Super Sunday on Rally Sweden was just that! After 300km of hard racing, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won the second round of the FIA World Rally Championship by 3.8 seconds from Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston in another Toyota Gazoo Racing one-two.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe brought their Hyundai i20 N home on the final step of the podium, fending off the attentions of the 2019 World Campion Ott Tanak and Martin Jarveoja by 4.9 seconds.

The final day featured two runs over the longest stage of the rally and the Wolf Power Stage; the first 29.35km run over Västervik saw Katsuta set the fastest time, beating Evans by a relatively massive 7.5 seconds – and re-taking the overall rally lead with a margin of 4.5 seconds and two stages remaining.

Evans dug deep in the penultimate stage, setting the fastest time, crucially 8.2 seconds faster than his Japanese teammate and with a 3.7 second cushion heading into the 8km Power Stage, it was going down to the wire!

Katsuta set the benchmark time in the Power Stage but Evans was 0.1 seconds faster, clinching 35 points for a perfect weekend score.

Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen brought their GR Yaris home in fifth, ahead of the leading M-Sport Ford Puma of Martins Sesks and Renars Francis, winning the ‘battle of the youngsters’ by beating Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen by 22.2 seconds.

The third youngster, Ireland’s Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy, buried their Puma deep in a snow bank 14.9km into the day’s first stage. They rejoined thanks to a group of spectators who helped dig their car out, but fell way down the order.

Oliver Solberg and Elliot Edmondson made it a hat-trick of WRC2 victories on Rally Sweden after leading throughout the four day event. Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka took second with Mikko Heikkila/Kristian Temonen rounding out the podium.

Read Motorsport Monday tomorrow for a full Rally Sweden report

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Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin maintained their lead on Rally Sweden after another seven blisteringly fast stages but came under intense pressure from his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston.

Kalle Rovanperä took his first Rally Sweden stage win to get the day underway. Katsuta pipped Evans by 0.5 seconds, bringing the overall lead down to just one tenth of a second. Tänak was 1.6 seconds off the lead while Fourmaux was drifting away from the fight.

On stage 10, Evans pipped Rovanperä by 0.4 seconds while Tänak had an issue – he wouldn’t say what the problem was at the stage end interview but he lost time on the next stage as well, losing his podium place to Neuville who won the last stage of the morning loop.

Fourmaux was only tenth quickest on stage 11 and dropped to sixth overall behind a resurgent Rovanperä 9.8 seconds up the road.

Munster was second on the road and was 1’56.3’ off the pace, looking all at sea and a shadow of the driver who took his maiden stage win in Monte Carlo three weeks ago.

Whatever the issue was with Fourmaux’s and Tanak’s Hyundais, it was sorted at the midday service and the two troubled drivers bounced back in style. Fourmaux took the stage win with Tänak one second behind and Evans 0.2 seconds further back.

Katsuta overshot a corner and had to reverse out, losing only 4.4 seconds but it allowed Evans some breathing space at the top of the leaderboard with a six second overall lead, while Tänak found himself 11.3 seconds adrift of the top spot, and shadowed by Neuville, 2.6 seconds behind in fourth.

“I overshot and backed up, I don’t know how much I lost. It was a stupid mistake but this is the first time I made a mistake this weekend so it is okay. I want to continue on. I feel very confident we can get the time back and will try not to make a mistake again,” the Toyota star reported at the end of the stage.

Stage 13 claimed the first major scalp – Fourmaux ran wide into a snowbank, and the front end of the Hyundai dug in. Although he tried to power the car out, it was beached up to the chassis. The frozen crew tried – in vain – to dig themselves out and were forced to throw in the towel, a fate that also befell Tuukka Kauppinen earlier in the day.

The final forest stage, SS 14, saw Neuville bank another stage win, one second quicker than Katsuta and 2.4 seconds up on Tänak. Evans dropped 2.6 seconds to Katsuta to end the serious business with a six second lead with the third Umeå Sprint left to run.

