Latest news with #ThierryNeuville
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Tanak leads in Greece after a day of heat and punctures
June 27 (Reuters) - Hyundai's Ott Tanak ended the first full day of the Acropolis Rally with a slender three second lead over teammate Adrien Fourmaux as the Greek heat and rough roads left rivals struggling to keep up. Tanak stayed out of trouble to lead on Friday night despite not winning any of the seven gravel stages in temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. "At times it was difficult to keep everything in one piece but I think in the end we must be happy that we didn't have any big trouble with the tyres or with the car," said the Estonian. Hyundai's reigning champion and last year's Acropolis winner Thierry Neuville led after stage three but then dropped three minutes after collecting two punctures, before taking the day's final stage to end the day eighth. Toyota's Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanpera also lost time with tyre problems. Teammate and eight-times world champion Sebastien Ogier was in third place, 16.9 seconds behind Tanak after leading up to stage five, and won two stages to Fourmaux's three. The Frenchman's championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans was fourth and Gregoire Munster fifth for M-Sport Ford. Katsuta and Rovanpera were sixth and seventh.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rally of Gods: Punishing four-day Acropolis Rally kicks off in the Greek capital amid heatwave
Belgium's Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Jourdan Serderidis of Greece and his co driver Fred Miclotte of Belgium with their Ford Puma compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Oliver Solberg od Sweden , right, and his co driver Elliott Edmondson with their Toyota Yaris wave to the photographer in front of the Panathenaic marble stadium during the start of a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) French Yojhan Rossel, right, and his co driver Arnaud Dunand with the Citroen C3 wave to the photographer in front of the Panathenaic marble stadium during the start of a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Oliver Solberg and his co driver Elliott Edmondson with their Toyota Yaris compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Oliver Solberg and his co driver Elliott Edmondson with their Toyota Yaris compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Belgium's Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Jourdan Serderidis of Greece and his co driver Fred Miclotte of Belgium with their Ford Puma compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Oliver Solberg od Sweden , right, and his co driver Elliott Edmondson with their Toyota Yaris wave to the photographer in front of the Panathenaic marble stadium during the start of a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) French Yojhan Rossel, right, and his co driver Arnaud Dunand with the Citroen C3 wave to the photographer in front of the Panathenaic marble stadium during the start of a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Oliver Solberg and his co driver Elliott Edmondson with their Toyota Yaris compete during a super special stage of the WRC Acropolis Rally in Athens, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) ATHENS, Greece (AP) — It's dubbed the 'Rally of Gods' — a punishing, four-day event on the World Rally Championship circuit that will take 69 crews from 31 countries across rough, treacherous terrain in Greece. Known for its brutal combination of dust and heat on its twisty, mountainous stages, the Acropolis Rally started on Thursday afternoon with a special stage in the very center of Athens. Unlike much of the rest of the rally, the start will see the cars sliding on city streets outside Greece's parliament building near the foot of the Acropolis. Advertisement Roads in the Greek capital's center shut down hours before the official start time in preparation for the event. This year's competition comes as the summer's first heatwave hits Greece, with temperatures forecast to surpass 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), which is sure to test the crews. Drivers who completed a 'shakedown' practice stage Thursday morning ahead of the official opening said they were expecting a tough event due to the heat and dust. 'Obviously it's a super hot weekend, so it's going to be intense in the car. Not only in the car, but for everything,' said eight-time world champion Sebastien Ogier of France. The seventh round of the FIA World Rally Championship includes some of the most iconic and challenging stages of the championship and spans four regions in central and southern Greece. Advertisement Finland's two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera said it was clear from the shakedown that 'it's going to be quite a tough weekend with the conditions.' 'This area is quite open and we had a lot of dust already, so I think on the stage it's going to be an issue. It's going to be a really tough event this year, rough conditions, so anything can happen,' he said. The four-day competition features 17 special stages over more than 345 kilometers (about 215 miles). The event attracts top teams and drivers, including four world champions: Ogier, Rovanpera, Belgium's Thierry Neuville, and Ott Tanak of Estonia. Neuville, the 2024 world champion, and Japan's Takamoto Katsuta set the fastest time on Thursday's 3.62 kilometer shakedown with a 2 minute, 37.9 second run. Tanak, the 2019 world champion, was just 0.6 seconds behind. 'It's Greece, so nothing is predictable here,' Tanak said. ___ Ellingworth contributed from Dusseldorf, Germany ___ AP auto racing:
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Automotive
- Reuters
Ogier leads after tough first day in Sardinia
June 6 (Reuters) - Toyota's Sebastien Ogier led Rally Italy in Sardinia on Friday after surging from third to first on the final stage of the first full day of action after rivals hit trouble. Hyundai's reigning world champion Thierry Neuville retired on stage five after taking the lead on the fourth stage of the Olbia-based rally in northern Sardinia and then hitting an earth bank. Adrien Fourmaux was in second place, 2.1 seconds behind eight-times world champion Ogier, with Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak third on the gravel tracks. Last year's winner Tanak completed the leg with a damaged shock absorber and 5.2 seconds behind Fourmaux. Toyota's double world champion Kalle Rovanpera was down in fifth place with championship-leading teammate Elfyn Evans sixth after being the first driver to set out and effectively sweeping the road. "It's been a good day, for sure," commented Ogier. "I've done everything I could today, so I'm happy with that." M-Sport Ford's Martins Sesks rolled out while teammates Josh McErlean and Gregoire Munster retired with suspension damage in the morning action on the same new Telti-Calangianus-Berchidda stage that caught out Neuville later. M-Sport expected at least two of the three to resume on Saturday. "That stage where all the drama happened was very tricky,' said Ogier. "It's super narrow and extremely fast. It's always a surprise to see that many incidents, but it can happen very easily there." The rally, round six of the championship, continues on Saturday with more than 120km of timed action.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rally drivers protest the swearing ban that has sparked a backlash in Formula 1
FILE - Britain's driver Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martins with Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, compete during a special stage of WRC Acropolis Rally in Thiva, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Belgium's Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid compete during a special stage of WRC Acropolis Rally in Thiva, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Belgium's Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid compete during a special stage of WRC Acropolis Rally in Thiva, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Britain's driver Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martins with Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, compete during a special stage of WRC Acropolis Rally in Thiva, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) FILE - Belgium's Thierry Neuville and his co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid compete during a special stage of WRC Acropolis Rally in Thiva, some 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of Athens, Greece, Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File) As Formula 1 drivers grumble about their governing body's crackdown on swearing, their counterparts in rallying staged a protest Wednesday. The FIA, which oversees F1 and the World Rally Championship, has sought to cut down on swearing in its sports since last year, when it punished F1 champion Max Verstappen for using an expletive in a news conference. New rules for 2025 mean drivers who repeatedly swear or make political or religious statements could be suspended or docked points, as well as being fined. Advertisement On Wednesday, rally drivers protested by refusing to give interviews, or only speaking languages other than English, on the TV broadcast following 'shakedown' test runs ahead of the latest championship event in Kenya and indicated they'll keep up that approach for the four-day competition. Standings leader Elfyn Evans spoke Welsh and defending champion Thierry Neuville gave comments only in French. 'It's nice to be in Kenya. Unfortunately, you guys don't hear from me so much this weekend," two-time champion Kalle Rovanperä said. "If that's the case, what we need to do to make a difference, we will do it.' They were protesting because driver Adrien Fourmaux was fined 10,000 euros ($10,900) for using an expletive during an in-car interview broadcast on TV at Rally Sweden last month. The World Rally Drivers Alliance, which represents most top-level WRC crews, said in a statement it was 'taking the responsible decision to remain silent... or to answer in our mother tongue' so as not to risk punishment. Advertisement 'We all agree to keep rudeness at the microphone to a minimum. At the same time, it is necessary to maintain a certain freedom of expression and to keep emotions alive while drivers don't need to be afraid of getting punished in any way,' the rally drivers' association said. 'We have asked the president of the FIA for some positive changes in the rules to help us achieve this goal.' The FIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The drivers' association has previously said the FIA's fines are 'exorbitant' and 'vastly disproportionate' to their earnings. Advertisement Wednesday's protest is similar to Verstappen giving brief and vague answers in an FIA news conference at last year's Singapore Grand Prix after the FIA ordered him to perform a work of 'public interest' for swearing. ___ AP auto racing:
