Daryl DeLeon secured his maiden BTCC win as he took the chequered flag for WSR in round five at Brands Hatch. A chaotic race dominated by tyre compounds and interrupted by two safety car periods, DeLeon was on the better soft tyre and powered to victory in his BMW. Adam Morgan finished second with Ash Sutton taking his 100th BTCC podium in third.
Race one winner Jake Hill started on pole with Charles Rainford second to make it an all-BMW front row. They sped off the line, both on the hard tyre, which would mean a deficit in pace to the soft tyre shod cars.
Dan Cammish made his way up to third, battling Rainford for second before passing him on lap four at Clearways.
Lap five saw DeLeon take third from Rainford, his hard tyres making it hard to defend. The first piece of drama came when Dan Lloyd was punted wide on the Cooper straight. He made a pit stop but finished a lap down in 21st.
The first of two safety car periods came on lap seven when Max Hall and Dexter Patterson collided at Paddock Hill and ended up in the gravel trap. After a near ten-lap delay, the safety car was halfway down the pit lane when it was to be re-deployed.
As is standard procedure with safety car restarts, Hill was bunching up the pack. However Dan Cammish encountered an issue with his Ford Focus, causing it to stop. Cars made their way past the stricken Yorkshireman, but Aiden Moffat wasn’t as lucky; running into the back of Cammish. Causing another safety car to clear his car and the debris on the circuit.
This promoted DeLeon up to second, and on the restart he wasted no time. He passed Hill into Paddock Hill bend in what was a gutsy overtake. He pulled it off and led away to the chequered flag. This began Hill’s descent down the grid as the soft tyre cars made their way through.
The best of the overtakes on Hill however, went to Adam Morgan, who rounded the BMW on the outside at Paddock.
DeLeon strolled to the finish, taking his first win in the series. Morgan and Sutton finished on the podium, with Chris Smiley following Sutton through the grid for fourth place.
Moffat finished fifth despite the contact with Cammish, making up 15 places in the process. Josh Cook was sixth with Rainford and Hill following behind. Dan Rowbottom and Ronan Pearson rounded out the top ten.
Championship leader Tom Ingram could only finish 11th on the hard tyre, with Tom Chilton in 12th. The final three points places were taken by Stephen Jelley, Michael Crees, and Aron Taylor-Smith.
Dan Rowbottom will start the final race on pole thanks to the reverse grid draw, with Sutton and Ingram looking to fight through the grid for vital points.
Jake Hill ignited his championship defence with a lights to flag win in round four of the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.
BMW teammate Charles Rainford followed for a one-two finish for the WSR team; a record breaking 133rd win making them the most successful team in BTCC history. Tom Ingram claimed third place, and while briefly threatening the BMW’s in front, he managed his race well for third.
Hill and Rainford got away well at the start, settling into a formation which wouldn’t be breached for the duration of the 24 lap race. Ash Sutton was the one who started best, making three places off the grid from 13th. Dan Lloyd was given a five second penalty for a false start, taking him from seventh to ninth.
Ingram started to pressure the BMW duo on lap two, the Team Vertu driver had a promising opening weekend at Donington Park last time out, and pulled away from teammate Adam Morgan in pursuit of the leaders.
The BMW hadn’t shown much pace at Donington, but with Brands favouring rear wheel drive, they came to life here. Rainford set a new lap record not once, but twice; showing Donington was just a blip.
By lap nine Hill had settled into a rhythm, while Rainford had Ingram to deal with. The Hyundai driver putting pressure on Rainford, the rookie who was starting his fourth BTCC race.
After a few laps of pressure, Ingram decided to play the long game, and eased off, settling for third. This led to Morgan closing in, and the Excelr8 drivers running in formation.
Hill strolled to his first win of the season, in the process kick-starting his championship defence. Rainford followed home six tenths behind for his first BTCC podium. With a performance like that, it will surely be the first of many.
Ingram and Morgan followed behind with Dan Cammish having a quiet race, coming home fifth. Mikey Doble was sixth for Power Maxed Racing with Lloyd finishing seventh on the road, but dropping to ninth once his penalty was applied.
Daryl Deleon and Sam Osborne were the beneficiaries of Lloyd’s penalty, finishing seventh and eighth. Ash Sutton rounded off the top ten for NAPA Racing. Ronan Pearson, Chris Smiley, Michael Crees took points finishes with the two ONE Motorsport Honda’s of Stephen Jelley and Josh Cook taking the final points places.
Tom Ingram takes the lead of the championship, capitalising on Sutton finishing lower down the order, with Jake Hill now third. The BMW man will be starting on pole for race two, which will give him an advantage and a chance to climb further up the table.
Formula E made history in Monaco as not one but two rounds were held around the iconic streets of Monaco. Rain was forecast for these 2 rounds and while the rain didn’t come in round 6, it came in for round 7 and brought old faces back to the podium. Let’s get into it!
