Latest news with #RallyIslasCanarias
Arab Times
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Arab Times
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing seals commanding 1-2-3-4 finish at Rally Islas Canarias
MADRID, May 17: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) showcased complete domination at the Rally Islas Canarias, clinching a stellar 1-2-3-4 finish at the first pure asphalt round of the season in style. The emphatic victory was spearheaded by the electrifying performance of Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen (No. 69 GR YARIS Rally1), marking a grand return to the top of the podium. They were challenged by Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais(No. 17), Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin(No. 33), and Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston(No. 18) to claim second, third, and fourth place, respectively. Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: "This wonderful result we achieved was made possible by the efforts of every single member of TGR-WRT. It was amazing that we could finish 1-2-3-4 with Kalle, Seb, Elfyn, and Takamoto on the roads of Gran Canaria, which we drove for the first time. Even on unfamiliar roads, our engineers and mechanics managed to prepare the cars with setups that the drivers already felt confident with in shakedown." Toyoda added: "We are a team where members can say thank you to each other while fighting together, and TGR-WRT always aspires to be such a team. Thank you, everyone! Great work! This rally, in particular, was filled with everyone's hearts. We have a busy schedule ahead leading up to Rally Finland. Let's continue to push as one team!' In the first rally with the new hard-compound Hankook asphalt tyre, TGR-WRT exhibited a commanding performance. Rovanperä and Halttunen dominated from the start and sealed the top spot by a margin of 53.5 seconds, setting the best time in the rally-ending Power Stage. With this, Rovanperä has become the most successful driver for Toyota in the WRC with 16 career wins. The rally also marked Ogier's strong return to action. Teaming up with Landais, he even bettered Rovanperä in the penultimate stage to secure second place on the podium. By finishing third, Evans and Martin attained their fourth top-three finish of the season. With 43 points, Evans is now the frontrunner for the drivers' championship title. With this emphatic win, Toyota reigns at the top of the table with a strong 208 points in contention for the manufacturers' title. Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race. Toyota's participation in these events was overseen by separate entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established TGR to consolidate all of its motorsports activities under one in-house brand. Representing Toyota's belief that 'the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,' TGR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota's commitment to making 'ever-better' cars. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme conditions of various motorsports events, TGR aims to forge new technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone.
Belfast Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Familiar surface and surroundings just what I need to hit back in Portugal, says Josh McErlean
McErlean makes his fifth start in a M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 this week alongside Eoin Treacy, keen to bounce back from last month's disappointment on Rally Islas Canarias. The pair were forced to retire on the last day after an incorrect pace note meant McErlean carried too much speed into a tightening right-hander, hit an Armco barrier and bent the rear suspension. Afterwards, Team Principal Richard Millener offered a robust defence of his new-for-2025 signing, saying the 25-year-old fully deserved his opportunity to compete at the top level. At one of his favourite events, and on his preferred surface, McErlean is keen to repay that unanimous vote of public confidence with a solid finish on his fifth visit to Rally de Portugal. 'It feels incredible to be heading back to Rally Portugal,' he said. 'This rally means a lot to me. We had an amazing result here last year, and I have been itching to return event since. 'This time, doing it in a Rally1 Puma just makes it even more exciting. It also marks the beginning of the gravel season — and there is nowhere better to kick it off than in Portugal.' In readiness for the 24 stages and 215 miles that lie in store, McErlean completed a pre-event test last week with the British squad on a series of roads similar to the sandy, clay-based surface that is renowned for becoming more rocky and rutted on the second pass. 'Whilst I have done a few events over the years in Portugal, they are all in stark contrast to travelling over the stages in a Rally1 Puma,' he said. 'Our expectations remain realistic. 'We are still learning with every kilometre, but it is safe to say I have been looking forward to this one. The fans, the atmosphere, the roads — everything about Portugal is just mega.' M-Sport Ford will run a third car in Portugal, with McErlean's regular driving mate Gregoire Munster being joined by Latvian prospect Martins Sesks for the second of his six outings this year.
