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The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Elfyn Evans tops the timing board after the four first stages of the 2022 Ypres Rally in Belgium and he is holding off the Hyundai Shell Mobis´ Ott Tänak with a lead of 2.3 seconds as they are heading to the midday service.

The Welshman took over the rally lead early on as the Finnish teammate Kalle Rovanperä crashed out on SS2 this morning, Rovanperä was leading the rally after the opening stage but because of his heavy roll, he will not restart the rally anymore this weekend.

Both Evans and Tänak have been complaining about they haven´t felt comfortable in the cars throughout the morning twisty and narrow Flanders farm stages. Tänak who is now the one that goes out first on the road had cleaner stages than when Evans went and could close down the gap to just six-tenths of a second by the penultimate test. However, Evans responded fast on the final stage of Langemark at the morning loop and took back 2.3 seconds on Tänak.

Last year´s rally winner and home crowd favourite Thierry Neuville is in third with 6.5 seconds back after a shaky start on his home rally, on the opening stage he overcooked a junction and there he lost around 10 seconds but throughout the morning he has fought back. Esapekka Lappi is trailing Neuville with 12.4 seconds behind in fourth and was the last driver to complete the stage in dry conditions.

Craig Breen is the leading M-Sport driver as teammate Adrien Fourmaux who has been fighting for the fourth position lost over a minute when the rain fell down the order to eight overall. Gus Greensmith is in sixth and squeezed in between the Fords in seventh is Oliver Solberg.

The entry lists for the 2022 FIA World Rallycross Championship round 2/3 and the 2022 FIA European Rallycross Championship round 4 at Riga in Latvia on 3/4 September are now officially published featuring 8 all-electric RX1e cars and 18 RX1 cars

Following the new all-electric debut in Hell in Norway last weekend, the 2022 season continues now with a doubleheader at the old Soviet-era racetrack of Biķernieku trase in the outskirts of the Latvian capital. The same eight contenders racing in Norway will be back again in Latvia with the four-time World RX champion Johan Kristoffersson, who wrote history in Norway by becoming the first winner in the new era, headlining the small but capable entry list.

Joining Kristoffersson in the three Volkswagen Polo RX1e fielded by Kristoffersson Motorsport are the former WRC driver Ole-Christian Veiby and rallycross newcomer Gustav Bergström.

Hansen Motorsport 2022 season start didn´t go as they were hoping for, the two Hansen brothers of Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen in a pair of Peugeot 208 RX1e cars are looking to take redemption in Riga, a track that has suited them well before during the old Supercar era.

The new 2022 team Construction Equipment Dealer Team was the only team in Norway that had both of the PWR 001 RX1e cars in the final with the 2022 RallyX Nordic champion Niclas Grönholm coming out better than his female teammate Klara Andersson.

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s team principal Jari-Matti Latvala spoke with the media after the current FIA World Rally Championship points leader Kalle Rovanperä crashed out early this morning at the start of the 2022 Ypres Rally.

Rovanperä has until today had a trouble-free season and not crashed since his home round of Rally Finland last season, Latvala who has spoken with the American publication DirtFish.com, says the crash was inevitable.

Rovanperä rolled his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on a left-hander at the SS2 of Westouter-Boeschepe 1 because he understeered and couldn´t save it in time, the car is retired from the rally and Latvala has also confirmed that Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen are ok.

“That’s the main thing, it was quite an impact to the front and then rolling, but always when it’s rolling it’s not so bad because the worse situation is like if you hit the tree or a stone, it’s actually a sudden stop,” Latvala told DirtFish.com.

“So always when it’s rolling it’s softer for the drivers. It looks like it starts to understeer and then starts to go wide. But it’s unlucky that there’s a hole, he hits the hole, because otherwise there was no ditch later on in the field and immediately basically you have to pay the penalty. But this is typical here. There are normally very, very steep and sharp ditches which really when you hit them it’s the end of the game.”

The current FIA World Rally Championship points leader Kalle Rovanperä has unfortunately crashed out early of the Ypres Rally as ee ran wide into a ditch on the outside of a left-hander which pitched the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 into a roll at the midway point of SS2 Westouter – Boeschepe 1.

The car has a lot of damage and it is most likely that Rovanperä will be retiring from the rally and the hopes for probably claiming the championship title this weeked was shattered. However, both Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen walked away unharmed and they have signed thumbs up to the marshals as shown through the LIVE TV feed from the helicopter.

Before the start of SS2, Rovanperä was quickest on the opening stage and took an early rally lead of 2.5 seconds ahead of his teammate Elfyn Evans. The SS1 wasn´t also drama free as Rovanperä was told to listen to the pacenotes given by the co-driver as he had some moments out on the stage. The last year´s winner Thierry Neuville also had trouble on the first stage as he overcooked at a junction and lost quite some time.

