Year: 2024

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Rally Portugal 2024 Preview

The championship moves onto the fifth round and there are just six points separating the top two crews from Hyundai and Toyota.

Interestingly Toyota have four cars entered for this round with their two world champion crews joining Elfyn and Takamoto in the entry list. At Hyundai, Dani and his co-driver Candido join the two regular crews for their first round this year. M-Sport have their usual crews and Adrien will hope that he can continue to target good results and will be third on the road throughout Friday.

The crews have 337km’s over 22 stages with the longest day being Saturday at 145km’s. Let’s hear from the drivers.

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Success in Portugal comes down to the same factors as always. We need consistency, a good setup and confidence in the car. Road conditions and position will also make a huge difference to how we perform: whenever it’s raining we will be fast, when it’s dry we will struggle more because everyone knows the stages well. I was happy with the car in the pre-event test, and we focussed on a setup that would bring me the necessary confidence to push in very slippery conditions. This more precise car is needed for all the corner combinations, but I still need some of the traction we focussed on in Kenya. My goals are to optimise our performance on Friday and Saturday before pushing on Sunday for maximum points, I would love to finish on the top step of the podium.”

Ott Tänak

“After Croatia, it’s great to go back to a rougher surface. Portugal is really enjoyable – it’s an event I am looking forward to. It’s a fast rally with high speeds and usually smooth on the first run and very rough on the second. During this part of the season, it starts to get warmer, and Portugal is one of the first rallies where it can get quite challenging for the car and the tyres. The contrast from the first to the second loop is noticeable because of how the soft roads can become so rutted. We have already done the pre-event test and there is definitely still work to do, but I am really looking forward to pushing hard.”

Dani Sordo

“I’m really excited to be back in the car, especially in Portugal. It’s always a special rally for everyone – both drivers and spectators. It is a unique challenge for the car because of the temperatures and profile of the stages, so getting the right setup is key to doing well in Portugal. We worked a lot on the pre-event test to try and perfect this so we can push hard next weekend. It will be interesting with a lot of the part-time field being so competitive this season, and with road position being another important factor in going well on this kind of gravel, there will be a huge push across a cleaner line at the back of the order. The ultimate goal in my mind is to win, but I am hoping to claim as many points as possible from the weekend for the team.”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 05, Rally de Portugal
11-14 May 2023
Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera,
Photographer: Dufour Fabien
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“We’re into a busy part of the season now with rallies coming thick and fast, and our focus moves back to gravel for the next events. Portugal can be quite a nice rally with some fast and flowing sections, but recently it’s also become more of a challenge in terms of how rough the roads can get, especially in some of the classic stages further south that we drive on Friday. Like always on gravel, road position could be a factor but it’s also a rally that can really depend on the weather. We just have to focus on doing the best job we can with the conditions we have and try to take the maximum from the weekend.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I’m looking forward to these next rallies on gravel and I’m confident that they can be good events for me. Portugal especially is a rally that I like, and I know the stages pretty well, and our car should work well there. There are some famous stages like Fafe with many jumps, and some stages that are very rough with a lot of rocks, especially on Friday. But if it’s going well, I will try to push as much as I can. As I’m not registered to score points for the team on this event, I have no pressure on that side, and I can just focus on driving fast and trying to do my best.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m excited to be returning to Portugal after a year away. It’s a country that I have a lot of good memories of, maybe a bit more from when the rally was in the south rather than the north. Still, the atmosphere is always great there and I look forward to that. It’s a rally where normally we should not be at a disadvantage with our road position, and maybe it can even benefit us a bit – but it’s too early to say for certain because there can also be heavy rain there sometimes. It will be my first time competing on gravel for a while, but we had a good test last week and I’m looking forward to the rally.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“I’m really looking forward to Portugal. It’s a rally that I really like. There’s a lot of fans and a great atmosphere, and the stages have very nice characteristics. They seem to suit me quite well: we’ve had some really nice success there in the last two years. Of course, our aim will be to try and win again this year, but it’s never easy. All of the top drivers know the stages quite well, so the pace is usually pretty high, and it can be quite a close fight there. Maybe our road position could help us, but we will have to see what the weather does, because rain can really change things quite a bit.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Adrien Fourmaux

“Rally Portugal is a really famous and spectacular rally! The roads are all in the middle of the mountains, so they’re really technical and we normally have very tough conditions where the temperatures are quite high. It’s really demanding for the cars and the crew.

“It’s going to be my fourth time in Portugal, I really like it as a rally, especially when you finish the Power Stage at Fafe and there are so many fans there watching. I’m looking forward to enjoying the atmosphere and hopefully achieving another good result.”

Grégoire Munster

“We had a good pre-event test, with two days of testing last week. Portugal will be a lot like Sardinia, a bit of a tricky one for us because we don’t have a lot of experience compared to our fellow competitors. Thanks to my great idea to roll the car on the first stage of the rally last year, it means we lack the knowledge of the stages, so we will try to grab a lot of experience in both Portugal and Sardinia to move forward into the second part of the season’s gravel rallies with confidence.”

William Creighton (WRC2)

“This will be my first gravel rally in the WRC with the Fiesta rally2, and I’m looking forward to it after our podium on BRC’s Severn Valley stages. Rally Portugal is always enjoyable with a good atmosphere but it’s a big challenge; Friday will be difficult with extremely rough stages and no service. It looks like it’s going to be a warm rally too, so it’ll be a proper challenge for the me, Liam and the car!”

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“Honestly, this event is one of the best. Everything about Portugal is special. The history, the people, the stages, they’re all so cool. It’s a fantastic place to come and drive a rally car.

“It’s been a while since I was in the car for Safari (March 28-31), but I’ve been doing plenty of training out in the buggies and flat out on the quadbikes since then. We will have a test before the rally, but I think we have a fairly good idea of what to expect from this one. The weather can sometimes be quite interesting – we’re a long way to the west in Europe and near to the coast, so rain can come quickly.

“I would like the rain! Especially on the first day. We’re going to be running further up on the road and if it stays dry, the grip is going to get better and better for our competitors running behind us on the road. If it’s wet, we have a small advantage – or certainly no disadvantage!

“The competition will be strong this year, maybe even the strongest across the whole season. There will be a lot of very, very good drivers out there and some of them in new cars. It’s going to be interesting to see how this one goes. I think we have the speed we need to win and I think we have a good chance – we’re joint leaders of the championship, so we know a win would be good enough to give us a bigger lead. That’s what we’re aiming for.