Round 6
The McLaren rookie of Taylor Barnard led us away from pole position after The Nissan of Oliver Rowland hit the wall at the start of the final duel for pole position. Rowland cut across the Cupra Kiro of Dan Ticktum at the start to stop him from getting into P2 but that compromised him and turned P3 into P4. The Andretti of Jake Dennis, Tag Heuer Porsche of Pascal Wehrlein and Envision Racing of Robin Frijns were all close together while Dennis’ teammate Nico Mueller had to pit at the start due to a puncture. Due to Ticktum’s drop in place from the start, he was struggling to pass the Mahindra of Nyck De Vries so his team suggested he overconsume energy. Ticktum was managing to stay in his position until Wehrlein’s teammate of Antonio Felix Da Costa crashed at the final corner while attempting to overtake the Mahindra of Mortara. This brought out a Full Course Yellow. Once we went back to green flag racing, the season 9 champion of Jake Dennis IMMEDIATELY went up to P3 however he received a 5 second time penalty due to over speeding under that FCY. We didn’t stay green flag racing for too long as Mitch Evans came to a stop on track and this let Buemi pit.
Once green, Rowland lost the lead due to taking attack mode but he managed to easily retake the lead. Towards the end, everyone pitted with Mueller, Cassidy and Rowland being the top 3. However, Mueller and Cassidy encountered some energy issues so the Jaguar driver had 9% LESS energy than everyone and Mueller didn’t actually get the extra 10% from pit boost. This led to them having to conserve a LOT more energy compared to their other racers. Rowland took the lead but De Vries and Rowland were fighting for the win until Barnard went into the barrier at Casino Square and fell out of the points. Dennis made his way up to P2 and De Vries was not happy about this so they were fighting with the Dutchman managing to reovertake P2 from the Brit.
By the end of the race, Oliver Rowland took victory on the streets of Monaco! Nyck De Vries took his first victory since London 2022 and Mahindra’s first since Mexico City 2023. Jake Dennis scored his first podium of Season 11. De Vries’ teammate Mortara finished P4, Mueller managed to finish P5, reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein finished P6, Dan Ticktum P7, Robin Frijns P8, Vandorrne P9 and Max Guenther P10!
MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – MAY 03: David Beckmann of Germany driving the (3) CUPRA KIRO Porsche 99X Electric WCG3 during the Monaco E-Prix, Round 6 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Circuit de Monaco on May 03, 2025 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images for Formula E)
Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Round 7
Thankfully, Oliver Rowland did not crash at turn 1 at the final for pole. However, there was NO final duel for pole due to both DS Penske cars going over the chicane after the tunnel and having their lap times deleted. This did lead to Nyck De Vries getting promoted up to P2 for the starting grid!
We went racing in Monaco for the second time this weekend with a clean getaway from all drivers. 21 drivers started on the grid with Sam Bird starting from the pitlane after a crash in qualifying. The track was greasy and slippery but it was drying fast. Barnard fell down to join his teammate Bird at the rear of the field with Vergne, Da Costa and Buemi jumping up a place each. Once the attack modes were taken, De Vries has to defend from Vergne, but this in turn helped Rowland as he had not taken either attack mode by this stage. A brief yellow flag saw David Beckmann and Jake Hughes make contact with the Cupra Kiro driver having to do a 3 point turn at turn 1. The Maserati driver obtained a 5 second time penalty due to this.
Di Grassi went into the barrier after contact with Dennis which brought out a full course yellow. Once the yellow was brought in, Ticktum hit the barrier after a battle with Cassidy, went down the escape road just before the casino section, did an amazing spin and managed to get away. At this stage, Vergne had a lead of 3.1 seconds over Rowland with Wehrlein attempting to do a successful move that his teammate failed to do the day prior but it didn’t work out. Mueller then brought out the safety car after hitting the barrier on his own.
Once we went green, Buemi managed to make his way up to P4 with only Rowland, Barnard and Evans having attack mode remaining. Towards the latter stages of the race, De Vries managed to make his way up to the front and battle for the lead while Rowland maintained the lead despite going over the chicane. Buemi saw this opportunity and managed to take the lead before a brief yellow. De Vries, Vergne, Rowland and Cassidy were all very close together for P2 down to P5 with the latter 2 of that array manages to swap with the former 2. Barnard, Maloney and Ticktum all received time penalties for track limits while Sebastian Buemi went on to win the Monaco E-Prix and secure his first win since 2019 and Envision Racing’s first win since 2023. Rowland managed to keep P with Cassidy obtaining his first podium of the season. Da Costa finished P4, De Vries P5, Vergne P6, Wehrlein P7, Guenther P8, Dennis P9 and Vandoorne P10!
Nicolo Bulega picked up where he left off the previous day to more-or-less ease to victory in the remaining 2 races at the Cremona Circuit in Italy, with an ardent home crowd and MotoGP figures from Ducati in attendance to witness his historic achievement.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE
The 10-lap Tissot Superople around the shortest circuit on the World Superbikes calendar was a rapid affair. The Sunday morning race took just under 15 minutes and was in many ways a repeat of Race 1 from the previous day.