Irish Examiner
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Motorsport: Josh McErlean crash puts end to top 10 finish on Rally Islas Canarias
Josh McErlean's bid for a top ten finish on Rally Islas Canarias, round four of the World Rally Championship ended on the first stage of the final leg when he crashed his Ford Puma Rally1 against an Armco barrier. The event belonged to Finland's Kalle Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1), who rediscovered their form and with fifteen stage wins (from eighteen stages) have moved from sixth in the series to second - behind their team mates and series leaders Welsh ace Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin. The Toyota Gazoo Racing Team locked out the top four places with Sebastien Ogier finishing 53.5s behind Rovanpera and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta and his Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnson completing the top quartet. Saturday's leg saw Rovanpera tighten his grip on the rally with another masterful display as he continued to impose his authority that yielded six fastest times from the seven stages with a lead of 45.2s in a Toyota GR Yaris top four. Only series leader Elfyn Evans prevented Rovanpera from completing a clean sweep of top stage times over two days when he was best on the super special inside the Gran Canaria Arena. Sebastien Ogier consolidated second spot with Evans third. As the day concluded with Toyota holding the top five positions, Finland's Sami Pajari understeered into a wooden barrier on a left hander on the penultimate stage and damaged the front right wing of his Yaris. Katsuta subsequently inherited fourth to complete a Toyota top quartet. Rally leader Rovanpera said, "It's going really well, we made some really small changes to the car this afternoon and I felt even better than in the morning, so that was nice." Despite stalling on the final stage of the day, Adrien Fourmaux in fifth was best of the Hyundai outfit after both Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak continued to struggle with set-up issues. Gregoire Munster lost over three minutes when his Ford Puma Rally1 ran wide and beached itself and was eventually pushed back on the road by several spectators and combined with Pajari's retirement, saw McErlean/Treacy move into 10th. Following the morning opener McErlean said, "The surface was changing quite a lot there. Just tried to trust the grip and keep on learning. We had one surprise against an Armco." Later and with the car having difficulty turning-in, they disconnected the front anti-toll bar to improve the handling. But, it all went wrong after just 4.9km of the opening stage of the final leg when their Ford Puma Rally1 crashed into the Armco barrier. Apologising for his mistake, he said, "It's been difficult from the start, we began to make small progress over the three days with the whole package. It's a big shame what happened today, a little too-ambitious pacenote meant we carried too much speed and ran wide into an Armco. We have learnt a lot about the car and my own driving this weekend. I look forward to getting back on the gravel now and into more familiar territory, everything should come a little more naturally and we can push on from here.' Rovanpera took the maximum 35 points from the event. "It's quite amazing, it has not been the best start of the season, but we are definitely, at least in these kinds of conditions, we are back now. The cars were so fast. I enjoyed it - a super result for the whole team.' Evans' consistency gave him his fourth podium position in as many events. Hyundai struggled through the entire event with handling issues, apparently related to differential settings with Adrien Fourmaux their top finisher in fifth place - two minutes and 30s. behind Rovanpera. Tanak's car required an engine change on Saturday night. The Wexford/Waterford crew of Eamonn Boland/MJ Morrissey (Ford Fiesta Rally2) were 22nd in the RC2 category. Elsewhere. Wicklow's Max Hart (Hyundai Elantra N TCR) took a twelfth and seventh place finish in the two races of the TCR Europe Series with Italian outfit Target Competition at the opening round in Portimao. Rally Islas Canarias (Round 4, World Rally Championship) Gran Canaria: 1. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 2h 54m 39.9s; 2. S. Ogier/V. Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+53.5s; 3. E. Evans/S. Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+1m 17.1s; 4. T Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris RTally1)+1m 43.9s; 5. A. Fourmaux/A. Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+2m 31.0s; 6. O. Tanak/M Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally)+3m. 11.4s; 7. T Neuville/M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+3m. 40.7s; 8. Y. Rossel/A. Dunand (Citroen C3 Rally2)+7m. 10.7s; 9. A. Cachon/B. Rozada (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+7m. 40.2s; N. Gryazin/K. Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+7m. 58.4s.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
WRC leader Evans third as Toyota dominate Canaries
