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JLR announces Defender Dakar program

JLR will compete at the 2026 Dakar Rally as part of a wider multi-year partnership with the event. The British company will compete with its Defender brand – now a brand in its own right following a restructuring announced in June that saw the …

JLR will compete at the 2026 Dakar Rally as part of a wider multi-year partnership with the event.

The British company will compete with its Defender brand – now a brand in its own right following a restructuring announced in June that saw the former-Jaguar Land Rover business become simply JLR, and former-Land Rover products Defender, Discovery, and Range Rover become separate brands in their own right, alongside Jaguar. Aside from that, little is known about the project so far, with further details set to be announced during the 2025 Dakar Rally in January.

“Adventure is in the very DNA of the Defender brand, so we are inspired to partner with Dakar – the ultimate motorsport adventure – where competitors truly embrace the impossible,” said Defender managing director Mark Cameron. “Our partnership begins in 2025 when Defender will showcase its capability and durability as the official car of the event, but we are already looking to the future and entering a Defender Dakar works team from 2026.

“That Defender Dakar works program will be led by James Barclay, JLR Motorsport managing director, and I know James and his team are inspired by the challenge that lays ahead.”

The program will be the second factory-backed motorsport effort from JLR, with its Jaguar brand currently competing in Formula E. It secured both the teams’ and manufacturers’ titles last season, but narrowly missed out on a hat-trick after Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein beat Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy to the drivers’ crown at the final round in London in July.

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“Anyone who loves motorsport will have a passion for Dakar,” said Barclay. “It’s the Everest of motorsport and an event where success is dependent as much on human determination in the toughest of conditions as it is the ultimate test for vehicle and engineering capability. Bringing the world’s most capable and iconic 4×4 to the world’s most iconic rally-raid is a perfect fit.

“Our first time ever with a factory entry into the Dakar means we are right at the beginning of our journey. We are conscious of how much we have to learn and achieve before taking the start in 2026, but we are already well under way and looking forward to the adventure. We will share more details of this exciting program at the Dakar rally in 2025.”

JLR’s involvement with Dakar extends beyond competing in the contest, with Defender also supplying cars to be used by officials and VIP media from next year’s event, while a fleet of specially-prepared Defender recce vehicles will also be provided to officials to be used for support and to test out future rally routes.

“We are thrilled to welcome Defender as the new official car partner of the Dakar,” said Dakar rally director David Castera. “It is an iconic brand, present on all continents, that shares our passion for adventure, performance, and innovation.

“We are also excited that Defender will accompany us throughout the year, providing vehicles for the organizing teams and for the route reconnaissance. Their reliability and robustness will help us improve our daily efficiency.”

Defender’s addition to the Dakar rally roster follows the addition factory efforts from Ford and Romanian brand Dacia, which will compete from next year with programs led by M-Sport and Prodrive respectively.

The 2025 Dakar rally begins on January 3 and will be the 47th running of the event, and fifth to take place in Saudi Arabia.

The rally raid crown jewel moved from Dakar in Senegal after the 2007 edition, following political unrest in Mauritania. In 2008 the seven-stage Central European Rally counted as the Dakar, before the event was properly rebooted in Argentina and Chile a year later. It remained in South America until 2019, before setting in the Middle East in 2020, where it has remained since.

Neuville wins first WRC title, Toyota snatches manufacturers’ crown in Japan finale

After years of near-misses, including five frustrating runner-up finishes, Thierry Neuville could finally celebrate a first FIA World Rally Championship drivers’ title at the season-closing Rally Japan. But his Hyundai Motorsport team missed out on …

Neuville (at right, above, with co-driver Martijn Wydaghe), secured his championship in dramatic fashion early on Sunday when teammate Ott Tanak – the only driver with a mathematical chance of beating him – crashed his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 out of the rally lead on the day’s opening stage. With a 25-point cushion heading into the all-asphalt season finale and Tanak bagging zero points in Japan, Neuville’s title was guaranteed with four stages to spare.

Ott Tanak ended his slim WRC title hopes after crashing out on Sunday’s opening stage. He was quickly joined by Heikki Kovalainen’s Skoda. WRC media

“I am feeling great, to be honest — we worked so long for this,” said Neuville, who’s led the WRC standings since his opening-round victory on January’s Monte Carlo Rally. “I don’t have the words, but I want to thank everybody who was part of it, who fought for us and all of the team as well. We were many times very close; we always give it our all, but this year we have been rewarded for it.”

The late drama capped off a rollercoaster week for the Belgian, who battled back from 15th place after a turbocharger failure on Friday to finish sixth overall. His title win is a first not only for him and Wydaeghe, but also for their home country of Belgium. It’s also the first drivers’ title for Hyundai Motorsport after a decade in the WRC.