Evans had a moment with a snowbank, oh-so-close to ‘doing a Fourmaux’ but he got away with it. “It wasn’t a big hit with a bank, pretty low grip and I lost the front on the way in. The speed wasn’t so wrong, just the angle of the car was wrong. It hurts a bit down the next straight,” said Evans after his heart-stopping moment in stage 14.

The final stage saw Evans go into a sharp corner a bit too hot and he half spun and stalled, losing three seconds to Katsuta; the inter team fight was three seconds going into Super Sunday while lurking ever closer to the lead, Neuville was 3.3 seconds behind the Japanese driver and 6.3 seconds off the top step of the podium.

Tänak held on to fourth in spite of managing issues, which he refused to elaborate on. Rovanperä started the day 23 seconds off the pace and ended the day 22.9 seconds behind Evans.

Martins Sesks held sixth, 12.2 seconds ahead of fellow newbie Sami Pajari who in turn was 22.2 seconds ahead of Josh McErlean. 40.1 seconds behind the Irishman, was Munster…

In WRC2, Oliver Solberg enjoyed a comfortable 39 second lead over Roope Korhonen with Mikko Heikkila up in to third.

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The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship got underway with three night stages high up in the French Alps. Under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators who lit up the night sky with fireworks and flares, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe ended the trio of stages on top of the standings by two seconds after cautiously threading their Hyundai i20 N through the tricky mountain pass roads.

Conditions ranged from dry and wet tarmac to hidden patches of black ice which Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Sebastian Ogier and Vincent Landais conquered to lead after two stages. An expensive spin into a pole in the final stage saw the multiple champion lose 12 seconds and drop to third overall.

“On the first part [of SS3] I was painting the road, and in the last part I was cleaning the road!” Neuville smiled. “Super tricky to keep it on the road. I’m happy with the first day. Overall, our target was to finish today.”

“[It was] difficult of course. A lot of mud on the road and we hit a pole sideways. It’s always lucky to get away with that,” said Ogier at the stop control.

Sandwiched between the Hyundai and Ogier was Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in their GR Yaris, two seconds off the lead.

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja ended fourth, some 27 seconds adrift of the reigning World Champion with Hyundai’s third crew Adrien Fourmaux/Alex Coria finishing in fifth. The Frenchman shone on stage two, beating Tanak’s time by 3.1 seconds.

Kalle Rovanpera, returning for a full season campaign with Toyota was a little rusty and ended down in sixth position with M-Sport Ford’s new team leader Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka slotting into seventh in the standings. The Luxembourger hustled his Puma to the fourth fastest time in the final stage of the evening, narrowing the gap to Rovanpera to 4.9 seconds.

Fighting a bout of flu, Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston ended eighth, 4’30” behind the Ford.

Sami Pajari, making his Monte Rally1 debut and with Marko Salminen reading the notes finished a cautious ninth ahead of the top Rally2 team of Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov, now Skoda mounted.

Josh McErlean and Eoin Treacy, making their Rally1 debut in the second M-Sport Ford Puma, ended in 12^th position after taking a sensible approach to the start of their new career path.

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In a thrilling showdown in Forum8 Rally Japan, Sebastian Ogier delivered a champion’s drive to win the Wolf Power Stage and the crucial points Toyota needed to break the tie in the Manufacturers’ standings heading into the final stage of the year. Elfyn Evans was third in the final stage and Takamoto Katsuta fourth fastest to seal the all-important Manufacturers’ Championship by three points over season-long rivals Hyundai.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe wrapped up their maiden WRC Driver’s and Co-Driver’s titles, sealed when Ott Tanak and Martin Järveoja crashed out of the lead in Sunday’s first stage. The Belgians became the Korean brand’s first Driver and Co-Driver champions.

Evans and Scott Martin won the final round of the season, his ninth WRC victory, 1 minute 27 ahead of Ogier while Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria clinched their fifth podium of the years in their M-Sport Ford Puma.

Neuville won the Super Sunday standings from Andreas Mikkelsen and Ogier.

Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen finished second in WRC2, exactly what they need to clinch the WRC2 world championship.

Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Aleksandrov dominated the category in their Citroen C3 Rally 2.

Read the full report in Motorsport Monday tomorrow

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Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe are the 2024 WRC Champions!

The opening stage of the final day of WRC Forum8 Rally Japan saw Ott Tanak crash out of the lead 19.1km into the stage, one km from the flying finish.

Tanak approached the corner a full speed but encountered debris on the apex and understeered off the road; a road junction flipped the car into the air and the car landed well off the road. The crew is unharmed.

The impact on the Manufacturers’ Championship is huge. Hyundai and Toyota Gazoo Racing are tied on points and the all-important title will be decided on the Wolf Power Stage, the final stage of the year!

After SS19, Elfyn Evans leads by 1.30 with Sebastian Ogier in second and Adrien Fourmaux in third.

Sami Pajari remains second in WRC2 and on track to clinch the title.

Heikki Kovaleinen, 4th in WRC 2, crashed in identical circumstances, landing on the stricken Hyundai’s bonnet.

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Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja have a 20 second lead on WRC FORUM8 Rally Japan after a dramatic opening day of the season finale.

Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe suffered a power loss in their Hyundai i20 N in stage four, losing over six seconds per kilometer over the afternoon stages to their Estonian teammates and plunged down the order to 15^th overall and 7 minutes 41 seconds off the lead.

“Obviously we couldn’t solve the issue that is for sure. I have no clue, we keep fighting like we always do, try and limit the time loss. The hard work of the year is really valuable now, because those 25 points are really valuable now,” said Neuville at the end of stage five.

Their goal of clinching the six points required to win their first WRC crown leaves the Belgians with a mountain to climb over Saturday and Sunday.

Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin remain in second overall after setting some scintillating times and winning three of the day’s eight stages.

Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria are in a superb third overall in the M-Sport Ford Puma, just a tenth of a second ahead of Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta. Fifth, after climbing back from 15^th after a puncture in the morning’s first stage, is Sebastian Ogier/Vincent Landais in their GR Yaris.

Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka complete the top six in their Puma.

In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin holds sway in his Citroen C3 with Sami Pajari in second.

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Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won the 12^th and penultimate round of the FIA World Rally Championship, the unique Central European Rally after overnight leader Sebastian Ogier made a rare mistake in the day’s opening stage, losing 10 seconds and the lead of the rally.

“Let’s see for the championship, obviously what happened to Seb [Ogier]…it is always difficult to fight a friend and then something like this happens so it is difficult to find feelings. Everything changed, especially in the manufactures’ championship. We took care to have a clean stage and bring the points home,’ said the 2019 champion.

Tänak now trails Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville by 26 points with 30 available from the final round.

Ogier, on a mission to regain the lead he’d lost earlier in the morning, crashed out in the penultimate stage when he understeered off the road and into an electricity pole

“Another example that the gravel crew are doing a crucial job for us, the only stage of the weekend where they were not allowed to go through, we did not have the notes on the evolution of the stage.

This first corner, this long corner under the trees, people were cutting more than anticipated and the corner became very muddy and greasy and I couldn’t turn, so I understeered and hit the trees at the side.

I feel angry with myself at the moment, very sorry for my team. I tried my best and I repeat I that I tried my best to meet my target. I think we’re doing a good job so far, but that’s three weekends in a row it is not going my way. Tough times,” Ogier said afterwards.

Elfyn Evans brought his Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris home in second overall, much to his delight, while Neuville completed the podium, ahead of Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston, who topped the Super Sunday standings.

Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka equaled their personal best result, bringing their M-Sport Ford Puma home in fifth.

Nikolay Gryazin dominated WRC2 and ended sixth overall, ahead of the non-points scoring Oliver Solberg/Elliot Edmonson.

Miko Marczyk/Szymon Gospodarczyk took second ahead of Filip Mares/Radovan Bucha

Read the full report in Motorsport Monday tomorrow

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The fierce battle for the lead of WRC Central Europe Rally raged over Saturday’s six stages where Sebastian Ogier emerged at the end of the day with a 5.2 second lead over Ott Tänak with Elfyn Evans giving Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Manufacturers’ Championship hopes a boost in third.

