyn Evans. An overshoot for Evans left the Welshman 4.8sec behind the Finn in eighth overall.

Teemu Suninen, Takamoto Katsuta and Pierre-Louis Loubet were blanketed by 2.1sec in fifth, sixth and seventh overall, with Esapekka Lappi and Grégoire Munster completing the top 10.

The return of Tänak reunites two of the team’s most successful crews and underscores the commitment of Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team to the WRC in 2024

Hyundai Motorsport has announced its clear intentions to compete at the forefront of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) by fielding a proven title-winning line-up of Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak next season.
 
Tänak, with co-driver Martin Järveoja, returns to the team where he claimed five wins across a three-season period from 2020, intent on helping Hyundai Motorsport to further championship success. The Estonian is one of the most versatile drivers in the sport and played a key role in the defence of the team’s manufacturers’ crown in 2020.
 
Neuville, who has taken 18 of the team’s 26 WRC victories to date, has been a firm fixture in the Alzenau-based squad since its debut season in 2014. The team remains loyal to the Belgian who has helped cement two manufacturers’ titles in 2019 and 2020.
 
Hyundai Motorsport will take its time to explore various options for the rest of its 2024 WRC line-up.
 
The re-signing of Tänak alongside Neuville reaffirms the team’s commitment to the WRC. The 2024 season is an important milestone in the company’s history, marking the tenth anniversary of its debut in the series.

 
Hyundai Motorsport President Sean Kim said: “With Thierry and Ott, Hyundai Motorsport has two of the most talented and competitive crews leading the charge for our 2024 campaign. This combination is a proven success; it yielded our second manufacturers’ title in 2020, and in 2022 we claimed our highest number of wins in a single season. We are delighted to welcome Ott back into our fold and look forward fighting for more together in our next chapter.”
 

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Hyundai Motorsport exists to ultimately fight for rally wins and championship titles. We want to be seen as a credible contender with the tools to do the job; that means the car, the organisation, and the driving talent. In exploring our options for 2024, I opened a discussion with Ott, who was excited by the renewed ambitions and structure that we are putting in place. We are pleased that he is ready to resume the unfinished business that he has with our team. I am confident that, in the right environment, Thierry and Ott can bring out the best in each other. With this pair of winning crews secured, we can take some time to strategically consider our full line-up for next season.”
 
Ott Tänak said: “I am excited to re-join Hyundai Motorsport from the 2024 WRC season. Since our paths parted exactly one year ago, the team has been working very hard on the new technical structure. Hyundai Motorsport has a clear vision and target for the near future, and it is something that convinced me to join our forces again. I am also looking forward to work with Cyril Abiteboul and François-Xavier Demaison, as their experience and knowledge in motorsport is definitely a big advantage for the whole team. Our goal in this new chapter will be nothing less than to win all the three titles, and with the new structure of the team, we have all the tools needed to achieve it. Game on!”

Ott Tanak and co-driver Martin Jarveoja took WRC Rally Chile by the scruff of the neck and dominated from stage five onward in their M-Sport Ford Puma

Toyota needed a four point swing to clinch the Manufacturers’ Championship and after Suninen’s demise in the penultimate stage, and in spite of Neuville’s best efforts, it wasn’t enough to keep the fight alive as Toyota swept to a 1 – 2 on the Wolf Power Stage, earning nine points.

Behind Neuville’s Hyundai, Evans made it three different manufacturers in the top three, followed by Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta.

Oliver Solberg took a comfortable WRC2 win – his second of the year – ahead of Gus Greensmith

Toyota Gazoo Racing clinched the Manufacturers’ Championship

Thierry Neuville grabbed his first rally win of the season in Italy as the Belgian managed his gap to teammate Lappi throughout the last day. In a day with little movement and nursing of cars for the power stage, Rovanpera finished third nearly two minutes behind.

The final day of the rally consists of two runs of Arzachena – Braniatogghiu and Sardegna with the latter holding the Wolf Power Stage on the last run-through.