While Neuville reveled in his long-awaited triumph, Tanak’s crash delivered a cruel twist to Hyundai’s WRC manufacturers’ title aspirations. The Korean marque had the upper hand heading into the final day, but the pendulum swung back to Toyota and its fleet of GR Yaris Rally1 machines after a tense showdown on the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage. Toyota trio Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta delivered clutch performances when it mattered most, helping the Japanese marque take its eighth WRC manufacturers’ title by a razor-thin margin of three points – the closest since Lancia captured the crown by just two points in 1983.

Evans enjoyed a double celebration, inheriting the rally win after Tanak’s retirement and becoming the sixth different winner in a highly competitive 2024 WRC season. The Welshman’s triumph also secured him second place in the drivers’ standings – a bittersweet milestone he’s now achieved for the fourth time.

“It wasn’t looking so good at one point, but we’re very happy with the result and for the team,” he said. “Thank you to my teammates also – they did a great job. We’re sorry we couldn’t deliver [the drivers] championship, but we’ll try again next year.”

Elfyn Evans’ first win of 2024 helped Toyota grab an eighth WRC manufacturers’ title. Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier completed a Toyota 1-2, finishing 1m27.3s behind Evans. The eight-time WRC champ’s rally was blighted by a costly wheel change on Friday that dropped him out of contention for the win, but his recovery drive ensured vital points for Toyota in their title fight.

Adrien Fourmaux capped a breakthrough season by completing the podium in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1. The Frenchman’s consistent form has earned him five podium finishes in 2024 and fifth place in the final WRC drivers’ points – his best season to date.

Fourmaux finished just 7.1s ahead of Toyota’s Katsuta, who delighted his home crowd by finishing fourth overall, while Gregoire Munster rounded out the top five after a consistent weekend in the second M-Sport Ford Puma.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Sami Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen sealed the 2024 title in style, delivering a perfectly executed drive to finish second in class on the slippery Japanese stages.

Arriving at the season finale in Aichi knowing that a top-two finish would secure the WRC2 crown, the Finnish duo kept to their gameplan, maintaining a composed and consistent approach to lock in the runner-up spot from start to finish.

The result also marked a championship-winning debut season for Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally2, with Pajari showcasing the car’s potential throughout the campaign.

“It’s a really nice feeling,” said Pajari. “A big relief after two days of driving a bit slowly and taking care of everything, not doing anything silly and reaching the finish line.”

The class victory in Japan went to Nikolay Gryazin, who led the event from the outset in his Citroen C3. Gryazin put in a commanding drive, leading from the opening stage to finish 1m46.5s clear of Pajari and secure his third WRC2 win of the season.

Sami Pajari did what he needed to do in Japan, finishing second in class to secure the WRC2 title. McKlein/Motorsport Images

The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship is set for an expanded 14-round calendar that includes all-new events in Saudi Arabia, Paraguay and Spain’s Canary Isles. But as usual, the action begins Jan. 23-26 at one of the series’ most historic and prestigious events, the Monte Carlo Rally, with its challenging, often icy, all-asphalt stages in the French Alps.

WRC Rally Japan, final positions after Leg Three, SS21
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h23m41.0s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m27.3s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +1m55.5s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m02.6s
5 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m11.5s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6m54.1s
7 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 winner) +10m04.3s
8 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 champion) +11m50.8s
9 Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +13m24.3s
10 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +14m15.8s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 13 of 13 rounds
1 Neuville 242 points
2 Evans 210
3 Tanak 200
4 Ogier 191
5 Fourmaux 162

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 13 of 13 rounds
1 Toyota Gazoo Racing 561 points
2 Hyundai Motorsport 558
3 M-Sport Ford 295

Check out WRC.com, the official home of the FIA World Rally Championship. And for the ultimate WRC experience, sign up for a Rally.TV subscription to watch all stages of every rally live and on demand, whenever and wherever.

Tanak extends Rally Japan lead, but Neuville is back on WRC title track

Ott Tanak extended his Rally Japan lead on Saturday, but all eyes were on his Hyundai teammate, Thierry Neuville (above), as he vaulted up the leaderboard to put himself within touching distance of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship crown. …

Neuville, often referred to as the WRC’s “nearly-man” after five runner-up finishes in the final points, is at last within reach of shaking off that label and claiming his first-ever drivers’ title — an achievement that would also be the first for a Belgian driver in WRC history. After a remarkable recovery from 15th to seventh overall in just seven stages on Saturday’s penultimate day, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe provisionally banked four crucial points.

Following a power-sapping turbocharger issue on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 that heavily disrupted his Friday, Neuville’s comeback has left him needing just two more points from Super Sunday to seal the deal. He’s assured of his Saturday points haul if he successfully completes the five stages of the final leg, and with up to 12 additional points available on Sunday, the 36-year-old is within striking distance of breaking his runner-up streak and confirming his place as rallying’s newest world champion.