Jos Verstappen who is the father of the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship Max Verstappen, has now swtiched focus over to rallying over the past months and now the former F1 driver will be taking on the FIA World Rally Championship as he makes a debut in the WRC2 support category in Ypres Rally, driving a Citroen C3 Rally2 car prepared by the Belgian DG Sport outfit.

Verstappen, like his son, has spent eight season in the F1 between the 90´s and 2000´s before retiring in 2003, since then he has contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans on two occasions in 2008 and 2009 before starting to compete in rally at the beginning of this season. The rally career has went well so far for the 50-year-old Dutchman, he claimed a class victory on his first attempt at the Belgian Rally Championship round of Rally van Haspengouw and took his maiden overall podium with a second place finish in Station Le Seau Monteberg Rally and now he will attempt to take on a world-level rally.

“I have always enjoyed watching rallying, when you see it on television or on the WRC app, it’s always very spectacular. I first drove a rally car maybe one and a half years ago and of course, from that point you just want more and more. So we started to do some events with the Rally2 car and DG Sport and then Ypres came up  – and that’s why we are here.” Jos Verstappen said.

“It’s a big step, but we really enjoy the rallying and we are here to learn. I am 50 but I am still learning a lot and I need the experience,” Jos added and continues to talk about his co-driver Harm van Koppen and the challenging pace notes: “I really had to learn that somebody was talking to me, when I was in single-seaters, I didn’t like when the engineer was speaking to me during the race – and now they are speaking all the time to me! I’ve had to get used to it, but it was a really hard time at the start to understand what everything means and what to do. On a rally, you’re busy all the time and you need to drive fast.

“When somebody is talking in your ear all the time, it can distract you a bit at the beginning, but you need to keep concentrated on what to do and things like that. It’s going a little better now and I think the more you do it the more you are learning.”

Kurt Busch‘s string of missed races will reach at least six. On Thursday, he announced his concussion from his Pocono qualifying wreck in July will keep him out of the #45 23XI Racing Toyota Camry for the final two races of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season at Watkins Glen International and Daytona International Speedway.

Considering Busch’s injury, skipping the wreck-heavy Daytona is perhaps the easiest choice of track to skip. Despite missing six races, he is still ensured a playoff spot via his Kansas win and has enough points to remain in the standings’ top thirty.

“As much I want to be back in the car, the time is still not right. Over the last few weeks, I have focused all my efforts on getting better. And in order to fully focus my recovery on trying to be back for the playoffs, I will not be competing in the next two races at Watkins Glen and Daytona,” Busch posted on social media.

“This decision was not an easy one, but the right one. I need to be racing at 100%. I owe that to everyone at 23XI, all of our partners, my fellow competitors, and the fans.

“It’s my goal to be back in the #45 Toyota Camry TRD to start the playoffs. I know Ty will continue to do a great job in my absence, and I appreciate the competitiveness he’s brought to the track.

Last yeat´s Ypres Rally winner and the local fans home hero Thierry Neuville went fastest through the Nieuwkerke Shakedown stage held as the rally warm-up on Thursday afternoon, he edged the current championship points leader Kalle Rovanperä by just 0.6 of a second.

The Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team seems to be strong ahead of the rally, the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 has been proven to be a great car on tarmac stages and it showed well during the shakedown as Oliver Solberg, who hopes to get his luck turned around in Ypres, went third fastest 0.7 second behind Rovanperä. However, Toyota Gazoo Racing´s Elfyn Evans also posted a similar time on his last pass and that means both Solberg and Evans are sharing the third place.

Craig Breen was the fastest out of the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team drivers, with 0.3 second behind Solberg and Evans, and Toyota´s Esapekka Lappi 0.1 second behind in sixth. Adrien Fourmaux also in a M-Sport built Ford Puma Rally1 went seventh fastest with 0.5 second behind. Rally Finland winner Ott Tänak had to settle for a eight fastest time just 0.2 second slower than Fourmaux and rounding-up of the Rally1 drivers in top 10 were Toyota´s NG driver Takamoto Katsuta in ninth and M-Sport´s Gus Greensmith in tenth.

In the WRC2 support category it is also another home hero who tops as the local wildcard Sébastien Bedoret edged the returning Stéphane Lefebvre.

Ypres Rally Shakedown top 15:

Mitch Evans gave it his all throughout the Seoul E-Prix weekend, but the New Zealander came up just short in claiming his maiden ABB FIA Formula E World Championship triumph.

The Jaguar TCS Racing driver claimed a superb victory in race one on Saturday to keep himself in the hunt, but a lowly grid slot on Sunday and a seventh place finish in the race gave Stoffel Vandoorne and the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team the title.

