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Spanish Grand Prix – Oscar Piastri snatches pole position from McLaren teammate Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri will start tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix from pole position ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Norris had set the early Q3 pace before Piastri powered to pole over two tenths of a second ahead of the British driver for McLaren’s first Spanish Grand Prix front row lockout since 1998.

Max Verstappen will start third for Red Bull after setting the exact same lap time as George Russell’s Mercedes, the Dutchman starting ahead as he set his time first.

They’re ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari and the second Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli, with Charles Leclerc a distant seventh.

Pierre Gasly was top of F1’s “Class B” with eighth in his Alpine ahead of RB’s Isack Hadjar and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin in tenth

The first qualifying session saw a two shocks, with eight tenths separating the grid from top to bottom.

Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda continued his tough start to life at Red Bull with yet another Q1 exit. This time, the Japanese driver will start last on the grid.

Carlos Sainz was equally displeased with his efforts as after outqualifying teammate Alex Albon for five straight race, he will line up tomorrow in 18th ahead of Franco Colapinto, who will rue a technical issue that left him stuck in the pit lane at the end of the session.

Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon will start 16th and 17th for Sauber and Haas respectively.

The second qualifying session provided fewer shocks as Albon, Gabriel Bortoleto and Liam Lawson all fell by the wayside when it looked as if they might dislodge Gasly’s Alpine from tenth.

For Lance Stroll and Ollie Bearman, things were a little more distant as they completed Q2s driver exits.

31st May 2025
Rueda storms from the back to win at Silverstone

Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) delivered a masterclass in comeback racing at the Tissot Grand Prix of the United Kingdom, charging from the back of the grid to claim his third consecutive victory — and one of the most impressive of his career. The Spaniard, who had taken pole before being penalized for riding significantly more slowly on the racing line, joined an elite club of riders to win from last, standing alongside the likes of Marc Marquez (Valencia 2012, Moto2™), Brad Binder (Jerez 2016, Moto3™), and David Alonso (Silverstone 2023, Moto3™).

Gold & Goose / Red Bull Content Pool

What followed was a clinical ride through the chaos of a classic Moto3™ lead group. Rueda got a solid launch and was already picking off riders into Turn 1, while teammate Alvaro Carpe grabbed the holeshot. By Lap 3, the #99 was leading the second group, and by Lap 4 he’d bridged the gap and joined the freight train at the front. With five laps to go, Rueda had cracked the top five—and not long after, he was at the head of the pack.

Still, he had to fight for the win. Rookie Maximo Quiles (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) impressed when he refused to back down, making it a thrilling final-lap showdown. The two went side-by-side through the final sector, with Quiles slightly wide at the final chicane. Rueda didn’t hesitate—diving up the inside and powering out of the last corner to snatch victory in a photo finish.

“I took making the comeback calmly because I knew the front group wasn’t going to break away, and we also had good pace, so we were able to be patient and attack at the right time” – Jose Antonio Rueda

Quiles, despite losing out by the narrowest of margins, still secured a stunning maiden podium in just his rookie season.

Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completed the podium in third, bouncing back impressively from a Long Lap penalty for contact with David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) earlier in the race.

Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

Just off the podium, Alvaro Carpe finished fourth ahead of fellow rookie Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), with David Almansa (Leopard Racing), Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) fifth and sixth respectfully. Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), Vicente Perez (LEVELUP-MTA), and Nicola Carraro (Rivacold Snipers Team) rounding out the top ten.

A late incident involving Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) saw Piqueras crash out and Furusato hit with a Long Lap-equivalent 3 second time penalty. That moved home hero Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power) up to P11, followed by Furusato in P12. Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE), and Riccardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team) all picked up points in the race.

Title photo credit: Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)

27th May 2025
ABB FIA Formula E Season 11 Rounds 10 and 11: Shanghai E-Prix Preview and Predictions

As the iconic month of May draws to a close, so does this section of Formula E, as we have rounds 11 and 12 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Season 11. We enter the scene of the Chinese Grand Prix at a modified version of the Shanghai International Circuit.

