2025 WRC News & Rumours

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Sordo to return in (4th) Hyundai for Greece & Sardinia, quotes from Neuville ...

https://rallyjournal.com/a-big-revel...oming-tactics/


Also, the F1 star who tested a Rally1 Car is revealed... and it wasn't Bottas !

https://rallyjournal.com/name-of-f1-...credibly-good/

[WRCStan]

Also, the F1 star who tested a Rally1 Car is revealed... and it wasn't Bottas !

https://rallyjournal.com/name-of-f1-...credibly-good/

Props to the user here who reported it at the time.

[106 sport]

Interesting interview with the hero from Gran Canaria, Luís Monzón
https://www.wrc.com/en/news/luis-mon...islas-canarias

[Managarium]

TOO MUCH WEAR?!
The WRC crews will have 8 more tires in Rally Portugal so the total available for each car goes from 28 to 36 (shakedown included).
This change was made official through the “Bulletin 1” of the event.
Considering that two more sets of tires are a lot and this change is important there must be an explanation that could be excessive tire wear.
We have already hypothesized in another post that the Hankook tires are too hard and that in Kenya there were 23 punctures attributable to this robustness but the African event had a soft surface that did not wear the tires excessively.
The triptych of gravel roads arriving Portugal-Sardinia-Greece instead has a lot of wear and higher temperatures that could lead to problems with the integrity of the tires.
In support of OUR hypothesis there would be the length of the special stages in Portugal:
24 special stages with maximum lengths of 15 km with the exception of the Amarante stage which will be 24.
However, the Amarante stage has always been 37 km and this shortening combined with the addition of tires make us think.

[WRCStan]

Apologies if this video was shared in another thread, and this is probably the wrong thread for the topic but it's related to a few pages ago where we were having a chat about what a car is and the identity of rally (sofas, buggies, crosskarts and side by sides etc..) Here's Rich Millener being recorded at about the same time on side-by-sides: 'I personally think a modified version of this could be the answer to the problems in rally of entry level vehicles'

https://youtu.be/1xsKjcptLjc?t=785

Strongly recommend to watch the whole video, Rich is quite open.

[saco0o]

Also, the F1 star who tested a Rally1 Car is revealed... and it wasn't Bottas !

https://rallyjournal.com/name-of-f1-...credibly-good/

a few websites are covering this, Lando said it wasnt him.
https://racingnews365.com/norris-res...ome-a-headline

"I said a couple of years ago, I'm not allowed. Zak [Brown, McLaren CEO] doesn't let me drive rally cars, probably for a good reason, but I've said many times I would love to. It's so weird how people come up with such things in the media. That's how terrible it is sometimes, rather than just asking me before publishing things."

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Surprise driver for top-tier Rally1 car in Portugal:

https://rallyjournal.com/source-surp...yundais-plans/

[Fast Eddie WRC]

Ben Sulayem proposes Malcolm Wilson as Robert Reid's successor at FIA...

https://www.autosport.com/general/ne...date/10716162/

[Sal yet again]

https://www.autosport.com/general/ne...date/10716162/

Wonder whether having given Malcolm/M Sport so much trade over the years MBS will think him "loyal to the cause"

[Rallyper]

https://www.autosport.com/general/ne...date/10716162/

Wonder whether having given Malcolm/M Sport so much trade over the years MBS will think him "loyal to the cause"

In the way he should. Loyal to the manufacturers best.