“We need to be satisfied with our performance today and being able to get back to P7, which didn’t seem very realistic this morning,” Neuville said. “Obviously tomorrow could be a big day, so we’ll cross our fingers and try to have a good sleep.

“I’ve had enough setbacks during my career,” he added, “so I’ve learned to stay calm and just deal with it. The best thing you can do in that situation is fight back, and I think we’ve done that in the proper way today.”

While Tanak’s aspirations for a second drivers’ title to add to the one he won with Toyota in 2019 now look slim, he’s carrying Hyundai’s hopes for securing the manufacturers’ championship. The Estonian began Saturday with a 20.9s lead over Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Elfyn Evans, but that margin had decreased to 15.3s after the morning’s loop of three stages. However, a strong afternoon performance on Aichi’s slippery, leaf-strewn asphalt roads allowed the i20 N Rally1 driver to re-extend his lead to 38.0s with just Sunday’s five stages remaining.

Ott Tanak increased his Rally Japan lead and bolstered Hyundai’s WRC manufacturers’ title hope. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

As things stand, Hyundai heads Toyota by 11 points in the WRC manufacturers’ standings, with everything still to play for on the final day of the 2024 season finale.

“It’s been tough, but especially in the second loop we’ve been stronger than Elfyn,” said Tanak. “We’ve been on it so far and we will continue to be on it. [The manufacturers’ championship] is our big target and we want to achieve it.”

Like Neuville, eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier was also making moves. A two-minute wheel change on Friday had put the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver on the back foot, but he bounced back with a pair of stage wins and three second-fastest times on Saturday, climbing from fifth to third overall.

Ogier passed Toyota teammate Takamoto Katsuta, who spun on the morning’s final stage, as well as M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, and now trails Evans’ GR Yaris by 1m32.9s overnight.

After losing time with a Friday puncture, Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier charged to third overall on Saturday’s stages. Toyota Gazoo Racing photo

After passing Katsuta on the leaderboard following the Japanese driver’s mistake, Fourmaux remained under constant pressure from the local hero and brought his M-Puma Rally1 to the overnight halt just 6.1s ahead of him in fourth place.

Also showing decent pace was Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford teammate, Gregoire Munster, who described the day as his “best ever” on asphalt after grabbing a third-fastest time on the morning’s opening stage. Neuville, meanwhile, was more than four minutes behind Munster and 7m43.7s from Tanak in the lead — not that the overall time gap is Neuville’s prime concern at this point as he now concentrates on finishing and grabbing two precious Sunday points.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin stands on the brink of his third class win of the season, but it’s second-placed Sami Pajari who stands poised to collect the greater prize.

Toksport Citroen C3 driver Gryazin remained in control of WRC2 at the season’s final round, extending his lead to a commanding 1m25.3s on Saturday’s stages, but Pajari was more than content to end the day in a controlled second place, knowing that such a result will be enough to secure the WRC2 title.

The 22-year-old Finn, co-driven by Enni Malkonen in their Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, was still quick enough to post three class fastest times as he reached the overnight halt 51.4s clear of Hiroki Arai’s R5-spec Skoda Fabia.

“The day was quite nice, really consistent driving I would say,” Pajari said. “The car is working really fine, and I have been trying to take it nice and easy.”

While Sami Pajari is doing what he needs to do to claim the WRC2 title, the Finn still posted three class fastest stage times. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Sunday’s final leg features five all-asphalt stages, adding up to a not inconsequential 43.85 competitive miles. The rally-ending, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage is a second blast through the 8.69-mile Lake Mikawako test.

WRC Rally Japan, positions after Leg Two, SS16
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 39m48.0s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +38.0s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m10.9s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +2m19.1s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m52.2s
6 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m07.1s
7 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7m43.7s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +7m55.9s
9 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +9m21.2s
10 Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +10m12.6s

WRC title on a knife-edge as Neuville struggles on Rally Japan

The battle for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title is set to go to the wire as Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tanak leads Rally Japan overnight, with teammate and WRC points leader Thierry Neuville (above) enduring a disastrous Friday that …

The day began with Hyundai on top as Tanak and Neuville posted a commanding 1-2 through the opening pair of stages. But as Tanak — the only driver who can wrest the title from his teammate — kept the pace and pressure on, Neuville’s fortunes took a dramatic turn on the third stage when his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 suffered a turbo pressure issue, severely reducing its power.

With no midday service and limited spare parts available, Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe faced the grueling task of nursing their car through five more all-asphalt stages, shipping over seven minutes and plunging to 15th overall. Now, with a mountain to climb to return to a point-scoring position, their hopes of securing the six points needed to guarantee themselves a maiden world title rest firmly on the haul available from the Super Sunday final leg.

“It has definitely been tough,” Neuville admitted. “I can’t really find any positives from the day. When the car was working the feeling was good, that’s the only positive.”