Track Preview:
After debuting last year as a doubleheader, the Shanghai E-Prix was a goldmine for Jaguar drivers, with Mitch Evans and Antonio Felix Da Costa picking up a win each around this circuit in Season 10.

Formula E Season 10 Shanghai Circuit. Image Credit: Formula E Media Centre

The 3.051-mile circuit allows 12 corners to challenge drivers, with round 1 being a pit boost round. The main overtaking opportunities are into turn 1, turn 6, and through to turn 9, with turns 10 and 12 also being the best opportunities to overtake rivals.

Round 10 Predictions:
Pole Position: Pascal Wehrlein
As Rowland starts to put one hand on the championship trophy, the reigning world champion will want to put as much performance in as possible in order to maintain his reigning world champion status. Getting pole at Shanghai would be the best way to start.

Winner: António Félix Da Costa
The Season 6 champion is currently P2 in the standings with over 50 points separating him and the Briton Rowland. Da Costa will want to minimise the gap as much as possible, and the pit boost opportunities will allow him to get a jump on Rowland.

Podium: Cassidy and Evans
The Jaguar duo was strong here last year, with a victory and podiums from both. I think they will obtain more podiums; Evans’ first points since his win in Sao Paulo back in 2024.

Antonio Felix da Costa, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team, 1st position, stands on his car in Parc Ferme
Image Credit: Formula E Media Bank

Round 11 Predictions:
Pole Position: Oliver Rowland
Rowland will NEED to maximise as many points as possible this weekend, and not finishing on the podium on Saturday will hurt him.

Winner: Oliver Rowland
In order to maximise, Rowland will go from pole to win on the latter part of the weekend as he manages to claw back the deficit from Saturday.

Podium: Andretti
Yes, that is correct. I am predicting a double Andretti podium on Sunday to end the most recent run of Formula E races before entering the final 3 weekends of Season 11.

26th May 2025

BTCC Snetterton – Doble takes memorable first BTCC win

Mikey Doble took his first BTCC race win in round nine at Snetterton, holding off a faster Ash Sutton for six laps to bring home the win.

The Power Maxed Racing team almost never made the grid this season, so for Doble to take a win, is testament to the work done by the team. He becomes the eighth race winner this season from nine rounds.

It was a lights to flag win for Doble, who started from pole on the soft tyres, while the others around him were on the slower hard tyre.

There was pre-race drama as Chris Smiley was due to line up second on the grid, but a crank shaft change meant he was unable to take his place on the grid. He finally made his way onto the circuit, albeit three laps down.

Doble led off the line, the gap vacated by Smiley meant the Vauxhall man had the advantage. Ash Sutton made an incredible start, jumping from tenth to fourth. The Safety Car was called when Stephen Jelley was pushed off into the wall. His Honda Civic going no further. Daryl DeLeon nudged Jelley into a spin and into the path of Ingram, who was an innocent party as he hit Jelley off.

On the restart, Dan Lloyd, on the hards, was doing his best to hold off Josh Cook and Ash Sutton, but the pair made it past. Sutton made his way past Cook and went on the hunt for Doble, 2.2 seconds up the road.

Within four laps the gap was eliminated, with Sutton on the back of Doble. The Vauxhall man lost a win last season when he defended against Jake Hill at Oulton Park. Hill made his way past on the final lap, so Doble was keen for history not to repeat itself.

He held off the Ford, and was given a reprieve from defending when Sutton locked up. He went wide and lost half a second. This gave Doble the space he needed to bring the car home and take his first win of his BTCC career. Sutton settled for second, extending his championship lead over Tom Ingram to 15 in the process. Cook finished third.

Ingram battled from the back of the grid to finish fourth, making up 19 places in an incredible drive. NAPA duo Sam Osborne and Dan Cammish took fifth and sixth. WSR pair Charles Rainford and Jake Hill were next up, with Ronan Pearson and Aiden Moffat rounding off the top ten.

Aron Taylor-Smith, Gordon Shedden, Dexter Patterson, Max Hall and Adam Morgan rounded off the points. Dan Lloyd finished 16th in the end, his rearguard defending only lasting so long before dropping down the order.

