Solberg now must watch and wait for WRC2 title chance

Far and away the fastest WRC2 driver on every stage through the final day of Rally Chile, Oliver Solberg did everything in his power to finish the weekend with the 2024 WRC2 world championship in his grasp, but it wasn’t quite enough. The Monster …

Far and away the fastest WRC2 driver on every stage through the final day of Rally Chile, Oliver Solberg did everything in his power to finish the weekend with the 2024 WRC2 world championship in his grasp, but it wasn’t quite enough.

The Monster Energy driver, son of 2003 World Rally champion Petter Solberg, Oliver Solberg arrived at this week’s Rally Chile, his final WRC2 outing of the season, knowing that if he could nail down another victory the ’24 WRC2 title would be his. Leading through Saturday afternoon, all looked good. However, Solberg suffered a slow tire puncture on the penultimate stage of day two that dropped him down to fourth place.

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“We have done everything we could do,” said Solberg. “I came here knowing a win would be enough and it was looking very good. I was comfortable with the car, with the pace and everything. Unfortunately, the events of Saturday afternoon didn’t help us.

“With WRC2, you are taking the best six scores from seven starts — you can start whichever seven events you like,” he explained. “It’s a little bit strange like this — I think we would all like to make the competition a bit more straight where you are all fighting each other and you know who’s the winner.

“It is like it is. We’ve done our seven rallies and regardless of what happens, if we win the title or now, I’m super-proud of the season Elliott [Edmondson, co-driver] and me made with the incredible people at Skoda Motorsport and Toksport. I want to thank everybody for what they have done, the hard work they have put in. It’s been an amazing season. And Chile has been incredible as well. Fantastic rally and people. Thanks to all of the fans out there — it’s been a pleasure to compete here.”

Solberg will now have to watch as his WRC2 rivals compete in the Central Europe Rally Oct. 17-20 and the season-ending Rally Japan, Nov. 20-23

Rovanpera wins Rally Chile as Neuville closes on first WRC title

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera secured victory at Rally Chile on Sunday, mastering dense fog and treacherous conditions (above) to clinch his fourth win of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season. Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, the two-time and …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera secured victory at Rally Chile on Sunday, mastering dense fog and treacherous conditions (above) to clinch his fourth win of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season.

Driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, the two-time and reigning WRC champ edged out his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Elfyn Evans by 23.4s, mastering the increasingly difficult and damp gravel roads across Chile’s Bio Bio region.

Rovanpera made a cautious start to the 11th round of the season, admitting that the Chilean gravel didn’t suit his driving style on Friday’s opening leg. But as the rally progressed, found his rhythm. The turning point came on Saturday afternoon when he overhauled Evans in near-zero visibility, navigating through thick fog high up the mountain stages to seize a 15.1s lead heading into the short final leg.

The 23-year-old Finn, who’s taking on only a part-time campaign in 2024 to recharge his rallying batteries, remained unflappable in equally difficult conditions on Sunday, outpacing Evans on all but one of the final four stages to secure the 15th victory of his WRC career.

“It feels really good,” said Rovanpera. “Big thanks to the team — the car and everything worked perfectly. The win actually feels like a good one, but Friday did not feel so good and the conditions were really difficult all weekend, so, yes, it feels really good.”

Kalle Rovanpera has started only seven 2024 WRC rounds for Toyota, but he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen have now won four of them with their first Rally Chile victory. Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

Hyundai Motorsport’s Ott Tanak completed the podium, trailing Evans by 20.5s in his i20 N Rally1. Despite the Estonian’s podium, Hyundai lost ground in the WRC manufacturers’ championship, with Toyota reducing the gap to just 17 points, courtesy of Rovanpera and Evans’ masterful performances and third factory entry Sebastien Ogier’s crucial Super Sunday maximum points haul.

Championship leader Thierry Neuville enjoyed a relatively drama-free run to fourth in his factory i20 N Rally1, a result which moves him even closer to a first drivers’ title as he tops the table by 29 points with just two rounds remaining. Neuville, a five-time runner-up in the WRC standings, can afford to lose a handful of points to both Evans and Ogier at next month’s Central European Rally and still lift the title there, providing he outscores teammate Tanak.

Fourth in Chile for Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville sets up a potential title-clincher on next month’s Central European Rally. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

While Ogier salvaged every point available from Super Sunday, his hopes for a ninth WRC title now appear slim. The Frenchman, who had the speed to challenge for victory, retired his Toyota on Saturday with suspension damage after striking a rock and rejoined on Sunday purely to put on a charge and mop up the points on offer.

Adrien Fourmaux was M-Sport Ford’s top finisher in fifth, trailing Neuville by 1m1.6s. The Frenchman’s result could have been even stronger had it not been for a one-minute penalty incurred for a late check-in in his Puma Rally1 on Friday.

Toyota’s rising star Sami Pajari impressed by finishing sixth on just his second Rally1 outing, while Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford teammate Gregoire Munster followed closely behind in seventh.

Esapekka Lappi had been on course to finish eighth, but was forced to retire on the penultimate stage after a spin damaged his Hyundai’s radiator. The retirement also marked the conclusion of Lappi’s co-driver Janne Ferm’s distinguished WRC career after 90 starts, two wins and 15 podiums.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin’s 1-2 finish secured DG Sport Competition the 2024 WRC2 teams’ title.

Just 17.3s separated the Citroen C3 Rally2 pair. Frenchman Rossel was given a late advantage on Saturday night when event stewards awarded him a corrected time for Saturday’s penultimate stage, where he was held up behind WRC2 points leader Oliver Solberg, and he began Sunday’s final leg holding a 21.6s lead.

However, Rossel’s buffer steadily eroded as Gryazin closed in on Sunday’s four stages. A 10-second time penalty for a jump start only added to the tension, but Rossel kept his composure through the thick fog and treacherously muddy roads to claim victory. His win keeps his title hopes in the WRC2 drivers’ title alive.