Tanak, meanwhile, put on a masterclass of speed and precision over the slippery, leaf-covered mountain roads around Aichi. With nothing to lose, the Estonian adopted a flat-out approach that not only kept his championship chances alive, but also bolstered Hyundai’s bid to fend off Toyota Gazoo Racing in the fight for the WRC manufacturers’ crown. His performance became even more critical after Andreas Mikkelsen crashed his i20 N Rally1 into a tree on the day’s fourth stage.

Ott Tanak set the opening leg pace, the Estonian keeping his and Hyundai’s WRC title hopes alive in the process. Red Bull Content Pool

The 2019 WRC champ initially faced pressure from Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who claimed a slender 0.7s lead in his GR Yaris Rally1 at the day’s halfway point. But after a commanding afternoon from Tanak, including a time 14.4s faster than Evans on the 14.71-mile Isegami’s Tunnel 2 stage, the Estonian reclaimed the lead and stretched his overnight margin to 20.9s.

“The stages were quite OK,” said Tanak. “There are two stages [tomorrow] that we know, but one is new. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead.”

Mikkelsen’s off caused a delay and forced the following Shinshiro 2 stage to run under fading light. This played into the hands of M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, whose foresight to fit auxiliary lights on his Puma Rally1 paid dividends.

Fourmaux capitalized on home hero Takamoto Katsuta’s visibility struggles in his GR Yaris to snatch third overall. The Frenchman finished the day a single tenth ahead of the Japanese driver, but trailing second-placed Evans by more than a minute and a half.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux holds the final podium place, just a tenth ahead of Toyota’s Takamato Katsuta. M-Sport photo

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier ended a challenging day in fifth after the eight-time WRC champ lost nearly two minutes to a wheel change on the morning’s opening stage. Gregoire Munster followed in sixth with his M-Sport Ford Puma, the last of the Rally 1 cars in points-scoring positions.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin has been untouchable so far, but it’s Finland’s Sami Pajari who’s perfectly positioned to claim the WRC2 title on the Japanese finale.

Citroen C3 driver Gryazin set the class pace on every Friday stage. His flawless performance saw him build an impressive lead of 1m13.5s over Pajari’s GR Yaris Rally2.

For Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen, the day was all about strategy. The Finnish duo comfortably held second at the close of the opening leg, fully aware that such a result by Sunday afternoon would secure them the WRC2 title over Oliver Solberg, who’s already completed his maximum seven counting rounds and isn’t competing in Japan. Aside from a minor setback with a puncture late in the morning’s opening stage, Pajari enjoyed a clean run.

“Today was quite solid,” he noted. “OK, Nikolay is far ahead, but at the moment that is fine for us.”

A solid second in WRC2, Toyota driver Sami Pajari is doing all that he needs to do to wrap up the class title. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Saturday’s penultimate leg features three all-asphalt stages, each run twice, before concluding with another short, sharp blast through the Toyota Stadium super special.

WRC Rally Japan, positions after Leg One, SS9
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h26m17.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +20.9s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +1m53.9s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m54.0s
5 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m15.6s
6 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m37.4s
7 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +3m43.6s
8 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +4m57.1s
9 Josh McErlean/James Fulton (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 non-points) +5m55.7s
10 Hiroki Arai/Shunsuke Matsuo (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +5m57.4s

New season of Subaru’s ‘Launch Control’ series debuts November 20th

A new season of Subaru’s award-winning web series Launch Control begins November 20th with 10 new episodes releasing weekly. Coming aboard to narrate the season is storied motorsports TV presenter Andrew Coley, who brings his unique knowledge and …

The new season of Launch Control takes viewers beyond the short rally recaps that air following each rally and into the behind-the-scenes happenings of Subaru Motorsports USA and its drivers as they compete across multiple disciplines and vehicles. From the American Rally Association (ARA) to hillclimbs and record attempts, Launch Control showcases the new WRX ARA24 rally cars, the crowd-favorite Family Huckster GL wagon, the built for asphalt dominance WRX: Project Midnight, and more.

Drivers Travis Pastrana, Brandon Semenuk, and Scott Speed play pivotal roles, with Launch Control digging deep into Pastrana’s return to the ARA championship after a year-long absence and a difficult recovery, Semenuk’s storming pursuit of a third-straight ARA championship, and Speed piloting WRX: Project Midnight in its world debut at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed Shootout Hillclimb. Viewers will also get an inside look at the efforts of the crew at Subaru Motorsports USA and technical partner Vermont SportsCar as they face the ups and downs of competition and a fast changing landscape.

Get ready for a deep look behind the scenes of a multi-discipline, worldwide racing team like you’ve never seen before when the new season of Launch Control drops on YouTube beginning November 20^th.

Neuville’s WRC title celebrations on hold as Tanak wins Central European Rally

The fight for the FIA World Rally Championship title is set to go down to the wire after Hyundai’s Ott Tanak (above) took a dramatic victory on the Central European Rally on Sunday. On a weekend when his teammate Thierry Neuville looked primed to …

The fight for the FIA World Rally Championship title is set to go down to the wire after Hyundai’s Ott Tanak (above) took a dramatic victory on the Central European Rally on Sunday.