Sutton takes a 15 point lead into the next set of rounds at Thruxton, with Ingram close on his tail and Hill in third.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1 (1)	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
2 (10)	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
3 (7)	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
4 (24)	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
5 (8)	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
6 (19)	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
7 (9)	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
8 (11)	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
9 (13)	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
10 (16)	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
11 (12)	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
12 (25)	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
13 (20)	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
14 (21)	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
15 (5)	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
16 (3)	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
17 (6)	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
18 (4)	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
19 (15)	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
20 (18)	Ryan BENSLEY	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
21 (23)	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
22 (22)	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon
23 (14)	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
24 (2)	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
DNF (17)	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R

25th May 2025

BTCC Snetterton – Rowbottom wins race two, Ingram retirement hinders title charge

Dan Rowbottom held off a Hyundai horde to secure victory in round eight of the BTCC at Snetterton.

He passed team mate Ash Sutton on lap three, and held off the Hyundai’s of Tom Ingram, Dan Lloyd and Adam Morgan to take the win. Race one winner Dan Cammish led off the line but fell back on the hard tyre.

Sutton led by passing Ingram and Cammish by turn three. The championship leader took the lead and Ingram followed him through. Rowbottom passed Cammish by the end of the first lap, and was hunting down Ingram for second.

On lap three Ingram slid wide on the exit of turn one and hit the barrier; causing damage to the rear of his Hyundai. He pitted and promptly retired from the race. With Ingram out and Jake Hill down the order, Sutton decided not to fight when Rowbottom tried a pass. He banked points, eventually finishing tenth and extending his championship lead.

Dan Lloyd, Adam Morgan and Tom Chilton all passed Sutton on lap four. Lloyd was fighting hard with Rowbottom for the lead in his Restart Racing Hyundai. On lap eight he dived down the inside of Rowbottom into Agostini corner, before Rowbottom regained his lead further into the lap.

Morgan got the better of Lloyd on lap ten to steal second, he closed the gap to Rowbottom but it wasn’t enough. The Ford man held off the Hyundai onslaught to take the win. The seventh different winner from eight races this season so far.

Behind Rowbottom and Morgan, Tom Chilton took third in the Vertu Hyundai. Restart pair Lloyd and Chris Smiley, participating in his 200th BTCC race, took fourth and fifth. Mikey Doble came sixth despite a trip on the grass earlier on in the race. Josh Cook and Sam Osborne took seventh and eighth, with Charles Rainford taking ninth and Sutton tenth.

Reigning champion Jake Hill recovered from 22nd on the grid to finish 11th, with Aron Taylor-Smith taking 12th. Toyota duo Ronan Pearson and James Dorlin took 13th and 14th with Daryl DeLeon taking the last point for 15th.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1 (4)	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
2 (6)	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
3 (7)	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
4 (5)	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
5 (8)	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
6 (9)	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
7 (11)	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
8 (14)	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
9 (12)	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
10 (3)	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
11 (22)	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
12 (15)	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
13 (18)	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
14 (16)	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
15 (10)	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
16 (13)	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
17 (23)	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
18 (25)	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
19 (17)	Ryan BENSLEY	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
20 (1)	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
21 (20)	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
22 (24)	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
23 (19)	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon
24 (21)	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
DNF (2)	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N

25th May 2025

BTCC Snetterton – Cammish secures lights to flag win

Dan Cammish became the sixth winner from seven races this season with a lights to flag victory in round seven at Snetterton.

The NAPA Racing driver had the perfect race, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap, and cruising to the win. However there’s suspicion he jumped the start, and so his victory has the heir of anticipation over it as the stewards investigate.

Behind him Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton, both duelling for the championship, were battling it out on track. Both were keen to capitalise on Jake Hill starting way down the grid. The reigning champion was tagged on lap one by a Toyota and spun round. Hill pitted at the end of the lap to check for damage, and ended the race five laps down.

Lap three saw Max Hall lose control going into the final corner, he went wide and ended up T-boning Gordon Shedden. The Toyota man’s race ended as he crawled back to the pits. Hall also out.