Solberg, who had led earlier in the rally before suffering a costly wheel change on Saturday, could only manage fourth in class. The Toksport Skoda Fabia RS driver has now completed the maximum seven events allowed in WRC2, and although he currently leads the standings, the Swede will have to wait anxiously for the final two rounds to see whether Rossel or Sami Pajari, back in his WRC2 Yaris next time out, can overhaul him for the title.

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Citroen C3 driver Yohan Rossel’s WRC2 win keeps his championship hopes alive in the WRC’s second-tier category. McKlein/Motorsport Images

The WRC returns to Europe for its penultimate round, the Central European Rally, Oct. 17-20. Based out of the south-east German city of Bad Griessbach, the event will take crews on a multiple border-crossing journey on all-asphalt stages spanning Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

WRC Rally Chile, final positions after Leg Three, SS16
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h58m59.8s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +23.4s
3 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +43.9s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m01.1s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +2m02.7s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m39.7s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m47.7s
8 Yohan Rossel/Florian Barral Citroen C3 – WRC2 winner) +8m31.4s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +8m48.7s
10 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m52.1s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 11 of 13 rounds
1 Neuville 207 points
2 Tanak 178
3 Ogier 166
4 Evans 161
5 Fourmaux 140

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 11 of 13 rounds
1 Hyundai Motorsport 482 points
2 Toyota Gazoo Racing 465
3 M-Sport Ford 245

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.

Rovanpera grabs WRC Rally Chile lead as fog thwarts Evans’ charge

Kalle Rovanpera snatched the lead of Rally Chile from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate, Elfyn Evans, as dense fog engulfed Saturday afternoon’s stages, turning the battle for victory on the WRC’s South American foray on its head. The two-time and …

Kalle Rovanpera snatched the lead of Rally Chile from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate, Elfyn Evans, as dense fog engulfed Saturday afternoon’s stages, turning the battle for victory on the WRC’s South American foray on its head.

The two-time and reigning WRC champ (pictured above) will head into Sunday’s final leg with a lead of 15.1s over fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver Evans, after benefiting in part from the tricky weather conditions that reshaped the leaderboard late in Saturday’s second leg.

Evans had been in commanding form earlier in the day, winning three of the first four stages to build a 13.6s cushion. But his advantage evaporated on the penultimate test, 15.93-mile Lota 2, where low cloud over the mountains resulted in thick fog on the stages, reducing visibility to near zero in places.

As the last of the top runners on the road, Evans bore the brunt of the deteriorating conditions and was forced to slow his pace to a crawl at times. In contrast, 23-year-old Finn Rovanpera — who’s chosen to run a limited 2024 schedule, but already has three wins from six previous starts – stormed into the lead with a time more than 20 seconds faster, before extending the gap in similarly treacherous conditions on the final stage of the day, 17.65-mile Maria Las Cruces 2.

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans built a solid lead while the conditions remained clear, but fog on the closing stages turned his rally on its head. Toyota GAZOO Racing photo

Ott Tanak held third in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1, trailing Evans by 18.5s after a day of high drama which also saw Toyota’s only realistic challenger for the WRC drivers’ title, Sebastien Ogier, bow out of contention. The eight-time WRC champ’s bid for a ninth title was dealt a hefty blow when his GR Yaris struck a rock on the morning’s second stage, breaking a bolt on the steering arm.

“They were really difficult conditions,” said Rovanpera. “Huge fog, and some of the most challenging stages of the year, I think. I have never done anything like this. You drive and you are just trying to stay on the road. It’s a big challenge.”

Evans, still hunting his first WRC event win since Japan last November, was understandably disappointed to lose the lead, but acknowledged there was little he could do. “I couldn’t see past the hood,” he revealed. “It was crazy.”

Behind Tanak, his Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville mounted a strong comeback and climbed from sixth on Friday to finish the day 43.7s off the lead in fourth. While the Belgian is now unlikely to wrap up his first WRC drivers’ title this week, he remains well placed to do so at next month’s Central European Rally, barring any major setbacks.

Thierry Neuville moved his Hyundai up to fourth overall – not a spectacular day for the Belgian, but decent enough for his WRC title hopes. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Adrien Fourmaux also made good progress, moving from eighth to fifth in his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1. Hampered by a one-minute time penalty on Friday, the Frenchman charged past Toyota’s Sami Pajari, who’s making only his second Rally1 start this weekend, and M-Sport Ford teammate Gregoire Munster. Pajari ended the day in sixth overall, with Munster just 1.1s further back in seventh.

It was another tough day for Hyundai’s third factory entry, Esapekka Lappi. Already off the pace, the Finn’s troubles deepened when he picked up a two-minute time penalty for clocking in early for the day’s penultimate stage. He finished Saturday a distant and despondent eighth overall.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg put in an early charge to take the class lead in his Toksport Skoda Fabia RS, and with it the chance to wrap up the WRC2 crown regardless of what his closest competition does in the remaining two events.

But having stopped to change a puncture on Saturday’s penultimate stage, Solberg plummeted to fifth in the overnight WRC2 standings — this despite pulling out the stops to put in a time more than 20 seconds faster than class leader Nikolay Gryazin on the day’s final test.

Solberg still sits a full minute behind Gryazin’s Citroen C3, but has vowed to push hard on Sunday’s final leg. Could a title-sealing WRC2 win still be on the cards for the fired-up Swede?

WRC2 title-chasing Oliver Solberg pushed his Skoda into the WRC2 lead through Saturday’s opening stages, but fell to fifth with a late-day puncture. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Sunday’s closing leg consists of two challenging stages, each run twice. It adds up to a short, sharp 34.05 miles of competitive action, including the 5.46-mile Bio Bio 2 test that makes up the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Chile, positions after Leg Two, SS12
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h25m14.3s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +15.1s
3 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +33.6s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +43.7s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +1m23.0s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m49.5s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m50.6s
8 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Fern (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m14.6s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +6m28.2s
10 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +6m45.0s

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 0.4s ahead of Evans after WRC Rally Chile’s ultra-close Friday   

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak has laid the groundwork for a potential third consecutive Rally Chile triumph for the Estonian ace, ending Friday’s opening leg with a narrow 0.4s advantage over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans. It was a day of contrasting fortunes for …

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak has laid the groundwork for a potential third consecutive Rally Chile triumph for the Estonian ace, ending Friday’s opening leg with a narrow 0.4s advantage over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.

