Latest news with #RallyItaliaSardegna
Al Bawaba
18 hours ago
- Automotive
- Al Bawaba
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Clinches Double-Podium Win at Rally Italia Sardegna
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) has maintained its 100 percent winning record in the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season with a first- and third-place finish at Rally Italia Sardegna. Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais battled through to the final stage to claim victory in the No. 17 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. With his fifth victory at the event, Sébastien Ogier becomes its most successful driver since the FIA World Rally Championship began visiting Sardinia in 2004. This also marks his third win from four starts this Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen once again secured a double podium finish by placing third in the No. 69 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. TGR-WRT continues to dominate the top three positions in the drivers' championship, while Toyota has extended its lead in the manufacturers' standings to 69 Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: 'For us, TGR-WRT, Sardinia is truly a tough event. This year, we had a close call in the Power Stage, and Seb redeemed himself! It's a wonderful fifth victory for him in Sardinia. I am very thankful to Seb and Vincent. The team experienced several issues, but I'm also happy that all five cars completed the rally without any retirements and made it back to the finish. Being challenged on such a tough road helps us become stronger. And TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will continue to make ever-better cars as we overcome obstacles one by one through rally stages.'This year's edition of the Italian island event lived up to its reputation, with ambient temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and rough, rocky roads pushing drivers, vehicles, and tires to their limits. Despite this, Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais delivered a strong performance to seize a narrow lead in the final stage of the opening battle for victory intensified during the penultimate day, with Ogier engaging in a close contest. He carried an 11.1-second lead into the final day, which featured a pair of new stages run twice. Ogier extended his advantage in the morning after setting the fastest time in the opening stage. A brief scare came in the Power Stage when a half-spin towards a tree forced him to reverse in deep ruts, but he recovered to seal victory by 7.9 Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen completed a double podium for the team with a third-place finish. After running second on the road during the opening day, they maintained consistent pace and avoided issues, saving their best for the rally-ending Power Stage, which they won by 8.1 seconds to also top the Super Sunday 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 7 of the 2025 FIA WRC is the Acropolis Rally in Greece (June 26–29), which completes a trio of demanding gravel events in southern Europe. This legendary event has a reputation for its rocky mountain roads and high Notes:• No. 17 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais)• Position: 1st• Time: 3 hours, 34 minutes, and 24.5 seconds● No. 69 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen)• Position: 3rd • Time: 3 hours, 35 minutes, and 15 seconds
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Ogier and Landais claim Rally Italia Sardegna as McErlean adn Treacy finish 34th
No stranger to achieving and breaking records, French driver Sebastien Ogier (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) clinched another with his fifth Rally Italia Sardegna victory but not before he survived an overshoot on the final stage to finish 7.9s ahead of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 of Estonian Ott Tanak, whose team mate Kalle Rovanpera took the final spot on the podium. Following their second stage drama on Friday, the Irish crew of Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) returned to the event under "Super Rally" where it was all about gaining more seat time and making preparation for the forthcoming and next round Acropolis Rally. Finishing 34th, McErlean said, "A lot of good learning, and hopefully someday we can use this (running first on the road) for the first day. A big thanks to the whole team, because even before this last service, it was a big job inside seven minutes to fit a front left damper. Hopefully some good learning for Greece and it definitely means you have to have a good Friday at WRC. It's been a busy one for the team." Sebastien Ogier (left) and Vincent Landais (Toyota Gazoo Racing) celebrate their victory in Rally Italia Sardegna Olbia, Italy. It was a record breaking fifth win ifor Ogier.. Picture: Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool. Ogier began Saturday's six stages with a 2.1s lead over Fourmaux and duly extended that margin to 7.4s on the morning's first stage where Fourmaux was unhappy with his performance. A stage later, there was more disappointment when his Fourmaux's Hyundai punctured some 5km into the stage before he had to stop and change the wheel at the 16km mark losing around four minutes and dropping to seventh. More drama followed on SS9 when he lost two more places following an off road excursion. His team mate Ott Tanak fared better and with the fastest time on SS8 closed the gap to leader Ogier to 4.5s - the latter had his stage time revised after he was slowed by the dust from Fourmaux. A stage later Tanak lost time with a slow puncture to drop 