On a weekend when his teammate Thierry Neuville looked primed to clinch his first WRC crown, Tanak secured the win by 7.0s after eight-time WRC champ Sebastien Ogier crashed his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on a left-hand corner in the penultimate stage. Overnight leader Ogier had been trailing the Estonian by just 1.5s at the time of his incident.

Tanak’s win, his second of the year, has set up an-all Hyundai final-round showdown with Neuville at next month’s season-closing Rally Japan.

Neuville, a five-time WRC title runner-up, had been on course to finally secure his first drivers’ crown before a costly spin in his Hyundai i20 N Hybrid1 on Saturday morning cost him the rally lead. He ended Sunday’s final leg in third place, 25.8s behind second-placed GR Yaris driver Elfyn Evans, with his championship lead over Tanak cut from 29 to 25 points and a maximum of 30 points on offer in Japan.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville came into the weekend with aspirations to clinch his first WRC title, but Ott Tanak’s win means it’s going down to the wire. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Despite Ogier’s misfortune, strong Super Sunday performances from his Toyota teammates Evans and Takamoto Katsuta helped trim Hyundai’s advantage in the WRC manufacturers’ championship to 15 points. Katsuta was the fastest driver on the final day, including the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage, ensuring a tense finale in Japan where, for the first time since 2021, both the WRC drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles will be decided at the season-closer.

Neuville, Ogier, and Tanak all took turns at leading the rally, which kicked off in Prague on Thursday evening and featured an array of slippery, all-asphalt stages spread across the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany. Tanak struggled with his i20 N’s setup on Friday morning and initially languished in fifth place, but his pace improved as the event progressed, culminating in a 21st career victory and an outside shot at a second crown for the 2019 WRC champ.

“Let’s see for the championship,” said a cautious Tanak. “Obviously, with what happened to Seb…it is always difficult to fight a friend and then something like this happens, so it is difficult to find feelings. Everything changed, especially in the manufacturers’ championship. We took care to have a clean [final] stage and bring the points home.”

It might be a long shot, but Ott Tanak’s second win of the season sees the Hyundai driver (at right, above, with co-driver Martin Jarveoja) heading to Japan with a chance of earning a second WRC title. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Katsuta’s strong Sunday run, combined with Ogier’s exit, saw him finish fourth overall, albeit 41.2s behind Neuville. It was a solid finish for the Japanese runner and bodes well for his home event next month – another all-asphalt affair.

Beyond the Hyundai/Toyota lead fight, Gregoire Munster climbed to fifth in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1, equaling his career-best result after Toyota rising star Sami Pajari rolled his GR Yaris on Sunday’s opening stage – a frustrating end to his first asphalt event in a Rally1 car.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin stormed through Sunday’s final leg to secure a commanding class victory, winning by a margin of 2m23.9s over the next driver registered for WRC2 points, Filip Mares.

The Citroen C3 Rally2 driver seized the lead on the rally’s second stage and never surrendered it, maintaining his position at the top throughout the tri-nation fixture. Gryazin racked up more than 10 fastest stage times in WRC2 over the course of the event and built a substantial advantage by Saturday evening, which he further extended over the closing stages.

But while Gryazin celebrated, his DG Sport Competition teammate, Yohan Rossel, endured a more difficult weekend.

The Frenchman needed to win the class to keep his WRC2 championship hopes alive, but ultimately languished more than 15 minutes back from the lead after two costly off-road excursions. His result means that Sami Pajari and Oliver Solberg – neither of whom were scoring points this week, although Solberg did start the event to gain asphalt experience and finished second-highest Rally2 car – are now the only drivers in line for the WRC2 crown.

Current WRC2 points leader Solberg has completed his seven points-scoring events and must now wait to see if Toyota GR Yaris Rally 2 driver Pajari can wrest the title from him on the Finn’s seventh and final scoring round in Japan.

Citroen C3 driver Nikolay Gryazin took a healthy WRC2 class lead into Sunday’s closing stages, but still pushed on to increase his final winning margin. McKlein/Motorsport Images

The 13th and final round of the 2024 WRC season, Rally Japan, takes place on the tight, twisting, leaf-strewn roads around Aichi, Nov. 21-24. And although Neuville remains the firm favorite to land that elusive first WRC title, Tanak’s late-season surge says this might not be over yet.