It was a day of contrasting fortunes for Tanak, who has won every WRC round previously held in Chile (2019 for Toyota, and last year with M-Sport Ford). He struggled in the morning, sitting only fifth overall at the lunchtime regroup after grappling with a lack of confidence and balance in his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 during the first pass of the three gravel stages south of Chile’s second city, Concepcion.

However, setup tweaks at service rejuvenated his performance and helped him to overhaul Evans on the days penultimate stage, the 8.29-mile Rere 2, to claim that wafer-thin overnight lead.

Despite Tanak’s strong afternoon, Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier appeared the most potent contender throughout day one. The eight-time WRC champ, who began this season on a limited schedule, but has morphed into Toyota’s best shot at the 2024 drivers’ crown, won three stages in his GR Yaris Rally1 and would have led the rally by almost 30 seconds, had he not run wide and hit a bank on the morning’s final stage, forcing him to stop and change a wheel.

Tanak was encouraged by the afternoon turnaround and remains poised to close the points gap to his WRC drivers’ championship-leading teammate, Thierry Neuville, who ended down in sixth after starting first on the road and enduring the worst of the loose gravel on the hard-packed dirt roads

Evans, who’s been slow out of the blocks on recent events, delivered a more aggressive start in Chile, but struggled with confidence on the afternoon loop, admitting: “I’m a bit lost with the feeling, in all honesty. It’s not feeling natural at the moment.”

Toyota’s Elfyn Evans admitted to not feeling fully comfortable, but still ended Friday just 0.4s off the lead. Image via Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT

Two-time and reigning world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who’s also chosen a limited schedule for Toyota this season, completed the top three, 6.7s adrift of Evans in his GR Yaris, but voiced frustrations after overshooting and hitting a gate on the afternoon’s opening stage.

“I don’t feel comfortable on these roads,” Rovanpera explained. “When it’s dry like this, it doesn’t suit my usual driving style. I’m fighting the car and my driving a lot.”

Back at the event where he made his top-tier Rally1 debut last year, Gregoire Munster put in his best performance of the season, but tire damage on the final stage saw the M-Sport Ford driver drop to fifth behind Toyota’s Sami Pajari, who’s making only his second Rally1 start. Just 1.4s separated the pair at day’s end, with Pajari in turn trailing Rovanpera by only 2.2s.

M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster put in the best performance of his debut Rally1 campaign, ending Friday in fifth overall. Image via Red Bull Content Pool

For Munster’s M-Sport Ford teammates, it was a more challenging day. Martins Sesks retired his non-hybrid Puma Rally1 car in the morning after hitting a bank and damaging two tires while only carrying one spare wheel. Adrien Fourmaux fell from fourth to eighth after incurring a one-minute time penalty for arriving late to the start of the penultimate stage. The delay stemmed from roadside repairs, first to his alternator and then to a water pipe damaged in fixing the alternator issue.

WRC points leader Neuville ended the day sixth in his i20 N Rally1, more than a half minute off the pace. Opening the road, he struggled with loose conditions but still led teammate Esapekka Lappi by 5.8s.

“There wasn’t much more I could do,” Neuville admitted, while Lappi described his Friday performance as “a disaster of a day.”

The delayed Fourmaux brought his Puma home in eighth overall, just ahead of the recovering Ogier in ninth.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Nikolay Gryazin holds the overnight lead, despite almost rolling his Citroen C3 on the final stage of the day.

Oliver Solberg is second, 10.2s behind in his Toksport Skoda Fabia RS, but the Swede is putting a degree of pressure on himself to close down the gap to Gryazin as a win would guarantee him this season’s WRC2 championship.

Second could still be enough for Solberg to take the title, but he’d be reliant on the performance of others on the final two WRC rounds of the season to do so – not a situation he feels comfortable with.

Citroen C3 driver Nikolay Gryazin (above) leads WRC2, but Oliver Solberg is homing in on both him and the class title. Image via Red Bull Content Pool

Saturday will be a true test of endurance and tire management, with six stages totaling nearly 87 miles to get through, and the road surfaces expected to be even more abrasive than Leg One’s tests.

WRC Rally Chile, positions after Leg One, SS6
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 58m06.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +0.4s
3 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +7.1s
4 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +9.3s
5 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +10.7s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +30.3s
7 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Fern (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +36.1s
8 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria Ford Puma Rally1) +1m01.0s
9 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m24.9s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2 leader) +2m14.9s

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.

 

Neuville strengthens WRC title chances with Acropolis Rally victory

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville moved a step closer to claiming his first FIA World Rally Championship title after winning a grueling and twist-filled Acropolis Rally Greece. The Belgian (above) mastered the rough, rock-strewn, all-gravel stages around …

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville moved a step closer to claiming his first FIA World Rally Championship title after winning a grueling and twist-filled Acropolis Rally Greece.

The Belgian (above) mastered the rough, rock-strewn, all-gravel stages around Lamia to head up a Hyundai Motorsport 1-2-3 finish, ahead of i20 N Rally1 teammates Dani Sordo and Ott Tanak, with Neuville’s main title rival Sebastien Ogier suffering a dramatic roll on the rally-closing Wolf Power Stage while on course to finish second overall.

Ogier was able to push his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 back onto its wheels and finish the rally, the eight-time WRC champ crucially securing the 15 points scored on Saturday night, but he plummeted down the overall rally standings after dropping more than 20 minutes.

Frenchman Ogier had led early in the three-day rally, but slipped behind when his car was crippled by a turbocharger failure late on Friday’s opening leg. Tanak and Sordo also lost valuable time, both suffering tire damage on Saturday that dashed their own victory hopes and catapulted Neuville into the lead.

