Monte Carlo WRC: Ogier leads Toyota 1-2-3 after Tanak's DNF

On Friday, Ogier had lost half a minute following a puncture on the penultimate stage of the day, although he immediately reclaimed 16s from his Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans before the overnight halt.Restarting in the dark in order to comply with local COVID-19 legislation, Ogier then resumed his imperious progress on the opening 18.3 km La Breole –...

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Tanak blames recce error for Rally Monte Carlo retirement

The 2019 World Rally champion clipped the front-left tyre of his i20 Coupe WRC close to the start of this morning’s opening La Breole – Selonnet special stage and suffered a punctured tyre, dropping two places from third to fifth as a result.Worse was to follow for Tanak as he picked up a right-rear puncture on the next test – the run from Saint-Clemen...

2h

Ogier ready to “take more risk” to win Monte Carlo Rally

Ogier had lost the lead of the event on the penultimate stage, when the front-left tyre on his Yaris WRC punctured and cost him the best part of 35 seconds in lost time.That promoted Hyundai’s Ott Tanak up to second and handed the initiative to Ogier’s Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans, who held a 20.4 second buffer with only the run from Chalancon to Gumiane...

19h

Monte Carlo WRC: Evans takes lead as Ogier suffers puncture

A very early alarm call awaited the mechanics and crews in readiness for an 06:10 start time, the schedule for this weekend’s event being dictated by local COVID-19 measures.Compliance meant that the first two stages of the day would be run in the dark and, with uncertain conditions in the mountains, this led to plenty of hesitancy among the crews which...

23h

Monte Carlo WRC: Tanak stars in opening stages

The Estonian claimed victory on both of the first two stages as he returned to an event that saw him fly 40 metres down a mountainside in 2020.Tyres were the major talking point of the day, with Pirelli replacing Michelin as the WRC's new control supplier.A shortage of pre-event testing in the truncated close season caused many teams to run conservatively;...

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Evans: Safety-first approach won't win WRC title

A consistent run of points scoring finishes and two victories in Sweden and Turkey meant the Welshman was tipped to become the first British WRC champion since Richard Burns in 2001 before disaster struck.A 14-point lead over team-mate Sebastien Ogier prior to the final round of 2020 was negated by a crash on the Saturday leg of the Rally Monza finale...

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Tanak expects "more promising" second year at Hyundai

The Estonian caught many paddock figures off guard when he decided to leave Toyota in the middle of his title-winning 2019 campaign and join Thierry Neuville at Hyundai.The year didn't get off to the best of starts with a scary high-speed accident on his debut for the Korean manufacturer on the Monte Carlo Rally, but Tanak regrouped to finish runner-up...

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Ocon to drive in WRC Rally Monte Carlo with Alpine

It will be the Frenchman’s first ever rally experience, and his first proper outing in an A110S since he tried it out at the Nordschleife over the Eifel Grand Prix weekend last year.Ocon, who will run with his F1 number #31 on the blue-liveried car, will get a morning shakedown in the official VIP course car on Thursday before having a high-speed run...

3d

Ogier expects wide open final WRC season

Ogier’s last full season in the rallying's top division will get underway at Rallye Monte-Carlo on Thursday afternoon where the Frenchman is targeting a record-breaking eighth victory at the Gap-based event.Once again, the 37-year-old starts as the bookies’ favourite, but he is predicting a five-way scrap for the title in 2021.Elfyn Evans pushed the...

3d

WRC future focused on Chinese manufacturers, hybrid cars and action

Rallying has an enduring appeal for millions around the world, adding rich diversity to the range of motorsport disciplines.  But what does the long-term future for rallying look like?For the first #ThinkingForward of 2021 we speak to WRC Director Peter Thul about the qualities needed to excel in rally, why WRC is backing F1’s strategy that hybrid engines...

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