Bulega led from pole position ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista while Sam Lowes once again fell back from the front row of the grid. Razgatlioglu tried his best to stick with Bulega but by as early as lap 3 it was evident that the latter was managing to pull away at the front.
While Bulega stretched out his lead, Razgatlioglu kept him in sight but was unable to close in while Bautista once again settled in 3rd. Andrea Iannone was hit with a double long-lap penalty for narrowly jumping the start and found himself in 9th after serving his punishment, having been in contention for 4th before it.
Sam Lowes held onto 4th ahead of an Xavi Vierge, with the two faster riders of Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci running out of time to make up more positions. Crucially for Petrucci he was able to secure 6th place in the race and the same spot on the grid for Race 2 to make up for his shambolic qualifying in the Superpole on Saturday.
As for Lecuona, he crashed out on lap 9 to make it 2 retirements in 2 races so far in Cremona despite having some scintillating pace. After the Honda rider crashed out, Andrea Locatelli, Iannone and Michael van der Mark were those who rounded out the top 9 and inherited those same places for Race 2.
Given how short the race was, the independent Ducati riders Scott Redding and Gabriele Ruiu gambled on running the qualifying tyre but were unable to make much progress. Redding fell short of the crucial 9th place require to get a better grid position for Race 2, coming home in 11th while Ruiu was 21st.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RESULTS
Image Credit: WorldSBK
RACE 2
It became known that Lowes was suffering from illness this weekend and this was perhaps why he once again went backwards at the start of the 3rd race of the weekend. Despite Bautista starting on the front row, he was unable to challenge Bulega and Razgatlioglu who once again held 1st and 2nd places at the start.
Just as in Race 1, Razgatlioglu scythed up the inside of Bulega with a block pass at the final corner of the 1st lap. Bulega then stalked his rival for another 3 laps before an unsuccessful move at the end of the back straight on lap 4, which he converted successfully at the same spot a lap later to retake the lead.
Unsurprisingly, that was the last Razgatlioglu or anyone else saw of Bulega. In front of a 45,000 strong home crowd and senior figures from Ducati’s MotoGP management, the 25-year-old delivered while the pressure was on to secure an emotional hat-trick that will live long in the memory for him – and his stunned competitors.
Razgatlioglu nonetheless did well to bank three 2nd place finishes this weekend as he noted Bulega’s superior speed on corner exits, but even Bautista on the other factory Ducati was unable to get close to his teammate. At least Razgatlioglu was much closer to Bulega in Race 2 than he was in Race 1, with one mistake by Bulega probably enough to put himself under pressure from the BMW rider, however the Italian was peerless around Cremona.
After Bulega retook the lead the main action was taking place further down the order. Petrucci was able to take move from up from 6th into 4th after dispatching Lowes and Vierge. Of course it was still a disappointing weekend for the man who won all 3 races at Cremona last year, and the gap to Bautista in 3rdsuggests that 4th may have been the maximum that the Italian could have hoped for anyway.
The battle for 5th was a thrilling and borderline disastrous affair between the factory Honda duo and Lowes. Lecuona was again coming through from the midfield and after a tough battle with Locatelli he had around 6 laps to catch and pass his teammate and Lowes up ahead.
By the time Lecuona became a factor in the battle for 5th, time was running out. Some very aggressive racing between the two teammates saw them almost collide at the final corner, then Vierge made contact with Lowes coming onto the start-finish straight.
A thrilling final lap saw Lowes valiantly retake P5 with just 3 corners to go while Vierge had to settle for 7th behind his teammate – a damning result giving their grid positions. Locatelli was 8th on a difficult weekend for Yamaha, with Michael van der Mark and Remy Gardner rounding out the top 10.
A hat-trick of wins for Bulega and 3 straight 2nd places for Razgatlioglu sees the Italian rider stretch his lead in the World Championship to 34 points heading to Autodrom Most for Round 5 in a fortnight’s time. By then, it would not be a great surprise if Ducati has their fuel-flow slightly restricted to try and peg back Bulega in particular, but the concessions system in WorldSBK might not be enough to stop the 25-year-old from running away with this year’s title if the Acerbis Italian Round was anything to go by.
Nicolo Bulega enjoyed a thrilling battle with championship rival Toprak Razgatlioglu in Race 1 at Cremona before blasting off into the distance to win in front of his home fans and senior Ducati management.
After denying Sam Lowes back-to-back pole positions, Bulega launched away from pole position in the first WorldSBK race at Cremona but was pursued by Razgatlioglu. Come the final corner of lap 1 Razgatlioglu muscled his way past to herald the start of a titanic fight for the win, however things would peter out around one-third distance…
On Razgatlioglu’s first visit to the Cremona Circuit after injury ruled him out of last year’s event, the Turkish rider had a great opportunity to take advantage of the pressure that might have been affecting Bulega. Not only was the Italian rider racing for an Italian factory on home soil, but Ducati had some of its senior MotoGP personnel in attendance to keep an eye on the man that might bring the WorldSBK crown back to them this year if recent form is to be believed.