WRC Central European Rally, final positions after Leg Three, SS18
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 2h37m34.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +7.0s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +39.8s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m21.0s
5 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m41.9s
6 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 winner) +9m17.6s
7 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 – non-points) +9m34.1s
8 Filip Mares/Radovan Bucha (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +11m41.5s
9 Miko Marczyk/Szymon Gospodarczyk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +12m10.6s
10 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +12m20.3s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 12 of 13 rounds
1 Neuville 222 points
2 Tanak 196
3 Evans 179
4 Sebastien Ogier 166
5 Adrien Fourmaux 141

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 12 of 13 rounds
1 Hyundai Motorsport 519 points
2 Toyota Gazoo Racing 498
3 M-Sport Ford 260

Neuville’s WRC title hopes take a hit, Ogier leads after Central European Rally Saturday dramas

Thierry Neuville’s hopes of clinching his first FIA World Rally Championship title at the Central European Rally took a significant hit after a dramatic Saturday morning saw the Hyundai ace fall from first to fourth overall as Toyota’s Sebastien …

The Belgian had made a near-perfect start on the all-asphalt, multi-country event, leading by 6.4s in his i20 N Rally1 after Friday’s opening leg in the Czech Republic. But on the penultimate day of the penultimate round of the 2024 WRC season, he suffered not one, but two costly off-road excursions within the span of a minute.

Just yards after recovering from a first spin during the morning’s second stage, the 15.12-mile, German-Austrian border-straddling Beyond Borders 1 test, Neuville found himself wide on the grass again. The second off proved particularly costly as he struggled to extract his car from a concrete drainage ditch and lost nearly 40s.

Two time-consuming off-road moments look to have thwarted Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville’s chance of sealing his first WRC crown at the penultimate round. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier found himself back in the lead for the first time since Friday morning, but the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver had Ott Tanak’s Hyundai hot on his heels. Tanak, who’d briefly headed Ogier after the opening stage of the day, claimed two fastest times, compared with Ogier’s three, and trails the Frenchman by 5.2s heading into Sunday’s four-stage final leg.

Today’s events have made it increasingly likely that the championship will be decided at the season-ending Rally Japan next month. Based on Saturday’s provisional points haul (which are only locked in on completion of the event), Neuville has surrendered eight to Ogier and three to Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who currently sits 25.8s ahead of him in third place.

Crucially, he’s lost five points to teammate Tanak, his closest championship rival, but needed to outscore the Estonian by two to secure the title this weekend.

Ott Tanak holds second after Saturday’s leg, meaning the Hyundai ace could take his long-shot WRC title chances to the season finale. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

“There is disappointment, for sure, but the rally isn’t over and tomorrow is an exciting day,” Neuville said. “We paid the price. It was definitely a mistake in the recce with the pace notes. The note was too fast, and I am a bit disappointed about that, but it is what it is.”

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta trailed Neuville by 52.0s in fifth, the Japanese driver’s cause not helped by the 16-second time penalty he incurred on the first stage of the day. He exceeded the target speed in a virtual chicane area by 8km/h (5mph) and was penalized by 2s per km/h as a result.

Sixth at the overnight halt went the way of Katsuta’s fellow Toyota pilot Sami Pajari, the Finn enjoying the experience of his first asphalt start in a Rally1 car.

M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster held seventh overall, but it was a disappointing day for his teammate, Adrien Fourmaux, who retired his Puma Rally1 after the day’s second stage with a front differential issue that compromised his car’s handling, leading to two trips off-road.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Yohan Rossel’s WRC2 title ambitions took a heavy blow, but his DG Sport Competition Citroen teammate Nikolay Gryazin enjoyed another dominant day.

Citroen C3 driver Nikolay Gryazin continues to hold a healthy WRC2 lead. In contrast, teammate Yohan Rossel has seen his class title chances dashed… McKlein/Motorsport Images

Rossel began the penultimate round of the season well aware that only a victory would be enough to keep his championship hopes alive, but his rally began to unravel from the get-go. A broken wheel after an excursion on Thursday, followed by a lackluster run through Friday, left him languishing far down the order.

Saturday turned out to be even more frustrating for the Frenchman when he slid his Citroen C3 off the road on the opening stage, damaging the rear suspension. Although Rossel and co-driver Florian Barral managed to make repairs, the 14-minute time loss effectively ended their title challenge.

Rossel’s misfortune leaves only two drivers in the WRC2 title fight: Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari. Neither are scoring WRC2 points this weekend. Solberg is using CER to gain asphalt experience and currently sits second fastest of the Rally2-spec machines, but has already completed the maximum-allowed seven rounds this season. The Swede currently leads the series, but must wait until the Rally Japan finale to see whether Pajari, who’ll return to his Rally2-spec GR Yaris for his seventh counting event, can better his score.

Sunday’s finale is made up of two runs through the 7.56-mile Knaus Tabbert Am Hochwald test, plus two through the 9.24-mile Passauer Land stage The second blast through the latter forms the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage. Can Neuville dominate the final leg and claw back some of his advantage in the title race, or will he play it safe and aim for sealing the deal in Japan?

