It’s normal before a season starts to make predictions. Some are obvious, and often predictable, while others are outlandish, frivolous or even considered an outside bet. However, I can say with absolute certainty, that Aron Taylor-Smith will win a race in the forthcoming British Touring Car Championship season.
While there are 30 races in a season, it doesn’t seem too bold a claim to say he’ll win at least one, but it’s worth remembering the ability the BTCC class of ‘25 possesses. Reigning champion Jake Hill, as well as the likes of Tom Ingram, Ash Sutton, Dan Cammish and the return of three-time champion Gordon Shedden among others, mean the possibility of taking the chequered flag will be harder than ever.
So why am I so certain ATS will add to his four-win tally this season?
The popular Irishman has joined the works Toyota team for 2025, having left Power Maxed Racing. It’s the first manufacturer drive of his BTCC career, having made his debut in 2011. He’s always raced for independently backed teams, and last season saw Taylor-Smith secure the Independents title at a canter. ATS has made a habit of showing his capability to fight with the big boys, but now he joins the very teams he’s been fighting for years.
In recent years he’s become something of an expert in defensive driving. In an ageing Vauxhall Astra, ATS has been performing above expectations, regularly in the top ten among newer, arguably faster machinery. While earning high qualifying positions, Taylor-Smith had to scrap and fight for points. In spite of this, he was clearly successful, he earned two podiums at Oulton Park and Donington, and finished in the points in all 30 rounds in 2024.
His new steed, the proven Toyota Corolla, has race-winning pedigree, and with a speedy Irishman behind the wheel, it’s a formula bound for success.
‘Absolute Confidence’
ATS himself has ‘absolute confidence’ in the team and sees ‘no reason at all’ why he can’t be fighting for wins, and even the title.
“Having spent the past two years trying to beat the manufacturer-backed cars, it’ll be a surreal feeling to be amongst them,” the 35 year old commented. “That just spurs me on even more to put on a show. I’ve only ever wanted a chance to fight for the overall BTCC title, and I firmly believe that joining forces with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK gives me the perfect platform and environment to create that opportunity.”
His new team, Speedworks Motorsport, were responsible for Toyota’s return to the BTCC in 2019 after a 24 year absence. They introduced the Corolla, with Tom Ingram at the wheel. In its debut season, Ingram picked up four wins on his way to sixth in the standings. Since then, the Corolla’s secured 13 wins for Ingram, Rory Butcher, Aiden Moffat, Rob Huff and Josh Cook.
Toyota will field four Corollas this season, with Taylor-Smith being joined by one-time race winner Ronan Pearson, rookie James Dorlin, and the aforementioned Gordon Shedden no less. The latter making his much anticipated return to the grid after three years away.
The signing of Shedden outlines Toyota’s intentions for the new year, and the Japanese manufacturer will be gunning for success. Their stable is full of drivers with front wheel drive experience, and with an intriguing grid taking shape, I’m certain Toyota’s next visit to the top of the rostrum, will be with ATS.
Toprak Razgatlioglu added victories in the Tissot Superpole and Race 2 in Portimao to become the 2nd rider this season to secure a treble of victories in one round. However, much like in Race 1 Nicolo Bulega ran him incredibly close after the Turkish rider didn’t do himself any favours with his race starts.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE
As with Race 1 on Saturday, Bulega got the hole shot into turn 1, powering ahead of Razgatlioglu who this time slipped to 3rd. Danilo Petrucci spent exactly one lap ahead of Razgatlioglu, passing him at the first corner on lap 1 and losing the position at the same spot on lap 2.
On lap 5, Bulega lost the lead to Razgatlioglu at turn 3 in a move that the Turkish rider had visibly been setting up for some time. Just after the lead changed hands, just outside the top three Bulega’s teammate Alvaro Bautista passed Andrea Locatelli for fourth.
As the 10-lap race entered its second half Bulega tried his best to keep pace with Razgatlioglu as Bautista hunted down Petrucci for 3rd. The factory Ducati rider passed the satellite one with 2 laps to go, after which there was no time for the two-time World Champion to catch the leaders.
At least Bautista was able to demonstrate the pace that he could not show on Saturday after contact with Scott Redding in Race 1. Another rider on the back foot from the previous day – Alex Lowes – did a great job to scythe through from the back of the field but could not make it into the top 10 within 10 laps, thus leaving him unable to change his grid position for Race 2.
Meanwhile, behind Locatelli in fifth the other BMW of Michael van der Mark was able to despatch the Honda pair of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge towards the end. Despite this, the Japanese manufacturer was enjoying a decent turn of pace, with its recent switch of suspension supplier possibly helping with their upturn in form.
Up front, the only time Bulega looked genuinely threatening against Razgatlioglu in the second half of the race was right at the very end. Coming through turn 14 and the long turn 15 onto the start-finish straight Bulega rapidly closed on Razgatlioglu but had to change from the outside to the inside as they approached the chequered flag.
The positioning of his BMW on the final blast to the line have secured Razgatlioglu his first Tissot Superpole Race victory of the year by just 0.055 seconds. Much like Race 1, it was clear that Bulega was capable of taking the fight to Razgatlioglu on the circuit that is notorious for being a favourite of the Turk, and hopes were high for another close tussle in Race 2.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
Image Credit: WorldSBK
RACE 2
This time around, Razgatlioglu only lost one position from pole by turn 1. Bulega led from his BMW rival and Aruba.it Racing teammate Bautista.