Everyone in attendance was treated to a great battle between the two that seemed to be going Razgatlioglu’s way in the first few laps before the two almost collided at the end of lap 3. The BMW rider’s defence proved successful but Bulega was never far behind and always able to quickly recover from his failed attempts to pass the Turk.
By the end of lap 6 of 23, Bulega finally made a move stick on Razgatlioglu. Despite a valiant attempt to retake in an unconventional spot for overtaking through turns 3 and 4, it would mark the end of Razgatlioglu’s time in the lead of the race as Bulega stretched his lead by around 0.3 seconds per lap.
At the start of the last lap, Bulega was so far ahead that by the time he swept through the notoriously fast turn 1 at Cremona, Razgatlioglu was not even in the same camera shot on the start-finish straight. Bulega declared this the most important win of his career thus far in World Superbikes and it is hard to see why with all eyes on him and such a crushing performance to rebound from the heartbreak of Assen.
Someone who was unfortunate not to feature in the fight at the front was Sam Lowes, whose P2 on the grid disappeared almost immediately once the race got underway. Lowes slipped down the top 10 in the early stages but after running wide on lap 6 he was consigned to 12th place at the chequered flag.
Alvaro Bautista was in a race of his own in Cremona as he had neither to pace to challenge the front two but more than enough to keep the chasing pack behind. Andrea Iannone spent the majority of the race in 4th but was passed by Iker Lecuona about halfway through.
By the time the Honda rider had made it into 4th following a frighteningly close battle with his teammate Xavi Vierge, the Spaniard was already 7 seconds by Bautista. Rather foolishly, Lecuona pushed too hard for too little of a chance to take 3rd and threw away valuable points for a guaranteed 4th in a self-induced crash on lap 15.
Iannone was left to fend off Vierge and Remy Gardner while Danilo Petrucci tried his best to make progress but could only manage 7th. The Italian rider was unable to repeat his 2024 feats around the Cremona Circuit and started outside the top 10 having been blocked by his compatriot Andrea Locatelli during qualifying (for which the Yamaha rider received a grid penalty and then had an underwhelming race of his own).
Michael van der Mark came home in 9th while Scott Redding split the Bimota duo, then came Lowes in 12th ahead of Dominque Aegeter, Yari Montella and Garrett Gerloff as the last of the points scorers. The Tissot Superpole and Race 2 at the Acerbis Italian Round get underway tomorrow and Bulega looks odds on to make it a hat-trick at home.
It is May 1st, which means we have officially entered the month of May for motorsport! Indy500, Formula One in Miami! For Formula E, however, we are starting at a landmark in the motorsport’s history: Monaco! The famous landmark where a single race event has been held…until now.
Formula E is making history this weekend as we have our first ever DOUBLE HEADER in Monaco! As it is a double header, PIT BOOST RETURNS! Since its debut in Jeddah, Saturday’s race around the close streets will have a mandatory pitstop for all 22 drivers to make to gain an extra 10% of energy.
Weekend Schedule
Round 6 Schedule: All times are in local time. Free Practice 1: 7:30am Free Practice 2: 9:10am Qualifying: 10:40am Monaco E-Prix: 3:05pm
Round 7 Schedule: All times are in local time. Free Practice 3: 8:30am Qualifying: 10:40am Monaco E-Prix: 3pm
Weekend Preview
Formula E Monaco’s Track Map for Season 11,
Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
This 3.337km circuit has been iconic throughout motorsport. However, Formula E has only started racing at the same configuration as Formula 1 for a few years. The tight walls, sharp corners, and difficulty overtaking for certain series make this a very difficult challenge for all 22 drivers, and now the teams have an extra strategy with pit boost.
Round 6 Predictions
Pole Position: Pascal Wehrlein The reigning world champion took victory last time out in Miami after a chaotic final few minutes of that race. I think Wehrlein will take that motivation and confidence that he has in the car and use it to his and his team’s advantage in order to snatch pole position on Saturday! Race Winner: António Félix da Costa Is this a bold choice? Possibly. However, Da Costa has been very strong recently and was on for the win in Miami until the late safety car and red flag ruined his chances. He will be carrying a lot of self-motivation in order to show that he still has what it takes to be at the front and to fight for this title, even after all of the rumors last year of his seat being under threat.
Round 7 Predictions
Pole Position: Taylor Barnard After McLaren announced their departure from the series last week, both McLaren drivers will be ready to make their case for their seat to be theirs; at least Taylor will. Getting a pole at the circuit he made his debut at in Formula E and a debut win in Formula 2 would be a great statement! Race Winner: Taylor Barnard What’s better than getting laid? Winning from pole! Which is what I think will happen on Sunday!
Overall Weekend Predictions
Biggest Surprise of the weekend: Jaguar Jaguar’s season has been horrid. DNFs in multiple races, not many points scored in comparison to their rivals, the reigning team champions have entered a slump. However, with both Cassidy and Evans coming back to a track where they have both won at, I think they’ll take the confidence to score extremely strong points for their team.