WRC Central European Rally, positions after Leg Two, SS14
1 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h10m12.7s
2 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5.2s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +14.0s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +39.8s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m31.8s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m07.3s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m22.7s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +7m39.6s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 – non-points) +8m10.6s
10 Filip Mares/Radovan Bucha (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +9m30.4s

Neuville strengthens his WRC title grip with early Central European Rally lead

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville kept his FIA World Rally Championship title ambitions on track by passing Toyota Gazoo Racing rival Sebastien Ogier for the lead of the Central European Rally after Friday’s opening leg. The Belgian (above) reached the …

The Belgian (above) reached the overnight halt with a slender 6.4s lead over Ogier and 7.8s clear of his third-placed Hyundai teammate, Ott Tanak, after a flat-out day of narrow, slippery asphalt stages which weaved their way through the Czech Republic and back toward the event’s service park near Bad Griesbach in Germany.

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier had topped the leader board in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 after Thursday’s opening pair of stages, but the Frenchman slipped behind Neuville’s Hyundai i20 N Rally1 after Friday morning’s third test, the 10.47-mile Sumavske Hostice 1 stage. His cause hadn’t been helped by a couple of wide moments on the greasy, leaf-covered roads.

While the pair remained closely matched across the leg, Ogier admitted that he simply was “not fast enough” as he finished the day trailing WRC points-leader and title favorite Neuville.

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier had taken an early lead, but was soon passed by a charging Thierry Neuville in his Hyundai. Red Bull Content Pool

A first world title is now another step closer for Neuville and his co-driver, Martijn Wydaeghe. With two days to go on an event that takes in stages in Germany and Austria, as well as the Czech Republic, they must outscore Tanak by two points while dropping no more than 10 to Ogier and 15 to Toyota’s Elfyn Evans to clinch the WRC crown with a round to spare.

“I am happy to be at the end of the day,” said Neuville, a five-time runner-up in WRC points. “It’s easy to make a mistake and I knew the only thing that was important to us was to make it to the end. It was quite greasy in [the last stage], so we played it safe and came through.”

While having two cars inside the top three bodes well for Hyundai, the pressure is on for the Korean marque to consolidate its WRC manufacturers’ title lead after third driver Andreas Mikkelsen crashed on the morning’s third stage. The Norwegian understeered wide on a leafy left-hand turn, hitting a series of fenceposts which caused heavy damage to his i20 N.

Andreas Mikkelsen’s fourth 2024 start for Hyundai ended prematurely – not the ideal outcome as the Korean marque seeks to consolidate its WRC manufacturers’ points lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Just 15.1s blanketed the leading quartet at the day’s end, with Evans ending the leg in fourth overall, 7.1s back from Tanak. The Welshman claimed a sole stage win in his GR Yaris, as did fellow Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta, who trailed him by 23.5s in fifth.

A hybrid issue put a slight dampener on Sami Pajari’s first outing on asphalt in one of the headlining hybrid Rally1 cars, but the Finn survived a few hairy moments in his GR Yaris to round out the top six.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux was also without hybrid power which, when coupled with setup struggles, restricted the Frenchman to a frustrated seventh overall, 5.2s behind Pajari, but 54.0s ahead of teammate Gregoire Munster in the second of the Puma Rally1 machines.

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux faced hybrid unit glitches and setup struggles as he toiled to a frustrated seventh overall.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin dominated Friday’s action to build a commanding 45.9s lead among the entries registered for championship points, but his Citroen C3 teammate, Yohan Rossel, saw his title ambitions slowly ebb away.

Gryazin was in scintillating form throughout the first full day. After edging ahead by 1.7s following Thursday’s opening two tests, he and co-driver Konstantin Aleksandrov continued their surge, clocking four fastest times to pull clear of Filip Mares’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

While Gryazin enjoyed a near-perfect opening leg, the same could not be said for Rossel. The Frenchman, who must win here to stay in the hunt for the WRC2 title, found himself 1m36.7s off the pace in fifth after a frustrating run. Rossel went off the road and broke a wheel on Thursday evening’s second stage, and further compounded his troubles on Friday by struggling to dial in an optimum setup.

If Rossel fails to claim victory by Sunday, the WRC2 title fight will be decided at next month’s season-closing Rally Japan, with either Oliver Solberg or Sami Pajari in line to secure the championship. Neither of Rossel’s rivals is registered for WRC2 points this weekend, with Skoda Fabia RS driver Solberg having already completed his seven counting rounds, but contesting the event anyway to gain experience and currently lying just 3.1s behind Gryazin, and Pajari part of Toyota’s Rally1 fleet.

Citroen C3 driver Yohan Rossel needs to win WRC2 this weekend to keep his class title hopes alive. But as things stand, that’s not looking likely… McKlein/Motorsport Images

Six more all-asphalt special stages, taking in both Germany and Austria, lie in wait on Saturday’s penultimate leg. Adding up to 76.71 competitive miles, the stages are mostly more flowing than Friday’s twisting tests, but no less slippery in the Central European fall conditions.