Sunday didn’t see much movement after the prior days took their toll on the WRC field. Thierry Neuville was fully in control as there would be no challenge from the Lappi, the Finn knowing he is ultimately there to support his Hyundai teammate. The only notable incident came in the form of Dani Sordo who had to retire the car after picking up an engine issue on SS17.

Neuville finished SS19 with no issues to take his first victory of the season by 33s to his teammate Lappi. “Obviously it was a challenging weekend. We came here with the belief that we could fight for victory but the first day was challenging and we lost a bit of time.,” said Neuville. “Yesterday we found ourselves in the lead and we had to manage it until the end. It’s the first victory for the team this year, it’s a 1-2, and the first time for our team principal as well. Craig is in our memories as well – we wanted the win in Croatia but we got it now.”

Lappi secured the 1-2 for Hyundai but was frustrated to not get the win in the end.

“You need to accept these things. For sure it’s frustrating [to not win] but that’s how it is,” commented Lappi at the stage finish. “Let’s hope that Thierry will finish and we get a 1-2 for the team. That would be very encouraging after Portugal.”

Despite a tough rally for the Toyota contingent, Rovanpera finished in third place but was 1min 55.3s behind Neuville.

“It was quite controlled to be honest, it didn’t feel fast. I was enjoying the rain and mud when I had proper tyres on the car,” said Rovanpera. “Quite good points – I was not expecting much from this weekend. We were not the fastest from starting first on the road but I think we did a clever run.”

Ott Tanak took the stage wins on the first two tests of the day and Takamoto Katsuta took the SS18 win. The field however was saving their soft tyres for the Wolf Power Stage as there were realistically no other positions on offer.

It was Kalle Rovanpera who took the top spot on the Wolf Power stage beating Tanak by 4.7s, it was then a Toyota 3-4-5 led by Katsuta followed by Evans and Ogier.

Evans returned to the points after his big crash in Portugal with a reserved drive to fourth – focusing simply on survival after his various water-induced engine problems on Saturday.

It was drama in WRC2, Adrien Fourmaux crashed out of the lead of the rally on the final stage, the Ford driver was over 30s ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen heading into the power stage but Fourmaux ended up getting stuck in a ditch, allowing the Skoda man to take the victory.

Final standings

1. Neuville 3hr 40min 1.4s
2. Lappi +33s
3. Rovanpera +1min 55s
4. Evans +5min 20.5s
5. Mikkelsen +9min 33.3s (WRC2)

Thierry Neuville leads Rally Italia Sardegna after a day where drivers were hitting trouble in nearly every stage. Teammate Esapekka Lappi followed in second, 36.4s back after lifting off in the penultimate stage of the day after Sebastien Ogier crashed. Kalle Rovanpera rounds out the top three.

The Saturday leg followed a similar format to Friday with two runs of Coiluna – Loelle, Su Filigosu, Erula – Tula and Tempio Pausania testing the drivers after a frantic Friday.

Saturday morning saw the two leaders resume their fierce battle as Ogier initially dealt the first blow over the first-morning stage, however, Lappi fought straight back in the following test to re-take control of the lead until Erula – Tulia. The longest stage of the day didn’t provide Lappi and his Hyundai with confidence, the Finn was struggling in slippery conditions, however, Ogier thrived. The Frenchman subsequently pulled out an 18.2s gap as the two rivals headed to service.

There was drama in SS12 though for Ogier, a water splash meant that his car’s engine lost power which cost him vital seconds to Lappi, and it wasn’t going to be his only issue with water in the afternoon. The heavens opened on SS13 which helped wash away a big chunk of time a charging Finn but as Ogier left the stop line. He was concerned that his Yaris had taken in some water from a river crossing.

Ogier’s woes didn’t stop there though. In SS14, the Toyota driver crashed as his foot slipped off the brake. This initially gave Lappi the chance to lead the rally, however, the Finn backed off when he saw the accident which meant that Neuville assumed the lead of the rally by 23.8s which eventually grew to 36.4s by the end of the day.