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier had charged back to second, but rolled on the closing stage to put a major dent in his WRC title hopes. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Even Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe weren’t totally immune to the rally’s brutality. A misfiring engine plagued their Hyundai on the opening morning, but the pair managed to regroup and adopted a sensible strategy, carefully balancing risk and reward to avoid further calamities on the treacherous road surfaces.

His Greek victory stretched Neuville’s lead in the WRC drivers’ standings to 34 points over Ogier, with Tanak two more points back in third. But with 90 points still available from the remaining three rounds, and Ogier switching from a part-time campaign to a full-on attack on a ninth title, it’s still far from over. In the WRC’s manufacturers’ championship, Hyundai extended its advantage over Toyota Gazoo Racing to 35 points.

“I didn’t have the information on Ogier’s crash at all, and when I saw the car I still wasn’t sure it was him,” said Neuville. “I understood from that point on that I just had to bring home the car and get through.

“Since yesterday morning we understood that we had to get through and to follow our objectives. I’m really proud of my team as well, and Martijn, too — we got the car to the end and that’s what matters.”

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville celebrates a near-flawless Acropolis Rally win – one that puts him a step closer to a first WRC title. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

With Ogier in trouble, Tanak collected 11 of a possible 12 points from Super Sunday. The 2019 WRC champ also claimed his 50th WRC podium.

Elfyn Evans’ title aspirations took a major hit when he rolled his Toyota late on Saturday, while M-Sport Ford duo Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster were also forced to rejoin under restart rules following their own incidents on Friday and Saturday resectively. For Fourmaux, there was small consolation in taking fastest time on the bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage, but the Puma Rally1 driver’s chances of earning a top-three finish in the final WRC standings now seem remote. 

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Sami Pajari clinched the class victory in the closest way possible, the Finnish rising star relying on countback rules after completing the event level on time with Robert Virves.

Pajari, driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, appeared to have his third WRC2 win of the season in the bag as he headed into the closing Wolf Power Stage with a near 30-second advantage over Estonian Virves’ Skoda Fabia RS. But in true Acropolis Rally style, drama unfolded at the very last moment.

A deflating front-left tire three miles from the finish line left Pajari rapidly losing time. By the time he crossed the stage end, Virves had clawed back the gap, leaving both drivers deadlocked on total overall time.

As per the WRC regulations, the tiebreaker was determined by the fastest time on the rally’s opening stage — a decisive advantage for Pajari, who’d been 19.7s quicker on Friday morning’s 13.96-mile Ano Pavliani test.

“About five kilometers (three miles) from the finish, I realized we had a puncture, and I knew the best option was to keep going rather than stop to change it,” explained a shocked Pajari. “When we crossed the line, I looked around to see if anyone knew the result, but nobody seemed to know. It took a few minutes to find out that we had won, and it was a huge relief.”  

He now trails WRC2 championship leader Oliver Solberg, who skipped the Acropolis Rally as one of his seven points-counting events, by just three markers.

Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Sami Pajari dead-heated with Robert Virves in WRC2, only taking the win on countback. McKlein/Motorsport Images

The WRC now heads across the Atlantic to South America for round 11 at Rally Chile, Sept. 26-29. The Concepcion-based event, which features breathtaking, all-gravel mountain stages, will be crucial to Ogier’s continuing chase of Neuville in the WRC’s overall title battle.

WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, final positions after Leg Three, SS15
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 3h38m04.2s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m36.8s
3 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m57.3s
4 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 winner) +7m01.1s
5 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +7m01.1s
6 Yohan Rossel/Florian Barral (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +7m31.9s
7 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m54.0s
8 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +11m27.9s
9 Josh McErlean/James Fulton (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +12m27.2s
10 Robert Dapra/Luca Guglielmetti (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +13m44.9s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 10 of 13 rounds
1
Neuville 192 points 
2 Sebastien Ogier 158
3 Tanak 154
4 Elfyn Evans 140
5 Adrien Fourmaux 130

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 10 of 13 rounds
1
Hyundai Motorsport 445 points   
2
Toyota Gazoo Racing 410 
3 M-Sport Ford 226

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.

Neuville grabs Saturday Acropolis Rally lead, boosts WRC title hopes

Thierry Neuville’s FIA World Rally Championship title hopes were bolstered on Saturday as the Hyundai ace (above) emerged from the plot twists of another punishing day at Acropolis Rally Greece with a commanding overall lead. The Belgian, who …

Thierry Neuville’s FIA World Rally Championship title hopes were bolstered on Saturday as the Hyundai ace (above) emerged from the plot twists of another punishing day at Acropolis Rally Greece with a commanding overall lead.

The Belgian, who started the penultimate leg third, climbed to the top as his i20 N Rally1-driving factory teammates, Ott Tanak and Dani Sordo, suffered misfortunes in what has proven to be easily the season’s most brutal rally so far.

Tanak had led by 21.8s after Friday’s grueling opening leg, but Greece’s unforgiving, rock-strewn gravel stages took their toll early on Saturday. Forced to stop twice within six miles to change wheels, the Estonian’s challenge fell apart as he dropped four minutes and plummeted down the leaderboard to fourth.

Sordo, making his first top-level appearance since June’s Rally Italy Sardinia, briefly inherited the lead. But, like so many before him, the Spaniard was undone by the unforgiving road conditions. A collision with a rock caused a rear-tire blowout, which cost around 50s and negated his advantage in an instant.

But Neuville, whose Friday had been somewhat marred by a misfiring engine, managed to survive the rock-related carnage. Carefully pacing himself and conserving his Pirelli tires, he steered his Hyundai clear of any potential disasters to end the day with a lead of 53.7s over Sordo. 

Sebastien Ogier, Neuville’s closest championship challenger despite starting the 2024 season on a part-time schedule only, clung to third overall, the eight-time WRC champ ending Saturday 1m20.9s adrift of the lead in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1.

Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier is holding on to third, but looks set to lose ground to Thierry Neuville in the WRC title battle.

With 18 points provisionally secured (they’ll be confirmed only if Neuville finishes Sunday’s closing leg), the rally leader and his co-driver, Martijn Wydaeghe, are on course to extend their WRC points lead, which stood at 27 points over Ogier at the start of the rally.

“There’s another day left, so at the moment there is no conclusion yet,” insisted Neuville, who’s finished WRC title runner-up five times, but is yet to make the final step. “We need to see where we end up tomorrow — that’s the only thing that counts.

“So far we’ve had a very good management of our rally and, despite some issues on Friday, nothing major happened. From the beginning, our approach was to be careful with the car when it was needed and we somehow got through. I tried to adapt my driving style a bit in the ruts and not put the car too sideways with the risk of hitting stones — that’s the only thing you can do.

“It’s a lottery out there and we don’t know what will happen. Tomorrow we have to see what the weather will be like and how hard we need to drive for the extra points. There are a lot of things we still have to manage.”

Sordo’s tire blowout obliterated the rear bodywork on his i20 N, and with no mid-day service, he and co-driver Candido Carrera were forced to patch up the car as best they could. The duo even resorted to wearing ski goggles to keep the dust out as they fought to retain second place.

Dani Sordo inspects the damage to his Hyundai i20 N Rally1. The Spaniard kept going and holds second overall at the overnight halt. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier, who won three of the day’s six stages, could only reflect on what might have been. After leading early on Friday, his rally was derailed by a turbocharger failure that cost him more than two minutes. His Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans has fared far worse at this 10th round of the season; stricken by similar turbo issues on day one, the Welshman’s title hopes took a devastating blow when he rolled his car on Saturday’s penultimate stage and was forced to retire.

Tanak trailed Ogier by almost two minutes in fourth overall, while M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 youngster Gregoire Munster, who’d been hunting down a top-five spot in Friday’s opening leg, crashed out on Saturday’s third stage.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Finland’s Sami Pajari surged ahead of overnight leader Robert Virves, ending Saturday with a relatively comfortable 27.7s class lead.

Estonian Virves had held a slim 1.5s advantage entering the penultimate leg and, after 30 miles of competitive action in the morning loop, the gap had only increased to 3.9s.

However, it was Pajari’s commanding run through the day’s fourth stage, Aghii Theodori, that proved pivotal. On a softer road surface compared to the earlier stages, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver outpaced Virves by 16.4s, propelling himself into the WRC2 lead.

A puncture on the repeat pass through Aghii Theodori further prevented any hopes of a comeback from Virves and, by the day’s close, the Skoda Fabia RS driver found himself trailing Pajari by what could prove an insurmountable margin.

Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 driver Sami Pajari pulled out the stops in Saturday afternoon’s opening stage to grab the WRC2 lead. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

A rough, tough Acropolis Rally Greece concludes on Sunday, when crews face three more special stages totaling 33.59 competitive miles. A rally-closing second run through the 11.36-mile Eleftherohori stage will be the bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage.

WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, positions after Leg Two, SS12
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 3h01m05.3s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +53.7s
3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m20.9s
4 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3m19.2s
5 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2 leader) +5m06.1s
6 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +5m33.8s
7 Yohan Rossel/Florian Barral (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +6m00.3s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +6m58.1s
9 Georg Linnamae/James Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +8m33.9s
10 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +9m23.2s

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Tanak avoids Friday dramas to lead a rough, tough WRC Acropolis Rally

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak passed Sebastien Ogier’s ailing Toyota to lead Acropolis Rally Greece at the end of Friday’s opening leg, capping an incident-filled day that could significantly impact this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title race. …

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak passed Sebastien Ogier’s ailing Toyota to lead Acropolis Rally Greece at the end of Friday’s opening leg, capping an incident-filled day that could significantly impact this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title race.

Greece’s notoriously rugged gravel roads lived up to their punishing reputation, with four of the championship’s top five drivers encountering trouble and dropping significant time. But Tanak (above) guided his i20 N Rally1 through the chaos unscathed, the Estonian topping a commanding Hyundai 1-2-3 overnight.

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier, who started the rally second in championship points, held an 11.7s lead over Tanak when M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux retired from second overall due to a broken steering arm on the day’s fourth stage. But disaster struck Ogier late in the day when a turbocharger issue on his GR Yaris Rally1 cost the Frenchman, whose limited 2024 schedule has rapidly transformed into a full-on title attack, around two-and-a-half minutes and relegated him to fourth.

Ogier’s misfortune compounded a disastrous day for the Toyota Gazoo Racing factory squad. Teammate Elfyn Evans dropped nearly nine minutes earlier in the day with a similar turbo issue, while Takamoto Katsuta retired on the morning’s final stage with rear suspension damage after mishearing a pacenote from co-driver Aaron Johnston.

Sebastien Ogier’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 had been leading on the rough Greek stages, until a turbo issue dropped him down the order.

Explaining the situation, Toyota technical director Tom Fowler said: “It looks like Seb has lost the boost pressure from the turbocharger. We had Elfyn’s car this morning with the same symptoms.

“It’s a huge disappointment because, clearly, it’s another rally after Finland where we have really strong performance in the car. In Finland we didn’t capitalize on that, and it looks like here, again, we’re not going to capitalize on the potential performance that both the car and the drivers have.”

In contrast, Hyundai celebrated as Tanak led his i20 N Rally1-driving teammates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville by 21.8 and 23.4s respectively at the overnight halt. As it stands, the Korean marque is poised to significantly extend its advantage in the WRC manufacturers’ championship.

“We’ve got to be thankful for a trouble-free day. It’s been tough with the heat and the rough conditions,” said Tanak, who currently sits third in the WRC drivers’ standings. “It’s been a great day for Hyundai, but we all know there’s more to come.”