WRC Central European Rally, positions after Leg One, SS8
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h04m40.0s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +6.4s
3 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7.8s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +15.1s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +38.6s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m28.2s
7 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +1m33.4s
8 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m27.4s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +3m53.3s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 – non-points) +3m56.4s

Lia Block to make rallying return at Lake Superior

F1 Academy driver Lia Block will return to rallying at the Lake Superior Performance Rally in Michigan on October 11-12, replacing Brandon Semenuk at the Subaru Motorsports USA team. Block won the Open 2WD class in the American Rally Association …

F1 Academy driver Lia Block will return to rallying at the Lake Superior Performance Rally in Michigan on October 11-12, replacing Brandon Semenuk at the Subaru Motorsports USA team.

Block won the Open 2WD class in the American Rally Association National series last season before transitioning to circuit racing in the all-female Formula 1 feeder series with support from the Williams F1 team. She took her best finishes of the season so far with a pair of fourth place finishes in Singapore on the weekend of September 21-22.

“Excited is an understatement for the feeling going into LSPR,” said Block. “Subaru and Vermont SportsCar have given me such a cool opportunity to compete at a rally in their top-level car.”

LSPR will be Block’s first event in the top-tier of American rallying, and she will drive the latest Subaru WRX STI at the event alongside Semenuk’s regular co-driver Keaton Williams. Her father, Ken Block, drove the car’s previous generation in 2021, winning the very same event – his first win there since 2006.

Block’s teammates will be Travis Pastrana and Rhianon Gelsomino. Block made her Nitrocross Group E debut replacing Block at Glen Helen Raceway in 2023, while her 2023 rear-wheel-drive title triumph came with Gelsomino in the co-driver’s seat when Pastrana took a year out from stage competition.

“Rallying has always been my home. It’s my roots,” Block said. “My family and I have such a special history with this team, I wouldn’t want this milestone to be with anyone else. It’s been a while since I’ve competed in a rally car, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of learning my way around this insanely fast, top-level car.

“My goal for this upcoming weekend is to have fun, go fast, and finish the rally strong and comfortable.”

Aside from F1 Academy and rallying, Block has also competed in Nitrocross, where she raced in September’s season opener in Richmond, VA for the Dodge-backed Dreyer & Reinbold JC team, and Extreme E.

Ekström joins Ford Dakar effort after Audi exit

Mattias Ekström will join Ford’s Dakar lineup following his split from Audi last week. The two-time DTM and 2016 World Rallycross champion joins Carlos Sainz’ in moving over from the Four Rings’ rally raid program to the new M-Sport-led effort. …

Mattias Ekström will join Ford’s Dakar lineup following his split from Audi last week.

The two-time DTM and 2016 World Rallycross champion joins Carlos Sainz’ in moving over from the Four Rings’ rally raid program to the new M-Sport-led effort.

“Joining the Ford Dakar program is really exciting for me,” said Ekström. “Ford and M-Sport have built a vehicle that looks, sounds, and drives awesome and we all have a common ambition to win the Dakar Rally.

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“I have had four tries at Dakar so far and now I can say that I have some experience to be able to aim for the top. There is also a lot of knowledge and experience in the team to back up the ambition – starting with the long motorsport heritage of Ford, proven track record of M-Sport, very impressive driver line-up, smart engineers, technicians, and the rest of the team. I look forward to the first competitive outing with the Ford Raptor T1+ at Rally du Maroc and later at the Dakar Rally.

“I am in it to win it and I hope we will have very successful and great years ahead of us. I will do everything in my power to make it happen.”

The last three of Ekström’s four Dakar attempts have been with Audi, with whom he’s taken four stage wins and led a day of this year’s event before broken suspension derailed his chances of a victory.

“We have followed Mattias’ career for a long time, from his DTM days to the FIA World Rallycross, and now the Dakar Rally,” said M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson. “He has shown fantastic speed and ability in all forms of motorsport and his performances in off-road racing have been no different.

“We are really looking forward to working with him and his co-driver Emil (Berkvist), who both will bring with them a vast array of experience.”

As well as Ekström and Sainz, the Ford lineup will also comprise Mitch Guthrie and Nani Roma in a quartet of Ford Raptor T1+s in the Saudi Arabia-based event next year.

Aside from Ford and M-Sport’s lengthy World Rally Championship tenure, Ford’s off-road credentials also includes victories in the Baja 1000 and Tass-Finke desert race.

“Bringing Mattias Ekström into the Ford Performance family is a big step forward for our Dakar program,” said Ford Performance’s global director Mark Rushbrook. “Mattias brings a wealth of experience in rally and off-road racing, and his skills add to a formidable team in the Ford Raptor T1+.

“The Dakar Rally is a test like no other, but we’re confident in our lineup.”