Latest news with #PowerStage
Irish Examiner
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- Irish Examiner
Fermanagh native Jon Armstrong fully prepared for Rally Poland despite route revamp
Kesh native Jon Armstrong knows what to expect from the Orlen Oil 81st Rally Poland despite a revamped route. A brace of tenth place finishes in Hungary and Scandinavia is scant reward for his efforts thus far where he has taken a strong share of the Power Stage points on both rallies. On what will be his fourth appearance in the event — with class wins on previous outings — Armstrong and his Donegal co-drive Shane Byrne will be aiming to maximise the former's experience and knowledge. 'It gets very rutted on the second pass of the stages because the surface is quite sandy and gets dug up with every car that passes." Onboard his Pirelli shod M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2, he added, 'You have to trust the car in the ruts and really commit to them — there can be surprises waiting in them. Then you have the tricky sections through villages on tarmac with a gravel set-up." Not that he will have time to admire the scenic surroundings during an event that has ERC status for the 55th time, he concluded, "The Polish lake district is a lovely part of the world.' It's the third and final gravel event on the ERC season. There are some six ERC champions in the line-up with Martins Sesks and local hero Miko Marczyk in a pair of Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars following top seed Roope Korhonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) off the start ramp. ERC leader Korhonen holds a three points advantage over Marczyk, who won this event in 2022. Others like Mads Ostberg (Citroen C3 Rally2) and Andrea Mabellini (Skoda Fabia Rally2) will be aiming to close the deficit. Armstrong is seeded at eight. Meanwhile, there is a strong Irish contingent in the Junior ERC category including reigning Billy Coleman Young Driver of the Year award winner Cavan's Craig Rahill, who was fourth in the category in Spain earlier in the season. Speaking yesterday to the Irish Examiner after he concluded his recce of the first three stages, he said, "I'm looking forward to it. I don't have that much experience on gravel in comparison to tarmac so want to build that up, it's so important from that perspective." Cavan's Craig Rahill will compete in the Junior ERC category. File picture: Martin Walsh Rahill will campaign a Hankook shod Peugeot 208 Rally4 along with fellow Irish drivers Aoife Raftery and Keelan Grogan. Elsewhere, the line-up also features Tipperary's Casey J Coleman (Ford Fiesta Rally3) and Louth's Brendan Cumiskey (Ford Fiesta R4). The action begins this (Friday) evening with the head-to-head 2.5km Mikołajki Arena super special with seven stages tomorrow and six on Sunday culminating with the Power Stage. Sadly, Junior ERC driver Italian Matteo Doretto, 21, lost his life during a private test on Wednesday morning as he prepared for the event. His co-driver Samuele Pellegrino was taken to hospital for precautionary checks but was uninjured. Doretto, who won the Italian Junior series last year, was in his maiden season in the ERC where he was a popular member of the ERC family, The FIA European Rally Championship family have extended its deepest sympathies. Former Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year, Charlie Eastwood competes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that starts tomorrow afternoon. The Belfast TF Sport driver accompanies Angolan-Portuguese driver Rui Andrade and Belgian Tom Van Rompuy in the #81 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. Eastwood was a class winner with Aston Martin Racing in 2020. The addition on Monday last of double European Rally champion, Hayden Paddon to the entry for next week's Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally is generating great interest. The New Zealander replaces Welsh ace Matt Edwards, who announced on Sunday that he had decided to withdraw from the three day rally, citing the recent tragedy on the Jim Clark Rally and accidents in rallies in Cavan and Barbados as the reason. In line with the rules, Paddon will now steer the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 with Cork native David Moynihan calling the pacenotes. Along with Kris Meeke, who withdrew after the Jim Clark and Cavan events, Eddie Doherty, Sam Moffett, Jason Mitchell and Tommy Doyle have withdrawn their entries. Read More Indiana bench shines as Pacers overtake Thunder late for 2-1 lead in NBA finals
Straits Times
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- Straits Times
Rallying-Ogier edges Tanak to win in Sardinia, Evans stays top