Biggest disappointment of the weekend: Nissan. After an optimistic weekend, despite Rowland and Nato scoring fewer points than they should have in Miami, their season hasn’t been bad, as Rowland currently leads the drivers championship. Something in my gut tells me, however, that this will not last forever and this weekend will result in them scoring very few points
Do you have any bold predictions for this weekend? Let us know!
Well, we came to the final day of this event, and it was all looking very good for Kalle and Jonne to take their first win of the year. Toyota were also set for a lockout of the top four positions as well. Of course, it should be mentioned that Sami and Marko would not be returning to the action after their crash in the penultimate Saturday stage twelve. Once again Greg would open the road throughout the day.
First up was SS14 Agüimes – Santa Lucía 1 – 14.97 km and there was drama from the start as Josh went wide and hit a barrier at a third of a way into the stage. He and Eoin were out on the spot sadly. Kalle was again fastest from Seb and Elfyn.
Next up was SS15 Maspalomas 1 – 13.47 km and Kalle again set the fastest time from Elfyn and Thierry was third. Greg gained another position on the leaderboard moving into eleventh overall and was now fifty-four seconds from tenth placed Nikolay Gryazin.
Onto SS16 Costa Canaria – 1.50 km and it was another mickey mouse stage won by Adrien, whilst Seb and Yohan set the same time to go second and third. These silly stages are not rallying and quite honestly utterly pointless.
Seb was fastest in SS17 Agüimes – Santa Lucía 2 – 14.97 km from Elfyn and Kalle. There was a position change as Ott moved into sixth place at the expense of Thierry who had a puncture and lost almost a minute and a quarter.
Onto the final stage then, SS18 Maspalomas 2[Power Stage] – 13.47 km. The top five in the stage and therefore securing power stage points were, Kalle, Seb, Elfyn, Adrien and Thierry. Kalle had secured victory from Seb and Elfyn. Takamoto was fourth meaning that the Toyota team secured the top four positions.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Final Classification – Rally Islas Canarias
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:54:39.8
2
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+53.5
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:17.1
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:02.9
5
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+2:31.0
6
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3:11.4
7
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3:40.7
8
Y. Rossel
A. Dunand
Citroën C3
+7:10.7
9
A. Cachón
B. Rozada
Toyota GR Yaris
+7:40.2
10
N. Gryazin
K. Aleksandrov
Škoda Fabia RS
+7:58.4
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s been a super weekend for us and also the whole team. To get a 1-2-3-4 result like this again is quite amazing. We have just been enjoying the driving. The car has been super-fast, so a big thanks to the whole team for preparing it so well. Jonne has also been doing a great job and we drove well so it’s probably one of my best wins so far. It’s not so often on this level when you can be so consistently fast through the whole weekend. To get maximum points was our goal today and we really needed that. It’s still a big gap to Elfyn but at least we are now a step closer, and we keep working.”
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s an amazing result for the team to lock out the top four. It doesn’t happen every time and we need to be very happy with that. On our side, second place is not my favourite position but it’s still a good one. I think we drove a pretty good rally. I enjoyed it so much; the car was fun to drive and a big thanks to the team for giving us the best tools this weekend. Kalle and Jonne were untouchable but it’s still a very positive weekend for us, securing maximum points for the team.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a great weekend from the team with an incredible performance from the GR YARIS Rally1. A big thank you to the team who’ve done a great job understanding the challenges of this rally, preparing the car and adapting to the new tyres. A big well done to Kalle because he had pace that nobody else could match this weekend, and well done to Seb also. I’m not wholly satisfied of course to have been a bit behind them and not fight for the win with equal machinery, but it’s still good points and we have to be relatively pleased with that.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“I’m very proud to be part of such an amazing result for the team. A big thanks to everyone in the team for preparing the car so well. It’s been such a nice car to drive all weekend, and this is why we could finish 1-2-3-4 on such a new and different rally that we haven’t been to before. On my side it would have been nice if we could have finished even higher, but it’s been a good rally for us with no big moments, and I will focus now on the next one to keep improving.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Adrien Fourmaux
“While there are some positives from the weekend, such as that amazing final stage and winning our inter-team battle, for sure it is not what we wanted. Sometimes in difficult rallies like this you can learn a lot and take steps forward for the future – I’m confident in the team that we can do that. We managed to take some points, which is good, but we will keep pushing to come back stronger.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Rally Islas Canarias 24-27 April 2025 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak
“It’s difficult to find the words to describe such a demanding weekend. I think it’s the worst we’ve been across all three crews, with none of us able to compete at the front. It is tricky when it is hot, as I get more understeer, and when the car is not working I really struggled to push. We didn’t do our homework and we weren’t prepared for this event, and Toyota set the bar very high – it was a great job from them.”
