WRC 2020 FINAL

The first-ever ACI Rally Monza is the final leg of the WRC 2020 season and this new battleground will decide who will be crowned this year's champion.

Screengrab from WRC

In the opening stages, Sebastien Ogier made an early lead until Esapekka Lappi's brave tire choice pushed the Finn to the lead. Meanwhile, some drama happened as Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi were slapped with penalties and Thierry Neuville's title fight ended with a crash. Same goes Elfyn Evans in the Saturday stages as the sudden slide caused his title fight shattered, leaving an opening for Ogier as he's aiming for his seventh title. In the final stages, it's confirmed that Sebastien Ogier is named the 2020 WRC champion after ending the Rally Monza at the total time of 2:15.51.

While Ogier, driving for Toyota Gazoo Racing, won the championship, it was Hyundai that gained constructor's championship title courtesy of a double-podium finish for last year's champ Ott Tanak, who finished 2nd, and Dani Sordo, who finished 3rd.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxYR45yfbrg&list=PLODyu6T9_emzaXMsBe4aAeHHn-SwIh327

And that concludes the WRC 2020 season. See you next season!

WRC 2020: Rally Italia Sardegna

The 2020 World Rally Championship returns to Sardinia, Italy, for the Rally Italia Sardegna, where the tables keep on turning for the drivers continuing their "new normal" struggle for the championship title.

Screengrab from WRC

Throughout the three-day race weekend, Spaniard Dani Sordo, piloting the Hyundai i20 WRC, saw no problem mastering the Rally Italia Sardegna as his early lead in Friday stages pushed him further and further until he nicked his back-to-back Rally Italia Sardegna win at the rate of 2:41:37.5 while Thierry Neuville finished 2nd with 5.1 seconds behind Sordo and Sebastien Ogier finished 3rd, 1.0 seconds behind the 2nd placer.

The 2020 WRC continues with the Renties Ypres Rally Belgium on the 19th to 22nd of November, 2020.

WRC 2020: Rally Turkey

In the midst of the loudest race weekend of the year, the 2020 World Rally Championship continues for the Rally Turkey where drivers are trying to survive through the incident-filled thriller at Marmaris.

Screengrab from WRC

The Rally Turkey of this season is proven to be an incident-filled one causing the tables to be turned for some drivers fighting for the title. Unpredictable as such but this is a sure way to make this season more interesting.

The Friday stages saw Thierry Neuville emerged the fastest in the shakedown while rally legend Sebastien Loeb emerged as the surprise leader of the event. The Saturday stages saw an incident that spell doom to Ott Tanak's title fight while Sebastien Ogier claws himself as the leader, only to be outrun by Neuville. In Sunday stages, after Ogier's title fight came to a fiery end, Elfyn Evans emerged as the winner of the Rally Turkey with the overall time of 2:43:02.7, regaining the lead in the leaderboards. Neuville finished 2nd with 35.2 seconds behind and Loeb finished 3rd.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k04846_nENI&list=PLODyu6T9_emwnjF_eYW4f1nkmoV7zRNJE

The next event is the Rally Italia Sardegna on the 8th to 11th of October.

WRC 2020: Rally Estonia

After a six-month void due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 World Rally Championship is back with the first-ever Rally Estonia.

Screengrab from WRC

Adapting to "new normal" principles, the WRC 2020 resumed without audience participation with the first-ever Rally Estonia, the 600th WRC round in history, and picking up where the season left off, Toyota's showing some dominance before the season put on hold until now, where the tables are going to turn once again.

In the opening stages, Sebastien Ogier and Esapekka Lappi tied for the lead until Ott Tanak of Hyundai storms through early lead. Saturday stages saw some misfortunes for Thierry Neuville, Kalle Rovanpera, and rookie Takamoto Katsuka while Tanak continues his dominance in his home turf. In the final stages, Ott Tanak is named the winner in his home turf with the overall time of 1:59.53.6 while Craig Breen got his first podium with a 2nd place finish, 22.2 seconds behind Tanak, and Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier's in 3rd place.

After the series' 600th event, Ogier and Elfyn Evans is now 9 points apart, 79 vs. 70, while Ott Tanak is 3rd with 66 points.

The next event is the Rally Turkey on the 18th to 20th of September, 2020.