The top three were pulling away half way into the 12 lap race, with Ingram and Sutton proving why they’re first and second in the championship. Cammish had a 1.4 second advantage while the pair squabbled over second place.

The soft tyre was the compound to be on, with the hard tyre being slower, and drivers such as Jake Hill will be glad to be rid of it. The hard tyre only has to be used in one of the three races, with the soft-shod drivers still having the hard tyre disadvantage to come.

The final lap saw Cammish cruise to victory, albeit provisionally while we await the outcome of the stewards’ investigation into his start. Sutton dived on Ingram taking the inside line, but he couldn’t make it stick. Ingram came home second with Sutton third.

Dan Rowbottom made it three NAPA Ford’s in the top four, with Dan Lloyd and Adam Morgan taking fifth and sixth. Tom Chilton followed Vertu teammate Morgan home in seventh, with Chris Smiley, Mikey Doble and Daryl DeLeon rounding off the top ten.

The final five points finishers were Josh Cook, Charles Rainford, Aiden Moffat, Sam Osborne and Aron Taylor-Smith.

Honourable mention also for series debutant Ryan Bensley, standing in for Michael Crees, the Vertu driver made his way from 25th and last on the grid up to 17th, battling it out with the Toyota duo of Taylor-Smith and James Dorlin.

Cammish joins Sutton, Chilton, Hill, DeLeon and Rainford in winning a race this season, but will be wary of a potential penalty coming his way.

Pos	Name	Team	Car
1 (1)	Dan CAMMISH	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
2 (2)	Tom INGRAM	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
3 (6)	Ash SUTTON	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
4 (3)	Dan ROWBOTTOM	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
5 (7)	Dan LLOYD	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
6 (5)	Adam MORGAN	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
7 (9)	Tom CHILTON	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
8 (12)	Chris SMILEY	Restart Racing	Hyundai i30N
9 (4)	Mikey DOBLE	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
10 (13)	Daryl DELEON	Team WSR	BMW 330e
11 (8)	Josh COOK	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R
12 (11)	Charles RAINFORD	LKQ Euro Car Parts Racing with WSR	BMW 330e
13 (14)	Aiden MOFFAT	Team WSR	BMW 330e
14 (16)	Sam OSBORNE	NAPA Racing	Ford Focus
15 (17)	Aron TAYLOR-SMITH	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
16 (10)	James DORLIN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
17 (25)	Ryan BENSLEY	Team Vertu	Hyundai i30N
18 (22)	Ronan PEARSON	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
19 (24)	Nicholas HAMILTON	Powder Monkey	Cupra Leon
20 (18)	Dexter PATTERSON	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
21 (23)	Nick HALSTEAD	Power Maxed Racing	Vauxhall Astra
22 (20)	Jake HILL	Laser Tools Racing with MB Motorsport	BMW 330e
DNF (15)	Gordon SHEDDEN	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Corolla
DNF (19)	Max HALL	RoKIT Racing with Un-Limited Motorsport	Cupra Leon
DNF (21)	Stephen JELLEY	ONE Motorsport	Honda Civic Type-R

25th May 2025

BTCC Snetterton preview – WSR in form heading to power hungry circuit

The British Touring Car Championship heads to Norfolk this weekend and Snetterton for the latest instalment of bumper to bumper action.

After a frenetic Brands Hatch round last time out, the biggest names in UK tin-top racing are ready to continue their fight for the title.

WSR are back – and then some!

It’s fair to say West Surrey Racing didn’t have the best of season openers at Donington. Under par by their lofty standards, they went to Brands with lowered expectations, and blew them out the water.

They completed a clean sweep of race wins, with reigning champion Jake Hill getting his title defence off the ground, as well as first BTCC wins for Daryl DeLeon and rookie Charles Rainford.

While Brands favoured the rear wheel drive BMW, WSR secured a triple in one weekend for the first time since 2015 at Croft. They’re back, and the grid better watch out. Snetterton is a circuit which can favour rear wheel drive machinery, and its long straights will result in BMW excelling for sure.