Locatelli held off Razgatlioglu’s teammate van der Mark for fourth while an entertaining battle for positions six through nine kicked off between Andrea Iannone, Remy Gardner and the Honda duo. However, this action was thwarted after Iannone received a double long-lap penalty for jumping the start, with the Italian taking the first of these on lap 5.
Shortly after Vierge crashed out, as did Tito Rabat further down the order. Up front, Bulega continued to lead from Razgatlioglu and they began to put as much as 0.7 seconds a lap between themselves and Bautista who simply had to settle for third best.
The laptimes of the top two as the race edged towards halfway were as quick as the pole position laps from last year, which illustrates both how dominant the two were around the Algarve International Circuit and how much the speed of their respective superbikes increases year-on-year. Inevitably, as the race reached halfway Razgatlioglu began to close in on his Bulega as he sought to take the treble in Portimao but with 11 laps to go his charge was halted.
Jason O’Halloran (in for the injured Jonathan Rea) went down at turn 1 and was seemingly OK after the impact. However, his Pata Maxus Yamaha careered into the air fence on the outside of the run-off area and the race was halted with a red flag.
This created opportunities for a couple of riders, most notably Scott Redding and Alex Lowes. Just before the red flag Redding had trundled into the pits with a technical problem but just made it back onto the grid before the restart after the issue with his MGM Bonovo Ducati was solved, while Lowes finally started a race from a better position this weekend having made his way to 13th by the time of the stoppage.
The WorldSBK stewards announced a quick-restart procedure after the air-fence was inspected and repaired after not too long of a delay, but there was pandemonium at the Team Pata Go Eleven pits.
Iannone had not served his second long-lap penalty, which can be taken with six laps of the punishment being awarded. His team tried to argue for their rider’s sake and Iannone avoided disqualification the regulations demanded he serve a double ride-through penalty for failing to observe the double long-lap.
Four penalties for jumping the start put paid to Iannone’s race and his gesticulations as he came through the pits shortly after his passing his main independent rival Petrucci clearly demonstrated his frustration with the decision. After barely accelerating after coming out of the pits, the Italian rider eventually came back in and retired in a slightly selfish move considering that he could have collected some data for his engineers in clear air over the remaining few laps, but his anger got the better of him.
The remaining laps of the restarted race essentially represented a full points-paying event but constrained to the length of a Superpole race. Razgatlioglu – for the fourth time this weekend – lost out to Bulega on the run to turn 1 and also slipped behind a fast-starting Locatelli who powered through from fourth on the grid.
Naturally Razgatlioglu made short work of Locatelli who – like Petrucci at the first start – stayed ahead of the BMW for precisely one lap. By the following lap, Razgatlioglu made a sensational move on Bulega into turn 1, forcing his rival to sit up as he went through the apex of the corner as the BMW bulldozed him off his line.
At the same time, Locatelli fell back to fourth after Bautista passed him and quickly resettled into his own comfortable gap between the top two and the Yamaha behind. There was a brief moment in the following lap where Bulega returned the favour on Razgatlioglu and allowed Bautista to close up, but the two-time WorldSBK title winner had no real answer for his teammate or the reigning champion’s race pace.
Razgatlioglu was back through on lap 15 of 20, after which the lead changed four times over the next three laps. Further down the order, Tarran MacKenzie and Remy Gardner both crashed out while Axel Bassani engaged in a thrilling battle with Danilo Petrucci for 6th place – the latter securing the position right on the finish line on the final lap.
The fight between the top two remained on a knife-edge until the very end although Razgatlioglu just held on to take his first triple victory of the season after Bulega did so at the 1st round in Phillip Island. The Ducati rider still holds a comfortable championship lea thanks to three wins and three second places from six races across the first two rounds of 2025 as WorldSBK next heads to Assen in the Netherlands in two weeks’ time.
Razgatlioglu may have felt like World Superbikes had become the ‘Ducati Cup’ after the drubbing he suffered in Australia, but his performance in Portugal reignited his and everyone else’s hope that this will be a tight contest between the BMW rider and the two Aruba Ducati’s this season. However, Bulega might feel that he lost the battle but is winning the war, given how close he could run his rival on a track that has always been a particularly strong venue for Razgatlioglu.
The Moto2 Americas GP witnessed the first wet race for the class at the Circuit of The Americas, bringing a wave of uncertainty to the grid as riders debated between slicks and wet tyres. In the end, the wet tyre proved to be the winning choice, with Jake Dixon delivering a dominant performance from start to finish. Meanwhile, the five riders who gambled on slicks paid a heavy price, most notably then-championship leader Manuel Gonzalez, who struggled to 22nd place.
Fresh off his victory in Argentina, Jake Dixon has made it two in a row, clinching another dominant win at the Grand Prix of the Americas. The British rider was unstoppable in the challenging conditions, leading from start to finish and further strengthening his grip on the 2025 Moto2 World Championship.
Tony Arbolino made a strong return to the Moto2 podium by claiming second place. Completing the all-Boscoscuro podium was Alonso Lopez, who delivered a solid ride to finish third on the Team HDR Heidrun machine.
Aron Canet was unable to match Dixon’s pace, crossing the line in fourth place, massive 28 seconds behind the race winner. Meanwhile, Izan Guevara showcased his talent in the tricky conditions, securing an impressive fifth-place finish for the BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 squad.
Unfortunately Celestino Vietti crashed out of 5th place with 2 laps to go. The day only got worse for him, as immediately after he rejoined, he crashed moments later…
Dixon’s commanding performance solidifies his status as a true title contender, showcasing the best version of Jake Dixon we’ve seen yet.