WRC 2020: Rally Guanajuato Mexico

With most of the races happening this weekend were either postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus fears, it seems that the only race event occurred this weekend is none other than the Rally Guanajuato Mexico leg of the 2020 World Rally Championship, held in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

Screengrab via WRC

Due to the ongoing virus scare, the Rally Guanajuato Mexico has been cut to 18 stages, which began from Thursday and then ended on Saturday. The four-day event has been cut to just three days due to virus concerns but still there are some best moments happened during the rally weekend in Leon.

In the early stages, we saw Thierry Neuville of Hyundai gained early Mexico lead until Friday morning comes, Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier gained an early lead and then soldier on to gain his Rally Mexico win at the rate of 2:42:50.9, 27.4 seconds ahead of Hyundai driver Ott Tanak, and 33.7 ahead of Ford driver Teemu Sunninen.

Post-Mexico, Ogier leads at 62 points while Elfyn Evan's at 2nd with 54 points and Hyundai driver Neuville's at third with 42 points.

Toyota's showing some dominance at the 2020 World Rally Championship right now but due to virus scare, this ongoing season is sadly put on hold until further notice.

Stand by for further updates.

WRC 2020: Rally Sweden

The 2020 World Rally Championship continues at Sweden for the Rally Sweden event as the drivers are trying to survive through the Scandinavian winter wonderland by all means necessary to keep their title fight hopes up and running. Although too early to tell, this event really brings the heat on the Scandinavian winter.

Screengrab from WRC

Throughout the early Friday stages to the climactic Sunday stages, Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Elfyin Evans shown dominance in the Scandinavian winter wonderland and such determination and grit made the Welsh driver the winner of this season's Rally Sweden at the overall time of 1:11.43.1. Hyundai driver Ott Tanak is 12.7 seconds behind Evans and another Toyota driver, Kalle Rovanpera, tasted his first podium finish with a third placer at 20.2 seconds behind Evans.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT_2BiCE_g0&list=PLODyu6T9_emxXGJPoAL0vzy5gyXbyXFxa

The next event of the 2020 WRC will be at Leon, Mexico, for the Rally Guanajuato Mexico on the 12th to the 15th of March, 2020.

WRC 2020: Rallye Monte-Carlo

The dawn of the new decade calls for the new season of the FIA World Rally Championship and with numerous changes occurred on the driver roster and race calendar, this radical change of plans is going to be the most dramatic WRC season to date and Monte Carlo is the first stop of the new season where all of the drama unleashed throughout this rally weekend.

Screengrab from WRC

In the opening Friday stages, newly-appointed Toyota driver Sebastien Ogier snatches the Monte-Carlo lead from the opposition like Elfyn Evans while last season's champion, Ott Tanak, now representing Hyundai, got crashed. On Saturday stages, Evans, the transfer driver for Toyota got an advantage, but on the final stages, Thierry Neuville of Hyundai snatches the lead to became the first winner of the season with the overall time of 3:10:57.6, 12.6 ahead of Ogier, and 14.3 ahead of Evans.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlSuTZkBJ9Y&list=PLODyu6T9_emyL4H5qbDbIC6Nup0_P4MV1

Neuville takes the first win of the season but expect more action on this season as the next event of the WRC 2020 will be the Rally Sweden on the 13th to the 16th of February.

WRC cancels Rally Australia due to wildfires, Hyundai wins manufacturer's title

The World Rally Championship announced that this week's Kennards Hire Rally Australia, scheduled on the 14th to the 17th of November, is cancelled due to the ongoing wildfires ravaging the northern New South Wales close to the even'ts Coffs Harbour Base.

Screengrab via WRC

Organizers recently announced the cancellation after consultation with the State Government, the FIA, emergency services, and the local community.

New South Wales is experiencing "catastrophic" wildfires which led to the declaration of state of emergency.

URL: bit.ly/36V6xUw

With Rally Australia cancelled, it seems that the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team is technically the winner of the manufacturer's championship title having leading the manufacturers' leaderboard 18 points ahead of Toyota Gazoo Racing, the team where Ott Tanak won his champion title back in Spain, 380 vs. 362.

Ott Tanak may have won the world champion title but in terms of manufacturers' championship title, it's Hyundai's turn to claim the title.