The overnight leader, Thierry Neuville suffered  a major setback in stage 11, the third of the day when he spun his Hyundai i20 N and a minute slater, went off the road altogether and got stuck in a ditch which cost the Belgian nearly 40 seconds which knocked him out of the lead and down into fourth position overall.

Neuville, hoping to claim his long awaited maiden WRC title needs to outscore Tänak by two points, but facing a 39.8 second deficit, may have to put the champagne back in the fridge until Rally Japan.

Four stages and 54km await on Sunday and as today’s action proved, nothing is certain in the WRC!

Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari held fifth and sixth places overall respectively, with Grégoire Munster in seventh. Adrien Fourmaux had a spin in stage nine, the first of the day, and was later forced to retire his Ford Puma with a differential problem.

Nikolay Gryazin and Citroen rule the WRC2 roost from the non-points scoring Oliver Solberg by 31 seconds, leaving Filip Mares in second and Miko Marczyk third in the premier support class.

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Thierry Neuville leads the WRC Central European Rally by 6.9 seconds from Sebastian Ogier at the end of Friday’s six stages and 111km of racing across sometimes damp and treacherously slippery roads in the Czech Republic, coated with leaves as Autumn sets in over the northern hemisphere.

If the CER was to end on Friday, Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe would be World Rally Champions. It hasn’t ended, but he is the required two points ahead of his teammate Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, who lie third overall.

Neuville powered into the lead of the penultimate round of the WRC in stage five, enjoying a 2.7 second advantage over the leading Toyota GR Yaris of Sebastian Ogier and Vincent Landais, who lost a few seconds after running wide in the stage when conditions were a combination of damp roads and slippery autumn leaves.

“We stopped so nothing happened”, said Ogier at the end of stage interview. “We lost a bit of time. Wasn’t a good stage for me.”

Neuville inched away over the afternoon loop of three stages with two second fastest times in stages six and eight and winning stage seven, ending his visit to the Czech Republic in the pound seats.

“I am happy to be at the end. It is easy to make a mistake and I knew the only thing that was important to us was to make it to the end. Some spots are falling of rain, but it is quite greasy in there, so we played it safe and came through,” said Neuville.

The margins between the top four are tiny: Tänak is three seconds adrift of Ogier and Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin are 0.8 seconds behind Tänak.

Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston were in the fight – the Japanese driver won stage six – but he fell away as the day progressed to end fifth overall.

Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen ended sixth overall, ahead of the two M-Sport Ford Puma’s of Adrien Fourmaux/Alex Coria and Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka, both suffered hybrid issues in stage four, as did Andreas Mikkelsen and Sami Pajari.

Mikkelsen exited stage left, or more accurately, stage right when he understeered off the road and through a fence in the high-speed fifth stage. With his wrecked Hyundai resting well into the road, the stage was red flagged.

In WRC2, Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov lead the way 3.1 seconds ahead of the non-points scoring Oliver Solberg, with Filip Mares/Radovan Bucha in a net second in WRC2.

Yohan Rossel/Florian Barral are fifth, but 1:36.7 away from the lead of a rally they must win to stay in title contention.

There’s still 177.5km and ten stages remaining and in spite of his “It’s over now” comment at the end of Thursday’s stages, it clearly isn’t.

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Thierry Neuville holds a 52.6 second lead over teammate Dani Sordo after stage 11 of EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. Sebastian Ogier is third, ahead of Ott Tanak. Sami Pajari leads WRC2 from Robert Virves who had a puncture on the final stage gravel stage of the day.

Elfyn Evans rolled his GR Yaris on a slow hairpin in stage 11 where fortunately, a group of spectators could get him back on his wheels. Tanak almost rolled his Hyundai in the exact same manner, but saved the car.

The final Saturday stage is the EKO Super Special at 21:05 tonight.

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