“And this year, no donuts…”

Summary

We are set for a great rally and possibly a new championship leader at the end of the event. With Thierry opening the road, it is hard to see him finishing on the podium. With that in mind as long as Elfyn can finish more than six points ahead, we could see the change at the top. The variable however comes with the points system and its effect on the championship standings so far.

Who can win this rally then? Well, either Kalle or Seb could take victory for Toyota, but if their teammate Elfyn can stay close to the top three by the end of Friday, perhaps he could figure in the fight as well? Ott and Dani though will want to spoil the hopes of Toyota and with a good road position for both of them, they could be in the mix as well. Finally, Adrien, who is third still in the championship standings could also be in the mix for the podium.

In WRC2 I suspect there will be an almighty battle between Gus, Oliver, Nikolay, Yohan, Sami and Teemu for the podium positions and the top step. William will be making his debut on gravel in the Fiesta Rally2 and will hope that he can learn a lot to take to future events for M-Sport.

The action gets underway with shakedown on Thursday morning at 8am UK time, before the first stage at 7pm the same evening.

Enjoy!

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Formula E Monaco E-Prix: Jaguar make it a 1-2 finish as Barnard replaces Bird due to injury

Formula E kicked off again this weekend at Monaco, the motorsport city of the world. It was  a race in which Pascal Wehrlein took the bragging rights and pole position, there was also two safety cars and a 1-2 for Jaguar!

  • Wehrlein held the lead at the start.
  • Mueller got a bad start and fell behind Barnard.
  • Nato lost his front wing and it went under his car.
  • Buemi and Da Costa crashed at the hotel hairpin.
  • Mortara went into the barrier on lap four and brought out the safety car.
  • Sette Camara hit Buemi and Da Costa got caught between them.
  • Vandoorne held the lead from Evans in P2 at the restart.
  • Dennis had to pit due to front wing damage.
  • Evans and Jaguar played the team game as both Evans and Cassidy held up the pack behind them so their teammates could take attack mode.
  • Frijns’ front wing then went under his car.
  • Nico Mueller went into the wall near the end of the race. 
  • Once the safety car came in again, Rowland got ahead of Da Costa.
  • Mitch Evans managed to win the Monaco E-Prix. Nick Cassidy made it a Jaguar1-2 with Vandoorne P3.

Formula E Season 10 Monaco E-Prix Results

Position Driver Team Points
1st Mitch Evans Jaguar TCS Racing 25
2nd Nick Cassidy(FL) Jaguar TCS Racing 19
3rd  Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 15
4th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske  12
5th Pascal Wehrlein (Pole) Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 13
6th Oliver Rowland

Nissan Formula E Team

 8
7th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 6
8th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 4
9th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 2
10th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 1
11th Lucas Di Grassi  Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0
12th Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
13th Dan Ticktum ERT Racing 0
14th Taylor Barnard Mahindra Racing 0
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 0
16th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 0
17th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 0
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 0
19th Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  0
20th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 0
DNF Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
DNF Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 0

Formula E Season 10 Standings after Round 8

Position Driver Team Points
1st Pascal Wehrlein Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 102
2nd Nick Cassidy Jaguar TCS Racing 95
3rd  Jake Dennis Andretti Formula E  89
4th Oliver Rowland Nissan Formula E Team 88
5th Mitch Evans(Pole) Jaguar TCS Racing 77
6th Maximilian Guenther Maserati MSG Racing 65
7th Jean-Eric Vergne DS Penske 65
8th Sam Bird Neom McLaren Formula E Team 28
9th Stoffel Vandoorne DS Penske 27
10th Antonio Felix Da Costa Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E Team 26
11th Jake Hughes Neom McLaren Formula E Team 25
12th Sacha Fenestraz Nissan Formula E Team 24
13th Norman Nato Andretti Formula E 24
14th Robin Frijns Envision Racing 21
15th Sebastian Buemi Envision Racing 20
16th Nico Mueller Abt Cupra Formula E Team 18
17th Dan Ticktum ERT Formula E Team 12
18th Sergio Sette Camara ERT Formula E Team 11
19th Jehan Daruvala Maserati MSG Racing 2
20th Lucas Di Grassi Abt Cupra Formula E Team 1
21st Edoardo Mortara  Mahindra Racing 0
22nd Nyck De Vries Mahindra Racing 0
Norman Nato, Andretti Global, Porsche 99X Electric Gen3, leaves a trail of smoke as his damaged front wing rubs on his wheel

Most Impressive Race

The most impressive race has to be from Taylor Barnard. Now the youngest driver to start in Formula E, he jumped into Sam Bird’s car after Bird broke a bone in his hand during FP1. ,To go from P22 to P14 in his debut Formula E race is incredible.

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MotoGP: Bagnaia Puts in a Champions’ Performance to Win the Spanish GP, Ahead of Marc Marquez

Pecco Bagnaia has shown everyone why he is a two-time MotoGP world champion, taking a phenomenal and hard-fought win at the Spanish GP in Jerez.

It wasn’t an easy win for the Italian – he first had to battle with Jorge Martin, after losing the lead to him on lap 2. He kept the pressure on but just couldn’t find a way past. When Martin went down at turn 6 on lap 11, Bagnaia was able to take over at the front, with a comfortable lead of the rest of the pack.

Then, in the latter stages of the race, he had a fiery Marc Marquez on his tail and had to fend off numerous moves from the home hero. Both ended the day with rubber on their leathers after bumping and making contact a few times.

As many MotoGP fans know, there is no love lost between Marquez and Bagnaia after numerous clashes already this year, as well as the behind-the-scenes unhappiness when Marquez moved to Gresini (a Ducati sister team). But it was clear who the fans were cheering for and their deafening cheers were all for their home hero, Marquez.

Marquez certainly won’t be disappointed with 2nd place today. It’s his first race podium in nearly two years and his first podium with Ducati. It will mean even more to him, given that this track nearly ended his career 4 years ago after a horrific crash.

The final podium position was taken by Marc Bezzecchi, who turned parc ferme in a huge party. He was evidently thrilled with his first podium of the year, having struggled so much at the start of the season. It was a much-needed result for him with big boss Valentino Rossi watching trackside this weekend!

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Much like yesterday’s Sprint Race, it was Brad Binder who had a great start off the line. It was short lived though, as he was pushed wide at turn 1 and ended up shuffling back to 6th. So the race began with Marc Marquez leading, from pole, with Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi slotting in behind.

Pecco Bagnaia was super aggressive at the first two corners, which saw him rocket from 7th up to 4th. It was an equally positive start for Miguel Oliveira, leaping from 15th to 7th, and Jack Miller, jumping from 15th to 8th.