15s behind Ogier. The rally leader remained calm and consistent through the repeat loop but Tanak with two stage wins cut the deficit to 11.1s. With Fourmaux and Sami Pajari (puncture) faltering, their Toyota GR Yaris team mate Kalle Rovanpera gained a few places to move into third. Championship leader Elfyn Evans (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) was another driver forced to stop and change a punctured wheel (on SS11) and ended the penultimate leg in fifth. With their M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 re-fettled, McErlean/Treacy had the task of sweeping the loose gravel from the stages. After the morning's second stage, McErlean said, "I have new appreciation for world champions, who win championships by doing that (being first on the road). On Sunday's the final leg (six stage) and having extended his lead to 17.1s on the penultimate stage, Ogier seemed to have everything under control. However, he had an overshoot on the closing few kilometres of the Wolf Power Stage when his Toyota didn't turn into a tight rutted right hander and ended up in the bushes. Twelve months ago a final stage puncture robbed him of victory, but this time and reversing his way out of trouble, he took the spoils and a record fifth win. With his team mate and championship leader Elfyn Evans finishing fourth, Ogier is now into second - 19 points behind and one ahead of Kalle Rovanpera, who won the Power Stage and also took an additional five points for the faster driver on Sunday, Rovanpera is only twenty points off Evans in a Toyota lock-out of the top three championship positions in the Drivers' championship. Meanwhile, Killarney's Colin O'Donoghue (Ford Escort) won the Laois Heartland's Rally as he finished the day's six (2x3) stages 4.6s ahead of the Toyota Starlet of Monaghan's David Moffett with similar car of Richard Moffett, 13.6s further behind in third. Monaghan's Johnno Doogan (Ford Escort) led Richard Moffett by 6.7s after the first pair of stages but retired on the road section to SS3 with a broken half-shaft. O'Donoghue, who experienced transmission woes on SS2 moved into the lead on SS3 only for Richard Moffett to move 0.8s ahead after SS4. O'Donoghue was best on the final loop to secure victory. Rally Italia Sardegna (Round 6, World Rally Championship) Olbia:1. S. Ogier/V.( Landais (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) 3h. 34m. 24.5s; 2. O. Tanak/M. Jarveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)+7.9s; 3. K. Rovanpera/J. Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+50.5s. 4. E. Evans/S. Martin GBR Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+5m. 05.7s; 5. T. Katsuta/A. Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+7m. 29.6s; 6. O. Solberg/E. Edmondson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+8m. 32.9s; 7. S. Pajari/M. Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)+10m. 29.0s; 8. N. Gryazin/K. Aleksandrov (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+10m. 58.7s; 9. R. Dapra/L. Guglielmetti (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+12m. 15.3s; 10. K. Kajetanowicz/M. Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+12m. 21.1s. World Rally Championship for Drivers' Standings (After Round 6): 1. E. Evans 133pts; 2. S. Ogier 114pts; 3. K. Rovanpera 113pts; 4. O. Tanak 108pts; 5. T. Neuville 83pts; T. Katsuta 63pts; 7. A. Fourmaux 44pts; 8. S. Pajari 31pts; 9. G. Munster 18pts; 10. J. McErlean 12pts. World Rally Manufacturers' Championship Standings (After Round 6):1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 312pts; 2, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 243pts; 3. M-Sport Ford WRT 87pts; 4. 4Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 48pts. Laois Heartland's Rally, Stradbally: C. O'Donoghue/K. O'Donoghue (Ford Escort) 40m. 31.7s; 2. D. Moffett/M. Connolly (Toyota Starlet)+4.6s; 3. R. Moffett/D. Kelly (Toyota Starlet)+18.2s; 4. M. Carbin/D. O'Sullivan (Ford Escort)+59.8s; 5. F. Kelly/L. Kelly (Ford Escort)+1m. 18.3s; 6. E. O'Callaghan/J. Dalton (Ford Escort)+1m. 23.3s.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Evans' WRC lead cut as Ogier secures Italy record
Elfyn Evans won two of the first three rallies this season in Sweden and Kenya [Getty Images] Elfyn Evans' World Rally Championship lead has been cut further, as Sebastien Ogier made it back-to-back wins with victory at Rally Italia Sardegna. Welshman Evans finished fourth, more than five minutes behind Toyota team-mate Ogier who became the most successful driver in the Italian event's history with a fifth success. Advertisement The French eight-time world champion has cut his series deficit to Evans from 30 points to 19, with another GR Yaris Rally1 driver, Kalle Rovanpera, a further one point back. Rovanpera was fourth in the baking heat of Sardinia, behind Hyundai's Ott Tanak - who finished runner-up to maintain his own championship challenge. All six of this season's rallies so far have been won by Toyota. Ogier's victory was his third of the season and came 12 months after losing out to Tanak by 0.2 seconds following a heartbreaking final-stage puncture in this event. He also had a scare on Sunday's finale, when an overshoot in the final kilometres slashed his lead over the Estonian from 17.2s to 7.9s. Advertisement "In the ruts, I just couldn't turn the car," said Ogier. "There was no speed at all, so I didn't try to force it and hit it, I preferred to stop and reverse. "Yeah, not ideal, still, it was enough to win." Evans once again found the gravel roads tough on the opening day, as he did in Portugal last month. He never challenged for overall victory and also lost time on the top three when he punctured on Saturday's stage 11, though ironically he gained a place to fourth with Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari taking even longer over a wheel change. Josh McErlean's Rally Italia was over almost before it started. He was one of six drivers caught out by the newly introduced Telti - Calangianus - Berchidda loop, ripping the entire rear-left corner off his M-Sport Ford Puma on stage two. Advertisement The Northern Irish driver was forced to retire with suspension damage before restarting, out of contention, on Saturday and finishing 11th in class. He remains 10th overall. The drivers face similar conditions in round seven of the 14-event series, with more gravel stages in Acropolis Rally Greece from 26 to 29 June. Rally Italia Sardegna result 1. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 3 hours 34 minutes 25.5 seconds 2. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, +7.9secs 3. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, +50.5secs 4. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, +5min 05.7secs 5. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, +7min Advertisement Selected 11. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, +57min 10.1secs FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings 1. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, 133 points 2. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 114 3. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 113 4. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, 108 5. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, 83 6. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, 63 Selected 10. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, 12 12. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Skoda, 8
BBC News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- BBC News
Evans' WRC lead cut as Ogier secures Italy record
Elfyn Evans' World Rally Championship lead has been cut further, as Sebastien Ogier made it back-to-back wins with victory at Rally Italia Evans finished fourth, over five minutes behind Toyota team-mate Ogier who became the most successful driver in the Italian event's history with a fifth French eight-time world champion has cut his series deficit on the current leader from 30 points to 19, with another GR Yaris Rally1 driver, Kalle Rovanpera, a further one point was fourth in the baking heat of Sardinia, behind Hyundai's Ott Tanak who finished runner-up to maintain his own championship six of this season's rallies so far have been won by Toyota. Ogier's victory was his third of the season and came 12 months after losing out to Tanak by 0.2 seconds following a heart-breaking final-stage puncture in this also had a scare on Sunday's finale, when an overshoot in the final kilometres saw this year's lead over the Estonian slashed from 17.2s to 7.9s."In the ruts, I just couldn't turn the car," said Ogier."There was no speed at all, so I didn't try to force it and hit it, I preferred to stop and reverse. "Yeah, not ideal, still, it was enough to win."Evans once again found the gravel roads tough on the opening day, as he did in Portugal last never challenged for overall victory and also lost time on the top three when he punctured on Saturday's stage 11, though ironically he gained a place to fourth with Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari taking even longer over a wheel McErlean's Rally Italia was over almost before it started. He was one of six drivers caught out by the newly-introduced Telti - Calangianus - Berchidda loop, ripping the entire rear-left corner off his M-Sport Ford Puma on stage two. The Northern Irish driver was forced to retire with suspension damage before restarting, out of contention, on Saturday and finishing 11th in remains 10th drivers face similar conditions in round seven of the 14-event series with more gravel stages in Acropolis Rally Greece from 26 to 29 June. Rally Italia Sardegna result 1. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 3 hours 34 minutes 25.5 seconds2. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, +7.9secs3. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, +50.5secs4. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, +5min 05.7secs5. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, +7min Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, +57min 10.1secs FIA World Rally Championship drivers' standings 1. Elfyn Evans (Great Britain), Toyota, 133 points2. Sebastien Ogier (France), Toyota, 1143. Kalle Rovanpera (Finland), Toyota, 1134. Ott Tanak (Estonia), Hyundai, 1085. Thierry Neuville (Belgium), Hyundai, 836. Takamoto Katsuta (Japan), Toyota, 63Selected10. Josh McErlean (Ireland), Ford, 1212. Gus Greensmith (Great Britain), Skoda, 8
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ogier edges Tanak to claim fifth Sardinia crown as Toyota charge into title fight
Sebastien Ogier clinched a record fifth Rally Italia Sardegna victory on Sunday, fending off Hyundai's Ott Tanak by just 7.9 seconds after a tense final stage in Sardinia. The French Toyota driver, alongside co-driver Vincent Landais, completed the 16-stage event in 3 hours, 34 minutes and 24.5 seconds to secure the team's third win of the 2025 season. Toyota's eight-times world champion Ogier was beaten by Tanak last year, who seized victory by a whisker. Hyundai's Tanak pushed hard in the final Wolf Power Stage but fell short, while Kalle Rovanpera completed a double podium for Toyota in third, 50.5 seconds behind Ogier. Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta rounded out a strong showing for Toyota, taking fourth and fifth respectively.