Thierry Neuville
“It hasn’t been a good weekend for us. We struggled a lot, and even though we were working hard to fix the situation, everything we tried didn’t seem to work. We still need to put our finger on what has caused these issues for us and come back stronger. Nevertheless, the team kept fighting despite all our struggles; we weren’t lucky with the puncture today, otherwise we might have got a reasonable result. We expected much more from this weekend, and we didn’t get it.”
M-Sport Ford
Grégoire Munster
“Although we learnt a lot in our pre-event test, sadly we still got something wrong and once we are here with sealed mechanical components we can’t really do much to try and solve it. Sometimes that’s just how it is, but we never gave up all weekend and we kept trying to find solutions. Certainly, we don’t have the result we wanted to achieve, but we didn’t give up and that’s the most important thing. I’m looking forward to bouncing back on gravel in Portugal in only a couple of weeks.
“Thanks must go out to the organisers for such a well organised event; it is amazing to see how many fans came out to watch us. It made the weekend incredibly enjoyable, even if the stages were a challenge.”
Romet Jürgenson
“The rally on Friday sadly ended quite quickly for us, we missed a whole day and after that it was quite difficult to get the confidence back for Saturday. But once we got out there it got better, and then I think especially on the Power Stage I felt quite ok. There’s a lot more to learn and a lot to improve on, but I think for our second Rally2 event on Tarmac we can be satisfied. It’s just this kind of pure racetrack tarmac, for me, is really new but it has been a really good experience for us.”
Josh McErlean, Retired Sunday
“This island has produced many memories! It’s been difficult from the start; we began to make small progress over the three days with the whole package. It’s a big shame what happened today, a little too ambitious pacenote meant we carried too much speed and ran wide into an armco. I’m sorry for the whole team for this mistake. We have learnt a lot about the car and my own driving this weekend. I look forward to getting back on the gravel now and into more familiar territory, everything should come a little more naturally and we can push on from here.”
Oliver Solberg
“Experience and a deeper understanding of how the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 works on dry Tarmac was what we’re all about here. I take much more confidence away from the event.
“Today was really cool, really nice. We were winning a lot of stages, which was great given how close the fight was at the front of the WRC2 class. We’ve worked a lot with the set-up for the car and today showed what’s possible – Elliott and I were really enjoying the driving and having so much fun.
“The whole Printsport team has done such a good job with the car, like always and the same with Elliott on the notes.
“The speed on these roads from these cars is fantastic. What’s also been great this week is the atmosphere. I know we talk a lot about how much we love to see the fans and interact with them on events, but it’s really what our sport’s about – we have to take it to the people.
“On Saturday night, the spectator stage went into the Gran Canaria Arena, and we actually did some donuts in the middle of a basketball court – the whole place was packed with thousands of people. It was just fantastic.
“OK, we didn’t get the chance to actually look and see the faces from the fans, but you could really feel the noise inside the car.
“Now, we turn to the gravel rallies through the middle of the season. Portugal is next and that’s a very, very different event to this one – but definitely one of the highlights of the year.”
Next rally is in Portugal from the 15 to the 18 of May.
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 4
1
E. Evans
109
2
K. Rovanperä
66
3
T. Neuville
59
4
S. Ogier
58
5
O. Tänak
57
6
A. Fourmaux
44
7
T. Katsuta
39
8
S. Pajari
19
9
G. Munster
16
10
M. Sesks
8
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 4
Winning at Jerez is the dream for every Spanish rider. This year, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) turned that dream into reality, making the leap from passionate spectator to home hero. Dominating the Moto3™ race from start to finish, Rueda delivered an emotional victory in front of a raucous Andalusian crowd that was no doubt packed with his family, friends, and fans.
Starting from pole, Rueda wasted no time seizing the holeshot, leading the field into Turn 1 with the determination of a rider racing not just for points, but for pride. Early chaos, however, unfolded behind him: at Turn 6 on the opening lap, Ruche Moodley (DENSII Racing – BOE) clashed with David Almansa (Leopard Racing) and David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP), two separate incidents converging into one messy moment. Muñoz, already facing a back-of-the-grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line during qualifying, remounted and rejoined but was left with a mountain to climb.
Image Credit: PirelliMoto press release
The drama didn’t stop there. Lap 2 saw more casualties as Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team), Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA), and Cormac Buchanan (DENSII Racing – BOE) all crashed out separately — underlining just how dirty the track was offline. Buchanan was able to remount and continue, but the early attrition was already reshaping the race.
Out front, Rueda was untouchable. Setting a relentless pace, he began to edge away from the chasing duo of Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), the three riders creating a clear gap back to Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), who rode lonely races in fourth and fifth.
Just past the halfway mark, Rueda fired in the fastest lap of the race, daring his rivals to keep up. Piqueras responded, launching a move on Kelso into Turn 1 on Lap 13. However, in his haste to close the gap to the leader, the #36 ran wide, handing second place straight back to Kelso and allowing Rueda to extend his lead to over 1.5 seconds.