Despite missing out on the title in the final round for a second consecutive year, Evans says he is proud in the way that he and the team did not give up until the end, and he hopes to go one better when the Gen3 cars take to the track in season nine in January.

“The team should be proud of what we have all achieved,” said Evans.  “We came up a little short, but it is still a triumph, especially as we took the fight to the last day.

“We didn’t have the pace in the dry today and we didn’t qualify well enough. It does hurt missing out on the last day again but it’s different circumstances this time.

The rallycross bug seems to have bitten Chase Elliott enough for him to desire another run. On Thursday, Nitro Rallycross announced Elliott will rejoin the series for Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park on 12/13 November. He will drive an FC1-X in the Group E class for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing JC.

Elliott made his rallycross début in the 2021 season finale at the Florida International Rally and Motorsports Park, where he reached the final and finished eighth. While the NASCAR Cup Series points leader and 2020 champion is more renowned for his pavement racing, he has shown interest in dirt competition in recent times such as sprint cars and quarter midgets.

The Wild Horse Pass round is a week after the NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway, which is located less than forty miles away. Fellow Cup driver Kyle Busch ran the 2021 Nitro RX race there in the same Supercar as Elliott.

“As we gear up for the U.S., we’re so excited to welcome back Chase Elliott for Phoenix,” said Nitro RX founder and former NASCAR driver Travis Pastrana. “Having a NASCAR Cup Series champion of Chase’s calibre return is so awesome, and it reaffirms our goal to challenge the best and most fearless drivers in motorsport while offering fans unparalleled racing excitement. But on race day, it’s absolutely game on for the checkered flag.”

It seemed to be only a matter of time before Elliott returned to Nitro RX. Nitro Rallycross owner Thrill One Sports & Entertainment signed a multi-year partnership with A SHOC Performance Energy in early 2022, and the energy drink brand has sponsored Elliott and his Cup team Hendrick Motorsports since 2021.

The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team said goodbye to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship after last weekend’s Seoul E-Prix, and Team Principal Ian James says it is amazing to go out on the high of winning both World titles for a second consecutive season.

After Nyck de Vries’ triumph last season, this year was all about Stoffel Vandoorne, with the Belgian closing out a hugely consistent season with a second-place finish to win the title by thirty-three points.

And James says the success the team has had during their time in Formula E has been phenomenal, and he thanked everyone for all their hard work and effort across the past four seasons.

“Wow! What a day and what a journey it’s been!” said James. “Congratulations to the team, congratulations to Stoffel and congratulations to Nyck. Everyone has played such a vital role in us winning the team title.

“When the Mercedes-Benz board made the decision to enter Formula E four years ago, we didn’t know how it would turn out. Now we are sitting here and have won both World Championship titles for the second time in a row. This success we’ve had together in Formula E is just phenomenal.

Nyck de Vries ended the defence of his Drivers’ Championship with a retirement from race two of the Seoul E-Prix on Sunday, but he was happy to see the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team clinch both titles for a second consecutive season.

Having won the title last season, the Dutchman started the year with a victory in the Diriyah E-Prix in Saudi Arabia, but inconsistency across the season meant he could only end the year ninth in the final standings, winning only once more in Berlin and taking only one further podium finish in London.

He scored less than half the points team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne managed in the other Mercedes as the Belgian went on his way to take the Drivers’ title, but combined it was enough to see Mercedes leave Formula E on a high with a second consecutive Teams’ title.

De Vries admitted his season did not go the way he would have hoped, with the lack of consistency playing a big part in his final place in the championship standings, but he thanked the whole Mercedes team for allowing him to be a part of their journey across the past two campaigns.

“A disappointing end to my race, but a fantastic result for the team,” said de Vries after Sunday’s race in Seoul.  “The only thing that counts today is that we won both World Championships.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Kalle Rovanperä from Finland has a theoretical chance to secure the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship title this weekend in Ypres Rally, Belgium. After this weekend there are four more rounds left of the season, but Rovanperä needs to win the tarmac rally but also get some help from his championship rivals who have to do terrible results.

Heading to the rally, the 21-year-old Finn leads the championship with 94 points over Hyundai´s Ott Tänak and 95 points over the third place Thierry Neuville. Rovanperä is now looking to be the first Finn in 20 years to become a world champion, last time it happened was in 2002 when Marcus Grönholm won it driving for Peugeot.

However, the task will not be the easiest one, after the Wolff Power Stage on Sunday, Rovanperä needs to secure enough points to have atleast a 121 points gap over Tänak to be able to be crown the champion and must have atleast 27 points taken from the weekend in order to do so while Tänak and Neuville gets zero points from the rally.