After a frustrating start to the defence of his Superbike World Championship title in Phillip Island five weeks ago, Toprak Razgatlioglu broke the lap record in Portimao to secure pole position before scoring a narrow victory over his main rival Nicolo Bulega in race 1. Although there were not quite as many changes of positions as Razgatlioglu has experienced with Alvaro Bautista in the past, the lead changed hands several times between the BMW and his Ducati nemesis before the Turkish rider crossed the line just 0.067 seconds in front.
Things got off to a bad start for Razgatlioglu as he fell to fifth by the first corner. A few seconds later, two of his Ducati-powered rivals crashed out as Bautista and Scott Redding came to blows as the field bunched up through turns 3 and 4, with Remy Gardner involved as well but surviving the contact.
There were six teams being represented in the top eight positions after the first lap. Bulega broke free at the front of the Ducati-dominated pack with Andrea Locatelli in an impressive second for Yamaha and Razgtlioglu on his BMW the only riders from different marques in the front eight.
Razgatlioglu is notoriously strong around the Algarve International Circuit and the Turkish rider began to plot his way back through to the front. His first victim was Danilo Petrucci who he swooped over the crest to pass around the outside in a sensational move before dispatching Sam Lowes and Locatelli by around one-quarter race distance.
It was not long before the reigning World Champion reeled in Bulega and the two began a 15-lap battle for the win that never looked certain until it was over. A common theme across the position changes for the lead would be Razgatlioglu leading into turn 14 before Bulega deployed his slightly superior Ducati power through the long turn 15 to blast ahead by turn one on the following lap.
The fight was fairer this time around for Razgatlioglu compared to when he was riding for the slower Yamaha against Bautista’s Ducati before his switch to BMW, with their 2023 battles around the Portimao track living long in the memory of all those blessed to witness it. However, Razgatlioglu still had to push as hard as he could to defeat a defiant Bulega in the sweltering Portugese Saturday afternoon sunshine.
The Ducati held a 2mph advantage on the BMW and it was at the end of the long straight on lap seven that Bulega first took his lead straight back from Razgatioglu, before Toprak finally cemented the lead for a while after an agressive move at turn 12 on lap 9.
Bulega was back in front briefly with a late move at the end of the start-finish straight on lap 10 but Razgatlioglu was back in front as the circuit tightened into turn 3 and the Ducati ran wide. However, Bulega made a move stick into turn one once again on lap 14.
This lead for Bulega lasted three laps before Razgatlioglu then finally got the better of the Ducati into turn one. Then came one last successful retaliation from Bulega with two laps to go before his Turkish rival once again got him back quickly and held onto win by 0.067 across the line at the end of a thrilling 20 laps.
There were just 17 riders who took the chequered flag. Both of the Lowes brothers crashed out while running strongly with Sam eliminating himself from the top five not long after being moved aside by a charging Razgatlioglu and Alex sliding out of ninth place after a stellar recovery from the back of the grid (after an incident in qualifying) that came to nought.
The TV footage seldom focused on the action further down the grid as the top two stretched their lead on the rest of the pack despite passing and re-passing each other. Locatelli was thrilled to take his and Yamaha’s first podium of the year – some eight seconds behind the two leaders and just one in front of top independent rider Petrucci.
Seven seconds behind Petrucci in fourth just five seconds then covered the rest of the top ten, with Gardner’s Yamaha being usurped on the run to the finish line by three of his rivals to end up in tenth. There should be more action to look forward to in tomorrow’s pair of races starting with the 10-lap Superpole, but Bulega will need to pray the BMW on pole messes up the start once again if he is to stand any chance of defeating the rejuvenated Razgatlioglu.
Confirmation of the news that no one in F1 has been waiting for came on Thursday morning, as Red Bull announced that Yuki Tsunoda will replace Liam Lawson in the senior team.
Lawson will drive for Racing Bulls, the team he drove for in 11 races across two part season spells in 2023 and 2024, and returns after twice qualifying last at the Sprint weekend Chinese Grand Prix and 18th at the Australian Grand Prix, while crashing in the race in Australia and finishing 15th on the road in Shanghai.
Tsunoda gets his chance after over four seasons and 89 starts with the Red Bull junior team in the guises of Alpha Tauri, VCARB and Racing Bulls.
Red Bull are renowned for their ruthless handling of their young driver programme. Just ask Pierre Gasly, who in 2019 got half a season and despite obvious improvement in the junior team was never again considered for the senior team.
Even for Red Bull though, two races is a new low.
Not since Yuji Ide’s infamous four race spell for Super Aguri in 2006, where he lost his superlicense when three dreadful flyaway races were followed by the Japanese flipping Christijan Albers at the San Marino Grand Prix, has a stated permanent drive gone so wrong, so quickly.
Lawson will get a chance to go again.
What’s changed?
Much has and will be made of the decision to replace Lawson, a driver Red Bull believed had the mental fortitude to be teammate to four-time World Champion Max Verstappen with Tsunoda, who not three months ago was not believed to have the mentality to be able to cope with the same role he’s now been thrust into.
Team Principal Christian Horner said of Tsunoda when announcing the switch: “Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car.”
When announcing Lawson’s move to Red Bull, Horner said: “Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.”
Contrast that with this week:
“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together we see that, after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”
How times change.
Red Bull’s muddled thinking
On the face of it, Red Bull have, completely by themselves, got the worst of both worlds.
The reality is worse than that.