Image Credit: PirelliMoto Press release
From there, the race was Rueda’s to lose — and he showed no signs of cracking. Calm and composed, he ticked off the final laps and crossed the line to achieve a lifelong dream: a dominant, emotional victory on home soil at Jerez.
The battle for second wasn’t over, though. On the final lap, Piqueras made another attempt, attacking Kelso at Turns 5 and 6. This time he made it stick, securing a Spanish 1-2 and sending the home crowd into celebration. The pair enjoyed a special moment together on their slow-down lap, saluting the fans at Turns 9 and 10.
Kelso claimed third — his second podium of the season — while Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) produced a strong second half of the race to snatch fourth from Yamanaka. Furusato finished a solid sixth, followed by a career-best result for rookie Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) in seventh. Fellow JuniorGP™ graduate Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finished eighth, while Jacob Roulstone and Valentin Perrone (both Red Bull KTM Tech3) completed the top ten, overcoming Long Lap penalties received for qualifying infractions.
Onto day two then and with 124km’s over seven stages, what would the day hold? The Puma’s of M-Sport would open the road with Josh first into the stages followed by Greg, whilst rally leader Kalle would be last of the top cars to complete.
First up then was SS7 Moya – Gáldar 1 – 24.09 km and Seb was second fastest to Kalle by just one second, whilst Elfyn kept his consistent run going third fastest. Adrien was back to being the fastest of the Hyundai crews going fifth fastest and passing both his teammates and moving into sixth overall.
Next came SS8 Arucas – Firgas – Teror 1 – 13.75 km and Kalle was fastest again from Seb and Elfyn. The three of them continued to hold the podium positions and there were no changes to the top positions at all.
The final morning stage then, SS9 Tejeda – San Mateo 1 – 23.30 km and Kalle continued to dominate the top of the timesheets taking another stage win from Seb and Takamoto this time. Adrien was still the top Hyundai driver, holding sixth. The Frenchman was actually pulling away from his two world champion teammates, who were really struggling.
After the service break came SS10 Moya – Gáldar 2 – 24.09 km and Kalle was fastest from Seb and Sami this time. The times were coming very easily for Kalle and Jonne and no-one could get close.
Next up was SS11 Arucas – Firgas – Teror 2 – 13.75 km and Kalle made it eleven stage wins in a row. Seb and Elfyn remained second and third fastest, just two seconds behind their teammate. There was drama for Greg and Louis who slid wide on a right-hander, and they lost over three minutes whilst some spectators helped them return to them to the road.
The final proper stage then of the day, SS12 Tejeda – San Mateo 2 – 23.30 km and there was some more drama as Sami who was setting a very high pace went wide on a left-hander and collided with a roadside barrier. This led to heavy damage to the right-hand front of the car and put the car out for the remainder of the day. Kalle was fastest from Elfyn this time and Seb was third. Of course, with the retirement of Sami, everyone behind gained a single position with Takamoto now holding fourth place overall.
Finally, to the last stage of the day, SS13 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – 1.80 km and Elfyn set the pace, eclipsing Seb and Thierry. We finally had a different stage winner, but to be honest these kinds of stages are complete nonsense, and not rallying.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:22:17.3
2
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+45.2
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:08.1
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:43.9
5
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+2:09.6
6
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+2:15.2
7
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+2:37.3
8
Y. Rossel
A. Dunand
Citroën C3
+5:45.9
9
A. Cachón
B. Rozada
Toyota GR Yaris
+6:04.7
10
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+6:12.3
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“Everything has been going really well again today. The stages had a bit of a different style to yesterday and in the first two I was maybe not so comfortable, but I really enjoyed the third one that was more flowing. The afternoon was especially good: we made some really small changes to the car, and it felt even better, which was nice. I hope we can have the same feeling tomorrow and that everything continues to come comfortably, because we would need to try and take as many points as we can.”
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s been good fun to drive the car on these beautiful roads again today. Again, Kalle has had something more than the rest of us, but I could achieve my main target to be secure in P2. We have been making some good adjustments on the car and the balance has been suiting me better and better. Now we need to continue like this tomorrow, which will be an important day because we need to make use of this pace and collect some more points for the team.”
Elfyn Evans
“This morning the car felt a bit better than yesterday, but we didn’t really seem to gain any time from it. It’s been a bit frustrating not to be fighting closer to the front, but Kalle and Seb have just been a bit faster than us. We were trying to be clean, and the pace was OK. We will try to improve and be ready for tomorrow. You have to try to grab every opportunity for points, so we just have to focus on driving well, doing a good job and trying to bring home some points.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today was much better than yesterday. We definitely made a step forward. I was quite happy with the car. I feel sorry for Sami that he had to stop because he was doing a very good job. Now I just need to keep focused tomorrow from the first stage and keep pushing. I hope to find a bit more comfort and a bit more pace, but I don’t think we need to change too much.”
