The final call is here: the last 2 rounds of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Season 11. While a drivers champion won’t be declared due to Oliver Rowland securing the title at rival Wehrlein and Porsche’s home in Berlin, it’s all to play for for the teams and manufacturers championships, with Porsche and Nissan leading contenders in both championships.
Round 14:
Pole Position: Pascal Wehrlein
After losing his championship to Rowland in his home, Wehrlein will want to start the weekend on the strong foot to help Porsche secure both championships.
Race Winner: António Félix da Costa Da Costa has had a rough few weekends this year in what could be the Portuguese champion’s final weekend with the German team. Just like his teammate, he will want to secure the titles with Porsche.
Podium: Jaguar-Powered Cars Over the last few weekends, the Jaguar-powered cars at Jaguar TCS Racing and Envision Racing have been strong…minus the DNFs. I think they will capitalise on this to secure a double podium.
Round 15:
Pole Position: Jean-Eric Vergne This season has been an up-and-down season for the only 2-time champion in the sport. Ending the season with a high will be a priority for Vergne, especially leading into the final GEN3 Evo season.
Race Winner: Nick Cassidy After winning the second races in double headers in Shanghai and Berlin, Cassidy will want to continue this streak and finish on the top step of the podium in order to round out the season with Jaguar TCS Racing.
Podium: Porsche and Cupra Kiro Is this bold? It can be. But I think Porsche will finish on the podium with Cupra Kiro to finish the season and secure the teams and manufacturers championships.
Onto the final day then of this rally and with Oliver and co-driver Elliott leading by almost twenty-two seconds would they be able to hold this gap on the final day? With only three stages remaining and two of them run twice could the Hyundai crews behind pass the Toyota crew. Greg and Louis would open the road again, courtesy of being the last top-class car.
First up then was SS18 Hellenurme – 11.79 km a new and single run stage. The predicted rain for the final day had arrived as well. What would this mean for the later crews as invariably when gravel roads get wet and perhaps also have standing water and puddles on the line the road and stage gets slower. Elfyn closed on Takamoto as he took six seconds from his teammate, the gap now just 5.2 seconds between them. However, the rain did not fall on the whole stage, just certain parts and as the top crews made their way through the sun was out again. Ultimately Oliver set the pace from Ott, whilst Kalle found some pace on the wet stage to set the third best time. Thierry gained a ten second penalty for a jump start, thus giving Ott a gap over his teammate.
Next was SS19 Kääriku 1 – 24.20 km and Oliver was again fastest from Kalle and Ott third. There was a change further back as Elfyn passed his teammate Takamoto for sixth after setting the same time as Thierry. Takamoto was 5.7 slower than Elfyn who now had a small advantage of half a second.
Now to the final stage then, SS20 Kääriku 2[Power Stage] – 24.20 km and Kalle set the pace which the top three could not beat. Ott and Oliver were second and third fastest, whilst Thierry and Elfyn completed the points scorers in the power stage. Oliver and Elliott had secured a dream result though and one that will go down in the history books. They took the lead on Friday morning and won nine stages, their first at the top of this sport. They were also never out of the top three either apart from stage one and stage eleven.
Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Estonia
1
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:36:35.1
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+25.2
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+48.3
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+55.6
5
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:33.0
6
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:43.4
7
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:55.6
8
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+3:36.0
9
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+5:29.8
10
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+5:57.5
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Oliver Solberg
“It’s been the most amazing weekend. I’m feeling so overwhelmingly happy, after so many years of dreaming and working for this moment. I want to say a big thank you to Toyota for giving me this opportunity and the chance to prove myself and have fun driving this amazing car. Thank you to the test team who helped me get so comfortable. I also never thought I’d get to celebrate on a podium with Juha, who has been a hero of mine since I was a kid and one I’ve been looking up to together with my father. Now this weekend he has been supporting me so well, keeping me calm and telling me what to do. I’ve never had such a good time in my life, so thank you.”
“For the rally itself, Elliott and me were just in our bubble. We were doing our thing and driving our own event. I could feel in the car everything was good and working well, but I didn’t know what this meant for the times. When we won the first stage on Friday, that was so special, but then we had to focus completely again and drive the next one and the next one. We kept doing that, we didn’t get distracted. We kept driving and then we won!
“I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved,” said Elliott. “Like Oliver said, we did our thing. We didn’t get distracted by anything. From the test, through the recce and all the way through the rally, we were keeping our heads down and doing our job. It’s a very special feeling, what a day and what a rally. Again, I would like to thank everybody at Toyota who made this happen and, of course, Oliver!”
Kalle Rovanperä
“We kept pushing this weekend and trying everything we can, and at least we could take full points from the Power Stage. Overall though it’s clear that I don’t currently have the pace we want on gravel with this year’s package. There are no excuses, and we will keep working on it with the team, keep pushing and trying to find something more for Rally Finland, which we will look forward to like every year.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a tough weekend. Of course, our road position did hamper us a bit on Friday, but I also think we didn’t have the speed to challenge like we wanted to. We tried our best today and scored a few extra points, but we can’t be too satisfied at the end of the weekend. I’m looking forward to Rally Finland like always and we’ll keep working together with the team to find a bit more speed there.”
Sami Pajari
“It’s been a tricky rally. Our chances for a good result went with the issue on the first forest stage on Friday, but at least the team could solve the problem and after that I’ve been able to enjoy it and have some good times. The start position was tricky for the last two days so it was more about learning and trying to take all the experience, which is still the main target this year. The feeling was quite good and I’m looking forward to going again at Rally Finland.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“We have been managing something on the car since yesterday and unfortunately today it got worse, so the decision was taken to retire before the Power Stage. Performance-wise we were not so far away here but it was enough in this kind of very fast event that we couldn’t challenge at the front. We will keep working to make another step forward for Rally Finland which is important for myself and the team.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“I think we got the best out of this weekend – with or without my mistake on Saturday morning, Oliver was still difficult to beat. I expected a challenging weekend, and I knew it would be tough to get the most out of these Estonian roads. They’re super-fast and have some big jumps, so you need a good balance and a perfect rhythm, and we learned a lot here to take to Finland. I’m happy to be going there in the championship lead, and we will see what it’s like opening the road.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 8, Rally Estonia, 17-20 July 2025 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“Generally, I am quite happy with how this weekend went for us. From Friday I felt comfortable in the car, but we still managed to find some areas for improvement that we can work on. We got a bit closer to the championship lead, but we still lost a couple of points compared to Ott and Kalle. It wasn’t a perfect weekend, but nevertheless we are happy to be back on the podium. With Finland so close, we are going to work on the areas we need to improve on and see how far we can take it there.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“We had a difficult first stage on Friday morning, and then we found the pace again and kept it all the way through Saturday, so there are a lot of positives to take from that. On the first stage this morning I unfortunately damaged the front of my car, and that meant I lost a lot of balance throughout the rest of the day. It was hard to fight for the Sunday points, but we largely stayed ahead of Evans to play the team game for Ott’s championship.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Mārtiņš Sesks
“It has been a really nice event; I think for us that’s the biggest take-away from the weekend. It’s been an impressive weekend for our sport and the fans have been amazing, it was really emotional in places to see all the flags. This is the main thing for us, now we go away to focus on Finland.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s been a nice weekend and really cool to experience these roads in the Rally1 car, it’s quite surprising what they can do and how fast you can commit to the roads! You have to really shift your mind so you can be on the pace straight away, but I think we can build on that going into Finland. It’s a proper childhood dream to go to Finland and compete at the top level of the WRC. So let’s go enjoy it and hopefully step up the pace there.”
Grégoire Munster
“At the end of Rally Estonia, it’s not the result we wanted for sure, but this is due to a puncture on Friday and my overshoots in a few places, but I would say that considering we’ve been opening the road we’ve done quite well. Rather than changing the set up too much, we were just trying to drive and gain experience and mileage before going to Finland. We’ve had a lot of fans on these incredibly fast roads, and overall, we’ve really enjoyed the week.”
Romet Jürgenson, fifth WRC2
“The goal for us was to be in the top five here in Estonia and we managed that, so that’s a really big positive. We showed some good pace in some stages, and we got our first two WRC2 stage wins as well, which is a good achievement and was one of the goals for this year too. The speed in general was a bit up and down, so we need to analyse and see where we can improve, but overall, we can be really happy.
A big thanks to the whole M-Sport team and the FIA as well, this is a great opportunity for me, and it’s been one of my dreams to do this rally in WRC2 for a long time.”
Summary
What can I say about the drive by Oliver and Elliott. It was sublime. They’d done one test of two days recently and in their first drive at the top level of the sport for over two years. They made it look like they’ve never been away. They did benefit from a good road position, but they still had to deliver the drive and utterly deserve this brilliant result.
Ott and Martin could not quite catch the Toyota crew. There were moments of pace which gave them stage wins. They just could not get on terms with the pace at the very front. They did deserve the second place and along with the points from they scored they have now moved into the lead of the drivers and co-drivers championships.
Finally, Thierry and Martijn who took third overall showing flashes of pace on a surface which has not always been kind to the Belgians. It’s been a tricky year for them after their successes last year. Still, they are one of the best crews out there and it will be interesting to see how they get on in Finland at the next round.
Here’s the points tables.
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8
1
O. Tänak
162
2
E. Evans
161
3
S. Ogier
141
4
K. Rovanperä
138
5
T. Neuville
114
6
A. Fourmaux
71
7
T. Katsuta
63
8
O. Solberg
52
9
S. Pajari
38
10
G. Munster
19
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
399
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
347
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
111
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2
68
Round nine is next held in Rally Finland from the 31st July to 3rd August.
Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) made a lightning start from the front row to grab the holeshot into Turn 1, edging out polesitter Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and fellow front-row starter David Almansa (Leopard Racing). Behind them, David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) launched a stunning start from the very back of the grid, surging into the points by the end of the first lap.
Photo credit: Pirelli Press Office
By Lap 3, the Aragon and Germany GP winner was already inside the top ten. Meanwhile, rookie standout Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) had climbed to second, with Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) pushing into the podium places, starting a battle between the team mates that would see them trade places frequently.
Rueda began to stretch his lead by mid-race as Quiles, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), and Foggia scrapped for second. The infighting allowed Rueda to escape by nearly two seconds. Back-to-back fastest laps from the #99 made clear he was intent on sealing his seventh win of the season.
With five laps to go, focus shifted to the fierce podium battle behind. Quiles, Piqueras, Muñoz, Foggia, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), and Almansa all jockeyed for position. Muñoz forced his way into third at Turn 6 on the final lap, then dived past Piqueras for second at Turn 10. But a final attack from Quiles into Turn 13 and in the race to the line saw him snatch second at the flag.
Rueda took a dominant win, over 3 seconds clear of the rest of the field, extending his title lead, while Quiles and Muñoz completed the podium – the latter’s incredible last-to-third comeback marking his fourth podium in five races.
Photo credit: Pirelli Press Office
Piqueras had to settle for fourth, just ahead of Foggia and Fernandez, who earned his first points since Le Mans. Almansa finished seventh, edging closer to top Honda honours in the standings, while Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) worked his way into eighth.
Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and early leader Pini rounded out the top ten. Further back, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) fought up to 11th before a double Long Lap Penalty for causing a collision dropped him out of the points. That promoted Marco Morelli (DENSSI Racing – BOE) to 13th in an impressive debut.
Into the second full day then and with almost 126km’s over nine stages the crews had a big challenge ahead of them. Oliver and Elliott had a good lead of twelve seconds over Ott and Martin. Greg and Louis would open the road throughout the day.
First up was SS9 Raanitsa 1 – 21.45 km and Oliver as fastest from Thierry and Kalle. Ott remained in second overall but with only the fourth fastest time Oliver lead was now 16.6 seconds. The reason for the time loss? He’d lost control of the i20 and hit a bale at a chicane, then stalled the car. Once again the best of the M-Sport crews was Martins who was making the best of his road position over his teammates.
Into SS10 Kanepi 1 – 17.43 km and Oliver was again fastest whilst behind him there was a swap in positions as Ott’s second fastest time saw him move ahead of Thierry and back into second overall. Elfyn’s attempts to move up the leaderboard were not coming together, and he remained in seventh overall.
Next up was SS11 Raanitsa 2 – 21.45 km and Oliver’s amazing run at the front continued with another fastest time from Thierry and Ott. The Belgian moved back into second overall as Ott was a second slower than his teammate. This was not over though as only three tenths of a second separated them.
The final morning stage then, SS12 Kanepi 2 – 17.43 km and Ott was fastest from Oliver and Thierry. It was clear that the last three crews to complete the stages would be the pacesetters. Ott’s pace took him back into second place, but the gap was only four tenths of a second. Elfyn seemed to be finding a little pace, going fifth fastest and edged a little closer to Takamoto.
The afternoon stages started with SS13 Otepää 1 – 11.15 km and Thierry set the pace from Ott and Oliver. The Belgian moved back ahead of Ott but again the gap was tiny at just a tenth of a second. Meanwhile Oliver continued to lead and now had a 22.4 second lead over Thierry.
Back into SS14 Karaski 1 – 11.97 km and this time Ott was fastest from Oliver and Thierry. The Estonian moved back past Thierry into second place. Oliver’s lead remained at 22.4 seconds. Elfyn caught Takamoto a little again, but the gap remained over ten seconds.
Just three stages remained with SS15 Otepää 2 – 11.15 km first up. Oliver set the pace again from Thierry and Ott. The two of them set the same time as well, showing how close they are in terms of pace.
The last proper stage of the day, SS16 Karaski 2 – 11.97 km and Ott was again fastest from Oliver and Thierry. There were no changes in the top ten at all in fact and although Elfyn was quicker than Takamoto again, it was only by a tenth of a second and the gap was not coming down at all by any significant amount.
The final stage of the day was a short blast around SS17 Tartu vald 2 – 1.76 km and Thierry was fastest from Ott and Oliver. The Swede took a 21.1 second lead into the overnight halt.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
1:06:33.4
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+21.1
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+25.1
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+51.6
5
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:08.2
6
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:16.8
7
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:30.4
8
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:14.5
9
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:48.5
10
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+4:13.6
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Oliver Solberg
“It has been another absolutely amazing day today, with consistent speed and no mistakes. It wasn’t our plan to extend the gap – I expected that our rivals might fight back with their improved road positions – but that we were able to do so is fantastic. The car was working really well, and I was just trying to do my thing, still having fun while also learning some new things and trying to control the speed a bit this afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll just try to carry on with the same rhythm.”
“I’m taking the event one stage at a time, just getting in the car and driving – me and Elliott are just doing our jobs and ticking off the stages. Of course, we’re going fast and in some places we had some big jumps which maybe we weren’t expecting, but I’m still learning this car. And the more I learn about it, the more I am loving it! There’s some talk about some rain coming tomorrow – I’m hoping it stays dry, I never drove the GR YARIS Rally1 in the wet conditions!
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s been a tricky day, much the same as yesterday. These stages always feel super nice to drive and I tried my best in every stage, but the pace was not there to do anything more. On the smaller, softer roads we can see that we have the pace on the split times, but we don’t have it on the wider more hard-packed roads. We’re working hard with the team to try and find that last bit. We will see how the conditions are tomorrow, as some rain can always mix things up, and try to catch some more points.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Today the feeling was definitely better than yesterday. We found a good direction with the setup to make the car better. The stages are enjoyable, but you just need to be committed to make a good time and it’s not easy with the tricky, narrower sections. The gap has been tight between me and Adrien. Something didn’t feel quite right in the afternoon but I’m sure it will be fine for tomorrow and I’ll try my best to get as many points as I can for the team.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s not been the day we wanted, and we haven’t been able to climb the leaderboard like we hoped we might. The times have been tight between everybody, and it’s been hard to make big differences. Some stages have felt quite OK behind the wheel, but it seems we’ve been missing some speed to challenge the top times. We’ve been experimenting with the setup to find a better feeling and I think we’ve got a good idea of what we want to go with tomorrow, and we’ll give it our best shot.
Sami Pajari
“Today was quite fine I believe. After what happened yesterday, we didn’t really have anything to fight for in terms of the result so it was just about trying to have a good feeling with the car and a good drive and take what we can from here to prepare for the next event in Finland. Considering our road position, which still seemed to be playing a big role, I think some of the stage times were not too bad and we’ll try to continue like this tomorrow.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We made some mistakes this morning, we couldn’t get a good feeling or rhythm in the car so we were not able to go how we normally would. I’m struggling and it hasn’t improved over the day, so I can’t drive the way I should be able to. I know our fight with Thierry got quite uncomfortable for the team at times today, but we also made sure to bring it home. Oliver is in a rally of his own, so we need to push in our fight. There are many new sections tomorrow, the first stage is new for everyone, so it will be interesting.”
Thierry Neuville
“Overall, today was a good day. I had a nice feeling in the car and the stages were amazing. We’re happy to be in third at the moment; we’re not too far away from Ott, but there was nothing we could do to get closer to Oliver – we must be satisfied with where we are. The team has been very clear with us and wants to see both cars at the finish, so I didn’t risk anything this afternoon, particularly with Oliver not taking home any manufacturers’ points. Tomorrow we will see what happens, I’ll be pushing for those extra Super Sunday points to maximise our championship fight.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 08, Rally Estonia 17 – 30 ofJuly 2025 Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Adrien Fourmaux
“The stages were really enjoyable today and we were able to have a lot of fun in the car, but we were also happy to have a really nice fight with Taka. There was a lot of sweeping today and every car can gain time from that. We didn’t maximise our opportunity from the cleaning, but catching Kalle would have been really difficult, so we have no regrets. There’s a brand-new stage tomorrow for everybody, which is good because today we were one of the only ones discovering new stages, so it’s an equal playing field for everyone tomorrow. We’re looking to push in the Super Sunday classification to do as well as possible overall.”
Sunday
The final day of this eighth round of the championship will see the crews tackle three stages totalling a little over 60km’s. Can Oliver and Elliott take a first overall win or will one of the Hyundai crews take the top spot?
The first full day of this rally saw the crews take on seven stages over 122km’s. Elfyn and Scott would open the road and sweep the road clear of gravel again. Ott and Martin who are in third in the championship standings would be second on the road as Seb and Vincent are not competing this weekend.
There had already been one stage run on Thursday evening and the top three was Thierry, Elfyn and Ott. An impressive run from Robert and Jakko in a Fabia Rally2 took them to fifth fastest.
Onto the first full day then and first up was SS2 Peipsiääre 1 – 24.35 km and Elfyn’s stage time would see him set the sixth best time. It was a Toyota leading as well, but not the crew that would normally be expected to be at the front. Ott and Martin set the leading time which was then beaten by Oliver and Elliott! It was an incredible drive from them which saw them jump up six positions to the lead. Kalle was second fastest, whilst Thierry was third. The best placed of the M-Sport crews was Martins and Renaur who after setting the eighth best time climbed up eight positions to ninth overall.
Next up then was SS3 Mustvee 1 – 11.37 km and Ott was fastest from Oliver and Elfyn. The Estonian’s pace saw them move into second overall from fourth place. Oliver and Elliott continued to lead, the gap to Ott and Martin now 6.2 seconds. At M-Sport Josh moved ahead of Martins, the Irishman now in ninth place.
The crews then headed back to the first stage of the day for the second run through SS4 Peipsiääre 2 – 24.35 km and Oliver was again fastest from Kalle and Ott. Oliver remained in the lead the gap between him and Ott now 9.4 seconds, whilst Kalle was third.
The second run of SS5 Mustvee 2 – 11.37 km and Ott was fastest from Oliver by just nine tenths of a second and Kalle was third. The gap between the top two was now 8.5 seconds. Josh remained the top placed M-Sport driver, holding ninth just 4.8 seconds behind Sami and 1.8 seconds ahead of Martins.
After the first break the first of three stages, SS6 Kambja 1 – 23.74 km and completely new stages as well would see Adrien set the fastest time from Oliver and Thierry. The Frenchman passed Elfyn for sixth overall who was only eleventh fastest in the stage. It was a surprising result for the championship leader who’d only lost 20 seconds in the morning stages yet lost 15 in one stage. Opening the road was killing the ability to set good times. Thierry also was on the move passing Kalle for third overall. Oliver’s lead over Ott was now 11.9 seconds.
The second run of SS7 Kambja 2 – 23.74 km saw Oliver set the fastest time from Adrien and Thierry. Adrien was now up into fifth place as he passed Takamoto. Meanwhile Martins was now the fastest of the M-Sport crews, holding ninth overall.
Onto the final stage of the day, SS8 Elva Linn – 1.72 km and Thierry was fastest from Takamoto and Ott. Rally leader, Oliver was eleventh, but still had a 12.4 second lead over Ott. It had been an amazing day for the Swede and his British co-driver Elliott.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the driver’s.
Classification after Day One
1
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
1:06:33.4
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+12.4
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+14.2
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+20.1
5
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+29.8
6
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+30.0
7
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+41.4
8
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+01:05.1
9
M. Sesks
R. Francis
Ford Puma Rally1
+01:11.4
10
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+01:30.0
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Oliver Solberg
“Today has been the best day of my life. It was a dream come true just to be driving this car, but to be leading the rally and winning a few stages, it’s been a lot of fun. The car has been amazing to drive. We worked in our test last week to get a comfortable feeling and we’ve been able to take that into the rally. I’m learning with every stage, but I’ve been able to have a clean rhythm. The guys behind me will get a better road position tomorrow and I’m not sure I’m ready to push harder with my limited experience, but I will just try to do the same as today and see what it brings.”
“The plan for the rest of the event hasn’t changed, we are here to take the experience – I’m not here to win the rally. I’ve driven sensibly today; we didn’t take any huge risks. We pushed where it was good to go a bit harder and then we’ve slowed where it’s got a bit more complicated or where we’ve seen some big rocks coming. The roads have been nice today, but even when we’re coming with the ruts, the car is so nice and so balanced, it’s such a pleasure to be driving it. I have been smiling all day!
Kalle Rovanperä
“The morning loop was quite good for us. The conditions were tricky after the rain earlier in the week with some changeable grip levels, but it was a clean start for us. We made some changes for the afternoon to try to optimise the grip of the car. Still, I felt we were leaving some time on the stages and not being able to drive as sharp and precise as usual. At least we tried some things and know a bit more about the direction to go in for tomorrow. We still pushed through the whole day and tomorrow we will do the same.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Things started quite difficult this morning. I was struggling a lot, but I tried changing a few things on the car setup during the morning and the feeling was getting better and better. Then, unfortunately, the afternoon was still a bit of a struggle. We will keep working together with the engineers and my teammates to continue improving the car, and I will try to improve my driving and I will give it everything to be better tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a demanding day and a bit more difficult than we were hoping it would be. Already this morning I struggled with the grip: we had seen much damper conditions in recce, but the sun had been out since and dried out the roads and made conditions looser for us running first on the road. Then the first stage after service was particularly difficult; I think you could see it quite clearly from the times. We’ve lost quite a lot of time to the leaders, so we’ll be looking for some more speed with a better position tomorrow.”
Sami Pajari
“It was an unfortunate start this morning for us with the problem that we had from the first stage today. It was quite a long morning loop before we could get to service, but thankfully the team was able to fix the issue and we could enjoy the afternoon’s stages. It was a pity that we lost the time in the overall standings, but I’m trying not to focus too much on that and just focus on my driving, and the pace is starting to be on the level where we should be, somewhere close to the front. Tomorrow is another day with some even faster sections and I’m looking forward to it.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“It was more enjoyable than I was expecting this afternoon, although I did struggle more in the second loop than I did in the first. The cleaning effect was more pronounced with a lot of loose gravel and super low grip, but actually the balance in the car was better. Tomorrow we will really see where we are with our pace; today we were opening the road and driving a different rally, but I think it will change on Saturday. Oliver is our target, but Thierry is also very close after going very well today.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 8, Rally Estonia, 17-20 July 2025 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“Today was a good day; tricky conditions out there, but I was trying to make the best of it, with a few surprises here and there this morning. I really enjoyed the afternoon loop. I think there are still a few little tricks we can do in the car to get more speed, but overall, I think we can be satisfied. I am looking for a bit more consistency in terms of the chassis balance, as sometimes I’m experiencing a lot of understeer in the corner entry. We made some good improvements in service, but there might be more we can do to make the car perfect for tomorrow.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I really had confidence to push in the car this afternoon after we made some set-up changes in services, playing with the ride height of the car and the stiffness of the bars. It felt much better for me and then the times were coming. Our target was to overtake Evans and then Katsuta, which we managed in a great afternoon after a difficult morning. Kalle is nine seconds ahead of us, although it will be tricky to catch him, but my main goal is to keep Katsuta and Evans behind as it is important for the championship.”
Saturday
The second full day will see the crews tackle almost 126km’s over nine stages. What will we see from Oliver and Elliott? Can and will the two Hyundai crews pass him? What will Elfyn and Scott be able to do with a better road position?
All these and more questions will be answered tomorrow!
Time then for round eight of this year’s championship and we move away from the rough gravel of the recent rounds to the faster stages of Estonia. Ott and Martin come to this round in third, twelve points behind Elfyn and Scott in the championship standings after their measured drive last time out, to victory in Greece.
Of course, Kalle and Jonne will likely be the other crew who will be near the front of the timesheets. They took their first win at this rally a few years ago and have therefore great memories of this event. Third on the road will help their quest for another victory.
Finally, a word on Oliver and Elliot who will step into a top spec Yaris for this event. For this young crew this will be a case of learning this car. They’ve already had a test day, but that’s nothing like actually competing at a full event. It will be interesting to see how they get on.
Let’s take a look at the stages then and hear from the drivers.
Weekend at a Glance
Competition gets underway on Thursday evening with the weekend’s first loop of Tartu vald (SS1/17, 1.76km)
Seven stages are set to be run on Friday: two loops of Peipsiääre (SS2/4, 24.35km), Mustvee (SS3/5, 11.37km) and Kambja (SS6/7, 23.74km) are joined by one run of Elva linn (SS8, 1.72km)
Saturday presents the longest day of the weekend, featuring four tests run twice, followed by the final run of Tartu vald, covering 125.76km
Three stages finalise the weekend’s competitive action on Sunday: a solo Hellenurme (SS18, 11.79km) and two loops of Kääriku (SS19/20, 24.20km)
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“We’re looking forward to a very different character of rally for the next two events, with some very fast roads. Although Estonia wasn’t on the calendar last year, it’s an event we have pretty good knowledge of and a nice one to be going back to with the high-speed nature of the stages. It’s important to have a good feeling in the car and our test last week was good for working through some ideas, but we also know the conditions we’ll face on the rally can depend a lot on the weather; hopefully there can be a chance of some rain to help us out opening the road on Friday.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s cool to be going back to Rally Estonia this year. It’s where I took my first win in the WRC and we’ve had some good success since then also, so I have good memories of this event. I really enjoy driving on the fast and flowing roads and they suit my style well, so I’m excited. The pace on gravel so far this year hasn’t quite been where I’ve wanted it to be, so we had an important test in Estonia last week to try and get fully up to speed and find the best setup for these faster rallies. The feeling was pretty good and I’m confident that we can do a good rally.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“The fast rallies coming up in Estonia and Finland are some of my favourites on the calendar and I’m looking forward to them. It can be challenging to adjust again to the much faster roads, and we also have to get used to driving with the new tyres on high-speed gravel for the first time, but the car felt good in our test, and I feel I’m ready to push. The Estonian stages can be tricky in places especially in the forests, where they are still very fast but also narrow, and this could make Friday the most challenging day. Still, I’m confident we can do a good job and will try to prepare as well as I can.”
Sami Pajari
“These next two rallies are very different to the ones we’ve just had, and maybe the most enjoyable ones on the calendar for me: the stages are high-speed and also quite flowing and in pretty good condition, so it can be more about driving fast than trying to avoid issues. In Estonia the surface is softer than Finland and the roads can get more rutted, so it’s not totally straightforward, but it’s been a nice rally for me in the support categories. Now we’re halfway through the season, it’s natural to try to increase the pace and these next rallies can be good for this, without planning to do anything crazy.”
Oliver Solberg
“It’s a fantastic opportunity and a dream come true for me to be able to do Rally Estonia in the GR YARIS Rally1. To test the car in Finland this week was already an incredible feeling. It’s been a great season so far and I feel ready for this and to learn and gain experience at the top level. Estonia’s one of my favourite rallies; it’s quite technical but also super-fast, so it won’t be easy. The goal is to build up step-by-step during the rally and get more and more comfortable in the car, finish the rally to gain as much experience as possible, and have loads of fun.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We’ve just finished three rough rallies where we showed some strong performance. Now, we move on to a different challenge – Rally Estonia is the first of two really fast and smooth gravel rounds, which I personally enjoy because they are the type of roads I learnt to compete on. These events are purely performance based, meaning they ask a lot from the car – the gaps will be small, and speeds will be high. The setup needs to be very precise and balanced, and the aerodynamic package also plays a big role. We’ve had a busy last week preparing for the rally as we need to do our best in Estonia. This is a crucial point in the championship fight, we can’t let it slip away.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Rally Estonia 14-17 July 2022 X Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“It’s been a challenging start to the season, despite trying our hardest to avoid issues, but we had a good feeling in the car in Greece and need to capitalise on that. Rally Estonia is an event with a great atmosphere, and I have finished on the podium there a few times. We need to have total trust and confidence in the car because of the fast roads and big jumps, so suspension and grip are key parts of our setup. The weather can play a part in the speeds, but it’s been mostly dry so it’s not our biggest concern. It’s important we get a strong result here; we have everything in our hands and continue to work hard, we just need a bit more luck.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“To get a podium in our lead up to this year’s fast rallies is important for the team and great for my confidence, it’s given us the boost we need for Rally Estonia. With such high speeds at this round, we need a car with good balance and grip. Reactivity is super important, but there needs to be a balance between that and the grip on the surface. I’ve had a lot of experience there in the past in but it’s very unpredictable; the ground is softer than Finland, so if it rains it can get very rutted very quickly. Precision is essential to not get caught out here. We need to bring back some good points for the team, and our aim for the end of the weekend is to finish on the podium once again.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“Rally Estonia has got to be one of the best rallies on the calendar when it comes to atmosphere and organisation. It’s always a pleasure to come back and drive these roads in front of so many passionate rally fans. Estonia also holds some nice memories for me as I won the Junior WRC event here two years ago. The stages are incredibly fast – a bit like Finland but not as compact – and we’re really looking forward to getting out there and tackling this year’s event.”
Josh McErlean
“Rally Estonia is a real benchmark for pace and commitment – fast roads, big jumps and no room for hesitation. It’s an incredible feeling driving these roads and one I’ve been looking forward to ever since stepping into the Puma Rally1. Every kilometre is a chance to grow, and I’m keen to keep pushing, learning and showing what we can do.”
Mārtiņš Sesks
“Rally Estonia will feel like a home event for us this year. For sure there will be lots of Latvian fans out spectating and lots of Latvian flags in the crowds which is always great to see. I’m really looking forward to having those home-crowed emotions again – it really is one of the most valuable things you can have. Of course, I’m also looking forward to the rally itself and to being back on fast gravel. Let’s see how it goes and hopefully we can find a good feeling in the car and have a really great weekend. We’re looking forward to it.”
Romet Jürgenson
“I feel like we have good momentum right now. Already in Sardinia we improved our speed quite a lot, and now coming into our home event in Estonia our knowledge and experience of the roads is a lot greater. Of course, this will be our first time competing here with the Rally2 car, but I still feel as though we can do a good job. We just need to focus on getting the set-up in a good window to get the maximum performance possible. For sure this is going to be a pure performance rally, and we can’t wait to get started.”
Summary
Well, we are set for a very fast rally indeed. With 308km’s over 20 stages it will be a big challenge for the crews. Who do you think will take victory?
Berlin is always a classic around the Tempelhof circuit for Formula E, and the Season 11 edition was no different. Oliver Rowland managed to get the championship win on the second race after strategy blunders from Porsche-powered cars, while Jaguar’s drivers traded P1 and P5 on both days.
Round 13: After a delayed and then shortened qualifying, which saw Mitch Evans take pole position with only the groups taking place, the Jaguar driver led the field away. All drivers left the grid apart from the Season 9 champion, Jake Dennis. He detected the issue at the start and did the correct signal, but by that point it was too late. He managed to get going but had to stop due to the safety car.
Once the safety car was in, Drugovich, Cassidy, and Buemi all took their 10-second stop-and-go penalty for being unable to serve their grid drops for changes to engine components. The 2 German drivers, Pascal Wehrlein and Max Guenther, were battling as Guenther went wide; Wehrlein took P3 until Guenther regained it with attack mode.
Rowland was attempting to get back up the field; however, his attack mode charge didn’t work as intended, as he only regained up to P6. Evans, meanwhile, managed to pull up to a 4-second lead while Wehrlein as on the hunt to take the victory. Guenther was the first driver to take his pit boost and immediately took his attack mode. As more drivers decided to take their pit stops, Rowland managed to cycle his way to the front ahead of Ticktum and Beckmann.
Just as everyone took a pit boost, drama happened late on in the race as Beckmann sustained suspension damage after a collision with Sette Camara, as the Brazilian gained a 10-second time penalty for the incident. The safety car was called for the event as Vergne was falling down the grid.
Once the safety car was called in, Rowland went for a move on Vandoorne, ended up spinning, and retired from the race, ending the chances of him obtaining the championship on that day.
Despite the last race chaos and 2 extra laps, Mitch Evans managed to obtain the win in Berlin and his first points of 2025 and his first points since Sao Paulo last year! The 2 Porsche drivers, Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix Da Costa, finished P2 and P3, but Da Costa received a 5-second time penalty and finished P10. Edoardo Mortara made it to back-to-back podiums from Jakarta to Berlin. Taylor Barnard finished in P4, Nick Cassidy managed to get P5 after a race AND grid penalty, Max Guenther salvaged P6, Sebastian Buemi was P7, Nico Mueller was P8, and Dan Ticktum was P9.
BERLIN, GERMANY – JULY 12: Race winner Mitch Evans of New Zealand and Jaguar TCS Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the Berlin E-Prix, Round 13 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Tempelhof Airport Circuit on July 12, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images for Formula E) Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank
Round 14: After a traditional qualifying session, home hero Pascal Wehrlein took the pole position ahead of Dan Ticktum. Wehrlein’s teammate Da Costa lined up P3 as Rowland received a 5-place grid penalty for his collision with Vandoorne yesterday.
The way the championship can be won after Round 14 is if Oliver Rowland secures 11 points over Pascal Wehrlein.
Once the lights went out, Wehrlein led the field to turn 1 as Ticktum tried to attack him, but he managed to keep the position. Rowland moved up to P7 as Beckmann took a VERY early attack mode. Rowland tried to make it past the Andretti driver, Nico Mueller, but couldn’t make it stick. The Porsche-powered drivers dominated and changed the lead in order to save energy while Beckmann flew up to P1 to help his teammate.
Towards the middle stint of the race, Rowland went for a move that thankfully wasn’t déjà vu from yesterday’s incident with Vandoorne. Barnard went for a lunge at turn 2 and managed to take the lead, while Buemi stopped after that turn and brought out the safety car.
As the safety car came in, Barnard immediately went into attack mode in order to try and build a gap. However, Barnard’s plan fell apart as Bird and Mueller got into a collision with each other, which brought an end to Bird’s race, while Mueller had to pit for a puncture. Once the safety car came in, attack modes were taken from MANY drivers, including Wehrlein, Frijns, and Rowland. Rowland then managed to get into the lead while Wehrlein fell down DRAMATICALLY and out of the points. Drugovich managed to cycle his way up to P4 as Rowland was still in the top 3. The Brazilian driver managed to fight the rookie sensation of Barnard. There was then a full course yellow, which was quickly cleared before Cassidy managed to take the win and Rowland the championship!
Nick Cassidy, Jake Dennis, and Jean-Eric Vergne finished out the podium. Rowland claimed the championship with P4, Mitch Evans was P5, Taylor Barnard was P7, and Antonio Felix Da Costa was in P8. Nico Mueller finished P9 but received a penalty for his collision with Bird, so Sergio Sette Camara and Jake Hughes finished P9 and P10, respectively.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has finally knocked Nicolo Bulega off the top of the World Superbikes championship lead in 2025 after a comfortable treble victory around Donington Park – a circuit he has now secured 12 victories at – as his Ducati nemesis had to settle for consecutive runner-up spots.
Tissot Superpole Race
Alex Lowes was declared unfit for Sunday’s action after his crash from the lead yesterday in Race 1. In the slightly cooler conditions, the World Superbikes grid was hoping for a much cleaner race than yesterdays and things immediately went smoother as they all made it through turn 1 safely.
Once again, Jonathan Rea shot through from the 2nd row of the grid to take 2nd place behind polesitter Razgatliolgu into Redgate on lap 1. Bulega slid to 4th while Andrea Locatelli ran in 3rd.
The only casualty on the 1st lap was Michael van der Mark, whose miserable season continues. By the 2nd lap, Locatelli was back down to 5th as Bulega moved ahead to challenge Rea for 2nd and Sam Lowes then passed him for 4th.
The battle between Rea and Bulega over allowed Razgatlioglu to stretch his lead out front as the Yamaha and Ducati ran the latter half of the Donington Park lap side-by-side on the 2nd lap. The entertaining battle came to an end as Bulega prevailed and it became clear that Rea’s ultimate pace was not enough for him to secure a podium.
Another great piece of racing occurred between Ryan Vickers and Yari Montella. The latter made a mistake that lost him positions and the former had enough pace to fight within the crucial top-9 positions in the Tissot Superpole Race – which sets the grid for Race 2.
Alvaro Bautista – like Sam Lowes – was making up for lost time from the previous day’s crash. The Ducati rider passed Locatelli for 4th and secured a much better grid spot for Race 2 later in the day.
Behind the top 6 and starting Race 2 where they finished were Danilo Petrucci, Garrett Gerloff and Andrea Iannone. It seemed as if Vickers would be in the top 9, but on the 8th out of 10 laps he ran wide at the final corner.
Iker Lecuona and Scott Redding both had technical issues that forced them out near the end while Locatelli made it past his teammate Rea at the chicane on the last lap. Razgatlioglu’s 11th win around Donington Park cut the gap to Bulega to just 1 point ahead of the full distance race in the afternoon where he looked all set to snatch the lead in the championship.
Tissot Superpole Race Results
Image Credit: WorldSBK
Race 2
For the third time this weekend, Razgatlioglu made the hole shot to Redgate as Bulega suffered another sluggish getaway. It was Sam Lowes, fresh from a home podium in the Tissot Superpole Race, who inherited 2nd place at the start.
Bulega again fell as low as 5th and had to repass Locatelli, then set about his teammate Bautista who had also passed him in the early stages. The Ducati teammates fight over 3rd then became a battle over 2nd as Sam Lowes crashed out at high speed at the start of lap 4 but thankfully without any obvious injuries like his brother Alex had a day earlier.
After Bulega made it past Bautista the battles at the front of the grid settled down as Razgatlioglu had covered off any vulnerability by acing the start and settling into a comfortable rhythm. There was however a battle for 4th featuring Locatelli, Petrucci, Iannone and Gerloff.