When all meaningful metrics – race finishes, points, qualifying points – pointed to Tsunoda being the right choice to replace the shredded Sergio Perez for 2025, Red Bull chose Lawson based on being a “real racer” and other intangibles.
It then gave Lawson a full pre-season and two races in a car that, while tricky, is better than the New Zealander has been able to show at two tracks he’d not driven on before pulling the trigger.
In taking Tsunoda out of the Racing Bulls frying pan and throwing into the Red Bull fire this early on, it is giving Tsunoda almost a full season in a car notorious for being difficult to adapt to, while wasting the chance to ease him in and help the Japanese prepare with pre-season testing.
Tsunoda’s most recent meaningful time in a Red Bull was at the end of season test at Abu Dhabi last year.
He has carried on what was an impressive end to last season in 2025, and would have scored points in both Grands Prix were it not for poor strategy calls from Racing Bulls, after a 6th in the Chinese Sprint.
However, promotion to Red Bull this soon in the season with the media interest that will generate, plus the adaptation process that will inevitably come with joining a new team, in time for his home race will bring a pressure he hasn’t previously been under.
His fiery personality and some expletive-laden radio exchanges are ultimately what led to doubts at Red Bull about his ability to cope with pressure.
It is worth remembering that despite outshining every teammate since Gasly left for Alpine, Tsunoda was Red Bull’s third choice for this seat.
The team brought Daniel Ricciardo back to what was then Alpha Tauri for a shootout to join the senior team in the second half of 2023 before injury hampered his comeback.
A slow start to the 2024 season made Red Bull realise that the Australian – the first choice to replace Perez – was not the same driver as the daring, late-braking and often rabbit-out-of-hat driver that deposed Sebastian Vettel as team leader before leaving for Renault in 2019.
Masking a fundamental issue
The decision to drop Lawson and the circus around Red Bull’s second seat should not detract from the fact that since design genius Adrian Newey left Red Bull almost a year ago, they have gone backwards in competitiveness.
Verstappen won the World Championship with two weekends to spare in 2024, but he won just two of the last 14 races and one of those was at the wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
The Dutchman has hinted that Red Bull have the fourth fastest car, repeatedly criticised the car’s balance and even hinted that Racing Bulls may have a faster car.
While the car is obviously better than Lawson has shown and should score points at every weekend, Verstappen has more than maximised the car’s potential and taken advantage of quicker rivals falling by the wayside.
Verstappen, the last true success of Red Bull’s once fabled young driver programme, is believed to view the decision to drop Lawson as the wrong call, and the fundamental issue is with the RB21 and not the second driver.
While in part that may be a Formula One driver talking up his own performance, the evidence backs up Verstappen’s view.
If finally giving Tsunoda a chance backfires, it will once and for all expose a team in complete disarray.
Just a few stages left then to decide this seasons Safari Rally. Adrien and Alex returned to the action in their Hyundai and would open the road throughout the six stages. There would be extra points to grab for the final day as well.
First up was SS17 Mzabibu 2 – 8.27 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Kalle. Rally leader Elfyn was fourth and just bringing it home holding a one minute and fifty-one second lead over Ott. Worthy mention for Oliver in his Rally2 Yaris who was fifth fastest and ahead of a few Rally1 cars. This was impressive! Despite Kalle’s good pace he’s suffered another puncture. He also needed to change a part in the engine bay following the stage.
Onto SS18 Oserengoni 1 – 18.33 km and before the stage started we had a retirement in the shape of Kalle as he did not make it to the start of the stage. Takamoto was fastest from Adrien and Thierry. With the retirement of Kalle, Sami moved into fifth place.
Time then for stage SS19 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km and Adrien was fastest from Thierry and Takamoto. You could tell that this was not just a normal stage as Josh had a close call with a herd of zebra! The Irishman did well to finish the stage in sixth and continued to hold eleventh overall.
After a short service break came SS20 Oserengoni 2 – 18.33 km and Takamoto was fastest in this one from Adrien and Thierry. Elfyn continued to hold the top spot and just had one stage left.
Into SS21 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and Adrien set the pace in this one from Thierry, Ott was third, Greg fourth and Sami fifth. There was drama for Takamoto early in the stage as he spun on a right-hander leading to a slow roll. Thankfully there were a few spectators nearby and once the car was back on it’s wheels they got underway again. They completed the stage, but there were huge questions about the possibility he would make it back to the service park. The car was not working well at all. All of this meant that Sami was now into fourth place. The podium looked like this however with Thierry third, Ott in second and Elfyn took victory, the first for a Brit since Colin won for Ford in 2002.
Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Safari Rally Kenya Final Classification
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
4:20:03.8
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:09.9
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3:32.0
4
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+7:18.7
5
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+11:35.3
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia RS
+14:11.6
7
J. Solans
R. Sanjuan
Toyota GR Yaris
+17:26.6
8
J. Serderidis
F. Miclotte
Ford Puma Rally1
+28:45.5
9
F. Zaldivar
M. Der Ohannesian
Škoda Fabia RS
+35:38.8
10
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+37:15.8
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s amazing to have won this rally. It’s not quite sunk in fully yet but the Safari Rally is a special event to win. A huge well done to the team, who work very hard to give us an amazing car, and I’m proud to be a very small part of Toyota’s great history on this rally. It’s been a massively demanding weekend, probably the most extreme Safari we’ve seen since we’ve been coming here, and the weather added an extra twist on Saturday. It was not easy to manage the final day, having quite a big lead and needing to bring it home. There was the temptation of extra points to play for on Sunday, but in the circumstances it was important to get the car to the finish, and I’m very happy at the end of it.”