Meanwhile, Augusto Fernandez, enjoying a pretty poor start to the season, was slapped with a double long lap penalty for a jump start. He then failed to serve this within the required 3 laps so his penalty increased to a ride through penalty instead.

As the grid approach turn 6, the Dani Pedrosa corner, Bagnaia was ridiculously late on the breaks and flew up to 2nd place. He was then quickly battling for the lead and took over at the front as they crossed the line to start lap 2.

The drama continued as we had 3 abreast going in to turn 1, which ended with Bagnaia leading ahead of Martin in 2nd and Marc Marquez in 3rd. As the lap then ended, Bagnaia went wide at the final corner to gift the lead to Martin.

Behind them, as the grid settled down, we had Bezzecchi in 4th, Alex Marquez 5th, Binder 6th, Oliveira 7th and Miller 8th. Enea Bastianini and Fabio DiGiannantonio rounded out the top 10.

On lap 4, we had our first crash of the race. Dani Pedrosa, a wildcard for KTM, went down at turn 8 in a very fast crash. Later in the lap, Bezzecchi was able to snatch 3rd place away from Marc Marquez who responds by setting the following lap next time around. At this point in the race, there was hardly anything between the top 4, with Bagnaia achingly close to the back wheel of Martin but unable to find a way past.

Aleix Espargaro was the next to crash, going down at turn 5 on lap 10. He bumped in to the back of Johann Zarco, taking him down too. Zarco was a completely innocent bystander, with no way to avoid Espargaro’s uncharacteristically silly move.

There were some gaps forming in the pack as everyone settled in to the race – everyone except Bagnaia who was still desperately trying to find a way past Martin who was holding firm in 1st. On lap 11, it seems like the pressure became too much for Martin and the bike folded underneath him, sending him in to the gravel at turn 6. He was left utterly dejected, forced to watch on from the escape road.

So this left us with Bagnaia in the lead, a comfortable 0.8 seconds ahead of Bezzecchi in 2nd. Marc Marquez had now been promoted to the final podium spot, with a gap between him and Binder in 5th, Oliveira in 6th and Bastianini in 7th.

Tyre struggles for Bezzecchi on lap 14 allowed Marquez to finally retake 2nd place. He had made an attempt the lap before, when Bezzecchi went wide on the final corner, but there was some smoke from his rear tyre and he couldn’t find the speed he needed to make the move. It appeared that he was perhaps having a technical problem, possibly with a part of bodywork rubbing on his tyre. But once he made the move, he was able to pull out a 0.2 second gap within just 2 corners.

As Marquez kept putting air between himself and Bezzechi, Bagnaia was now leading by 1.4 seconds.

Further back, there was a battle raging between Miller and Pedro Acosta, with Acosta coming out on top. There has been lots of talk about Acosta potentially replacing Miller next year so he will have been disappointed to be bested by the rookie.

By lap 16, Marquez had reduced the gap at the front to 0.6 seconds and it was game on for the race win today. Marquez was setting fastest lap after fastest lap, including setting a new race lap record. Then, on lap 21, Bagnaia and Marquez were side by side for a large portion of the lap, even bumping in to each other at turn 10. It was a breath taking tussle, with reigning champion Bagnaia coming out on top.

He then proved to us exactly why he is a two-time champion, responding to Marquez’s attack by laying down qualifying-style lap times and further smashing the race lap record. It was a hugely impressive feat, given he was on 23-lap-pld tyres at this point.

It was this blistering pace, with error free laps, that allowed Bagnaia to take the win and leap frog up to 2nd in the championship standings.

RACE RESULTS

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

Feature Image Credit: Ducati on X

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Moto3: Veijer On Fire In Jerez!

Image Credit: @IntactGP on X

Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) took control and dominated from the front today in Jerez. Veijer took his first win of the season and it will be a massive boost of confidence to the Dutchman returning to the top step in Moto3.

It was never in doubt for Veijer despite immense pressure from local hero David Munoz (BOE Motorsports), and the chasing pack throughout the race. Munoz finished 2nd and last year’s race winner Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) rounded off the podium in 3rd place.

Championship leader Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) started from 18th and fought his way through brilliantly to finish in 7th place. Holgado takes a 6pts lead to the next race in Le Man, after disaster struck for David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) at the end of lap 1.  The Aspar rider Alonso lost the front end on the final corner of lap 1, but managed to fight his way through the field to finish in 11th.

A great race today here in Jerez and a refreshing change from the slip streaming carnage we usually see at other circuits. 

AS IT HAPPENED

It was a great start from Munoz to get ahead of Alonso to take the lead into turn 1. Lunging from 8th to 3rd off the start was Alonso’s teammate Joel Esteban.  Alonso into turn 6 from a long way back got back by up the inside of Munoz to retake the lead.

Into the last corner though and disaster struck for Alonso, down at the last corner at the end of lap 1. Holgado from 18th to 13th on lap 1, the championship leader on the charge from the off in Jerez.

18 laps to go and Veijer took to the front for the first time in the race with Munoz 2nd and last season’s race winner Ortola in 3rd. Ortola up the inside of Munoz into 2nd and hunted down Veijer in front.  We had a lead group of 6 riders at the early stage of the race.

First quarter race distance completed, championship leader Holgado continued carved his way through the pack and up into 9th place at this point.

Esteban set the quickest lap of the race as the Aspar rider was carrying all of the hopes of the Aspar team on his shoulders after Alonso’s crash.

Lap 5 and it was tight at the top in the lead group. Not much dicing between each other or as chaotic as a Moto3 race would usually be. Given the nature of the circuit being very fast and free flowing.

The lead group of six continued to dice and swap places behind Veijer, with Veijer seemingly in full command leading at the front on lap 8 of 19. Holgado up into 8th place but had a huge task on his hands to bridge the gap to the leading group.

At the halfway mark, Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) was quickest in 4th and Ortola was hanging onto 2nd with Munoz on his back wheel in 3rd. Veijer still controlling the front but unable to pull away from the chasing lot behind. The lead group of 6 down to 4 now at this point, all fighting it out for race victory.

8 laps to go and the lead group of 4 only had 3 wins between them as Veijer still lead at the front with Ortola 2nd, Munoz 3rd and Yamanaka in 4th. Alonso and Holgado still determined to get something out of this race, Holgado up into 7th with Alonso picking off everyone at the back up into 16th place.

Moving into the final stages of the race Veijer remained in control at the front with Munoz, Ortola and teammate Yamanaka behind. The best action was further back at this point with Holgado fighting for 7th and Alonso carved his way through the pack up into 12th place now.

