Motorsport
Summer of Speed for the World Rally Championship
Watch WRC Estonia this week on DAZN
Rally Estonia kick-starts the summer of FIA World Rally Championship action with back-to-back events alongside Rally Finland - creating an exciting spectacle of high speed, big commitment, and big air on fast and flowing gravel roads. The northern European event in the Baltic region welcomes the crews for round eight of the series, with one of the fastest events on the calendar next up, with drivers and co-drivers needing to be in perfect sync with each other for maximum commitment and minimal hesitation.
All eyes will be on Ott Tänak as he comes into his home rally on the crest of a wave following victory in Greece. The Estonian is now third in the standings and spearheading the turnaround for the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team. Tänak has sealed a win and a pair of second place finishes in the last three rallies, and enters into a purple patch in perfect time ahead of his home event - which will see a monumental amount of pressure for him to deal with in and out of the car.
- Read next | Tänak on the rise - an outside bet coming good
From a season of frustration and heartache, teammate Adrien Fourmaux has the spring back in the step after a podium on the Acropolis - showcasing not only his talent but the much needed turnaround for Hyundai in the battle against Toyota. The third Hyundai i20 Rally1 in the hands of defending world champion Thierry Neuville didn’t have the cleanest of runs in Greece, and a lowly fifth was only a small reward after a hot, dusty and battering weekend. Like we said about Ott in previous previews, it is now or never for the Belgian if he wants to reclaim his title. A win in Estonia might be his only hope to turn the tide and reignite his campaign - otherwise he will be playing back-up to a Tänak title tilt after the European leg of the season.
Leading the way in the championship - a position he has held since the 16th February, is British driver Elfyn Evans. The Toyota driver has yet to win a title and this could well be his best shot in five years, but needs to unlock a little bit of the early season magic to keep pace with the charge of his rivals, otherwise his points advantage which has eroded will disappear completely. Evans has had the unenviable task of road sweeping for the cars behind him on the rough and challenging run of gravel events - the honour or shall we say disadvantage of leading the championship. The next two rallies will have an impact for first on the road, for sure - but not to the same degree - so a podium or two could well be a welcome lift for the Welshman.
Eight-time champion and the winner of three rallies out of the five he has contested so far in his part-season campaign - Sébastien Ogier will be missing this weekend. The Frenchman will return to drive the Toyota Yaris Rally1 in Finland next time out, so this presents the opportunity for Takamoto Katsuta to step-back up into the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad to score points for the first team. Katsuta has had a lull in performance in recent events, but will be keen to impress on the next two rallies - two that should suit the Japanese star as he proved his speed on the equally high-speed Rally Sweden earlier in the year.
Kalle Rovanperä had a weekend to forget in Greece with the Finn struggling for pace against his stablemates and an off road excursion was a disappointing way to retire from the rally. This lack of points trip to southern Europe has dented his title push ever so slightly but on the fast, and flat out roads of Estonia and his native Finland - we could well see the dominant display return this weekend. Don’t put it past him!
Toyota GR
Oliver Solberg, usually seen in the WRC2 class has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to step-up from the Rally2 Yaris to the fire-breathing Rally1 version of the Toyota hatchback. Solberg is no stranger to the top-flight, having contested a season for Hyundai in 2022. Now with more experience under the belt and leading the WRC2 championship - big things are expected from the son of 2003 world champion Petter Solberg. Solberg will be scoring points for the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2 team alongside fellow countryman Sami Pajari. Pajari, who is doing a full campaign in the Yaris will want to better his fourth place from the Safari on one of the next two rounds. The young talents will be pushing each other on, and in the right circumstances could well fight for a podium.
The M-Sport Ford line will be led once again by Grégoire Munster and Josh McErlean. Both continue their WRC education as they battle speed, consistency, caution and maturity. Munster was on for a top six in Greece before mechanical woes halted his progress while McErlean who set the fastest time of anyone on Shakedown was dogged by punctures and self inflicted rear suspension damage during the rally itself. Mārtiņš Sesks joins in a third Puma Rally1 car and will have an abundance of Latvian fans crossing the border to cheer him on. M-Sport would be pleased with a top five - but it will take a monumental effort and some retirements up front if there is to be a podium in Estonia from the blue oval machines.
In the WRC2 support class with Solberg stepping into the top-flight and the absence of season regulars Gus Greensmith and Yohan Rossel who have elected not to pick the Estonian rally for their schedule, we could well see a new name on the top step. Look out for local aces Robert Virves (Skoda Fabia Rally2) and Romet Jürgenson (Ford Fiesta Rally2) who will both want a win in front of their home crowd.
Follow all the action of the FIA World Rally Championship LIVE this weekend from Estonia 17-20 July. Four days of intense action on the loose is not to be missed!
Watch the World Rally Championship on DAZN
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