Sami Pajari
“It is really a big relief to cross the finish line, which was our only plan for the whole rally. It has been quite a long week, from the recce and through four days of rallying. It can be quite exhausting, but we managed it quite well. There were no big mistakes or issues, which is exactly what we wanted from this event, so I can be super pleased with that. I’m happy for the team to have won this rally once again and with the experience we gained here, we can be even stronger next time.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been a difficult weekend, but we hoped to still try and take some good points from the final day. Everything was fine in the first stage this morning but on the road section to the next stage, we started to see some electrical issues on the car. We tried to fix them, but we couldn’t make it happen in the end and we had to retire from the rally. It’s really disappointing to leave without any points, but we will go again in the next rally.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“I’m devastated to end the rally in this way. Near the start of the Power Stage, we had a half spin, we caught the inside bank and then we started to roll. It was a very unexpected thing, and I don’t know exactly what happened. It has been a very difficult rally and of course I had to try to push, and this kind of thing can always happen. But I’m just very, very sorry for the team.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“Really happy with the result today. A difficult and demanding weekend, but we are happy to bring both cars safely home on the podium. Our chances of victory went on Friday, but after that we kept it clean and now we’ve scored strong points on Sunday. There’s a lot of positives to take from this weekend. Really thankful to the team and the mechanics for keeping us in the game, there was never an easy service so a massive thank you to them. The cars were really put on the limit, but the team has improved the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and its reliability – we’ve been moving in a really good direction since Friday.”
Thierry Neuville
“We can breathe now; it was a very stressful day today, always thinking something could break. I think we have been rewarded for our hard work on Friday and Saturday. It was an enormous job between stages for me and Martijn fixing the car, and the team always had a massive job to fix it at every service. But we never gave up, even when things were looking bad, and that paid off. We finally got the result we deserved.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“A really tough weekend for us with the technical issues that started on Thursday, which was difficult to accept. I’m very proud of our performance on the stages today; we have scored some good points, and it is really positive to come home with those after a difficult event. I’d like to thank the team for giving me such a strong car today that allowed me to fight for maximum Power Stage and Super Sunday points.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya 19-23 March 2025 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“I wanted to do well for my grandfather this weekend. It didn’t start too well on Friday, we encountered so many issues between brakes, engine overheating, the steering arm, punctures and of course the gearbox on Sunday too.
“But we never gave up and that was the only thing I wanted to do, to finish the rally, and apparently with Taka retiring we will be in the top five, so we’ve come a really long way this weekend. We wanted to start the season how we ended last year, and I’m really happy we managed to secure that top five finish here in Kenya.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“It was very good because we have a top result here, ninth overall against those top guys is great, especially considering the conditions. It has been very difficult, the first and the second days with the rain were completely different but really challenging. We survived well, showed some pace as well, but we didn’t push too much when there were no reasons to anyway – we already had a good result.
“It’s been a great weekend with M-Sport, the three crews getting to the end has been nice. With the help of Romet [Jürgenson] as well, we have had a fantastic team.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s been quite crazy, quite surreal. Honestly, it’s really nice to get to the finish. Okay, we had our problems, but we persevered and made it through.
“You have to come to Safari Rally and expect these conditions, it’s part of what it’s about. Not only that but the people and everyone involved, from the organisers to the teams, it’s a huge effort to come out here and put on a show as a non-European event, it’s such a huge spectacle so congratulations to everyone for making it happen.”
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“It’s definitely a little bit of a bitter-sweet feeling. “Getting stuck in the fech fech on Friday was so disappointing. There was literally nothing we could do about it; we were the first Rally2 car into that section. That’s it, sometimes this is the way the sport is working.
“The positive we can take away from here is the pace we showed and to know that none of us could have done any more than we did. Honestly, I feel like me, Elliott and the team deserved this one. Like I said, sometimes it doesn’t go this way.
“This was the first time we drove the Yaris on gravel, and I have to say I was really impressed. I want to say a big thank you to everybody in the Printsport team and, of course, to Elliott. We know this event is probably the toughest of the year and we definitely felt that again this time.
“We did everything we could, we won a lot of stages and took some points, but now we look ahead to the next event in Spain. It’s always such a big pleasure to come here and drive these roads and to spend time in such a special country with such incredible fans. I love this place and these people.
“And next time, I will come back even more determined to win!”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 3
1
E. Evans
88
2
T. Neuville
52
3
O. Tänak
49
4
S. Ogier
33
5
A. Fourmaux
31
6
K. Rovanperä
31
7
T. Katsuta
25
8
S. Pajari
19
9
G. Munster
14
10
M. Sesks
8
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 3
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
148
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
122
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
47
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2
25
Summary
Well, what a fantastic rally this was. It had everything out there – fast flowing stages, tricky sections with huge rocks and also huge rain.
Elfyn and Scott conquered these conditions with a fantastic drive to their first win in Kenya. They set the pace required to take the lead and in the stages which were tricky they got through at the right pace and safe approach. With this win and the second this year, they now have thirty-six-point lead over the second placed crew in the championship, Thierry and Martijn.
Ott and Martin took second overall after a drive which saw them lead and have a big lead before issues with the driveshaft on one corner of the lost them time on the following two stages. They took the most stage wins as well and second place as well. It was a good recovery drive.
Thierry and Martijn did what they could out on the challenging stages dealing with technical problems with their car and somehow made it to the final podium place. It was a drive which was typical of the Belgian pair, getting something from a rally which could have finished in a very different way.