Probably after the rally Rovanperä and the Hyundai duo will still be in the championship fight. Instead with a good performance, Rovanperä has the chance to crush the title dreams of M-Sport’s Craig Breen. Breen would need 15 more points from Belgium than Rovanperä to keep his chances alive. Takamoto Katsuta also desperately needs more points, because if Rovanperä gets three more points than Katsuta, the Japanese’s title dreams will also be gone.

Elfyn Evans, who sits in fourth on the leaderboard, is 104 points behind Rovanperä, so even with a mediocre performance in Belgium, the Welshman still keeps his title chances alive. If on the other hand, Rovanperä defeats Evans by 16 points, the teammate is also dropped from the championship fight.

Stoffel Vandoorne wrote himself into ABB FIA Formula E World Championship legend on Sunday as he clinched the 2021-22 Drivers’ Championship by finishing second in the final race of the season in Seoul.

The Belgian driver held a commanding lead heading into the final round of the season in South Korea but had to hold his nerve in the finale, knowing a mistake could have let Mitch Evans in to deny him the crown.

Vandoorne stayed out of trouble on Sunday and continued his remarkable consistency that he showed throughout the season, with the Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team driver having scored in all bar one of the sixteen races throughout the year – in fact he only finished lower than fifth on three occasions.

Despite finishing third on the road around the Seoul Street Circuit, Vandoorne was promoted to second after Avalanche Andretti FE Team’s Jake Dennis was handed a time penalty, but it was more than enough for him to claim the title in what was Mercedes’ final race in Formula E.

“Wow, I’m speechless,” said Vandoorne.  “It’s fantastic – the whole season has just been great. It’s an incredible feeling when you think about what we’ve achieved together this year.

Puma Energy Rally Team, off-road racing arm of the multinational Puma Energy oil company, will once again field a trio of racers at the Dakar Rally in 2023. While Andrea Lafarjá and Juan Manuel “Pato” Silva return to respectively compete in the Car and SSV categories, the team’s Bike entry will be filled by Dakar veteran and former SCORE International champion Francisco Arredondo. The lineup was announced Wednesday at a Puma Energy gas station in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Arredondo has thirteen career starts in the Dakar Rally, making an annual run from 2004 to 2016 before taking a three-year hiatus. Riding for DUUST Rally Team, he finished seventy-second overall. His best finish came in 2011 of thirty-seventh. For the 2023 Rally, he will ride a KTM 450 Rally bike prepared by BAS DAKAR.

Much of the Guatemalan’s rally raid success comes in North America, where he won the 2016 SCORE World Desert Championship’s Pro Moto Ironman class. The following year, he secured the Pro Moto Unlimited title as well as the World Desert Championship for bikes overall, aided by topping his class in three of four races and all Bikes at the legendary Baja 1000. For the 2020 Baja 1000, Arredondo made a virtually seamless switch to four wheels by taking the Pro UTV NA division victory.

“We are proud to bring the only representative of Central America to Dakar 2023,” said Puma Energy Guatemala marketing manager Andrea Rayo. “Guatemala is a winning country and is distinguished by having authors of great success stories.”

Lafarjá was the lone Paraguayan in the 2022 Dakar Rally field, her second attempt at the race after débuting with a fiftieth in 2019. She would finish sixty-fifth overall. After driving a Borgward BX7 Evo in 2022, she moves to a Toyota Hilux T1 supplied by Overdrive Racing.

Last year in August, Belgium hosted a FIA World Rally Championship round for the first time where Hyundai´s Thierry Neuville drove to victory in front of his home crowd ahead of his then teammate Craig Breen. Neuville, who has driven the challenging Ypres Rally numerous times, is the early favourite of the rally this time as well.

For Toyota Gazoo Racing it was Kalle Rovanperä who was the best Toyota driver, finishing the rally in third while teammate Elfyn Evans was fourth and Sébastien Ogier, who secured the championship later in the fall, was fifth. Team boss Jari-Matti Latvala believes that Toyota will be better prepared to meet Hyundai’s challenge this time.

“Last year we didn’t have good test roads and we suffered a tad in the rally, this year, it’s been a different story. We’ve had good roads, we prepared much better and I think we should be more competitive this year. So it’s not easy in Belgium. Very fast Tarmac roads, a lot of junctions, a lot of cuts, dirt, but I think we are more prepared this year. Last year Hyundai was really strong but this year we should be able to really fight against them.” Latvala explained in an interview with DirtFish.com.

The Welshman Evans compliments Latvala and believes that the adjustments are better this time: “Obviously we haven’t got loads of experience there but obviously last year already helps, I think, to sort of understand a bit where we went wrong. So, yeah, hopefully we’re a bit more right this year there.”