FILE PHOTO: FIA World Rally Championship - Rally Sweden - Stage 7 of Second Round - Torsby, Sweden - February 15, 2020. Sebastien Ogier of France (Toyota Yaris WRC) speaks to the media. TT News Agency/Micke Fransson/via REUTERS/File Photo Sebastien Ogier clinched a record fifth Rally Italy victory on Sunday, fending off Hyundai's Ott Tanak by 7.9 seconds after a tense final stage in Sardinia, while Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans stayed top of the championship standings. Ogier, with co-driver Vincent Landais, completed the sixth round of the season in three hours 34 minutes and 24.5 seconds to secure the Frenchman's third win in four starts in a part-time campaign. The eight-times world champion was beaten by Tanak on the island last year by 0.2 seconds after a final-stage puncture but this time Ogier stayed composed and took the win despite a late wobble. Ogier had built a 17.1-second cushion heading into the Wolf Power Stage, but the 41-year-old overshot a tight, rutted corner in the final kilometres. This forced him to stop and reverse after his car refused to turn, cutting his advantage by more than half in a tense finale. "In the ruts, I just couldn't turn the car," Ogier explained. "There was no speed at all, so I didn't try to force it and hit it - I preferred to stop and reverse. But yeah, not ideal. Still, it was enough to win." The victory follows hot on the heels of his Rally Portugal triumph and sent Ogier second in the championship with 114 points to Evans' 133. Toyota, who have won every rally so far this year, also tightened their grip on the manufacturers' race with 312 points to Hyundai's 243. "There are many places I've won several times," said Ogier. "It's just a type of rally I like, where precise driving is needed, but also smoothness for tyre management. Thanks to the team, great turnaround after Portugal in terms of speed and set-up, so good job." Tanak pushed hard in the final stage but fell short, while Kalle Rovanpera, clawing his way up from fifth during Saturday's stages, completed a double podium for Toyota in third, 50.5 seconds behind Ogier. The Finn dropped to third overall, one point behind Ogier, with Tanak fourth on 108. Evans and Takamoto Katsuta rounded out a strong showing for Toyota, taking fourth and fifth respectively. Hyundai's reigning champion Thierry Neuville, fifth in the championship on 83 points, took four points from the Power Stage and one from the 'Super Sunday' format after returning following Friday's retirement. The next round is in Greece on June 26-29. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Belfast Telegraph
Josh Moffett elated to edge sibling rivalry after clinching Cavan Stages Rally victory
Tyre choice proved to be something of a lottery for the duration of the closed-road event due to a handful of special stages being bone dry in parts and biblically wet in others. However, Moffett – in his older-generation but much-preferred Hyundai Motorsport i20 R5 – got the rub of the green for the Third Round of the competition when it came to strategy. That allowed him to carve out an early lead on the opening speed test alongside stand-in co-driver Andy Hayes before he steadily added to that to finish at the head of the leaderboard. His older brother Sam – another former National champion – made it a Moffett one-two courtesy of a scratch time on the Power Stage. He went all out for the extra bonus point and, in doing so, leapfrogged Kevin Eves to take second in his Hyundai i20 N Rally2. 'It was a good day and we really enjoyed it,' said Josh, whose winning margin after almost 70 competitive miles was 18.2 seconds. 'With the Citroen breaking down on the last event in Kerry, it was important that we came here and got the win for the Championship. 'Getting a one-two is also pretty cool as well because it has been a while since that has happened,' he continued. 'But the most important thing is that I am on the top step!' Having been hampered in the opening exchanges by too hard a set-up, Sam's pursuit of a podium place was boosted on stage three when Round Two winner Eddie Doherty spun his Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Garry Jennings did the same in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally2. His run to second was anything but plain sailing, however, as he got caught out under braking and ended up down a slip road on SS5 before reporting a pop-off valve issue on the next test. Set-up issues played into the hands of Eves on the penultimate stage before Sam regrouped to move back into the silver medal position with Shane Buckley right at the death. Robert Barrable produced a strong recovery drive to climb from seventh to fourth, helped in part by Jennings' earlier spin and Doherty's Czech supermini breaking a half shaft and a rear anti-roll bar. However, fifth was still good enough for Round Two winner Doherty to bank some all-important points. While he remains very much in the title hunt, Desi Henry's hopes were dealt another blow in Cavan. Targeting at least a top-three result, the best he could manage in a hired Ford Fiesta Rally2 was sixth, meaning the signs suggest he is set to pull out of the Championship.
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.