Sordo, making his first appearance since Rally Italy Sardinia in June, faced challenges of his own, managing a faulty hybrid unit throughout much of the afternoon. Current WRC points leader Neuville also encountered issues, nursing an engine problem in the morning that left his car running on reduced power, but crucially headed title rival Ogier by 1m41.2s overnight.

Elsewhere among the headlining Rally 1 crews, M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster was forced to stop for a wheel change on the day’s sixth and final stage. He now sits seventh overall, but had impressed with his pace and consistency prior to the late mishap.

M-Sport Ford’s Gregoire Munster held a solid top-five spot until picking up a puncture on the day’s final stage. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Estonia’s Robert Virves vaulted from fourth to first on the day’s final stage, snatching the lead after heartbreak struck Yohan Rossel.

Citroen C3 driver Rossel dominated the day’s early stages, posting fastest class times on the first five tests and building a commanding 46.5s lead over his closest WRC2 rival. However, his fortunes took a dramatic turn on the closing 14.52-mile Tarzan test when he was forced to stop seven miles in to change a wheel. He lost more than two minutes and tumbled to sixth in the standings.

“The only positive is we’ll have a better road position tomorrow,” said Rossel. “It’s tough because we gave everything, but it’s the same for some of the others, and there’s still a long way to go.”

Skoda Fabia RS driver Virves had been lying fourth before the final stage, but a sensational time – 11.1s faster than anyone else – propelled him into the overnight lead, just 1.5s ahead of Sami Pajari in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

Skoda Fabia RS driver Robert Virves climbed from fourth in WRC2 to leading the class after a scorching time on Friday’s final stage. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Saturday’s second leg promises more challenges as the rough stuff continues. Six special stages add up to 72.22 competitive miles on the unforgiving roads south of Lamia.

WRC Rally Acropolis Greece, positions after Leg One, SS6
1 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h40m16.9s
2 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.8s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +45.2s
4 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m26.4s
5 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m10.9s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +3m12.4s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m08.4s
8 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +4m09.0s
9 Fabrizio Zaldivar/Marcelo der Ohannesian (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +4m19.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2) +4m22.5s

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Rovanpera closes in on first WRC Rally Finland win after dominant Saturday

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is a big step closer to taking his first WRC Rally Finland victory after a stunning run of five special stage wins on Saturday’s second leg left the home hero comfortably clear of the field. The two-time and reigning …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera (above) is a big step closer to taking his first WRC Rally Finland victory after a stunning run of five special stage wins on Saturday’s second leg left the home hero comfortably clear of the field.

The two-time and reigning FIA World Rally champion, who was born and raised in the rally’s home city of Jyvaskyla, completed the penultimate leg of the WRC’s fastest all-gravel event with a 44.2s advantage over his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 teammate Sebastien Ogier. Points leader Thierry Neuville, driving a Hyundai i20 N Rally1, ended the day a further 39.2s back in third overall.

After Friday’s wet, but still super-fast opening leg, Saturday offered more of the same, with Rovanpera, Elfyn Evans and Ogier beginning the morning loop in a Toyota 1-2-3 at the top of the leaderboard. 

But it all went wrong for Evans when his GR Yaris’s front-right driveshaft broke in the second stage of the day, the blisteringly fast Paijala 1 test. That forced him to limp through another 25 miles of special stages in road mode — losing almost six minutes in the process — before repairs could be made in the mid-leg service back at Jyvaskyla.

Elfyn Evans was keeping Toyota teammate Kalle Rovanpera in his sights, until plunging down the order with a driveshaft issue for his GR Yaris Rally1. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Rovanpera’s advantage over the now second-placed Ogier had ballooned to over 20s by the end of the morning leg. The afternoon was a repeat of the three special stages and the 23-year-old Finn, who’s chosen to run only a part-time WRC campaign in 2024, continued his flawless drive. Despite changeable weather through the day, he won all but one of the six stages, including both passes of 20.49-mile Ouninpohja’s legendary rollercoaster ride.

“In the morning there was a good fight and we kept pushing today,” said Rovanpera, who crashed out while leading his home rally last year. “We did some quite strong times without taking any huge risks, so that is quite positive.”

Eight-time WRC champ Ogier — another one of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s roster taking in only a limited 2024 program — was not in the mood for taking unnecessary risks and admitted that, having not competed here since 2021, he lacked the commitment needed to challenge Rovanpera.

“The commitment needs to be at 100 percent,” said Ogier, whose only Rally Finland win came back in 2013 with VW, “and two years missing here makes it more challenging. In Finland, there are not so many guys who can follow the 100 percent of Kalle Rovanpera…”

After struggling for pace on Friday, the second leg was more positive for Neuville and his title aspirations. While Evans, currently third in the WRC drivers’ standings, has so far failed to register a score, Neuville’s overnight third position provisionally earned him 13 precious championship points. His Hyundai teammate, Ott Tanak, who was second in points coming into this round, did not restart following his heavy crash on Friday morning. 

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville has moved into third overall. With problems for his closest WRC title rivals, it’s looking like a useful weekend for the Belgian. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Adrien Fourmaux set a similar pace to Neuville on the day’s stages, but the Frenchman trailed the Belgian by 25.9s after struggling to regain time lost to him yesterday. 

Fourmaux’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 teammate Gregoire Munster’s day was over in a flash after the Luxembourg driver rolled 2.5 miles into Saturday’s opening stage.

Behind Fourmaux, Sami Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen are on course to record a top-five result on their GR Yaris Rally1 debut, with 29.5s separating the young Finnish pair from fourth-placed Fourmaux.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg continues to set the pace in his Toksport-run Skoda Fabia RS. 

The 22-year-old Swede ended Friday’s opening leg with a 24.1s lead over former WRC ace and now-Toyota Gazoo Racing team principal Jari-Matti Latvala, who’s enjoying a one-off drive in a new-for-2024 GR Yaris Rally2. 

Solberg eked out the gap over Saturday’s opening stages, then found himself enjoying 47.6s of clear air after Latvala lost time with a spin in the day’s closing test, Ouninpohja 2. A trouble-free run on the final day will see him extending his WRC2 points lead.