3 laps to go and it was now a 3 rider shootout for the win. Yamanaka dropped off from the front 3 after losing grip on the front tyre. Veijer in front with Munoz 2nd and Ortola 3rd. Munoz born nearby in Seville would not give this one up without a fight.

Into the last lap and Munoz was on Veijer’s back wheel. Munoz was unable to get close enough to get by Veijer with Veijer was excellent at defending as they headed into the stadium section into turn 9. Turn 10 and Veijer lead with 3 corners left of the race. Munoz was unable to get by as they headed into the back straight, Veijer clung on to take victory.

Race Classification 

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

Championship Standings 

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

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MotoGP: Martin Wins Spanish Sprint, As Half The Grid Crash

Today’s Sprint race at the Spanish GP was a test for rookies and experienced riders alike, as everyone had to battle with a partially damp track and invisible wet patches of tarmac which ended races for so many. It was chaotic from start to finish, in typical MotoGP fashion!

Despite the sun shining, the track was hiding plenty of treacherous damp spots which brought down even the most experienced and talent riders today. By the time the chequered flag fell, over half the grid had crashed with only 9 riders making it over the line safely.

The first of those riders to cross the line was Jorge Martin, who mastered the conditions to take the win. It’s his second Sprint Race win of the season and extends his lead at the top of the championship standings.

However, for much of the race, it looked like Martin would have to settle for 2nd place as Marc Marquez was took the lead off him on lap 7. However, Marc was on of the riders to fall victim to the track conditions and went down on lap 9. He was able to re-join the pack and eventually came home in 7th.

Rookie Pedro Acosta continues to impress as he enjoyed his first trip to the Sprint Race podium today, coming home in 2nd place. This came despite a terrible start to the race that saw him get swallowed up by the grid and drop way down.

Fabio Quartararo won’t have been on many people’s betting slips for a podium today, but the Frenchman kept his nose clean and was able to capitalise on the many crashes happening around him. He was clearly thrilled with the result, having started the race from 23rd on the grid.

The final result was a topsy turvy list, with many of the midfield riders able to take home some crucial points today.

Image Credit: MotoGP

AS IT HAPPENED

Marc Marquez started the race on pole but, as he moved across the track in a fierce defensive move, he was quickly swallowed up by the pack and dropped back to 3rd. Instead, it was Brad Binder who flew off the line in the classic KTM fashion we have come to know recently.

As the field settled in to their positions, Binder was leading from Jorge Martin in 2nd, Marc Marquez in 3rd and his brother Alex just behind in 5th. Just behind them was Pecco Bagnaia, who went wide and let Marco Bezzecchi through and in to 5th. The following corner, the roles were reversed and Bezzecchi went wide to gift 5th place back to Bagnaia. Meanwhile, at the front, Martin took over in the lead – a position where he always feels comfortable!

Our first victim of the damp patches was Aleix Espargaro, in 12th, who went down at turn 8 in a very fast crash. A few corners later, Jack Miller then went down at turn 13 but, unlike Espargaro, manages to get the bike running again.

As the grid crossed the line to end lap 1, Martin was leading by 0.2 seconds – a gap which soon grew as Marc Marquez began a battle with Binder for 2nd. Marc took over in 2nd place, much to the thrill of the crowd, but as Binder fought back, he pushed them both wide and let Alex Marquez ahead of them both.

Binder then starts battling with Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio DiGiannantonio. At turn 1, the South African made an overly aggressive move up the inside of Bagnaia, forcing himself in to a gap that didn’t really exist. This left Bagnaia sandwiched between the two and with nowhere to go but the gravel trap.

DiGiannantonio also went down at the final corner of the same lap – he was only marginally offline but the bike just folded underneath him.

On lap 5, Martin was leading with a comfortable 1.3 second gap over Marc Marquez. Alex Marquez was still in 3rd with Binder in 4th, Pedro Acosta in 5th and Enea Bastianini in 6th. At this point in the race, it felt like things were starting to settle in to a rhythm.

The following lap, something seemed to ignite in Marc Marquez and he reduced the gap at the front to just 0.8 seconds whilst also setting the fastest lap of the race so far. On lap 7, the gap was now just 0.3 seconds and as Martin goes wide at turn 9, Marc Marquez is there to reap the reward. The crowd were deafening as their home hero took over at the front.

On lap 9, and completely synchronised, Alex Marquez, Binder and Bastianini all went down at turn 5 after hitting a damp past at exactly the same time. Then, a few corners later, Marc Marquez faced the same fate. Again, just one lap later, the same thing happened to Maverick Vinales at turn 5. Not even the most talent riders were safe!

Only Marc was able to rejoin the pack, taking 10th place. But he was clearly frustrated and began making silly moves as he tried to push his way back up through the field. First was Joan Mir, who’s back tired was bumped by Marc and he was forced to sit up and go wide. Then, on the last lap, he made a similar move on Miguel Oliveira.

Meanwhile, up at the front of the field, Martin had been gifted the lead by Marquez’s error. He was now leading by 3 seconds and tiptoeing round the track to make it home safely. Rookie Acosta was equally safe in 2nd place, 7 seconds ahead of Fabio Quartararo who was taking the final podium position.

Just behind the Yamaha was wildcard rider and old favourite, Dani Pedrosa who was testing for KTM. He tried his best to make it past Quartararo but simply couldn’t find a way past and had to settle for 4th as the chequered flag fell.

FULL RESULTS

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

POST-RACE UPDATE

2 hours after the chequered flag fell, the news broke that Dani Pedorsa, KTM’s wild card rider, had been promoted to the podium! Fabio Quartararo was demoted to 5th after being found guilty of a tyre pressure infringement. Four other riders, including Quartararo’s own team mate, were also punished for the same reason. This means that Raul Fernandez drops to 7th, Fabio di Giannantonio drops to 13th, Jack Miller drops to 14th and Alex Rins drops to 15th.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Back to Back Pole’s for Alonso!

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

David Alonso (CFMOTO Aspar Team) has lead every session since Austin, Texas and this weekend has been no different. 9 sessions in a row at the top for Alonso and the rest of the Moto3 field must be wondering how to stop the Colombian whizz kid.

Alonso a class of his own, but a jubilant David Munoz (BOE Motorsports) managed to get up into 2nd and a front row start for the Spaniard in front of his home crowd. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) pushed Alonso as hard as he could in that session and will start from 3rd tomorrow. 

Both Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 riders out in Q2 at the same corner, turn 5. Hopefully both will be fit enough to race tomorrow. Championship leader Daniel Holgado will be keen to salvage as much as possible from today’s qualifying with just 2 points separating himself and Alonso at the top of the championship.

Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X
Image Credit: @AsparTeam on X

AS IT HAPPENED

Qualifying 1

On a drying track full of damp patches, the Moto3 riders headed out onto this Angel Nieto circuit thankfully in the sunshine.

Noah Dettwiler (CIP Green Power) set the benchmark time of 1:51.039 to kick us off in the session as the field were all on their first flying run’s. Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) were the surprise names in the session and went up into the top 4 as expected. Nicola Carraro (MTA Team) set the fastest time early on in the session of a 1:49.083, a great time and a tough one to beat for the rest of the session.

As the confidence grew the times tumbled and with 8mins to go in the session, all of the sectors across all of the riders were lighting up red. This session looked like it would be going to the wire.

Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo) went down at turn 13 with just under 5mins left in the session. Carraro still lead the session with Bertelle 2nd, Fernandez 3rd and Leopard Racing teammate Angel Piqueras in 4th.

Into the final minute of the session and Carraro was flying, nearly half a second quicker heading into the 3rd sector of the lap. Filippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Piqueras both up on the fastest time set so far.

Farioli crossed the line and pushed Bertelle out of the top 4 and headed into Q2 to fight for pole position. The top 4 riders through to Q2 were Piqueras 1st, Carraro in 2nd, Farioli 3rd and Fernandez in 4th.

Qualifying 2

Only a few minutes into the session and championship leader Holgado went down at turn 5. A horrible highside for Holgado just a few minutes into the session. Holgado seemed ok but hobbled through the gravel clearly in a lot of pain. Not a great way to spend your 19th birthday.

As we are used to seeing now, Columbian whizz kid David Alonso. who has topped every session so far this weekend, set the provisional pole lap time as the first lot of flying laps came through.

Just under 7mins left of the session and Veijer is not giving up on pole without a fight. The Dutchman up to the top of the timings with a 1:46.234, just +0.197seconds ahead of Alonso in 2nd. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) currently sat in 3rd, but +0.794 tenths of a second back to Veijer at the top.

 

Jacob Roulstone in the exact same corner as his teammate at turn 5,  went down and out of qualifying. A disaster for the Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 team today in Jerez.

3mins left of the session and Alonso stormed to the front. Alonso with a brilliant lap, smashed Veijer’s time with a 1:45.232. It seemed like Alonso and Veijer were in a class of their own with 3rd place Yamanaka +1.796 seconds back to Alonso’s provisional pole lap time.

The first man into the 1:45s today,  Alonso looked to cement his place on pole position with a 1:44.954.

David Munoz right at the end of the session was close but no cigar, just 2 tenths shy of the pole lap set by Alonso. Fantastic for Munoz and the first front row start for the Spaniard this season. Veijer rounded off the front row and will start from 3rd on the grid tomorrow.

Qualifying Classification

Image Credit: MotoGP
Image Credit: MotoGP

 

 

 

 

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Vickers does the double at BSB season opener

Ryan Vickers

After months of waiting, the British Superbikes Championship got the green light in 2024 under the Spanish sun at Circuito de Navarra.

It was a rather different setting for the BSB curtain raiser, as the MSV-owned track played host to this year’s opening round.

And there was a different face at the front for Sunday’s first race, with Danny Kent taking his first ever pole position in the series aboard the McAMS Yamaha – making it a front three for the Japanese manufacturer as the OMG Racing pair of Ryan Vickers and Kyle Ryde completed the first row.

The Yamaha trio led the way at the beginning of Race 1, albeit with Ryde heading the field ahead of Vickers and Kent from lap four.

Despite a setback after running wide and dropping a place to third Vickers managed to keep the pace to move his way back to the front, as he passed Ryde with three laps to go.

The 25-year-old set the pace from then on, bridging a lead of more than a second by the chequered flag.

The second and final race of the weekend brought more of the same at the front – although there was some late drama to overcome for eventual victor Vickers.

This time it was Kent who held the cards after lap five, taking the lead from Ryde into turn one.

However that lead was relatively short lived – as Vickers eventually took control at the front on lap nine.

It all looked set in stone for Vickers to comfortably take his second victory of the day, however there was a big moment for the Yamaha rider at the last corner of the final lap as he very nearly lost the front-end of the bike – putting his victory in jeopardy.

But a Marc Marquez-style save was all he needed to reach the line, and Vickers did just that as he took the chequered flag 0.277 seconds ahead of Kent and 1.177s ahead of Ryde.

Speaking in the post-race press conference about the near-crash, the championship leader said it came as a result of how close Kent was behind.

“I came on to the last lap and looked at my pit board and I had plus zero [to the rider behind], so I thought ‘I’ve got to do a really good last lap here’,” he explained.

“I didn’t want to defend and slow up the pace because if I did have a little bit of a gap I didn’t want to lose it, so I braked as late as possible and I got on the gas as hard as possible.

“I thought if I did that and anyone comes past me, they’re going to run wide.”

However when it came to the final corner, Vickers added it became a slightly different approach.

“I did the whole lap and got through the last left [turn], and I was like ‘I’ve done the whole lap now, just defend the last corner’,” he said.

“Because I don’t want to lose it on the last corner, and nearly did.

“But that was because I defended and went in at the same pace and it was a little bit tighter – just the nature of the corner really because it’s uphill and you get a lot of load through the front tyre.”

Elsewhere in the field it was a disappointing end to the weekend for reigning champion Tommy Bridewell – who was aboard his new bike after joining the Honda Racing Team for 2024.

Image Credit: Honda Racing UK

After a solid seventh-placed finish in Race 1, Bridewell was in the mix for a podium on the second race.

However that couldn’t come to fruition for the 2023 champion, as he was forced to retire on the ninth lap of the race.

The paddock takes a week off for now, but BSB will return in under two weeks time when the riders face the Oulton Park Circuit in Cheshire.

Find the standings after Round 1 here.

Featured Image Credit: @OfficialBSB on Twitter

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Rally Croatia – Day Three Report – Sunday

The final day then and with 54.78km’s over four stages would we see a straightforward drive to the finish, or perhaps we would have some drama instead!? Gregoire would open the road throughout the day.

First up was SS17 Trakošćan – Vrbno 1 – 13.15 km and Takamoto started really well, winning the stage from Adrien and Elfyn. Thierry was fifth fastest and this meant that Elfyn had closed the gap to the Belgian to just 2.6 seconds. It was game on for the win. In WRC2, the top three remained Nikolay, Yohan and Pepe both in the stage and on course for the WRC2 podium.