The cancellation of the season finale may have cut the WRC 2019 short due to unforeseen circumstances but congratulations to the Ott Tanak for his world champion title and Hyundai for their constructor's championship title.

With Tanak now joining Hyundai for next season, what does it mean for Toyota Gazoo Racing? Only time will tell but in the meantime, this is the end of the WRC 2019 season. See you next year.

WRC 2019: RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana

The penultimate event of the 2019 World Rally Championship, the RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana, is one for the history books because an ever-dominant Toyota driver is crowned the world champion but who is he? Let's find out...

Screengrab from WRC

In Friday's stages, the nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb snatched the lead from his fellow Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo. In Saturday's stages, meanwhile, Thierry Neuville came ahead of the title-hungry Ott Tanak of Toyota. And in Sunday's stages, it's official. Ott Tanak, having placed 2nd behind Thierry Neuville, is named the WRC 2019 champion.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzIiV4LbJhE&list=PLODyu6T9_emzakL1aOzK5Sai6x3h046cm

Congratulations to Ott Tanak for winning this year's WRC title but as the saying goes, it's not over until it's truly over, because there's one last race of the season and that's the Kennards Hire Rally Australia happening on the 14th to the 17th of November, 2019. Don't miss it!

WRC 2019: Wales Rally GB

It's Brexit month (for real) in Britain and the Wales Rally GB leg of the 2019 World Rally Championship reminds us that even when Brexit hits the rest of the British isles, especially Wales, which voted in favor of Brexit years ago, this rally event ticked everyone's bucket list before the imminent Brexit, despite the disasters this event faced, which resulted to some cancellation of stages. Curse of the Brexit, huh?

Screengrab via WRC

In what was known to be the last Wales Rally GB before Brexit (for real this time), Ott Tanak made a sudden surprise by snatching Kris Meeke's lead in the closing kilometers of Friday stages in the midst of the sudden downpour. In Saturday stages, meanwhile, Tanak continues to dominate Wales by fending off against Thierry Neuville and Sebastien Ogier. And in Sunday stages, Tanak is named the winner of what was known to be the last Wales Rally GB before Brexit (for real this time).

Tanak wins with the overall time of 3:00:58, which is 10.9 ahead of Neuville and 23.8 ahead of Ogier.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pxR9Z2Az5E&list=PLODyu6T9_emyIEU3SLfOmuaxuyjoQ06KT

With only two events left of the season, is Tanak's hopes for a championship title within reach? The action continues at RallyRACC Catalunya - Rally de Espana on the 25th to the 27th of October.

WRC 2019: Rally Turkey

There's plenty of World Rally Championship action as Autumn draws near and this Rally Turkey event of this season shows that you can't put down a thrilling dirt action like this as the drivers are pulling all the stops to survive Marmaris' worst surfaces.

Screengrab via WRC

In Friday's stages, it's a 1-2 for Citroen Racing as Esapekka Lappi managed to hound through his fellow Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier at the rate of 17.7 seconds. Then, in Saturday stages, Ogier held a narrow lead against Lappi while Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville faced troubles. And in Sunday stages, it's official. Sebastian Ogier wins the Rally Turkey and he finished 34.7 seconds ahead of Lappi. Andreas Mikkelsen completes the podium with a third place finish.

After the action at Turkey, Ogier, who won the Rally Turkey event, is now 17 points behind current leader Ott Tanak, 210 vs. 193.

Next time, the WRC 2019 heads to Llandudno for the Wales Rally GB from the 3rd to the 6th of October, 2019.

WRC 2019: ADAC Rallye Deutschland

As summer comes to a near end, the 2019 World Rally Championship continues to heat up in Germany for the ADAC Rallye Deutschland and throughout this weekend, all eyes on the championship leader Ott Tanak of Toyota Gazoo Racing as he continues to impress the audience with his surprising feats that rattled the competition in German dirt.

Screengrab via WRC

In Friday stages, Tanak manages to fend off rival Thierry Neuville, Hyundai driver, by winning four out of six speed tests to gain a 2.8s advantage over Neuville. Then, on Saturday stages, there's no stopping the Estonian down by gaining a 32.4 second avantage over Kris Meeke. And on Sunday stages, it's official. Ott Tanak is the winner of the ADAC Rallye Deutschland with an overall time of 3:15.29.8, 20.8 seconds ahead of Kris Meeke, while Jari-Matti Latvala placed 3rd with 36 seconds behind Tanak.