Looking ahead to the next rally which will be held called Rally Islas Canarias over the weekend of the 24 April to 27 April.
The second, less heralded driver to partner Max Verstappen in the Prinha Club’s most ruthless team has come in and struggled to adapt.
Reports of Liam Lawson facing demotion from Red Bull Racing after two races in 2025 have emerged after the Chinese Grand Prix, with Yuki Tsunoda tipped to replace the New Zealander from as early as the Japanese Grand Prix.
Red Bull are considering dropping Liam Lawson after just two races
Lawson has struggled early in this season having twice qualified last at the Sprint Weekend Chinese Grand Prix, having qualified 18th in Australia last week before crashing out.
Lawson could only manage 15th on Sunday having climbed to 14th in the sprint race on Saturday.
Post-race in China, Lawson alluded to not having time to improve for this season and a lack of testing in preparation for the season, while a typically curt Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s Motorsport Advisor, said in reply: “He is right.”
“Yuki is a different Yuki from the years before. He is in the form of his life. Obviously he changed managed. He has a different approach. He’s more mature. It took a while, but now it looks like it’s working.”
Such a move would raise serious questions about Red Bull’s driver management, with Lawson having been promoted with less than half a season’s F1 experience to the top team after previous failures with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, while Sergio Perez was paid off two years early just months after being given a new contract to 2026.
For over half a decade no driver has been able to convince that they can cope with the pressure of that now infamous seat across the garage from Max Verstappen since Daniel Ricciardo, sensing which way the wind was blowing within Red Bull, departed for Renault in 2019.
Lawson’s career to date
Lawson had a solid junior career including winning the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in 2020, before fifth at the first attempt in F3.
He moved up to F2 for the following season, doubling up with the DTM sportscar series with 2021 ending with ninth in F2 and second in DTM, before 3rd place in F2 the following season.
He moved to Super Formula for 2023 and was in contention to win the series when got his chance in Formula One as a stand in for the injured Ricciardo.
Lawson fared well compared to Tsunoda including points at Singapore, before another six race stint at the end of 2024 saw the New Zealander get the nod ahead of the Japanese driver to replace Perez.
How did we get here?
Red Bull first demoted one of their drivers to the support team in 2016 after Daniil Kvyat was demoted after twice hitting Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari at the Russian Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who along with Carlos Sainz had caught the eye as a rookie in 2015, got the call and promptly won his first race in Spain.
Ricciardo was then replaced by Pierre Gasly, who’d shown well for Toro Rosso after replacing Kvyat in 2017 while Sainz was released to go to McLaren.
Gasly made a terrible start by crashing twice in 2019 pre-season testing and ultimately failed to recover his confidence, only once finishing ahead of Verstappen in fortuitous circumstances at the British Grand Prix.
He only twice got within four tenths of a second in qualifying before being lapped by Verstappen in Hungary leading the Frenchman to be dumped in favour of Alexander Albon.
Albon initially started well with a strong recovery drive at the Belgian Grand Prix to fifth, and was only out of the top six once for the remainder of the season when Lewis Hamilton spun him out of a podium position late on in Brazil.
Albon was again spun from a promising position by Hamilton in Austria, but eventually took his first podium at the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello and took another at Bahrain. The damage was done a week later as Sergio Perez won from the back of the field while Albon crashed out.
Perez seemed an obvious answer to Red Bull’s problems but in truth the four seasons spent in that hottest of hotseats by Perez was for the most part a marriage of convenience, brought about by no credible alternative to a burnt Albon within Red Bull’s junior ranks at the end of 2020.
While Perez initially failed to match Verstappen in outright speed, he was an able back up to Verstappen and his contribution at the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was crucial as he cost Lewis Hamilton over six seconds with a feisty defence of the lead, meaning Hamilton couldn’t pit during that Safety Car period.
Perez started 2022 well and earned a new contract ahead of winning the Monaco Grand Prix, with further success in Singapore. From there, performance dipped and he was fortunate to take second in the 2023 Championship despite Red Bull winning all but one race.
Despite a new contract early in the season, reports and rumours surrounded Perez for over two years before he was finally put out of his misery at the end of a winless 2024 as Red Bull paid the Mexican off.
Red Bull had previously recruited Dutchman Nyck De Vries for 2023 on a whim of one off points finish for Williams at the Italian Grand Prix of 2022, before he was sacked after 10 races and replaced by Ricciardo.
What about those demoted drivers?
Drivers who’ve been burned by the top team have had mixed results since their ill-fated moves.
Kvyat’s F1 career was a strange one, being dropped completely in 2017 before coming back to race in 2019 and 2020 as Red Bull ran out of drivers.
Pierre Gasly has thrived since leaving the Red Bull stable
Gasly has gone on to shine as a team leader at the junior including a win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix before moving to Alpine, where he has since seen off the challenge of Esteban Ocon.
Albon disappeared for a year as third driver, notably being used to reconstruct a crash between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen at the 2021 British Grand Prix, before ably leading Williams in their rise from the back of the grid to 2025 midfield leaders since 2022 while Perez may yet resurface with Cadillac in 2026.
Albon has spoken in the past of being “underprepared” by Red Bull to the High Performance Podcast, while Gasly in particular was critical of the environment during his half season with the team.
“From the moment I made my first mistake in a car, I felt like people there slowly began to turn on me. I’d had a crash in winter testing and from that moment on the season never really got going.
“Then I had a tough first two races with Red Bull and the media just ate me up. Anything I said in the press was twisted into an excuse for my form, and nobody really stuck up for me.