The following stage, SS18 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1 – 14.24 km, though had huge drama though and being the first run of what would be the power stage this would be significant! First of all, Adrien clipped a anti-cut device and broke his steering arm. He drove across the bridge and pulled off at the side of the road. Once the steering arm was replaced he completed the stage. There was fifteen minutes lost which is quite amazing really. Then Elfyn also had a spin, collecting a tree branch on the way and lost 19.6 seconds. Then Thierry came through and also went off the road, quite badly damaging his car. He lost 23.3 seconds and fell to third behind Seb and Elfyn. Ott won the stage though from Takamoto and Seb. In WRC2 Yohan was fastest from Nikolay and Nicolas.

Time then for the penultimate stage and Takamoto was fastest from Elfyn and Ott. Seemed the drama was not over as Seb understeered off the road and went up a bank. The Frenchman completed the stage with the fourth fastest time, his lead now from Elfyn just 6.4 seconds.

Onto the final stage then SS20 Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2[Power Stage] – 14.24 km and Adrien was super committed through the stage and his time was not overcome. The closest driver was Ott, who was 3.8 behind the Frenchman, Seb was third fastest, Takamoto fourth and Elfyn fifth.

Seb had won the rally from Elfyn and Thierry was third. In WRC2, Nikolay won the category from Yohan and Pepe.

Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification – Croatia Rally

1 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid 2:40:23.6
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +9.7
3 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +45.8
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +58.6
5 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:55.5
6 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +4:01.0
7 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +5:11.0
8 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Citroën C3 +9:21.3
9 Y. Rossel A. Dunand Citroën C3 +9:59.5
10 S. Pajari E. Mälkönen Toyota GR Yaris +10:22.7

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“I’m very happy to take this victory. It’s been a tough weekend: we knew that coming here with our start position, but we pushed the whole weekend, we never gave up, and put the pressure on as much as we could. I think I never had so many moments in one rally, pushing the limits like this, but most importantly we brought it home with a win. One hundred podiums is a nice number and it’s great to reach it with a victory. I enjoy every opportunity I have to drive these cars and it’s nice to see we still have some speed. I’m super happy for the team, even if we can’t make so much difference in the points. It’s been a great team performance and let’s keep pushing like this.”

Elfyn Evans

“There’s a feeling of disappointment today. It started off pretty well in the first stage this morning, but we were too optimistic with our tyre choice and with the hard tyre it was a struggle in the second stage: this corner was quite full of mud and the rear came around. You’ve got to be in it to win it and it didn’t work out today. Still, the weekend was generally pretty good with a big fight the whole way through and second place at the end. It’s a great team result and nice to battle with Seb. It doesn’t feel like the team has been fully rewarded for that one-two in terms of points, but that’s how it is.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It’s been a good weekend for me as I was gaining more and more confidence throughout. Already on Saturday, some stages felt good, and I just tried to continue in the same way and I had an even better feeling in the car. I was a bit disappointed with the Power Stage where I was a bit too careful, but everything else went well today. We were fastest on Super Sunday and scored some good points for the team, which makes me very happy, and it was a good result for the team overall. Next time I want to be better from the start of the rally and then the result can be much better, but it’s been a good weekend overall.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“While we didn’t finish how we would have wanted; we have been well rewarded for our great drive on Friday and Saturday. Those are important points and despite not scoring many today, we were still the third-best performers – equal with Elfyn – and we only lost one point to Ott. SS18 was really tricky, and I tried my best to avoid an impact immediately hitting the brakes but there was nothing I could do. I am happy to still be in the lead and to retain the advantage, however Portugal is going to be tough for us from our road position.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4,
Croatia Rally 2024, 18-21 April 2024
Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Croatia Rally 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“It’s incredible to finish as the second highest-scoring crew. Our weekend was tough once again; we started from a very bad place, and I gave away some time in the beginning. We recovered a bit on Friday afternoon, and then on Saturday we tried to experiment a bit ahead of today to try and help us maximise our road position, which was also tricky. We were always just a bit too far behind to get enough dirty road, so it was a constant challenge, but we managed to collect some good points. I’m hoping to have a better feeling on gravel from Portugal and be more competitive, as the target will be to start taking back some points.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I was expecting to be a bit closer to the front during this event, even though I knew I was going to struggle here. I haven’t done the rally in the last few years, so it was a struggle, especially as there is so much pace note information to take on. When I don’t know the stage by heart, it is hard to have the commitment you need to fight at the front, and the speed here is very high. I was missing confidence in the driving, but we were going in the right direction, but I was hoping for more.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Grégoire Munster

“I’m just happy we had a trouble-free event! This can now launch our season, which didn’t start exactly how we wanted. It was a very demanding event, with difficult stages where you need full commitment. So, to finish the rally, we are really happy, and with the improvement in the gaps to the other crews from 1.5s/km on Friday to around 0.5s/km at the end of the weekend, it’s all heading in a good direction.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“It’s been a good weekend for us. We’ve been fighting with Ott for the first two days, we were missing a bit of performance sometimes, and were trying things with the set-up. But we found something really good on Friday’s last stages. Then the rain was supposed to come so we had to change things, we had to make a guess based on the conditions, but once we went back to the set-up we had on Friday the car felt really good.

“We’ve been able to push a lot. We made one mistake, a small mistake with big consequences, which is a shame. But it’s like that, you have to be perfect everywhere here. We stayed on the road, but we hit a concrete pole [on SS18] so we just decided to fix it and push really hard on the Power Stage to score the points. We got the maximum points, which is great, my first Power Stage win, and this is really positive.”

William Creighton (WRC2)

“Overall, a tricky weekend with some drama on Friday night and today, but I guess that’s rally Croatia. The positive is that we showed good pace at points throughout the weekend and whilst we still have a lot of work to do, it’s promising with not so much experience in the Fiesta Rally2. A big thanks to everyone at M-Sport for looking after Liam and myself during a busy few weeks, and of course the support from the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy who have supported me all the way.”

Summary

Well, what an astonishing rally! Seb and Vincent came through the drama of the final day to take victory. His teammate came in second place and with Thierry third and the Belgian was not allowed to increase his championship lead over Elfyn.

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4

1 T. Neuville 86
2 E. Evans 80
3 A. Fourmaux 59
4 O. Tänak 53
5 S. Ogier 45
6 T. Katsuta 45
7 K. Rovanpera 31
8 E. Lappi 23
9 A. Mikkelsen 14
10 O. Solberg 12

 

2024 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 4

1 Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 176
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 169
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 96

 

 

The championship moves onto Portugal next month to be held from the 9th to the 12th of May.