Crees out, Bensley in

There will be a new face on the grid this weekend, as Ryan Bensley will make his BTCC debut at his home circuit. He will replace Michael Crees in the Excelr8 Hyundai i30N.

Crees himself is only in the seat for half a season, and scored two points finishes last time out at Brands. However he has stepped aside to allow Bensley, a long-time commercial partner of his, to realise a lifelong dream – competing in the BTCC.

Bensley has raced in the Milltek Sport Civic Cup as well as making an appearance in the TCR UK championship, racing at the season finale at Silverstone. He achieved a fifth place finish in race one, showing he has pace, and the ability to challenge for points.

Who to look out for

As stated earlier, the WSR trio of Jake Hill, Charles Rainford and Daryl DeLeon are all on good form. Snetterton will display the power of the BMW, so all three will be up there. Also discount fourth WSR man Aiden Moffat at your peril. He’s fast, sharp, and will be wanting to prove he can make headlines too.

Title protagonists Ash Sutton and Tom Ingram are always at the sharp end of the action, and expect this weekend to be no different. One driver who has been impressing so far this season is Tom Chilton. The series veteran has shown real pace in his Hyundai and could be in the hunt for race wins.

Qualifying is always important, but here at Snetterton, history shows that those who qualify on pole, usually tend to win the first race – and sometimes the second too.

One of the most successful drivers around Snetterton is Colin Turkington. He’s amassed ten wins at the Norfolk circuit, with Jason Plato the record holder with 11. With Turkington leaving the grid last year, the driver on the current grid with the most wins is Ash Sutton (7) closely followed by Gordon Shedden (6).

The racing is bound to be exciting, with another three rounds of breathless action guaranteed.

24th May 2025

Rally de Portugal 2025, Sunday’s Report

Onto the final day then and with 72km’s over seven stages the challenge of this rally was not over. Adrien would continue to open the road throughout the final stages. In addition, there would be no service break or tyre fitting zone giving the crews an extra degree of uncertainty.

First up then was SS19 Paredes 1 – 16.09 km and Kalle set the pace from Thierry and Ott. Also on the pace was Elfyn setting a faster time than Sami and closing the gap to his teammate who held sixth place.

Into SS20 Felgueiras 1 – 8.81 km and Ott was fastest in this one from Kalle and Thierry. Elfyn continued to close on Sami, reducing the gap to 7.1 seconds. The Welshman was on a push to get past his younger teammate. Meanwhile Josh was really showing excellent pace, only 1.5 seconds slower than Sami. The Irishman now had a 40 second lead over his teammate.

The first run of SS21 Fafe 1 – 11.18 km and Ott was fastest in this one as well with Seb second and Thierry third. Elfyn took a further 3.9 seconds from Sami and the Welshman was now just 3.2 seconds from his teammate.

Just three stages left then and first up was SS22 Paredes 2 – 16.09 km. Ott again was fastest from Seb and Kalle. Ott was closing on Kalle for second overall, the gap now just 3.7 seconds between them. Meanwhile there was a change in positions as Elfyn passed Sami for sixth overall. At M-Sport Greg was the fastest of the Puma’s and also quicker than Sami.

We came then to the penultimate stage of the rally, SS23 Felgueiras 2 – 8.81 km and Ott was fastest from Elfyn and Kalle. The Estonian’s pace was clear to see, and he passed Kalle for second overall. He was also just 13.6 seconds behind Seb who took the lead after Ott’s problems. It was an amazing recovery drive for the leading Hyundai crew over the weekend.

Onto the final stage then, SS24 Fafe 2[Power Stage] – 11.18 km and Elfyn set the early benchmark before being outpaced by the top five. Ultimately the top five who took the powerstage points were Ott, Thierry, Kalle, Takamoto and Seb.

Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Classification – Rally de Portugal

1	S. Ogier	V. Landais	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	3:48:35.9
2	O. Tänak	M. Järveoja	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+8.7
3	K. Rovanperä	J. Halttunen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+12.2
4	T. Neuville	M. Wydaeghe	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	+38.5
5	T. Katsuta	A. Johnston	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+1:41.9
6	E. Evans	S. Martin	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2:31.0
7	S. Pajari	M. Salminen	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	+2:38.3
8	J. McErlean	E. Treacy	Ford Puma Rally1	+5:12.3
9	G. Munster	L. Louka	Ford Puma Rally1	+5:57.5
10	O. Solberg	E. Edmondson	Toyota GR Yaris	+9:15.1

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sébastien Ogier

“It feels fantastic to win again here in Portugal. It’s been a very demanding and exhausting week but to get this win for the team and for ourselves is something that was really worth all the effort. It was a tough fight with Ott, and I don’t think we had the pure speed to win without his issue, but rallying is not only about being quick. There were very rough conditions on the second pass of stages and with a strong car and a clever approach we were able to take the opportunity, so thank you to the team.”

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been a long and difficult weekend but any time you can finish on the podium is not bad, especially considering the road cleaning we faced running second on the road on Friday. In the end we were able to catch some good points for the championship. I was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t have a bit more pace today in our fight for second place with a better starting position, so we are still missing something and need to keep working for the next rallies.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been a very demanding weekend, but I think it was not a bad one for us. The car was working well, and I felt comfortable, and we had good pace at the beginning of the rally. I’m pleased to finish the rally in fifth position; of course, I would have liked more but there were a lot of things to learn about the new tyres especially and I can see that we have the potential to be better.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s not been an easy weekend for us and I’m quite relieved to be at the end. Obviously opening the road on Friday was tough for us but we were also missing quite a bit of performance especially from the middle of Friday onwards. We haven’t collected as many points as we would have liked so it’s been a frustrating weekend, and now we just have to work to try and be better on the next rally in Sardinia.”

Sami Pajari

“It has been a good, clean weekend for us and exactly what we wanted. Our plan was to get more experience on this kind of more twisty gravel roads with the Rally1 car and try to have some solid, consistent speed. That’s what we were able to do, with no big mistakes or issues, so I’m really happy with that. A big thanks to the team and let’s try to continue like this in Sardinia.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Ott Tänak

“In a way this weekend was very frustrating. I hate to lose like this, especially at an event that is very special to me. This is the first time in a long time that we were able to really enjoy our drive, and it was a lot of fun, but while our speed was there the car is maybe missing a bit of the robustness needed to win. Nevertheless, it was definitely a big improvement compared to Rally Islas Canarias, and we are definitely back in the game – now we need to build on that. We’ve only had Toyotas winning rallies so far this season, and it’s time to change that.”

Thierry Neuville

“We made a small mistake on Friday that maybe cost us a position for Saturday, but I think we finished in the same position we would have done without it. My instinct tells me I wouldn’t have been able to fight with Ott today. We didn’t struggle too much this weekend; the performance was there, and our times were good, so I think overall we are satisfied. There are a few things I know we can do to get a bit more speed out of the car, so if we can find that extra performance for Sardinia, we can get a better road position.”

Adrien Fourmaux

“Today was tough for us from the start. We were first on the road, so we were doing a lot of sweeping for the rest of the field. We wanted to score some good Super Sunday points but unfortunately, it just wasn’t possible. The whole weekend has been frustrating for us after the great start we had on Friday, but the broken suspension took us out of the fight for the lead as well as made it really difficult to score any points. Despite this, we can still take away a lot of positives; the car has the pace and we got to know these Hankook tyres. We will now shift our focus to a strong weekend at Rally Italia Sardegna.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“Honestly it’s been a really nice weekend and we’ve loved every moment of it. It’s been a crazy rally as always, it’s so nice to come to the finish clean and with some good times as well. A big thanks to all the team, to run four cars with no problems is a great achievement for them. We’ve had a lot of friends and family at home watching, and lots of Irish flags on the stages too which is so nice to see. Now on to Sardinia!”

Grégoire Munster

“It’s been a really tough event, we got some things right and some things wrong and the result isn’t exactly there, but at least we managed to get back the feeling towards the end.