Oliver Solberg built a commanding WRC2 lead after a flawless day in his Skoda Fabia RS. McKlein/Motorsport Images

Sunday’s final leg consists of four more super-fast special stages, adding up to a short, sharp 25.89 competitive miles. Sahloinen-Moksi and Laajavuori are each run twice, with the latter as the rally-closing, bonus points-paying Wolf Power Stage. 

WRC Rally Finland, positions after Leg Two, SS16
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h03m53.8s

2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +44.2s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m23.8s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m49.7s
5 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m19.2s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +7m32.4s
7 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +8m20.0s
8 Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +8m52.4s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroen C3 – WRC2, non-points) +8m57.7s
10 Mikko Heikkila/Kristian Temonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +9m04.8s 

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Rovanpera leads as wet WRC Rally Finland opener claims its victims

Local hero Kalle Rovanpera (above) held an 8.0s WRC Rally Finland lead on Friday night after an incident-filled opening leg ended with Toyota Gazoo Racing locking out the top-three places. The two-time and reigning champion, who’s yet to win his …

Local hero Kalle Rovanpera (above) held an 8.0s WRC Rally Finland lead on Friday night after an incident-filled opening leg ended with Toyota Gazoo Racing locking out the top-three places.

The two-time and reigning champion, who’s yet to win his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship, headed fellow Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver Elfyn Evans after winning four of today’s nine rain-affected special stages. Sebastien Ogier rounded out the top three, six-tenths of a second further back in his GR Yaris.

Like eight-time champ Ogier, the flying Rovanpera, who was born and raised in Rally Finland’s host city of Jyvaskyla, is running only a part-time schedule in 2024. But should the 23-year-old Finn hang on for a victory on the super-fast stages that make up the “Finnish Grand Prix,” he’ll have swept the WRC’s run of three consecutive high-speed gravel events. 

In stark contrast to Toyota’s early domination, arch rival Hyundai suffered a disastrous day, losing two of its i20 N Rally1 cars to crashes. Title hopeful Ott Tanak, who was targeting a fourth Rally Finland win, was forced out by a roll in the morning’s second stage. The heavy impact resulted in co-driver Martin Jarveoja being taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks, where he will remain overnight for monitoring. 

Ott Tanak was aiming for a fourth Rally Finland win, but the Estonian’s quest ended prematurely when he rolled out on the opening morning. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Meanwhile, Esapekka Lappi — a Rally Finland winner in 2017 — retired from fourth after hitting a tree which tore the rear suspension from his car. Lappi, who’s another WRC regular taking on only a part-time role in 2024, is expected to restart his i20 N on Saturday.

Rovanpera battled excessive oversteer in the early stages to hold a slender lead of just 0.2s over Evans at the day’s midpoint, but he raised the bar on the repeated afternoon loop to widen that gap as the puddle-covered gravel roads became rutted and even more challenging.

There’s still two days to go, but the omens look good for the home-grown ace as, for the past two years, Friday night’s leader has gone on to win.

“It has been a tricky day, especially with the weather,” Rovanpera said. “Really changeable and difficult conditions, so I am quite happy to have had a clean day.

“Tomorrow will be difficult for sure — I think there has been a lot of rain on those stages also, but we will see how it is in the morning. All the guys are pushing hard and the gaps are really small, so it’s going to be a big fight.”

After the morning’s carnage, WRC points leader Thierry Neuville was Hyundai’s last man standing. Climbing the standings after the retirements of his teammates, plus Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta’s crash on the morning’s final stage, he held fourth overnight, but was hindered by his car’s setup and a time-consuming overshoot in the morning. The Belgian trailed Ogier by 16.9s at day’s end and, as it stands, is set to see his points buffer over title rival Evans shrink.

The lack of a pre-event test meant Adrien Fourmaux had to tweak the setup of his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 on road sections between stages. Holding an overnight fifth with a 42.5s buffer over Sami Pajari, the Frenchman felt he had made good progress with the car by the end of the leg.

For Pajari, who was making his Rally1 debut in a factory GR Yaris, the day was one of two halves. Two spins saw the rising star end the first stage with a damaged rear wing, forcing him to complete the morning’s remaining tests with significantly reduced aero.

However, justifying the hype around the latest “Flying Finn,” he and co-driver Enni Malkonen went on to win the 4.82-mile Ruuhimaki 2 stage in the afternoon — their first fastest stage time at the sport’s top level.

First time out in a headlining Rally1 car, Sami Pajari racked up a fastest stage time in his Toyota GR Yaris. Toyota GAZOO Racing

Gregoire Munster completed the Rally1 cars on the overall leaderboard, the Luxembourg driver taking things steady in his Puma Rally1 and building his experience of the fastest rally on the WRC schedule.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg ended the opening leg with a commanding lead over Jari-Matti Latvala, while several of the category’s big names ran into trouble.

Gus Greensmith, Emil Lindholm and Pierre-Louis Loubet were just some of the leading drivers to fall by the wayside today, with all three suffering accidents on the rain-hit stages east of Jyvaskyla.

For Solberg, who stands in line to extend his WRC2 championship lead, there were no such troubles. Driving a Toksport-run Skoda Fabia RS, the Swede was just half a second clear of Latvala at the day’s halfway point, but an impressive afternoon performance, particularly on the second running of the 11.16-mile Laukaa 2 stage, saw him widen that gap to 24.1s.

Latvala’s performance was impressive in itself considering the Finn, whose “day job” is team principal for Toyota Gazoo Racing, is contesting only his second WRC rally in four years. The 18-time WRC event winner and co-driver Juho Hanninen grabbed stage wins on both passes of the 9.64-mile Myhinpaa test, a Finnish classic.

Oliver Solberg built a commanding WRC2 lead after a flawless day in his Skoda Fabia RS. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool 

Saturday is the rally’s longest day, featuring six stages and 89.61 competitive miles, including the return of the jumps and switchbacks that make up the legendary Ouninpohja stage.