“I am relieved to be at the finish,” said Neuville at the end of the last stage. “It was a tough day out there, but the feeling was getting better and better with the car. We learned a lot today, that’s important.”

Neuville had started the day well, two stage wins meant the Belgian closed the gap to the front but an off in the final morning stage left the gap at 6.5s at service. He kept the pressure up all through the afternoon as his teammate was also closing on Ogier but once Lappi eased off, Neuville was free to lead.

Championship leader, Kalle Rovanpera was fourth throughout the morning as the Finn decided not to take any risks with a massive gap back to his teammate Elfyn Evans. Evans suffered from damage at a water splash which resulted in a leaking radiator that the Welshman had to nurse through the following two stages. Rovanpera and Evans finished the day third and fourth after Ogier’s crash but the Finn bemoaned his tyre performance throughout the day.

Evans was the luckiest of those to befall the water splash in the morning, Takamoto Katsuta and Ott Tanak came off far worse and had to retire from the day due to the damage they sustained. Dani Sordo climbed back to sixth in the morning, which was eventually fifth at the end of the day, the Spaniard was recovering from his roll on Friday morning, and sat just ahead of the WRC2 runners which was led by Adrien Fourmaux.

Standings after Saturday

1. Neuville 3hr 10min 36.9s
2. Lappi +36.4s
3. Rovanpera +1min 50.7s
4. Evans +5min 36.5s
5. Sordo +6min 27.9s
6. Fourmaux +8min 11.7s (WRC2)

Thierry Neuville leads overnight in Croatia from Toyota’s Elfyn Evans after a day which was packed with action and drama from the off. Despite only taking victory in one stage, Neuville showed consistency to lead Evans by 5.7s. M-Sport’s Ott Tanak rounds off the top three 30s back.

After Thursday’s emotional opening ceremony in which the rallying community paid their respects to Craig Breen, who had passed in a testing accident last week, the competition got underway in earnest on Friday morning. The first day begins with the rally heading to the highland areas and the two longest stages kicking things off. Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci and Stojdraga – Hartje leads into the two smaller stages of Krasic – Vrskovac and Pecurkovo Brdo – Mreznicki before a midday service. The four stages are then run again in the afternoon.

The day started with Sebastien Ogier jumping to the front of the pack after the opening stage due to running first and having a clean road, however, it would not last long as the Frenchman had to change a tyre in the second test as he ran through a pothole. This location also claimed his teammate, Kalle Rovanpera which meant that two Toyotas had run into trouble before the day’s third stage.

Ogier’s time loss meant that Neuville, one of three Hyundai’s adorned with a beautiful Irish flag livery in tribute to Breen, moved to the top of the standings. The Belgian was not as comfortable in the car as he had wanted but showed brilliant consistency to stay ahead of a new challenger, Elfyn Evans.

“We have done a decent job, but it hasn’t been easy at all,” said Neuville. “It was a bit better at the end of the day and I am really having more fun in the car this afternoon. Hopefully, we can finish in first place at the end – that would be a great achievement for the team and us.”

Elfyn Evans was initially very lucky as he suffered from a slow puncture at the end of SS3. With minimal time lost, Evans spent the afternoon working into Neuville’s lead. By making the correct tyre strategy along with the Hyundai squad, Evans could pull a gap on the rest of the field and finish just over 5s behind the leading car.

Ott Tanak started the day suffering from a steering issue in his Puma and stalling in the opening run. Things didn’t get much better for the Estonian as a wrong tyre call, in anticipation of rain, meant that he lost 17s in a stage on the afternoon leg. This allowed Esapekka Lappi to leapfrog him into third but after the penultimate stage of the day, Tanak would get back ahead of the Finn.