“We had an ok run just then in the power stage, the first two kilometres were ok, but in two ruts we slid wide, and we lost a lot of time. But we didn’t give up and we tried to push and gain back some time, I think we had some pace towards the end.”

Mārtiņš Sesks

“It was a challenging week — a good experience for sure. Not everything went as planned, but it never does! It was a valuable learning opportunity for us.

“I would say everything started to go wrong with the puncture. The stage after felt quite strange, so we made some changes to the set-up, but from that point on we struggled with the feeling. We kept having bad luck, but if you take away the lost time, we were close to our teammates — and for our first time in Portugal in a Rally1 car, that’s pretty good. We didn’t expect it to be this tough!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I’m pleased with the result for our first time with the car. We optimised the package, and I think we did the maximum we could. There are some small things to improve on, and we know where we can develop. I’m very happy to be part of the team, and I’m looking forward to the next event — I hope we’ll be even better!”

Romet Jürgenson

“There’s a big contrast between where we were on Friday and where we are now on Sunday. On some stages — for example, Parades — we showed really decent pace, so we can be happy with that. We were on the same level as Pierre on some stages too, so there were definitely big improvements.

“I lacked a bit of confidence and motivation at times, honestly, because some of the stage times were a bit of a shock to us. But at least we’re here, and we’ve gained a lot of valuable experience.”

Diogo Salvi

“What a party! I enjoyed it. We took it very slowly, but I still had a great time. It’s been a pleasure working with Axel — he’s been very professional, talented, and patient with me throughout the weekend!

“Everyone at M-Sport has been tremendous — the engineers, mechanics, and all the support staff. Everything has been perfect. Thanks also to my family for coming to support me — even my partner, who hates rally! We’ve had a fantastic time.”

Oliver Solberg

“I am very, very happy with this result,” smiled Oliver. “We all know how big rallying is in this part of the world and we’ve seen that all the way through this event – so many people, so many fans absolutely everywhere. The atmosphere has been amazing!

“I wasn’t so sure what to expect from the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at the start of the event. We hadn’t done a rally on this kind of surface and with these kind of roads in this car. Printsport did a fantastic job to help me get what I wanted from it. I think there’s still some more speed to come from me and the car, but I’m really happy with what we found.

“For the rally itself, we knew this would be a really tough Friday. It was so long and really hard on the tyres and the car. We pushed as much as we could, we wanted to make an advantage and we managed that. After that, through Saturday and Sunday, it was a little bit more about managing that lead.

“I’ve been so close to winning this rally for the last two years, it’s really nice to finally get it done today. The win is a big thing for me and Elliott, but maybe the bigger thing is the maximum points – they are so important this year. We want that title.

“Like you could imagine, it would have been nice to say a big thank you to the crowds in places like Lousada and Fafe – it would have been nice to do some donuts, but we didn’t do that. We were staying out of the stewards’ room on this one!

“I have one word for the fans though: obrigado! We say it every year, but they’re just amazing. From the moment you land into the country for the recce, they are smiling and talking and cheering – the passion here is incredible. It’s fantastic.

“Tonight, we can celebrate a really good result with some great speed from the car and great work from everybody in the team. Thank you.”

Summary

Well, what a result in the end for Seb and Vincent taking Toyota’s fifth win of the year. To be honest though they were lucky to pick this up as Ott and Martin would have won this rally without the failure of the powersteering.

Elsewhere Kalle and Jonne took a good podium and good points for themselves in the drivers’ championship and is 30 points behind his teammate now holding second in the championship.

Next up is Rally Italia Sardegna over the weekend of the 5^th to 8^th of June.

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 5

1	E. Evans	118
2	K. Rovanperä	88
3	S. Ogier	86
4	O. Tänak	84
5	T. Neuville	78
6	T. Katsuta	51
7	A. Fourmaux	44
8	S. Pajari	25
9	G. Munster	18
10	J. McErlean	12

2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 5

1	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team	258
2	Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team	203
3	M-Sport Ford World Rally Team	72
4	Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team 2	36

20th May 2025

Formula E Tokyo E-Prix: Rowland and Vandoorne secure victories as Ticktum stands on the podium

Rounds 8 and 9 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship occurred over the past weekend, and it was a chaotic 48 hours for all teams and drivers.