WRC Rally Finland, positions after Leg One, SS10
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 58m24.7s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +8.0s

3 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +8.6s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.5s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +48.5s
6 Sami Pajari/Enni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m31.0s
7 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m52.7s
8 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2 leader) +3m22.0s
9 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hanninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 – WRC2) +3m46.1s
10 Robert Virves/Aleks Lesk (Skoda Fabia RS – WRC2) +3m53.3s

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.

Rovanpera secures back-to-win WRC wins with Rally Latvia domination

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera wrapped up a dominant start-to-finish victory at Rally Latvia on Sunday afternoon (above), the reigning WRC champ securing back-to-back wins on high-speed gravel events. Having started his first-ever rally on Latvia’s roads …

Toyota’s Kalle Rovanpera wrapped up a dominant start-to-finish victory at Rally Latvia on Sunday afternoon (above), the reigning WRC champ securing back-to-back wins on high-speed gravel events.

Having started his first-ever rally on Latvia’s roads more than a decade ago aged just 12, the 24-year-old Finn was back on familiar ground as he put on a masterclass at the Baltic nation’s first FIA World Rally Championship round.

Rovanpera, who’s elected to run only a part-time campaign for Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2024, was never seriously challenged during the four-day event, which started in the capital city, Riga, on Thursday evening before journeying south toward the coastal resort of Liepaja. He built a commanding lead during the first two legs in his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, then eased through Sunday’s final leg to win the season’s eighth round by 39.2s.

Kalle Rovanpera started his first ever rally in Latvia aged just 12, so it was apt that he won on the Baltic state’s WRC debut.

Eight-time WRC champ and fellow part-timer Sebastien Ogier completed a Toyota 1-2, while Hyundai i20 N Rally1 driver Ott Tanak grabbed the final podium spot from a hugely impressive Martins Sesks after the local hero’s M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 was hampered by a transmission fault in the rally-ending Wolf Power Stage.

“It has been a great weekend,” said Rovanpera, whose victory followed a similarly dominant performance at the previous round on Poland’s super-quick gravel. “It’s cool to have the first [WRC] win here, because Latvia is an important place for me.

“Big thanks to Jonne [Halttunen, co-driver] and the whole team — we have been stronger than we expected. We are going to enjoy this one and then work hard [for the next round] in Finland.”

Sesks was cruelly deprived of what could have been a first WRC podium on only his second start at rallying’s top level, and his first with a full-spec Rally1 hybrid machine. The 24-year-old Latvian won two stages on Friday and started Sunday’s final test with a seemingly comfortable 4.6s margin over Tanak, despite two overshoots earlier in the morning, but Sesks’ Puma Rally1 developed a transmission problem at the start of the stage.

After an impressive weekend for the local hero, Martins Sesks’ podium hopes were dashed by a transmission issue for his M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1.

“It was in the first corner,” explained Sesks, who lost almost two minutes and plummeted to seventh. “We don’t know if it’s a diff problem or something like that, but after that we understood our podium chance was over. Still, I think we showed our pace and made everyone happy.”

The WRC drivers’ dhampionship battle closed up as a tenacious Tanak extracted maximum available points from Super Sunday and climbed to second in the standings.

He now trails Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville by just eight points with five rounds remaining, with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans, who slipped to third in the standings, just five points further back. Neuville and Evans finished eighth and fifth, respectively, both struggling to recover from the time loss they faced by running first and second on the road on Friday and getting the worst of the loose surface gravel.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak earned a podium finish and moved to second in the WRC standings after a maximum Sunday points haul.Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

M-Sport Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux ended 27.0s behind Tanak in fourth, despite encountering a small engine problem on the last two stages, with Evans finishing a further 11.2s in arrears in fifth.

Takamoto Katsuta brought his GR Yaris home sixth overall, ahead of the ailing Sesks and Neuville, while Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport Ford driver Gregoire Munster both nursed technical issues through the closing stages to complete the top-10 leaderboard.

In WRC2, the second tier of international rallying, Oliver Solberg stormed into the championship lead after completing an impressive and well-judged Latvian victory.

The 22-year-old Swede led from start to finish on a surface he revels in, taking maximum points in his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 to overtake Sami Pajari and Yohan Rossel, who was not competing in Latvia as one of his seven counting events, in the race for the WRC2 title.

After winning seven out of eight stages to open a commanding lead of more than half a minute on Friday’s opening leg, Solberg managed his speed accordingly over the closing two legs to ensure he kept Finn Mikko Heikkila’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at bay.

Solberg now leads the WRC2 standings by three points from Pajari after ending Rally Latvia  with a 37.4s winning margin.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to finally win again,” said Solberg, whose last WRC2 win came on the snows of Sweden in February. “There’s been a few tough rallies, but it is amazing to be back up to speed. The car has been working well over the weekend, so thanks to the team for keeping it up to speed.”

Oliver Solberg’s fast, then measured WRC2 win puts the Swedish Skoda driver to the top of the class standings. Jaanus Ree/Red Bull Content Pool

Next up, the WRC remains in northern Europe for Rally Finland, the third and final instalment of its fast-gravel trilogy on Aug. 1-4. Kalle Rovanpera is yet to win his home event, but with the part-timer in red-hot form and continuing his 2024 tour on the roads around Jyvaskyla, can he make it three victories on the bounce?  

WRC Rally Latvia, final positions after Leg Three, SS20
1 Kalle Rovanpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h31m47.6s
2 Sebastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +39.2s
3 Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m04.5s
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m31.5s
5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +1m42.7s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) +2m07.0s
7 Martins Sesks/Renars Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m45.4s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m46.4s
9 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m12.4s
10 Gregoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m23.1s

WRC Drivers’ Championship after 8 rounds
1
Neuville 145 points 
2 Tanak 137
3 Evans 132
4 Ogier 117
5 Fourmaux 101

WRC Manufacturers’ Championship after 8 rounds
1
Hyundai Motorsport 351 points   
2
Toyota Gazoo Racing 350 
3 M-Sport Ford 177

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