Locatelli held a gap of just under a second to stay out of range from Petrucci as Iannone made a mistake at the chicane that dropped him out of the fight and behind Dominique Aegerter with 8 laps to go. Vickers was a couple of seconds behind holding Remy Gardner at bay for 9th, both of whom had made up several spots since the start.
Meanwhile, van der Mark had yet more mechanical trouble as his nightmare weekend in Donington continued with another retirement on Sunday as his teammate romped to a triple victory. The only threat to Razgatlioglu was a track limits warning but it did not advance into a penalty.
Bulega was in bigger trouble than the leader as his teammate Bautista put on a charge to close right up to him on the final lap. Bulega just held on from Bautista as Razgatlioglu came home 3 seconds clear of the Ducatis and took the championship lead for the first time this year with a record 12th victory at the Prosecco DOC UK Round.
Further down, Iannone made it back past Aegerter for 7th but Vickers fell backwards once again and came home 11th. Scott Redding was behind in 12th, completely unable to replicate the pace he had shown in Race 1 the previous day while British wildcard Tommy Bridewell retired.
Lecuona’s Honda finally held together for a race distance at the 3rd attempt this weekend to take 10th behind Gardner, then came the two Brits. Vickers and Redding were the meat in a Honda sandwich as Montella and Rea trundled home as the last of the points scorers.
David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) emerged victorious in a breathtaking Moto3 Grand Prix at Sachsenring, delivering a sensational final corner move to take his second career win – and the first at home for his German-based team. The Spanish rider edged out rookie sensation Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) by just 0.241 seconds, with Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) pushed back to third in a three-wide drag to the line.
Photo Credit: KTM Red Bull Ajo
The final lap delivered peak Moto3 chaos. Rueda led through the closing stages, but Muñoz made his move into the final corner, running the #99 wide and opening the door for Quiles to slice through into second. Rueda held onto third by just 0.009s ahead of Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with the top five split by just 0.335s at the flag.
The drama was non-stop throughout the 23-lap race. Scott Ogden, who started from pole, crashed out in the second half after early front-running form. Carpe was forced to take a Long Lap Penalty after aggressive opening-lap contact with David Almansa (Leopard Racing), but clawed his way back to the lead group by the final laps.
Australian Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) rode smartly to sixth, just half a second from victory, while Italy’s Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) equalled his best-ever finish in seventh. Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) secured impressive eighth and ninth places, the New Zealander earning his career-best result to date. Marcos Uriarte (LEVELUP-MTA) completed the top ten.
Further back, Dennis Foggia came through from deep in the pack to finish 11th ahead of Valentin Perrone, Stefano Nepa, and Riccardo Rossi, with Ryusei Yamanaka taking the final point in 15th. Swiss riders Noah Dettwiler and Lenoxx Phommara rounded out the finishers ahead of Nicola Carraro, who was classified but finished off the pace.
Rueda’s P3 finish still sees him extend his lead in the championship, but with Muñoz, Quiles, and Piqueras all closing in, the title fight is heating up heading into the second half of the season.
Toprak Razgatlioglu took a historic 10th victory at Donington Park to slash the championship deficit to Nicolo Bulega to just 4 points under sizzling Leicestershire sunshine as the home heroes did their best to put on a show for the British crowd.
Having started on pole position at a track that is amongst his favourites on the World Superbikes calendar, Razgatlioglu took a comfortable 10th victory around Donington in Race 1 at the Prosecco DOC UK Round. However, the Turkish rider had a couple of unlikely challengers in the opening stages.
Starting in 4th place – his best of the season – Jonathan Rea shot through into 2nd place and very nearly took the lead into Redgate on the 1st lap. Halfway around the lap, Rea’s dream start was thwarted by Alex Lowes and halfway round lap 2, Lowes snatched 1st place from Razgatlioglu on his Bimota.
Sadly, Lowes time in the lead was cut short when he crashed going through the fast Craner Curves at the start of lap 4. Lowes was far from the only fast rider to exit the race early on as three Ducatis from three different teams went down in a scary accident at the first corner on lap 1.
Yari Montella and Sam Lowes came together, collecting Alvaro Bautista on the outside of Redgate corner. This is far from the only time Bautista has been caught in a crash in the midfield after the start of a race this year as the Spaniard’s poor qualifying form keeps leaving him vulnerable.
By one quarter distance in the race, one quarter of the field was already out. Only 16 riders made it to the finish, while it was not just crashes but mechanical problems probably onset by the heat that led to Iker Lecuona’s Honda gearbox giving up.
As some unfortunate riders dropped out, others rose to the fore. Scott Redding had leapt up 8 spots after the 1st lap but his compatriot Ryan Vickers, who like Rea was enjoying his best qualifying of the year at home in Donington fell down 7 spots.
After Alex Lowes took himself out of the lead, Razgatliolgu had enough pace in hand to increase the gap to Bulega behind each lap. Bulega had fallen as low as 5th but was back into 2nd place fairly quickly as Rea started to fade, but had no answer to his BMW rival who won by 6 and a half seconds.
Rea settled at the back of a four-way fight for 3rd behind Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli and Redding. Behind them came Dominique Aegerter and Garrett Gerloff both running comfortably in their respective positions while another four-way battle ensued over 9th place.
Although Redding appeared to have the most pace and made it into 4th before Petrucci started to pull clear a little, a mistake at the Melbourne Hairpin towards the end dropped him to 6th place at the flag but it was still a positive race for the Brit who had been back racing in the British Superbike Championship just 6 days earlier at Knockhill. In the battle for 9th, Vickers and Michael van der Mark tripped over each other too much and slipped behind Andrea Iannone and Xavi Vierge.