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Rally Croatia – Day Two Report – Saturday

The second day of this event and the crews had 108km’s over eight stages to tackle. The start list would be reversed with Thierry last into the stages throughout the day. Opening the road would be Gregoire Munster. Of course, Thierry and Elfyn would start the day on the same overall time after Friday’s stages.

First up was SS9 Smerovišće – Grdanjci 1 – 15.72 km and Adrien took his position as starting fourth on the road to win the stage from Thierry and Seb. Elfyn was fifth fastest and just eight tenths of a second from Thierry. In WRC2 Yohan was fastest from Nikolay and Pepe, the trio picking up where they left off at the end on Friday.

Onto SS10 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 1 – 20.77 km and it was the turn of Seb to go fastest from Thierry and Elfyn who had set the same time, just three tenths behind the eight-time champion. The gap between the top two remained the same of course. There was a moment for Ott in the stage when he went wide, although at the time he went fastest before ultimately taking fifth fastest in the stage. In WRC2 Yohan was fastest, taking 7.1 seconds from Nikolay’s lead, whilst Eyvind was third. The Norwegian was having a good rally after two years away.

Next up was SS11 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 – 8.78 km and Thierry returned to the top of the stage times, winning the stage from Elfyn and Seb, the gap was now 1.7 seconds between the top two. Yohan took another WRC2 category stage win from Nikolay and Nicolas was third in the category.

The final stage before service and lunch, SS12 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 – 9.11 km and Thierry was fastest from Seb and Ott. Meanwhile Elfyn found the stage very slippery and set the same time as Ott, three seconds behind Thierry’s stage winning time. The gap was now 4.1 seconds between the top two. There was some drama for Yohan in WRC2 as he suffered a puncture and lost 38.7 seconds to Nikolay. The Frenchman remained second in the category with a minute and 21 second lead over Pepe.

After the break the rain had arrived in places on SS13 Smerovišće – Grdanjci 2 – 15.72 km and Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Thierry. The Welshman took four soft tyres, and this gave him an advantage through the stage which was wet in places over the mix tyred Hyundai of Thierry. The Belgian was 6.7 seconds slower than Elfyn and fell from the lead, now two seconds from new leader Elfyn. Yohan returned to the top spot in WRC2 with the fastest time from Pepe and Nicolas. Nikolay continued to lead but after being almost 21 seconds slower than his French teammate, had a reduced lead of 39.1 seconds.

Next up was SS14 Stojdraga – Gornja Vas 2 – 20.77 km and Thierry was fastest again from Seb and Elfyn. This pace took Thierry back into the lead by 2.3 seconds as the tyre strategy by the Hyundai team gave them the advantage over the Toyota team’s. In WRC2 there was no change in the top three as Nikolay continued to lead the category from Yohan and Pepe was still third.

Just two stages remained then to decide the Saturday points for the top ten positions and first up was SS15 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 – 8.78 km. Thierry was fastest again from Seb and Elfyn and now the lead over the Welshman was four seconds. There was still no change in WRC2 as Nikolay remained in the lead from Yohan and Pepe.

The final stage then of the day, SS16 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 – 9.11 km and Thierry was again from Seb and Elfyn, with the gap widening to 4.9 seconds at the end of Saturday’s stages. Quite amazing.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day Two

1 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 2:09:46
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +4.9
3 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +11.6
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +1:15.5
5 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +1:35.4
6 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +2:14.2
7 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +4:00.8
8 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +4:56.3
9 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +7:41.4
10 Y. Rossel A. Dunand Citroën C3 +8:20.9

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“This afternoon was trickier due to very challenging weather. We feared that we made the wrong choice, but the rain didn’t continue, and we were able to set good times by mixing the tyre choice based on the stages we were tackling. It’s not easy to know what is the best mix, but I followed my gut feeling. Even if you know the stages here well, they are still really difficult. They are challenging and narrow, with lots of crests and blind corners. Anything can happen on tomorrow’s final run, so we need to keep focused. We want to bring home the victory, but more importantly some extra points.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 04, Croatia Rally
18 – 21 March 2024
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“I felt definitely less comfortable in the car this afternoon and we couldn’t find any good rhythm to finish the day. I think to maximise our potential tomorrow we will try to go back to where we were yesterday afternoon – something we know was working a lot better for us. If we start from there, we will then need to work hard tomorrow to bring back as many points as possible from Super Sunday and the Power Stage.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“I think we are taking small steps; we would like to be making bigger ones, of course, but we are still learning. For sure there’s the potential for more, but I’m still having some moments in the car. I think we are at a point where the car now is working fairly well for me, and it is more the features and my familiarity of the stages that I’m missing. I haven’t done this rally since 2021 and many stages are new, so where the other crews are fine-tuning their pace notes to be absolutely perfect, I am still digesting so much information.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a good day and good fun behind the wheel. The margins have been very tight here and we just couldn’t quite match Thierry, who was very fast all day. We had a good start to the afternoon to take the lead – we had the right tyre choice for that stage especially. After that, I think it’s hard to say what the best choice was, as the feeling was pretty good in the car. We just unfortunately fell short at the end of the day. There will be another difficult tyre choice to make to cover the whole final day, but we’ll try to make good decisions and give it our best.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Overall, it’s been a good day for me in the car. Everyone was expecting rain today and we made some changes to the car anticipating that, and I didn’t quite feel as comfortable as yesterday. We had a few drops of rain to start the afternoon and we had a tyre choice that suited these conditions, so we managed to get back a little bit of time. Unfortunately, it kind of balanced out over the rest of the loop. Still, it’s been a positive day, we were just missing something to make the difference in this close fight. It’s not over yet, and we will keep pushing until the end – also to help the team score the maximum points.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“For sure, today was much better than yesterday, so I’m feeling happier tonight. I felt good in the car and it’s getting better and better all the time. I was more competitive in some stages and just missing a bit of commitment in others. It’s easier to see now where I’m losing time compared to the top three and why, but I wasn’t taking huge risks. I think the team did a very good job with the tyre choices because it was difficult to get it right for every stage. Tomorrow I’ll try to push myself and to take some extra points for myself and the team.”

 

Sunday

We have 54.78km’s to decide this rally’s final standings and the points to be awarded for the top seven positions at the end of Sunday’s stages.

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Rally Croatia 2024 – Day One Report – Friday

The first full day of competition saw the crews face 119km’s over eight stages. There was the added addition of the fact there would be no mid-day service. Getting through the longest day without any problems would be tricky. Thierry would open the road due to being the championship leader.