Lappi’s day was clean but lacking confidence over the dirty asphalt meant that he would sit 3.4s behind Tanak in fourth. Although Ogier had issues earlier in the day, the Frenchman pulled back as much time as possible to sit in fifth just 1min 23.7s behind Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta overtook Pierre-Louis Loubet in the afternoon to grab sixth, but Rovanpera still sits in eighth after his earlier trouble.

In WRC2, Yohan Rossel leads the class with a 29.9s advantage over Nikolay Gryazin but the Citroen driver also sits ninth overall.

Esapekka Lappi and Craig Breen will move to the Hyundai Motorsport squad for the 2023 Word Rally Championship season with the latter driving on a part-time basis.

Esapekka Lappi formed part of Toyota’s part-time duo as the Finn shared a car with eight-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Ogier, however with the Japanese marque promoting Katsuta and Lappi wanting a full-time drive, Lappi has made the move to Hyundai. Having also previously been a driver for M-Sport Ford, Lappi now has the distinction of having driven for all three of the series leading manufacturers.

Craig Breen has re-signed to Hyundai following his stint with M-Sport, the Irishman will be on a ride sharing arrangement with Dani Sordo having had a similar arrangement in his previous stint with the team from 2019-2021.

Lappi and Breen take up the spots that were left vacated by Ott Tanak and Oliver Solberg. Tanak parted ways with Hyundai at the close of the season for personal reasons, whereas Solberg was dropped by the team due to poor results.

Thierry Neuville will continue to lead the squad on a full-time campaign, looking to take the Driver’s crown away from Rovanpera. While the line-up is sorted, which rounds Sordo and Breen are to compete in have yet to be determined.

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal, Julien Moncet, hopes that the experienced line-up can return the squad to the top: “We are pleased to confirm our complete driver line-up for the 2023 WRC season with a three-car line-up and four experienced crews,” Moncet said. “With these four crews, we have a competitive and experienced combination of talent, which will underpin the teamwork ethos and mentality within our entire organisation.”

Thierry Neuville took the lead from Elfyn Evans after a closely fought battle throughout the day. The Belgian gapped the Welshman by 4s at the close of proceedings followed by outgoing Hyundai teammate, Ott Tanak although the Estonian is nearly 40s behind.

The day started with Evans holding a slender 3s lead over Neuville and the Toyota driver promptly got down to business and added a further 2.9s over the first three stages of the day. Unfortunately, the afternoon would not be as fruitful due to Evans losing his rhythm which meant that Neuville could snatch at the opportunity.

The Belgian started by pulling back 2.6s through Nukata Forest then really drove his pace home by gaining 5.9s on Evans through Lake Mikawako. Neuville complained of some differential slip but did not let the issue affect his pace in a negative way and he subsequently assumed the lead with a 4s to his closest challenger.

“The day has been good for us, but it has been a challenging one.” commented Neuville. “We have been struggling a bit with the balance throughout the day but we got it better for the afternoon. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Evans was perplexed at the turn around in pace from his car. Despite making no changes at the service, he complained that he’d lost the feeling with the front end of his car. Fortunately, unless Evans hits a major mishap, it will be a straight two-way fight for the lead due to Tanak being 35.9s back from the Toyota.

Tanak climbed to third after Kalle Rovanpera suffered a puncture, but he would spend the rest of the day tinkering with his set-up trying to unlock more pace. Although he was out of touch with the front runners, Tanak extended his lead over Takamoto Katsuta in fourth.

Sebastien Ogier made the most progress through the day, the Frenchman went from tenth to fifth and leap frogged Gus Greensmith in doing so. Ogier took three stage wins and was left wondering what might have been if he didn’t suffer his puncture on Friday.

Greensmith’s rally hit more problems as the Ford Puma developed a powersteering fault in the afternoon leg. This left the Briton 3min 25.4s back from leader Neuville.

Top six after Saturday

1. Neuville 1hr 51min 28.3s
2. Evans +4s
3. Tanak +39.9s
4. Katsuta +1min 4.5s
5. Ogier +2min 46.7s
6. Greensmith +3min 25.4s