Rookie sensation Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) delivered a final-corner masterclass at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, storming to his first Grand Prix victory in a Moto3™ thriller. The 17-year-old battled from the third row to lead home a rookie 1-2, fending off Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in a drag to the line, while Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team) returned to the podium in front of his home crowd for the first time since 2022.
Photo credit: Pirelli Press Office
The early chaos and charge
Polesitter Carpe grabbed the holeshot and kept things tidy early, with front-row starters briefly forming the top three. Behind them, it was action immediately, as Jose Antonio Rueda and Scott Ogden rubbed elbows on Lap 1. On Lap 2, drama struck as Vicente Perez, Riccardo Rossi, and Ruche Moodley all crashed exiting Turn 5. Then on Lap 3, David Almansa was eliminated in contact with Ogden, ending another promising charge early.
While Carpe and Rueda duked it out with Quiles at the front, Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) put on a sensational show, slicing from 20th to P4 by Lap 6 and battling for the podium on home turf. Also on a flyer was Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), joining the lead group after starting from the back of the grid.
But it wouldn’t last. Lap 7 saw more heartbreak for the home fans as Adrian Fernandez and Luca Lunetta crashed out at Turn 1. A few corners later, the dream run for Pini ended after contact with Joel Kelso sent him down at Turn 12.
Photo credit: Pirelli Press Office
The final lap showdown
The final lap was a Mugello classic. Foggia led into Turn 1, but as the group blasted through Arrabbiata 1 and 2, the top three went full attack mode. Carpe and Foggia swapped positions, allowing Quiles to slide back into P2 by Turn 12. Into Bucine, the last corner, Quiles hit the front—and despite Carpe’s late lunge in the slipstream, the #28 held his nerve to cross the line just ahead.
“That was chaos—but incredible,” said Quiles. “I didn’t expect the win to come this soon, especially here. Mugello is special. I can’t believe it.”
Carpe took his third podium of the year in P2, while Foggia celebrated an emotional return with a home podium in P3.
Title implications
Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda finished fourth after briefly dropping to 15th mid-race, salvaging valuable points in a wild one. David Muñoz crossed the line fifth, just ahead of Taiyo Furusato, who was shuffled back late in the lap.
Angel Piqueras fought to P7, narrowly ahead of Perrone in P8, with Joel Kelso and Ryusei Yamanaka completing the top ten—just 0.9s from victory. Nicola Carraro was 11th in a photo finish.
Gordon Shedden rolled back the years and proved he still has the quality which made him a triple champion, by taking a lights to flag win in race three at Oulton Park.
He had to hold off a resurgent Jake Hill, as well as the NAPA Ford duo of Ash Sutton and Dan Rowbottom, to take his first win since Croft in 2022.
It was a wet to dry race, with every car starting on wets. However the dry lines were soon appearing in a race affected by two safety car periods, and a lot of attrition.
Shedden got away from the line well, with Proctor, who started second, swallowed up by Josh Cook, Jake Hill and Dan Rowbottom. The trio squabbling for second allowing Shedden to get away in his Toyota.
On lap two Cook was out of the battle for second as he locked up going into Lodge corner, entering the gravel trap. He soon retired with an issue with his Honda.
The first of two safety car periods came when Max Hall went off at Lodge and beached his Cupra Leon in the gravel. The stewards deeming it to be parked in a dangerous place.
The restart came on lap ten, but only lasted a lap as Tom Chilton and Mikey Doble came together at Hislops. The latter parking his car in the barrier and the second safety car period began. Both cars retiring.
On lap 14 came the restart, with Hill hounding down Shedden. However on lap 17 Hill went wide into Cascades, letting through a host of cars, and his battle for the win over.
Shedden held firm to take his 53rd BTCC win, and show he still has the ability to fight at the front. A definite highlight of Toyota’s season so far.
Sutton came second to strengthen his championship lead, with Rowbottom third. Title protagonist Tom Ingram came home fourth with Senna Proctor fifth. Dan Cammish and Hill were sixth and seventh with James Dorlin eighth. Charles Rainford came from the very back of the grid to finish ninth, with Sam Osborne tenth.
Aiden Moffat was 11th with Dexter Patterson, who gambled on pitting for soft tyres, finished 12th. Finn Leslie finished 13th with points on his first race weekend at just 17 years old. Dan Lloyd and Daryl DeLeon rounded off the points, with no fewer than seven retirements and two drivers (Aron Taylor-Smith and Nick Halstead), failing to make the start.
Ash Sutton’s race one gamble paid off as he took victory in race two to retake the championship lead.
He conceded third place at the end of race one to avoid using the slower hard tyre in race two. Title rival Tom Ingram was at the front on the hard tyre, with Sutton ready to seize the initiative.
The Ford driver was up to second by Cascades from fourth and on the back of Ingram. Adam Morgan was up to third, with Ingram hoping his teammate could come to his aid and help fight Sutton. But this was irrelevant when Sutton dived down the inside of Ingram at the Island hairpin on lap two.
The safety car was out on lap three when Dan Lloyd, race one hero, crashed heavily at the high speed Druids corner. He clipped the tyre stack at the Hislops chicane which caused damage to his Hyundai. He spun and hit the wall at high speed, ending his race but thankfully Lloyd was fine.
After a lengthy period while the barrier was fixed, Sutton maintained his lead with Morgan in tow. Ingram was fourth behind Hyundai teammate Tom Chilton.
Ingram was soon being hounded by reigning champion Jake Hill in the BMW. Hill was on the soft tyre so had the pace advantage, with Ingram defending. Ingram’s other Hyundai teammate Senna Proctor was on the back of Hill, meaning he had to contend with the Hyundai behind him before focusing on the one in front.
Proctor’s ability to attack was hampered by bodywork rubbing on his left front tyre. He fell back a couple of spots to eighth, and gave Hill the impetus to go after Ingram.
There was the worry of another safety car when Charles Rainford was sent into the wall on the exit of turn one by Gordon Shedden. However Rainford’s BMW got away and the stewards decided to keep the corner under waved yellow flags for the duration of the race.
Sutton took the win, his fourth of the season and the 46th of his storied career, retaking the championship lead. Morgan and Chilton followed him home. Ingram’s Herculean defending effort saw him finish fourth ahead of Hill. Dan Rowbottom finished sixth with Josh Cook seventh.
Proctor ended up eighth with the bodywork damage with Shedden ninth and Dan Cammish tenth. The hard tyre being Cammish’s detriment.
Mikey Doble, Sam Osborne, James Dorlin, Chris Smiley and Daryl DeLeon rounded off the top ten.
Tom Ingram outlined his title credentials with a dominant lights to flag win in race one at Oulton Park.
The Hyundai man coasted to his 35th career BTCC win, setting a new lap record in the process. Title rival Ash Sutton could only manage fourth.
There was an extra formation lap due to series debutant Finn Leslie having a driveshaft issue on the grid. This resulted in the race being reduced by one lap to 14.
When the race got underway, Ingram made an excellent start and pulled out a nice gap heading into turn one. Chris Smiley, starting second, was jumped by the NAPA Fords of Dan Cammish and Ash Sutton.
The safety car was deployed on lap two when the unfortunate Sam Osborne was sent into the wall by Stephen Jelley coming out of the hairpin, damaging the protective barrier.
After a two lap delay, the race restarted, with Senna Proctor pulling off a stunning double overtake on Josh Cook and Charles Rainford into Cascades. Max Hall’s difficult season suffered another setback when he made contact with Un-Limited Motorsport teammate Dexter Patterson into the Hislops Chicane. Hall came worse off with a broken suspension, crabbing his way back to the pits and into retirement.
Meanwhile up front, Ingram was sailing away, setting a new lap record of 1:24:052 as he was surging clear at the front.
Throughout the race there was a battle between Josh Cook and James Dorlin, with a couple of flashpoints. The Honda man got the better of Dorlin in his Toyota, with Cook finishing ahead.
WSR’s Daryl DeLeon got his elbows out throughout the race, making contact with a couple of drivers, with the main point being pitching Aron Taylor-Smith into a spin going into the hairpin. DeLeon hadn’t done WSR teammate Aiden Moffat any favours as Taylor-Smith bumped into him, putting the Scot back a few places.
A special mention must be made for Dan Lloyd. Excluded from qualifying on Saturday after failing the ride height test, he started from the back and battled through the field to finish 12th. A fine drive.
Ingram won the race at a canter, with Dan Cammish second. There was a bit of tactics in play by Ash Sutton, as he allowed Chris Smiley to pass for third. This was so that Sutton wouldn’t be on the slower hard tyres for race two, potentially increasing his chances for race two victory.
Team Vertu pair Tom Chilton and Adam Morgan were fifth and sixth. Jake Hill was seventh in his WSR BMW with Senna Proctor eighth in the fourth Vertu Hyundai. Cook and Dorlin rounded off the top ten.
Rainford and Lloyd were next, with Taylor-Smith edging out DeLeon for 13th while Dan Rowbottom took the final point for 15th.
We are in the twilight stage now of the ABB FIA Formula E Season 11 with Shanghai delivering 2 surprising winners in Max Guenther and Nick Cassidy. Now we head to the final location of the single race weekend of the calendar: Jakarta. Circuit preview:
Jakarta Circuit Map from Season 9. Image Credit: Formula E Documenation
Note: FIA hasn’t updated the circuit map for season 11 yet, so this is from season 9.
Having skipped the Indonesian city in Season 10, we return for the final time in Gen3/Gen3 Evo. The start/finish straight makes it ideal for overtaking, as do turns 3 to 7. The tight and twisty sections of turns 8 to 12 will test our drivers before a straight from turns 12 to 13 finishes the lap with 2 back-to-back left turns with a final right to complete the lap.
Predictions:
Pole Position: Max Guenther
The current DS Penske driver won the last Jakarta E-Prix when he was a Maserati MSG Racing driver. I can see this momentum holding up to take pole.
Race winner: Oliver Rowland
No big surprise, as Rowland has been the man of the moment, although Shanghai was a massive disappointment given he didn’t win either race. If he wants to maintain his lead in the drivers’ championship and round it out in Berlin, a win will be required here.
Podium: Nick Cassidy and Max Günther
Off the back of his sensational win in Shanghai, Nick Cassidy seems to be pushing hard in what looks to be his final year as a Jaguar TCS Racing driver. He will want to end the season on a high before departing for a new team.
As for Max Guenther, as a pole sitter, he will try to maximize this to a win; however, this seems unlikely given the pace of Rowland and Cassidy.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has slashed the championship points lead of Nicolo Bulega after the BMW rider romped to a treble of victories in Misano and his Ducati rival went pointless in the Tissot Superpole Race.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE
With Bulega now able to start on pole position having served his 3-place grid penalty in Race 1 yesterday, he was keen to get the hole-shot into the first corner. However, Axel Bassani (gambling on qualifying tyres for the half-distance event) got a much better launch but went into turn 1 too fast and eliminated himself and Bulega on the spot.
Thankfully neither of the Italian riders were injured on home soil and were able to race again in the full-distance race in the afternoon. Bulega was fuming that Bassani did not immediately offer an apology and the latter was dealt a double long-lap penalty for Race 2.
Razgatlioglu was very fortunate to have avoided the chaos at turn 1 and after his main rival went down the half-distance race was a foregone conclusion. The Turkish rider came home 4 seconds clear of an impressive Alex Lowes (also on qualifying rubber) in 2nd place who secured the first podium finish for Bimota in 25 years that arguably might have gone to his teammate if not for the accident at turn 1.
The rival Yamahas of Andrea Locatelli and Remy Gardner squabbled over 3rd place on lap 1 and their resulting battle left the latter vulnerable to Danilo Petrucci. Unfortunately for Petrucci’s teammate and compatriot Yari Montella he crashed out while chasing Iker Lecuona for the final points-paying position in 9th.
Andrea Iannone was given yet another double long-lap penalty for jumping the start having already been found guilty of the same offence twice before this year. That ruled him out of the fight for points, where the man with the most pace on Sunday morning was Alvaro Bautista.
Bautista was determined to improve his grid position for Race 2 by finishing in the top 9 of the Tissot Superpole Race and eventually made it past Gardner for 5th. Gardner then slipped behind Sam Lowes and Jonathan Rea, who was finally showing some promising pace in his injury-affected 2025 campaign.
TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS
Image Credit: WorldSBK
RACE 2
Having dropped 12 points to Razgatlioglu in the Tissot Superpole Race and consigned to starting in 10th for Race 2 of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round, Bulega had a point to prove on Sunday afternoon. The championship leader had made it into 2nd place with 17 laps still to go, but it was already too late to catch Razgatlioglu up front who won by a dominant margin of almost 10 seconds.
Once Razgatlioglu survived the first lap in the lead from pole position the ‘treble’ never looked in doubt. This was the second time in as many years that Razagtlioglu had won all three races in Misano and he has now cut the points gap to Bulega down to just 9 points at the halfway point of the season.
In the sweltering Sunday afternoon heat that was 3 degrees hotter than Race 1 a day earlier, Locatelli, Petrucci and Alex Lowes were once again the riders who ran behind Razgatlioglu. Bautista took some time to get up to speed but after being passed by his charging teammate the Spaniard began his pursuit of the podium.
Around the halfway point of the race, Bautista engaged in battle with Locatelli for 3rd and sealed the deal with a move at turn 10. It was particularly important for Bautista to have a good result as it was revealed ahead of the Misano weekend that negotiations between himself and his factory Ducati team had broken down over a 2026 contract.
Gardner and Montella suffered a high-speed crash while Jonathan Rea slid out of 9th to end his encouraging weekend on a low. Likewise, Alex Lowes crashed out of 6th after his and Bimota’s breakthrough podium finish earlier in the day but recovered to finish 14th.
The double long-lap penalty for torpedoing Bulega in the Tissot Superpole Race cost the other Bimota of Bassani any chance of a good result after such a strong qualifying earlier in the weekend, while Iannone’s nightmare weekend continued with a crash two laps from home.
The attrition left Locatelli ahead of Petrucci in 4th, with the Italian struggling to keep the Lowes brothers and the Lecuona behind. Once Alex Lowes slid off, Petrucci just held on ahead of Lecuona and Sam Lowes for another solid result that helps keep him narrowly ahead of the factory Ducati of Bautista in the championship.
There was a monumental gap between Sam Lowes in 7th and Garrett Gerloff in 8th. The fight over P8 however was absolutely thrilling.
Gerloff prevailed over Xavi Vierge, an under-pressure Michael van der Mark and an impressive Ryan Vickers but the race-long fight for 8th also featured Iannone and Scott Redding before they both crashed out with less than 2 laps to go. The battles further down the grid compensated for the lack of action at the sharp end as an ecstatic Razgatlioglu gets ever more motivated to switch to MotoGP next year as the reigning World Superbike champion, but Bulega is far from beaten as the season concludes its first half…
After inheriting pole position but falling to third at the start, Toprak Razgatlioglu fresh from the news of his move to MotoGP calmly retook the lead of Race 1 at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round to ominously breeze past home hero Nicolo Bulega.
In the 30 Degrees Celsius Saturday afternoon sunshine, there was some great action on lap 1 as Bulega shot through from 4th on the grid (having been penalised three spots after going fastest in Superpole) to take the lead through the fast turn 11 from Axel Bassani. Bassani had stolen the lead after Razgatlioglu ran wide through the long left-hander of turn 5 while Dominique Aegerter and Bahattin Sofuoglu both went down at the same spot seconds later.
Alex Lowes put a move on Andrea Locatelli for 4th on lap 2 but just seconds later his Bimota teammate Bassani crashed out, as did Andrea Iannone. This left Razgatlioglu free to chase after Bulega and the two left Lowes behind on track, with the gap already being at 4 seconds by lap 4.
By the 5th lap, Razgatlioglu was confidently closing on Bulega and easily swept past in a move that saw him encounter little defence. Bulega simply had to accept that his BMW rival was a cut above the rest at the circuit where the Turk had performed a hat-trick one year ago and the race was ultimately settled at this point.
Danilo Petrucci had passed Locatelli for 4th and set about catching Lowes for 3rd. It appeared that Petrucci had sealed the deal but with 6 laps to go Lowes retaliated, only for the Italian to get back ahead a couple of corners later in an interesting duel for the final spot on the podium.
Behind the top 4 came Locatelli who held off Alvaro Bautista for 5th then Sam Lowes and Yari Montella were behind and closely contested 7th place. Scott Redding sandwiched the Honda duo with Jonathan Rea, Ryan Vickers, Garrett Gerloff and a returning Michael Ruben Rinaldi rounding out the points scorers.
A thrilling last corner overtake reminds us how close the racing is in Moto3™ . David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) finally broke through for his first Grand Prix victory at the GoPro Grand Prix of Aragon, pulling off a perfectly judged final-corner move on rookie star Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Viel Aspar Team) to clinch the win by just 0.050 seconds.
Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the podium, continuing his quietly impressive rookie campaign with a strong late-race charge. But it was a race to forget for his teammate and current points leader Jose Antonio Rueda, who had led for much of the contest before a costly last-lap error dropped him to P8 at the flag.
Photo Credit: Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)
Rueda nailed the holeshot and led through the opening sector, while Quiles rocketed through from the second row to slot into second by Turn 3. The duo quickly broke clear with Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and David Almansa (Leopard Racing) giving chase, forming an early lead group. But Moto3™ being what it is, the pack soon swelled again. Unfortunately, the field was down a rider early on as Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) retired with a mechanical issue, and Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA) took out Stefano Nepa (SIC58) at Turn 9.
By Lap 12, the tide began to turn. Lunetta and Muñoz both made aggressive moves on Rueda, shuffling the #99 back to sixth. Almansa capitalized to hit the front with five laps remaining, his weekend pace finally converting into race-leading form. Behind him, Carpe, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), Ryusei Yamanaka, and Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) kept the fight for the podium wide open.
Quiles reclaimed the lead with two laps to go, looking composed as the front group of ten barreled toward the finale. Muñoz hit back on the penultimate lap, but it was all to play for. Then came the mistake—Rueda ran deep into Turn 1 on the final lap, undoing all his earlier work and tumbling down the order.
Photo Credit: Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool
Down the long back straight and into the final corner, Quiles held the advantage. But Muñoz, calm and calculating, made a clean, clinical move to dive up the inside. Quiles tried to retaliate with a final drag to the line but fell heartbreakingly short—just 0.050s the margin between victory and a continued wait for that first win.
David Almansa claimed a career-best P4, narrowly missing the podium but showing clear upward momentum. Lunetta and Piqueras followed in fifth and sixth, the latter closing the gap slightly in the Championship standings. Kelso crossed the line in seventh ahead of Rueda, whose P8 result leaves him with a bitter taste after leading so much of the race.
Ryusei Yamanaka and Cormac Buchanan completed the top ten, the New Zealander earning his best-ever result in Moto3™ after an assured ride. Taiyo Furusato, after his best-ever qualifying, just missed the top ten and had to settle for P11.
Photo credit: Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool
Jose Antonio Rueda may have had a rough ride to P8 in Aragon, but his early-season dominance means he still holds a commanding 52-point lead in the Moto3™ World Championship. With 149 points, he remains the clear favourite—but that margin is beginning to look more manageable for the chasing pack.
Angel Piqueras sits second on 97 points. The Spaniard hasn’t had the cleanest run of late, but consistent top-ten finishes and flashes of pace suggest he’s still the most likely challenger. A big result at the next round could really tighten things up.
Just behind, a cluster of riders are separated by less than a race win:
Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) – 86 pts
Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 85 pts
Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) – 67 pts
Kelso has been in the mix regularly but still seeks a win. Carpe, meanwhile, is quietly having one of the best rookie seasons on the grid, now just 1 point off P3 in the standings. Furusato rounds out the top five and remains a wildcard threat—especially on Sundays.
Feature image credit: Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool
Into the final day then of this very tricky rally which despite its rocky and dusty road often has some very close finishes. Adrien and Alex returned to the action as the Hyundai team were able to sort the damage out after their incident yesterday.
First up then was SS13 San Giacomo – Plebi 1 – 25.19 km and Seb was fastest from Ott and Kalle. The top three overall were making the most of the cleaning road which was opened by Adrien. The stage winning pace from Seb meant he increased his lead over Ott by four and a half seconds.
Into the second stage of the day, SS14 Porto San Paolo 1 – 13.70 km which would be the later power stage and Kalle was fastest from Seb and Ott. Takamoto gained two positions and moved into fifth position. This was after their teammate Sami slowed in the stage losing almost a whole minute to the stage winner.
Time for the penultimate stage then, SS15 San Giacomo – Plebi 2 – 25.19 km and Ott was fastest by two and a half seconds from Seb with Kalle third. There were a few leaderboard changes further back as Sami moved back into seventh place, but incredibly Oliver Solberg was actually one place ahead in sixth place, despite driving a Rally2 Yaris.
After a short service break we came to the final stage, SS16 Porto San Paolo 2[Power Stage] – 13.70 km and Thierry set the early pace before the Kalle came through to win the stage by eight or so seconds and Ott was third fastest whilst Takamoto and Elfyn rounded out the final points paying positions in the powerstage. There was some drama for Seb as he lost the rear of his Yaris and nudged a tree at the highest point of the stage. His winning margin in the end was a little under eight seconds.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Italia Sardegna
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
3:34:24.5
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+7.9
3
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+50.5
4
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+5:05.7
5
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+7:29.6
6
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+8:32.9
7
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+10:29.0
8
N. Gryazin
K. Aleksandrov
Škoda Fabia RS
+10:58.7
9
R. Daprà
L. Guglielmetti
Škoda Fabia RS
+12:15.3
10
K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak
Toyota GR Yaris
+12:21.1
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m very happy to secure this win. It was a close fight until the end with Ott and this morning I had the opportunity to build a bit of a margin. Therefore, in the Power Stage I was not pushing for the full points, but we still had to fight with the ruts, and I got caught in a tight corner and preferred to stop and reverse the car. It wasn’t ideal and cost us some Sunday points, but we had enough in hand to achieve our main target which was to win. It’s a very satisfying win for myself and the team, which did a great job after Portugal to improve the car setup and the speed even without a test; the car was enjoyable to drive, and the times were coming more easily.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“I think we can be happy with our weekend. We had a lot of cleaning on Friday and after that we managed it the best we can with a clean and clever drive and maximum points from Sunday. I did everything I could in the Power Stage, and I was surprised by the time gap because it didn’t feel great in such a narrow and slow stage, but I’m happy with the points. In terms of the pace this is probably the best weekend I’ve done in Sardinia, so thanks to the team for the good car.”
Elfyn Evans
“Overall, we have to be satisfied with how our weekend has turned out. Fourth was realistically as much as we could expect starting first on the road on Friday. This is always a rally full of attrition and getting to the end without big issues was vital. The pace of the top three was pretty hot but the positive thing is that we did make clear progress through the rally in terms of feeling, especially in second-pass conditions, so that gives us some positives to take forward to Greece.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It’s been a very tough weekend as we expect here, but still, we could finish fifth overall which is not so bad. We had some difficulties during the weekend with the roll and some other things, but this can happen in a rally like this and at the end I felt quite confident with the car. I tried to push in the Power Stage but just made a mistake at the end and got stuck in the very soft and loose surface. So it’s some mixed feelings but I think we are heading in a good direction looking forward to Greece.”
Sami Pajari
“It was a tricky final day for us. The plan was just to get to the finish with a good feeling, but we hit something on the first stage of the day and broke something small in the suspension. We managed to fix it on the road section so that we could continue driving, and then the most important thing was to get to the finish and bring the points back. Up until today I think it was a positive weekend for us. The speed was better and coming more naturally and this is something good to take to Greece.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“We didn’t come into today feeling comfortable to push the limits, as we were struggling to find a good rhythm and balance in the car, but we did our absolute maximum. It has been a very demanding rally, and it’s frustrating to finish second to Seb again. He has been strong this weekend, and at the moment we just don’t have the full package to beat the Toyotas. It was extremely punishing on the stages, and we knew we had to push for as many points as possible but also be very clean and neat, which was a challenge.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 06, Rally Italia Sardegna 5 – 8 June 2025 Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“Overall, I am disappointed in the weekend – I feel we had a lot of back luck on Friday. I still don’t know what went wrong, as I somehow lost control of the car on a flat corner and took off the whole rear. From that point on, there was only today where we could salvage something. Considering our road order, taking five points is not too bad. We will turn the corner soon, the team deserves it; everyone is pushing so hard and I know it will happen. Greece will be tough, it’s very rough and easy to damage the car, but we were able to win from first on the road last year, so starting fifth should be even better for us.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“Sardinia was another rally where we were fighting at the top in the beginning, but then something happened that stopped that. I was pleased with my pace on the new stages today, so there are some positives to take from the weekend, and I am determined to turn the negatives into positives by learning from them. There’s things we can definitely improve. The target was a clean rally, which unfortunately didn’t happen, so I will do everything I can to have one in Greece.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“A disappointing weekend for the team with what happened on stage two, but the boys and girls did a good job to get us back on the road. It was quite important to get back out there, because Greece is quickly coming up, so we got some good mileage where we could try things out, collect some data and we’re looking forward to having a better event in Greece.”
Josh McErlean
“A lot of good learning this weekend, and hopefully someday we can use this experience driving first on the road on the first day of a rally! But honestly, a big thanks to the whole team, even in the last service they had a big job to fit a front-left damper in seven minutes! So, a big kudos to them and hopefully we’ve gained some good learning for Greece. It definitely shows us you need to have a good Friday in WRC!”
Jourdan Serderidis
“We end the rally 25th overall, which is better than expected, because looking through the entry list I thought the Top-30 would be the aim. So, we finished 25th, even though we had the roll-on Friday, we lost about three minutes there. For M-Sport it’s not been the best rally so far, with the three cars crashing out on Friday. But thanks to the mechanics, we repaired the cars so we could continue on Saturday and Sunday.”
“Another good point is that we’ve made some developments for the next rally in Greece, and I’m looking forward to a good weekend there soon.”
Romet Jürgenson – WRC2
“In general, it’s been a very positive weekend, the speed is clearly better than in Portugal. That’s what I hoped for, already to be faster on Friday and we were quite consistent as well. Unfortunately, we had the power steering issue which dropped us back, but now we have fought our way back to sixth.”
Oliver Solberg
“Maybe I should have nominated this rally for WRC2 points after all. I’d only been here twice before and without so much experience, I thought it was sensible not to take the points and to focus on learning more about this event.
Before the event, that was sensible. Now, it feels like a bit of a shame. It doesn’t matter. The aim is to win whether we are taking the points or not.