Wales' Elfyn Evans finished third as Toyota dominated the inaugural Rally Islas Canarias, taking the top four places. World Rally Championship (WRC) leader Evans finished one minute and 17 seconds behind winner Kalle Rovanpera with fellow team-mate Sebastien Ogier second. Rovanpera, the 2022 and 2023 WRC champion, won 15 of the rally's 18 stages and collected a maximum 35 points to jump from sixth place overall up to second. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin picked up 21 points for the weekend and have extended their championship lead from 36 points to 43. Despite that, the 36-year-old Welshman - who had won the previous two rallies in Kenya and Sweden - was left frustrated to record his lowest finish of the season so far. "When you aren't in a position to fight for the win, in equal machinery, it never feels great," said Evans. Belgian Thierry Neuville struggled for grip along with the other Hyundai drivers - finishing well off the pace in seventh and losing second place overall to Rovanpera who took his first victory for seven months. "It has not been the best start of the season but we are definitely, in this kind of condition, back now," said the 24-year-old Finnish driver. Toyota had been on course for a record-equalling 1-2-3-4-5 finish before Sami Pajari crashed out on Saturday's penultimate stage promoting team-mate Takamoto Katsuta and his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston to fourth. Northern Ireland's Josh McErlean crashed out on the final day's opening test, running wide and crashing into the barriers on a right-handed corner. The Ford Puma driver was forced to retire on the spot from 10th place but remains 12th in the overall standings. Round five of the 14-event series is Rally de Portugal from 15-18 May. 1. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 2 hours 54 minutes 39.8 seconds 2. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, +53.5secs 3. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, +1min 17.1secs 4. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, +2min 02.9secs 5. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, +2min 31secs 6. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, +3min 11.4secs 7. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, +3min 40.7secs 1. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, 109 points 2. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 66 3. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, 59 4. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 58 5. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, 57 6. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, 44 11. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Skoda, 8 12. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, 8
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Automotive
- BBC News
WRC leader Evans third as Toyota dominate Canaries
Wales' Elfyn Evans finished third as Toyota dominated the inaugural Rally Islas Canarias, taking the top four Rally Championship (WRC) leader Evans finished one minute and 17 seconds behind winner Kalle Rovanpera with fellow team-mate Sebastien Ogier the 2022 and 2023 WRC champion, won 15 of the rally's 18 stages and collected a maximum 35 points to jump from sixth place overall up to and co-driver Scott Martin picked up 21 points for the weekend and have extended their championship lead from 36 points to that, the 36-year-old Welshman - who had won the previous two rallies in Kenya and Sweden - was left frustrated to record his lowest finish of the season so far. "When you aren't in a position to fight for the win, in equal machinery, it never feels great," said Evans. Belgian Thierry Neuville struggled for grip along with the other Hyundai drivers - finishing well off the pace in seventh and losing second place overall to Rovanpera who took his first victory for seven months."It has not been the best start of the season but we are definitely, in this kind of condition, back now," said the 24-year-old Finnish had been on course for a record-equalling 1-2-3-4-5 finish before Sami Pajari crashed out on Saturday's penultimate stage promoting team-mate Takamoto Katsuta and his Irish co-driver Aaron Johnston to Ireland's Josh McErlean crashed out on the final day's opening test, running wide and crashing into the barriers on a right-handed Ford Puma driver was forced to retire on the spot from 10th place but remains 12th in the overall five of the 14-event series is Rally de Portugal from 15-18 May. Rally Islas Canarias result 1. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 2 hours 54 minutes 39.8 seconds2. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, +53.5secs3. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, +1min 17.1secs4. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, +2min 02.9secs5. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, +2min 31secs6. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, +3min 11.4secs7. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, +3min 40.7secs FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings (provisional) 1. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, 109 points2. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 663. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, 594. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 585. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, 576. Adrien Formaux (France), Hyundai, 4411. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Skoda, 8 12. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, 8