HIGHLIGHTS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuKE_SmpMs4&list=PLODyu6T9_emz-Xf5rtGE13Jkiog1YWgcs

Next time, the WRC 2019 continues at Marmaris, Turkey, for the Rally Turkey on the 12th to the 15th of September, 2019.

WRC 2019 - Neste Rally Finland

The first weekend of August is packed with numerous races occurred and this Neste Rally Finland leg of the 2019 World Rally Championship is one of them, continuing to bring the heat and dirt in the midway point of the summer season.

Screengrab via WRC

The opening stages saw Jari-Matti Latvala leading the pack of four drivers by just 2.6 seconds having won six of the day's 10 speed tests around Jyvaskyla. Saturday's stages, however, saw Ott Tanak speeding his way to the front with a 16.4 second advantage over Esapekka Lappi. And on the Sunday stages, Ott Tanak scored his third WRC win in four outings with a 2:30:40.3 overall time, 25.6 seconds ahead of second placer Esapekka Lappi, while Jari-Matti Latvala's in third with a difference of 33.2 seconds.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkrIsJW1m4Q&list=PLODyu6T9_emxHqvk4DA5R7f_CiwxChm16

Next event is the ADAC Rallye Deutschland on the 22nd to the 25th of August, 2019.

WRC 2019 - Rally Italia Sardegna

The Father's Day race weekend has reached its boiling point with the Rally Italia Sardegna event of the 2019 World Rally Championship as the drivers are spending the entire Father's Day weekend surviving through Alghero's toughest road conditions while everyone else is "jumping in the dust."

Screengrab via WRC

In the Friday stages, Hyundai driver Dani Sordo leads the opening salvo with a 10.8 second advantage over Teemu Sunninen. On the Saturday stages, Toyota Gazoo Racing's Ott Tanak won all six speed tests to overtake Sordo in the leaderboards. However, on the Sunday stages, the final speed test agony for Tanak means that Sordo claimed his second WRC victory at the Rally Italia Sardegna. Sordo accumulated an overall time of 3:32:27.2, 13.7 ahead of Teemu Suninen and 32.6 ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAr2eTEQI0&list=PLODyu6T9_emwH9T2qDvgERblySJu8aNpp

After the drama at the Mediterranean, the gap became narrower on the leaderboard as Ott Tanak remains in the lead with 150 points and he is now four points ahead of Sebastien Ogier and seven points ahead of Thierry Neuville. Shockingly, none of these title fighters made it at the podium of this event.

Next event is the Neste Rally Finland on the 1st to the 4th of August.

WRC 2019 - Vodafone Rally De Portugal

The dirt-filled action of the 2019 World Rally Championship continues at Fafe for the Vodafone Rally De Portugal where the best rally drivers spent the rest of the weekend trying to get through Fafe's most unforgiving rally stages to see who has the edge to keep the ball rolling all the way to the very end and this is one sure fire way to kickstart summer by all means.

Photo: Screengrab via WRC

Friday's stages sees a trio of Toyotas dominating the early stages as Ott Tanak built a 17.3 second advantage over Jari-Matti Latvala and Kris Meeke. However, on Saturday's stages, Tanak's lead was in the balance as he clung onto a 4.3 second lead over Meeke after a damage that sent him limping through the last speed test. On Sunday, fortunately, Tanak managed to keep it under control and claw his way to secure his second WRC win with his overall time of 3:20:22.8, 15.9 seconds ahead of Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville, while Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier placed 3rd with 57.1 seconds behind Tanak.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MKbpIZs-rQ&list=PLODyu6T9_emwyWbDL71UrBZPRLtpONlBI

After all the action in Portugal, the gap between Ogier and Tanak are now narrowed to just two points, 142 vs. 140.

The next event will be the Rally Italia Sardegna on the 13th to the 16th of June.

WRC 2019 - Copec Rally Chile

For the first time in WRC history, the world's top rally drivers have been gathered in Chile for the first ever Copec Rally Chile and the first ever Rally Chile event sees more than just barrel-crushing burnouts (yes, really) as the drivers are trying to familiarize themselves in this brand new battleground.