We had a small kiss with the wall on Friday, but after that everything has gone really well. Elliott and the whole team has been amazing and the same with the car.
It was a great weekend. The roads were really tough, but it was a very interesting lesson in working with these new Hankook tyres and making a good strategy to get through the event with the mixture of the hard and soft compound. This has been a hard rally. The temperatures have been high, the car and me and Elliott in the car have worked hard – but it’s been a lot of fun.
Italy has a big passion for rallying, and I think everybody knows we like to go to the place with the big passion for the sport. My dad won here 21 years ago, the first time the WRC came to Sardinia, so it’s nice to take this result.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6
1
E. Evans
133
2
S. Ogier
114
3
K. Rovanperä
113
4
O. Tänak
108
5
T. Neuville
83
6
T. Katsuta
63
7
A. Fourmaux
44
8
S. Pajari
31
9
G. Munster
18
10
J. McErlean
12
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
312
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
243
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
87
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2
48
Summary
What an incredible drive from Seb and Vincent this weekend. Showing their remarkable partnership, they have taken a second win in a row and third of the year. The speculation that they will do a full season will continue. Whether they do is another matter.
For Ott and Martin, a third podium of the year has taken them to fourth in the championship and a good twenty-five points ahead of their reigning champion teammates.
Kalle and Jonne took a good podium with third place. They we’re really on the pace early on Friday and were even at some points slower than Elfyn and Scott. They turned it around with some changes to their car set-up giving them the ability to push harder and this took them ahead of their teammate and championship leaders. They are now within twenty-points behind Elfyn and Scott and third in the championship standings.
Next up is the Acropolis Rally held over the final weekend of June from the 26th to 29th.
Dan Rowbottom took his second win of the season and thrust himself into championship contention with a victory in round 12 at Thruxton.
The NAPA Racing man took the lead on lap one, and didn’t lose it in what was a frantic final race of the day.
It was Jake Hill who took the lead off the start, jumping front row starters James Dorlin and Senna Proctor into first place. Rowbottom got past the pair too and chased down Hill. By the end of lap one Rowbottom’s Focus was in the lead with Hill second.
Dan Cammish had made it into third and was being the perfect wingman for his teammate in front, by harassing Hill and allowing Rowbottom to pull away.
Not to be outperformed, fellow NAPA driver Ash Sutton was hot on the heels of title rival Tom Ingram in fourth. The two championship protagonists made contact coming out of the Complex but nothing too serious. Ingram going wide and losing ground.
The safety car was deployed on lap eight when Adam Morgan crashed out going into turn one. The Vertu Hyundai driver was looking to get a more sweeping line into the right hand corner, but pitched a wheel on the grass and it sent him spinning into the wall and out.
On the restart Ronan Pearson was out of the race, his bonnet flying up and causing damage. He became the second Toyota to retire with Dorlin already out earlier in the race.
The main flashpoint of the race came on lap 12 when Sutton tried a move on the outside Hill. But the BMW man ran wide, taking Sutton with him, and pitching him into a spin. The pair haemorrhaging places with Senna Proctor the main beneficiary.
Proctor’s fine weekend ensured he finished fourth, heralding three top ten finishes on his return to the sport, his first BTCC race since 2021.
Rowbottom secured the win, becoming only the second driver to win multiple races this season. Ingram finished second with Cammish third.
Proctor came home fourth with Sutton recovering for fifth, three NAPA cars in the top five. Chris Smiley and Aron Taylor-Smith were next with Josh Cook coming from the back of the grid to finish eighth. Tom Chilton was ninth and Dan Lloyd tenth. He’d finished seventh on the road but was given a five second penalty for a false start.
Gordon Shedden was 11th with Sam Osborne, Aiden Moffat, Mikey Doble and Daryl DeLeon rounding off the points finishes.
Sutton leads the championship by nine points from Ingram going into the next set of races at Oulton Park. Rowbottom’s win moves him into third in the standings with it all still to play for.