First up was SS1 Krašić – Sošice 1 – 23.63 km and the Belgian pairing would take advantage of their road position and win the first stage from Elfyn and Scott by 6.6 seconds. Starting further back down the starting list was Seb and Vincent, and the Toyota crew were third fastest. In WRC2 Nikolay held the lead from Yohan and Pepe.

Onto SS2 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 1 – 9.48 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry and Ott. The Welshman took 1.7 seconds from the rally leader, the gap now just 4.9 between them. In the M-Sport team, Adrien had a good run that was just 1.8 seconds slower than Ott. In WRC2, Nicolay made two from two, again faster than Yohan and Lauri was third.

The penultimate stage then of the morning loop, SS3 Ravna Gora – Skrad 1 – 10.13 km saw Thierry hit back again from Elfyn, the gap now stretched to 8.4 seconds, whilst Seb was third again. Yohan was quickest in WRC2 from Nikolay and Pepe, with the Frenchman taking 1.7 seconds from Nikolay.

The last stage then before the tyre fitting zone, SS4 Platak 1 – 16.63 km was won by Thierry from Elfyn and Seb. In WRC2 there was no change with the same top three and in the same order, with Nikolay pulling away a little from his French teammate.

Following the break for the tyre fitting zone, the crews returned to SS5 Platak 2 – 16.63 km, with the same stages being run from the morning but in the opposite order. Once again, Thierry was fastest from Elfyn and Seb. The battle continued in WRC2 with Nikolay again fastest from Yohan but only by eight tenths of a second whilst William Creighton in his Fiesta Rally2 was third fastest and this pace moved him up two positions on the leaderboard to eighth in the category.

Into SS6 Ravna Gora – Skrad 2 – 10.13 km Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Ott. There was drama for Thierry who got a puncture in the stage and although he was sixth fastest his lead was now just one tenth of a second! Nikolay continued to lead WRC2 from Yohan and Pepe.

Next up was SS7 Jaškovo – Mali Modruš Potok 2 – 9.48 km and Seb was fastest from Elfyn by just three tenths of a second and Ott third. Thierry lost more time, dropping two seconds to Seb and a little less to Elfyn and this mean we had a change in the leader, with the Welshman now leading from Thierry and Seb now 17.6 from his teammate and in third. In WRC2 Nikolay was again fastest from Yohan whilst Eyvind Brynildsen third in his Skoda.

The final stage then of the day, SS8 Krašić – Sošice 2 – 23.63 km and Seb was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. That was not the most remarkable thing of this though. With Elfyn going sixth fastest with a time of 13:00.8 and Thierry third with a time of 12:59.2 the two championship rivals ended the first full day of the rally with an identical overall time of 1:05:15. 3. They were tied for the lead. Thierry would hold first place courtesy of his four fastest stage times compared to Elfyn’s two. The other amazing result of this stage would be that Seb reduced the lead to just 6.6 seconds putting him right back in the fight for the lead. There was no change at the top of WRC2, but Emil set a good time in this one, going third fastest and he moved up one position to eighth in the category.

2024 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4,
Croatia Rally 2024, 18-21 April 2024
Emil Lindholm, Reeta Hamalainen, i20 N Rally2, Action during Day 1 of WRC 2 Croatia Rally 2024
Photographer: Romain Thuillier
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Let’s hear from the drivers and take a look at the top positions.

Classification after Day One

1 T. Neuville M. Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid 1:05:15
2 E. Evans S. Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +0.00
3 S. Ogier V. Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +6.6
4 O. Tänak M. Järveoja Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +41.1
5 A. Fourmaux A. Coria Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +52.7
6 T. Katsuta A. Johnston Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid +1:37.8
7 A. Mikkelsen T. Eriksen Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid +2:37.8
8 G. Munster L. Louka Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid +3:07.3
9 N. Gryazin K. Aleksandrov Škoda Fabia RS +3:48.3
10 Y. Rossel A. Dunand Citroën C3 +4:19.4

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“We gave it everything in every stage and now we are equal with Elfyn overnight. Despite this, we still lost important seconds this afternoon with our puncture, and we struggled generally throughout the day with the balance of the car and road conditions. We knew this afternoon would also be tricky as we were the car that was clearing the roads, so there were no lines for us. Generally, we can be happy with the overall result, and tomorrow we will fight to improve our advantage.”

2024 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 04, Croatia Rally
18 – 21 March 2024
Thierry Neuville
Photographer: Austral
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Ott Tänak

“At some points we were really frustrated, and our morning was going really downhill. The first loop was quite a struggle; I was fighting with the car while trying to set better times and that caused me to have some moments. Only this afternoon did things come together a bit more and become more consistent in the car. We still didn’t have too much confidence to be committed, but tomorrow we will get back in the car for another show.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“It’s been a tough day. We were hoping to be fighting further up the field, but we are starting to get more confident and gaining the speed to compete. I am having some moments inside the car, and I feel like it’s not working as it should be, so we will analyse and sleep on it and hopefully we’ll go better tomorrow. The most important thing is to get a good feeling in the car, which I had in Alba, because today it doesn’t feel right. We will refocus and come back stronger tomorrow.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans

“This morning especially the roads were getting dirtier with every car so that helped us to be faster than the guys behind but not quite as fast as Thierry. The first stage was quite slippery but through the morning we got a bit more comfortable, and the pace started to come. It was a pretty good fight this afternoon after Thierry had a puncture: then the gap was very close, and it was just a matter of a few seconds either way in each stage. The car’s generally been good, and the balance has been reasonable, but tomorrow could be quite different with the weather and we’re expecting a challenging day.”

Sébastien Ogier

“It’s been a good day for me, I’m really happy. I pushed quite hard all day and I’m quite satisfied with my driving and with the car: the feeling was great, and it was really good fun to drive. We knew our road position would cost us some time and it did this morning. Then we had some bad luck with the weather at the start of the afternoon, but we managed to do this really good time on the last stage. This was very positive for us as it pushed us back into the fight. Tomorrow could be like the start of another rally with the weather forecast: on these dirty and slippery roads, the rain can make it very challenging.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“We knew that this rally can be very demanding, especially as the conditions get worse with every car because of the gravel and mud from the cuts. Still, I was struggling more than I expected this morning. It was not so easy to find the confidence and drive on the level that I wanted. During the whole day I was looking for ways to improve, and in the afternoon we made some changes to the car setup. After this I had a better feeling at the end of the day, and the last stage was much better. Tomorrow the conditions could be completely different, so it will be a new day and I will try to do my best again.”

Saturday

Day two’s action will see the crews face 108.76km’s over eight stages again. There will be a lunch time service on day two, with the stages being run in the normal format, instead of being reversed. Who will lead the rally at the end of Saturday?

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