In this barrel-crushing, first-ever Rally Chile event, Toyota driver Ott Tanak emerged as first event winner having shown no sign of slowing the Estonian down in all three weekends; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That's his second win of the season and he's 23.1 seconds ahead from the Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier. The legendary Sebastien Loeb, representing Hyundai, completes the podium with a third place finish.

Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP9fP5brTb0&list=PLODyu6T9_emygVw5YroX1GCZ7IiuyREEU

The next event will be at Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal for the Vodafone Rally de Portugal on the 30th of May to the 2nd of June, 2019.

WRC 2019 - Xion Rally Argentina

The 2019 World Rally Championship has landed at Latin America for the Xion Rally Argentina event where the best rally drivers spent the whole weekend trying to see who will be the best rally driver to navigate through El Condor's harshest rally stages and see who will continue fighting for the title.

Checking through the rumble at El Condor, Friday's stages see Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville clawing through the top after mechanical issues cost Toyota driver Ott Tanak his lead. Come Saturday, Tanak is out of the running, giving the Belgian a chance to continue clawing through the top spot, and by Sunday, Neuville survived all the way to victory, with 48.4 seconds ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen. Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier completes the podium with a third place finish.

Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqvFCP_-lA&list=PLODyu6T9_emzt098kxy2zgDEY2KUN2qK-

Next event for the WRC 2019 is the Copec Rally Chile on the 9th to 12th of May.

WRC 2019 - Tour de Corse

With Spring finally blooming, the 2019 WRC season continues their dirt-filled action at Corsica for the Corsica Linea - Tour de Corse, where a matter between victory and defeat is in the balance for the top rally drivers who are just getting started in this season.

Starting on the opening stages, Ford driver Elfyn Evans leads following a controversial end where Kris Meeke pinned him down near the end by a delay. However, his reign was cut short when Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville charged his way at the Saturday stages and with Evans in the pinch, Neuville clawed his way to victory at Sunday stages while Citroen driver Sebastien Ogier placed 2nd at 40.3 seconds behind Neuville.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdtRDBXgjDs&list=PLODyu6T9_emwQ1Sb85yK6dXyW7AZbPKr-

The next event will be the Xion Rally Argentina on the 25th to the 28th of April.

WRC 2019 - Rally Guanajuato Mexico

It's out from the cold and in to the hot as the 2019 World Rally Championship continues in the scorching hot Leon, Mexico, for the Rally Guanajuato Mexico event where drivers are trying to survive such scorching temperatures and challenging terrains in order to maintain their momentum in the battle for the title.

The Rally Guanajuato Mexico became drama packed at the start ever since the opener halted due to damaged jump but despite the trouble, Citroen's new rally driver, Sebastien Ogier, dominates Friday stages of the event. Then, Ogier kept going on during Saturday stages and Sunday stages until he claimed his victory at the Rally Guanajuato Mexico event at the overall time of 3:37:08.0. Ott Tanak of Toyota's placed 2nd while Elfyn Evans of Ford placed 3rd.

Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NURkidqVxug&list=PLODyu6T9_emxA0exmzjBBMGrOdEWsu4Lm

The next race is the Corsica Linea - Tour de Corse on the 28th to the 31st of March, 2019.

WRC 2019: Rally Sweden

The 2019 World Rally Championship continues at Torsby, Sweden, for the Rally Sweden event where the world's best rally drivers are trying to maintain their cool while ravaging through the coldest, harshest stages Scandinavia throws at them.

Beginning with Friday's stages, Teemu Suninen led the WRC round for the first time when he barged through the final 8.93km speed test with his Ford Fiesta’s front light pod flapping across the bonnet and obscuring his vision. With reduced lighting, Suninen swiped several snowbanks but kept cool as Ott Tänak ate into a 13.0sec deficit. At Saturday stages, Toyota driver Ott Tanak regained his lead following Suninen's retirement after crashing into a tree and damaging the car's safety roll cage. And on Sunday stages, Ott Tanak wins the Rally Sweden with the overall time of 2:47.30.0, 53.7 seconds ahead of Esapekka Lappi and 56.7 ahead of third placer Thierry Neuville of Hyundai.

/Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0og7qcOJWRI&list=PLODyu6T9_emxRMj4c-CNxFkR66jm0q50W

The 2019 WRC continues at Mexico for the Rally Guanajuato Mexico from the 7th to the 10th of March, 2019.