Sami Pajari
“We were having another nice and clean day. The pace was coming naturally, and it was enjoyable in the car. Unfortunately, in SS12 we were a bit too fast in one long corner. I’m not sure what happened because I think I did the same that I did in the morning, but we simply had too much speed and hit the fence. It’s always a pity if things go this way but if we are starting to match the times of the top drivers, then things like this can happen easily. We just need to get back out there tomorrow and try to continue where we left off.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Adrien Fourmaux
“We are still missing some performance, but I was really enjoying this afternoon when the balance was ok on the stages. We don’t really know what to expect tomorrow; it will be a big challenge for us. Everything has to go perfect, and while there are a few things we could change, it is also a gamble. We are certainly going to try everything we can to score as many points as possible.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Rally Islas Canarias 2025 24-27 April 2025 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“This afternoon went much better than this morning; we had a good balance with the car, and I was starting to enjoy my driving. I think we’ve done a good job, and I’m satisfied with it. While we never stop hoping that we can make up more positions, realistically it will be very difficult to do that tomorrow, but we are going to go for points – there is still a lot to play for.”
Ott Tänak
“The first stage of the loops was the most tricky today, but it was possible to slightly enjoy the second and third stages. The roads are really nice to drive on the inside of the car, although the story from the outside is quite different. We were blind testing some changes, but the engineers had some good ideas, and step by step we were making some improvements.”
Oliver Solberg
“What a stage and what a day that was,” smiled the 23-year-old on Saturday night.
“The atmosphere in that final stage – especially the section inside the Arena – was something else. I think everybody knows I love doing a donut, so the chance to do a couple in front of a packed crowd on a basketball court was super cool!
“The rest of the day has been good. We’ve achieved what we wanted: we’re learning lots about this car and what it can do on dry Tarmac. I’m pleased with the progress we’re making – of course we’re not running for points in WRC2 and we’re not at the maximum speed, but we’re taking lots of experience.”
Sunday
The final day will see the crew tackle 58km’s over five stages. Kalle looks likely to take his first victory of the year, whilst his teammate, Elfyn is likely to extend his lead in the world championship over his closest rival Thierry.
Today’s sprint race in Jerez may not have been the most dramatic or exciting race, thanks to a lack of on-track action, but the attending crowd didn’t care. They made it known that their home hero had won, making it another Marquez 1-2.
Marc Marquez is used to accolades, awards and records. Today, he has added another one to the list as he becomes the first rider to win 5 consecutive sprint races. The adoring crowd were clearly thrilled with the result, and the noise of their support became deafening before the checkered flag had even fallen.
He was joined on the podium, which took place at the stadium section of the track, by his younger brother Alex Marquez. Alex had looked incredibly fast during practice sessions but a big crash on Friday afternoon left him needing to reset before Saturday’s action.
The two brothers were dancing together during the podium, and rousing the crowd as they soaked up their celebrations.
The final podium finisher was Pecco Bagnaia who, despite being all smiles during the podium, told media he “needed to improve”.
It has been a rollercoaster day for Fabio Quartararo. He took a stunning pole position earlier today and enjoyed the lead for the first lap. Sadly, when Marc Marquez put the pressure on him, he went out wide onto the dirty part of the track. The lack of grip sent the bike sliding out from underneath him and he ended his day early in the gravel.
Final kudos of the day go to Franco Morbidelli, who came back from a huge crash in warm-up to take 5th in the sprint, and Maverick Vinales, who dragged his KTM machine to an impressive 6th.
As It Happened
As the lights went out at the start, poleman Fabio Quartararo was instantly having to fight off home hero Marc Marquez, who overtook him to take 1st before they reached turn 1. Quartararo fought back at the first corner and reclaimed the lead. It was a beautiful battle between two class riders.
Alex Marquez had a great start and quickly claimed 3rd place from Pecco Bagnaia, who was quickly under pressure from Franco Morbidelli. Further back, rookie Fermin Aldguer claimed 6th from Maverick Vinales. A few corners later, Aldguer lost the rear of his bike at turn 11 – he somehow kept the bike upright, showing skills beyond his rookie experience. He lost time and fell back to Vinales and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who put him under pressure.
On the second lap, just as Quatartararo was looking comfortable, Marc Marquez came up alongside him showing the speed difference between the Ducati and Yamaha. As they entered turn 6, Fabio went wide as Marquez claimed the lead, putting him out on the dirty part of the track. This prematurely ended his race as he lost grip and the bike went down into the gravel.
With two laps completed, we now have Marc leading from his brother Alex with a 0.4s gap between them. Bagnaia was a further 0.8 seconds behind him, having fended off the challenge from Morbidelli. Di Giannantonio was now in 6th, ahead of Vinales, with Aldeguer still able to hold them off and keep 6th.
Alex Marquez, who had been very fast in practice sessions, was unable to bring the fight to his brother, and the whole field settled into their rhythm. The rest of the sprint race went on without drama.
The only action for the rest of the race came on lap 5, when Jack Miller went down at turn 6 and then Johann Zarco who went down at turn 2 on lap 6.
Everything was calm for the rest of the race and Marc Marquez was able to cruise on the final few laps, thanks to building a 1.3 second gap to 2nd place.