“The car wasn’t perfect and I was doing my best to try to improve and learn each week. But here’s what I’ll say about it – it was a difficult time for me at Red Bull because I didn’t feel like I was really supported and treated the same way as others there have been. And for me, that’s something I just can’t accept.
“I was working my ass off every day, trying to get results for the team, but I was not being given all the tools I needed to succeed. I would try to offer solutions but my voice wasn’t heard, or it would take weeks to see changes.
The Red Bull signals and issues it needs to address
It is important to state that nothing has been decided and Red Bull have been satisfied with Lawson’s approach and refusal to make excuses, but history suggests there’s no smoke without fire.
After the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix, Team Principal Christian Horner said that the intention “was to keep Pierre in the car” before replacing him the next race with Albon, while late into 2020 the team were giving Albon “every chance” before he was demoted to third driver.
The pressure could increase further with another junior in Arvid Lindblad mooted for a promotion as early as 2026 depending on his F2 progress this season.
It was accepted within F1 circles that Tsunoda would have to leave Racing Bulls with no obvious team to go to at the end of this season, but were he to move to Red Bull and get closer to Verstappen, Lawson would have no time to readjust against an Isack Hadjar who, formation lap crash in Melbourne aside, has shown speed this season.
Max Verstappen has proven impossible to live with as a Red Bull Racing teammate
While it is true that Red Bull have a car that has been built around Verstappen’s unique driving style, that is something all drivers heading to a new team have to adapt to.
The issue is that Red Bull have often been slow take on feedback from the second driver, with Perez’s performances improving slightly after upgrades on the car in the autumn of last year known to have been as a result of finally listening to the struggling Mexican’s feedback from the summer of 2023.
Irrespective of when, or if, Lawson does move back to the junior team, seven seasons of struggle in Red Bull’s other car points not only to an issue with recruitment, but with the management of a driver programme that has produced Ricciardo, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel to name three drivers.
That young driver academy has been reduced to a topic of debate and ridicule, producing drivers who in recent years have come through the ranks only to end up as cannon fodder to a Max Verstappen juggernaut.
Often drivers either been thrown in too early, lacked support during early struggles and have ended up destroyed by comparisons to Verstappen instead of nurtured and moulded to fit within the team.
Recruitment has often been hap-hazard at best, with De Vries getting ten races before his sacking after a signing based purely on a one-off appearance where circumstances favoured him while Tsunoda, into his fifth season of Formula One, has not had a Red Bull look in before now and should he complete a mid-season switch to will go in with little Red Bull testing and next to no preparation from the main F1 team.
Oscar Piastri took his third Grand Prix victory with an imperious win at Shanghai International Circuit.
His McLaren teammate Lando Norris had to manage a brake issue but managed second to complete a 50th 1-2 for the team, while George Russell was third for Mercedes and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fourth.
The result leaves Norris eight points clear of Verstappen in the fledgling Championship standings, with Russell a point further back and Piastri a point behind in fourth.
Haas improved from a terrible opening round to claim a double points finish
.The Ferrari duo of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fifth and sixth, while Haas improved from a dreadful Australian Grand Prix with seventh for Esteban Ocon and tenth for Ollie Bearman.
Kimi Antonelli in eighth and Alex Albon in ninth completed the points positions.
It was the perfect start for McLaren as Piastri blocked off Russell to hamper his entry into Turn One, with Norris sweeping around the outside to take second.
Max Verstappen was another to go backwards as he was passed by both Ferraris of Hamilton and Leclerc, who lost a chunk of front wing hitting Hamilton, through ahead of the Dutchman.
A slow burner of a first stint was curtailed as the midfield, led by Pierre Gasly, Ocon and the Racing Bulls duo of Yuki Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar pitted before lap 12.
Expected high tyre wear throughout the race failed to materialise as the leading five cars – all of whom pitted before lap 17 – making it to the end of the Grand Prix on their hard tyres.
McLaren were once again the class of the field in Shanghai
At the front, Piastri completed his most complete weekend with a race win during which he wasn’t troubled, with a difficult Friday giving way to a dominant display to underline his own World Drivers’ Championship credentials.
A strong undercut, where the car behind pits for fresh tyres to pass the car ahead when they pit, was prevalent in China and helped Russell briefly repass Norris, but the McLaren had regained second by lap 18 and gradually built a gap.
That gap became important for Norris, who in the last 15 laps reported a long brake pedal that was critical by the penultimate lap.
An eight-second gap became 1.3s by the end of the race as a quietly effective Russell maximised his weekend once again.
Behind that Verstappen grew into the race after an off-colour first stint in which he dropped back from the Ferraris in sixth.
The Dutchman salvaged fourth as Leclerc’s damage caught up with the Monesgasque driver with four laps to go.
Hamilton’s hard tyre performance fell away leading Ferrari to call him in for a second stop before Verstappen passed his old rival.
It was another chastening weekend for Liam Lawson at Red Bull, as he twice qualified 20th and last and could only manage 15th in the race, over a minute behind Vertappen.
Haas’ turnaround from an Australian Grand Prix weekend in which they were clearly the slowest team to an excellent weekend in China was remarkable.
Ocon expertly judged his one-stop strategy to pass and stay ahead of Antonelli’s Mercedes while Bearman, starting 17th, managed his tyres superbly for tenth.
Onto the second full day then and the crews had 146km’s over six stages ahead of them. Adrien would not return as the Hyundai team decided to save his car for Sunday’s stages. This would mean Jourdan and Fred would open the road thought the day.
