Motorsports
Monte Carlo, first stop of the World Rally Championship as Ogier looks to continue making history
The 54th World Rally Championship (WRC) begins this week with the legendary Monte Carlo Rally from Thursday to Sunday.the first of 14 events scheduled for the contest in which the French athlete will defend his title. Sebastian OgierHe will be behind the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris, looking to add 10th place to break his tie for 9th place with compatriot Sébastien Loeb.
Ogier again has a partial program to compete in 10 rallies, but He leads the Toyota Gazoo Racing team, which includes Briton Elfyn Evans, Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta and Finnish Sami Pahari. They will be joined by Swede Oliver Solberg. This will be his first full season after racing part-time for Hyundai in 2022.
Solberg fills the vacancy left by two-time Finnish champion Kalle Rovanperäwill leave WRC and concentrate on single-seater racing with Toyota in the Super Formula Championship.
The M-Sport team (Ford Puma) will be joined again in 2026 by Irishman Josh McAleen and compatriot John Armstrong from the European Rally Championship. Luxembourg’s Grégoire Münster will remain in Monte Carlo for the time being, while Latvia’s Martiš Cesc will continue his partial program of seven tests.
2024 champion Thierry Neuville continues to lead the Hyundai Shell Mobis teamthe one with the highest number of pilots. The Belgian will join Frenchman Adrian Fourmeau as full-time driver, with a third car alternating between Finnish Esapekka Lappi, Spaniard Dani Sordo and New Zealander Hayden Paddon, returning to its highest level since Rally Australia in 2018.
Lappi and Sordo will also return to the squad in 2024 after a partial campaign last time out, in a squad without Estonian Ott Tänak, who announced his indefinite retirement at the end of last season.
The Monte Carlo Rally, won 10 times by Ogier, will once again be the starting point for the 14-race World ChampionshipIn time, the Croatian Rally was removed from the calendar for 2025, but has been reinstated. It replaces the Central European Rally and will be held just before the Canary Islands Rally (April 23-26).
The first rally of the year is notorious for its changeable weatherIce and snow can add to the asphalt roads of the French Coastal Alps, where tire selection is important.
This year’s Monaco Rally will start and finish at the Port of Monaco and will include a super special stage using part of Monaco’s F1 Grand Prix circuit for the first time since 2008.
Action goes straight to the mountains on Thursdaythree sections returned to the gap, two of them at night.
Three stages west of the Gap will be contested twice on Friday.Meanwhile, Saturday will feature three more mountain stages before the Monaco super special stage in the evening.
Sunday’s final stage will take place in two repeated stages over Monaco, including a power stage that ends the rally on the famous Col de Turini.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Alpin evaluated the first drive of the Mercedes-powered vehicle positively and said that the race at Silverstone gave the team confidence before the preparations for the 2026 season.
The Enstone team is working as a Mercedes customer for the first time, abandoning Renault’s own engine on the eve of new rules. On a rainy and cold shooting day, Pierre Gasly rode 140 km of the allowed 200 km, and the program was shortened only due to weather conditions. Despite this, the A526 with Mercedes engine and transmission operated without any technical problems.
Flavio Briatore, one of the team leaders, noted that the silence on the radio was the main positive point:
“For the first time in my long career in Formula 1, a car goes, comes back, comes out again and nothing else happens. Usually we talk about temperature, oil and settings. The radio was silent here. That’s good news.”
“We covered less than 150 km due to aquaplaning. There was no point in risking the car.”
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
Audi has officially announced that it is creating its own driver development program that will cover the entire path of young talent from karting to formula series and possibly Formula 1. The move is part of the brand’s long-term strategy to compete for the championship title by 2030.
Alan McNish, a former Formula 1 driver, multiple winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and long-time representative of Audi in motorsport, has been appointed head of the programme. The company states that the aim of the initiative is not only to find fast pilots, but also to train athletes with the right mentality, determination and the ability to work as a team.
The launch of the junior program puts Audi on par with leading Formula 1 teams such as Ferrari and McLaren. Red Bull and Alpin have been investing in the development of young drivers for many years.
Source: Sport UA
Ruth Waterhouse is an author and sports journalist who writes for Sportish. She is known for her coverage of various sports events and her insightful analysis of sports-related news. With a passion for sports and a keen eye for detail, she has become a respected voice in the sports community.
On the second day of the Monte Carlo Rally, the opening round of the World Rally Championship (WRC), which will be held from Thursday to Sunday, Swedish driver Oliver Solberg (Toyota) further widened his lead.
This Friday’s itinerary includes three different specials, each running twice. The Swede, son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg, who had already finished first on Thursday, shined again on the snow and ice in the first stage of the day, setting the best time (13 minutes 48.5 seconds).
Of the nine special stages held so far, Solberg has won four, with a cumulative time of 2 hours 11 minutes 13.1 seconds. Due to a puncture he was only fifth, 27 seconds slower than Toyota teammate Elfyn Evans. “It’s been a great day because my advantage has increased. I’m happy and just want to welcome a new day,” the Swede concluded in a statement to the organization.
Even so, Evans continued to take 2nd place from the second day. The Briton never finished lower than fourth in any section and ended the day with a time of 2:12:21.5, 1:08.4 behind Solberg. “It was a good day, a little up and down, but good,” Evans said of his performance.
The joy for Toyota continued with the performance of Sébastien Ogier. The previous world title saw the Japanese team close to the full podium with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes 28.0 seconds, very close to that of the British athletes who had improved by nearly 18 seconds compared to Thursday’s time. The Frenchman particularly shined in the eighth section, navigating the muddy area better than his rivals (18:05.1).
Ford had to regret Irishman Josh McErlean’s withdrawal on stage nine, when his car went off the road in a snowbank shortly after the route began.
The Monte Carlo Rally will see drivers covering a total of over 339 kilometers across 17 stages. There are four stages remaining, including a super special through the streets of Monaco, on Saturday 24th January, and a further four stages on Sunday 25th.
Source: Mundo Deportivo
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
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