Latest news with #RallyPortugal
TimesLIVE
09-06-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ogier edges Tanak to win in Sardinia, Evans stays top
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 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. It was enough to win." The victory follows hot on the heels of his Rally Portugal triumph and sent Ogier ro 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 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 after Friday's retirement. The next round is in Greece from June 26 to 29.
Hindustan Times
08-06-2025
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Rallying-Ogier edges Tanak to win in Sardinia, Evans stays top
-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.
Al Bawaba
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Al Bawaba
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Ascend the Podium Once More at Rally de Portugal
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) is celebrating its sixth successive Rally de Portugal victory since 2019 and an unbroken streak of five wins in the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season. Sébastien Ogier, alongside co-driver Vincent Landais, conquered 24 punishing gravel stages across northern and central Portugal in the No. 17 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 to take first place. This victory also marks Ogier's record-breaking seventh win in the country. Teammates Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen added to the team's dominance with a strong third-place finish in the No. 69 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1. TGR-WRT now holds the top three positions in the drivers' championship, while Toyota has extended its lead in the manufacturers' standings to 55 points. Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: 'Congratulations to Seb and Vincent for winning Rally Portugal for the second year in a row! It was a rally where we were all impressed once again by Seb's adaptability. This was Seb's first gravel rally in a long while, and his first event with the Hankook gravel tyres. Moreover, he had only one day of testing in the rain prior to the rally.' Toyoda added: 'I'm also very grateful to all the engineers and mechanics who immediately responded to Seb's feedback. His feedback gave new insights to everyone, and the whole team became even stronger. There are six more gravel rounds coming including Rally Finland, which is an important home event for us. We hope to make use of what we learned here in Portugal and drive our new silver-coloured GR YARIS Rally1 through the summer gravel rallies that await us from here on!' Rally de Portugal was the first of three consecutive hot and rugged gravel events in southern Europe that put vehicles, tires, and drivers to the test. The first full day of the rally was one of the longest of the season so far, featuring 10 stages interrupted only by two brief remote service halts. Ogier and co-driver Landais ended the day in second place, just seven seconds off the lead. Ogier engaged in a close battle the following day with the leader and took control after his rival was slowed by an issue during the rough afternoon stages. Ogier then carefully managed his advantage through a relatively long final day to ultimately seal victory by 8.7 seconds. Rovanperä and Halttunen completed a double podium for the team with a third-place finish. They also claimed second place in the Super Sunday classification and third in the Power Stage, earning valuable additional points toward the championship. 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. Round 6 of the 2025 FIA WRC calendar takes the championship to Rally Italia Sardegna (June 5-8). Known for its fast yet narrow gravel stages lined with exposed rocks and roadside trees, the rally presents constant challenges for drivers. High temperatures and the event's abrasive surfaces place significant stress on both vehicles and tyres. Race Notes:No. 17 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais)Position: 1st Time: 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 35.9 seconds
TimesLIVE
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Ogier wins in Portugal for record-extending seventh time
Toyota's Sebastien Ogier won Rally Portugal for a record-extending seventh time on Sunday after capitalising on an overnight lead handed to him when Ott Tanak faced technical issues. Ogier, the eight-time world champion, had been behind Tanak since Friday but the Hyundai driver struggled with a power steering issue that dropped him out of the lead when he lost more than 45 seconds as a result. That gave Ogier a 27.6-second lead heading into Sunday's finale and the Frenchman did not relinquish it as he powered to a second victory of the season to add to his opening round win in Monte Carlo. With co-driver Vincent Landais, Ogier finished 8.7 seconds ahead of Tanak despite the Estonian's attempt at a late comeback, while Kalle Rovanpera finished third, a further 3.5 seconds back. 'I think it's something I can be proud of, the way I have managed to stay competitive after all these years,' Ogier, 41, said. 'Ott was just flying (like) crazy, but maybe a bit too much actually ... On our side, race management is definitely a craft we have, so I'm happy. Seven times here in Portugal, not too bad.' Tanak went for broke on the final day but ultimately ran out of stages to catch up to Ogier, whose victory gave Toyota its fifth win in as many rounds. 'A great disappointment, we are still too fragile to compete with Toyota. But at least the performance on the new chassis is good, so at least we've done some good job,' he said. Toyota's Elfyn Evans retained the overall world championship lead but the Briton saw it cut to 30 points over Rovanpera, with Ogier in third place and Tanak fourth.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
French veteran Ogier wins Rally of Portugal
Eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier chalked up the 63rd victory of his WRC career in the Rally of Portugal on Sunday, the fifth of 14 rounds of the world championship. The 41-year-old French Toyota driver finished 8.7 seconds ahead of Hyundai's Ott Tanak (Hyundai) with Ogier's Finnish teammate Kalle Rovanpera completing the podium a further 3.50sec behind. "I think it's something I can be proud of, the way I have managed to stay competitive after all these years," said Ogier who claimed a record seventh victory in Portugal. "Thanks to the team - it was great to drive this weekend. "Ott was just flying (like) crazy, but maybe a bit too much. I don't know. On our side, race management is definitely a craft we have, so I'm happy. Seven times here in Portugal, not too bad. Ogier's win means Toyota have a one hundred percent record in the first five rallies this season with Ogier, Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans all winning. Filling out the top five were reigning world champion Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) while championship leader Evans could only finish sixth. Ogier spent a long time trailing in the rally behind Tanak before hitting the front late on Saturday when the Estonian suffered a mechanical problem. He went into Sunday's race with a 27-second advantage and was able to take control to claim his third podium in three races this season. He won the season-opener in Monte Carlo at the end of January and took second in the Canaries at the end of April. Evans still tops the standings with 118 but Rovenpera's third place means he is now just 20 points adrift of the Welshman, Ogier a further two points back in third. The next rally is in Sardinia in June. nb/jld/bsp