First up then was SS11 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 26.97 km and Elfyn would set the fastest time from Kalle and Takamoto. The three Toyota’s were making a very good start to the day’s stages. Elfyn had increased his lead over Kalle to almost 16 seconds. At Hyundai and M-Sport the crews all had either tyre or steering problems.
Onto SS12 Elmenteita 1 – 17.31 km and it was a top three fastest again for Toyota as Elfyn was fastest from Takamoto and Kalle. Kalle lost some more time to Elfyn as one of his tyres came off the rim of the wheel. It was a tricky stage as some sections had mud and standing water.
The final stage of the morning then, SS13 Soysambu 1 – 28.97 km and Takamoto was fastest from Ott and Elfyn. Kalle had yet more problems with tyres with another puncture. The result of this was that he lost one minute and twenty seconds and was still in second and now a minute and thirty-two seconds from Elfyn who was clearing the stages with no problems.
The afternoon stages started with SS14 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 26.97 km and the rain had hit the stage right as the first crews were starting. This meant the earlier crews would have more favourable conditions. Ultimately Takamoto would set the fastest time from Kalle and Elfyn. There was some more drama for Kalle as he suffered with broken rear left suspension though. Ott lost more time in this one and now Takamoto was only around sixteen seconds from him.
Next up was SS15 Elmenteita 2 – 17.31 km and yet more rain hit this stage. The two Pumas’ were able to take advantage of their early starting time and Greg won the stage with Josh second fastest. Sami was the highest placed Toyota with the fourth fastest time. Kalle took it very easy through the stage, protecting the rear left suspension which he and Jonna had made a temporary repair too on the road section. Kalle dropped from the podium and into fourth with Ott now second and Takamoto third. Greg’s stage winning pace took him up two positions and into seventh overall.
Time then for the final stage of the day then, SS16 Soysambu 2 – 28.97 km and there was more rain for all the crews in this one. Ott made the best of the conditions and set the fastest time from Thierry and incredibly Oliver was third in his Yaris Rally2. What a drive!
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
3:38:39.3
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:57.4
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+4:33.4
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+5:06.6
5
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+6:06.0
6
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+7:00.4
7
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+11:02.0
8
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia RS
+12:08.3
9
J. Solans
R. Sanjuan
Toyota GR Yaris
+12:14.1
10
J. Serderidis
F. Miclotte
Ford Puma Rally1
+24:39.1
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been remarkably difficult out there today. This has definitely been a proper Safari. Even this morning the conditions were really quite tricky after a lot of rain overnight. Then the rain came again immediately as we started the afternoon loop. The conditions were horribly inconsistent, and I was trying to treat everything with care but it’s easy to drop a lot of time. I couldn’t see much at all at the end with so much mud, but I’m happy we managed to get through it. Even with this gap, nothing is guaranteed on this rally. Tomorrow will be demanding and rough and anything can still happen, so we need to stay focused.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Today was not an easy day for us. It started well this morning but then we had some bad luck with some punctures, and the afternoon was even worse; in Sleeping Warrior we hit a big loose stone in a muddy section, and it broke something in the suspension. We tried to make a small fix before each stage, and although it didn’t last we could at least get through the stages and get back to service. It’s still a long day ahead tomorrow with some tricky stages and a lot of points available, and we’ll do the best we can.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It has been a really frustrating day. The last two days have been tough for me with sickness, but the team has been supporting me well and I’ve been able to keep driving. The pace was there, and I was enjoying the driving and doing some good times. It was really disappointing to lose time with the punctures, but there are still five more stages to go. Just over 30 seconds to the podium is not so much on a rally like this, so we will keep pushing and see what happens.”
Sami Pajari
“Today was extremely tricky with a lot of learning. Already this morning we faced some very different challenges to yesterday, with a lot of wet and muddy places and it was tricky for me to predict the grip, or to know exactly what speed you can carry and what line to take. This afternoon the conditions were even tougher, but the pace was better which was nice to see. I could see some improvement in my driving even in the extreme conditions, and with every kilometre the feeling is getting better.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“There has been a lot of action today, especially this afternoon – it was proper wet and tricky conditions. Unfortunately, we had some trouble with the windscreen again and water in the car, which made it a very demanding loop. The conditions changes from stage to stage, so you never really know what you are going to find. There is always a new challenge you need to fight and overcome. Tomorrow should be smoother, but the roads are still very rough in places.”
Hyundai Motorsport / WRC Rally Kenya 2025
Thierry Neuville
“Today has been challenging – it’s hard to describe just how tough it has been out there today, for several reasons. I wasn’t feeling well at all after a bad night and struggled to keep my concentration and do my job, but we kept fighting and we were rewarded with third place overnight. Those were some extreme conditions this afternoon – I haven’t seen anything like it in my career. We’ve had some rough Safari Rally Kenya’s in the past, but this is the roughest so far.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 03, Safari Rally Kenya 20 – 23 March 2025 Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“Yesterday was tough. We did nothing wrong – I wouldn’t usually talk about luck, but I think we were unlucky to be the first car finding this fesh fesh. Today we came back to drive sensibly, stay in the middle of the road and take no risks. It was nice to be able to push a little bit harder where it was possible and winning Soysambu at the end was a good way to finish Saturday.
“Let’s see what Sunday brings. This is the Safari; it’s such a huge challenge and it will stay that way all the way to the final metre.”
Sunday
The final day then and anything can still happen. Let’s see if Elfyn and Scott can take victory in Kenya and be the first Brits to do this since Colin in 2002.