Round 8
Before the race even began, there was chaos as the qualifying session was cancelled due to the weather conditions. FP2 was able to take part, however, and the results from that session would be qualifying. This resulted in Oliver Rowland starting from pole ahead of Edoardo Mortara and Norman Nato.
The race began with a standing start after a few laps behind the safety car and a 10-minute delay. Barnard immediately went from P4 to P3, with multiple drivers taking attack mode at the start, such as Buemi, Da Costa and Evans. Nato fell down from P3 to P6. With Buemi’s attack mode, he managed to make it up to P2 by lap 6. However, Buemi went wide further on, which resulted in Edoardo Mortara retaking P2. Vandoorne was the first driver to take attack mode and immediately took advantage of it.

Suddenly, Guenther had a RED car, and a red flag was called to stop the race. Jake Dennis and Andretti had a similar issue in Sao Paulo. The car then switched to green, but Guenther was still out. Vandoorne ended up being the biggest gainer from this red flag, as he was a full pit-boost pit stop ahead of everyone else.

Once cars went back onto the track, De Vries, Evans and Dennis all had their pit boost windows open, with Jake Dennis opting to take his pit stop prior to the race start. This would result, however, in the Andretti driver receiving the black flag and being disqualified from the race as the pit lane was closed.

More drivers took attack mode after the restart, including Rowland, while others opted to take their pit boost after the restart, including Barnard, De Vries, Nato and Evans. It emerged from here that Evans was retiring his car due to a collision with De Vries. Drivers emerging from their pit boost were all calm until Buemi was jumped by the Mahindra car of Mortara.

The race leader, Stoffel Vandoorne, then ended up spinning and hitting the wall before taking his final attack mode. Rowland took his second attack mode near the end of the race and retook P2 from Taylor Barnard. Rowland was unable to take P1 away from Stoffel Vandoorne as he took his first win since 2022 and his first win with Maserati MSG Racing! Oliver Rowland finished P2 and Taylor Barnard P3!

Sebastian Buemi managed to finish P4, Dan Ticktum P5, Edoardo Mortara P6, Antonio Felix Da Costa P7, and Nyck De Vries P8, but he would receive a 5-second time penalty for the collision with Evans and would drop outside the points. Thus, Jean-Eric Vergne, Robin Frijns and Nick Cassidy, who finished P9, P10 and P11, respectively, would all move up a place.

TOKYO, JAPAN – MAY 17: Oliver Rowland of Great Britain driving the (23) Nissan Formula E Team Nissan e-4ORCE 05 leads the field during the Tokyo E-Prix, Round 8 of the 2025 FIA Formula E World Championship at Tokyo Street Circuit on May 17, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images for Formula E)

Round 9
For round 9 we had a traditional qualifying session which saw Oliver Rowland take pole ahead of Dan Ticktum in P2. Mitch Evans did not take part in the race due to a collision with the wall during qualifying, which saw the Jaguar TCS Racing team unable to fix his car prior to the race.

It was a dry race this time, which saw Rowland hold the lead while Ticktum and Wehrlein had a big battle, but the Cupra Kiro driver held off the reigning world champion. De Vries and Bird had a collision which resulted in the Mahindra driver receiving a black and white flag. Hughes started the attack mode train while Wehrlein looked to try and overtake Ticktum. Rowland and Barnard had a small tap which put Rowland down to P4.

By lap 11, Rowland had not taken either attack mode before a full course yellow was brought out for debris. However, Da Costa misjudged the full course yellow and ended up breaking his suspension when it was deployed. Once we went green, Nato received a 5-second time penalty for speeding under the full course yellow. Wehrlein led the race while Rowland decided to take his first attack mode on lap 17. It was a 2 minute deployment with Jake Dennis took attack mode and made moves, including going up to P7 after overtaking Di Grassi by lap 20. Rowland then went down to P6 after Dennis overtook him. MANY drivers took attack mode on lap 24, including Wehrlein, Rowland, Ticktum, Barnard and Vergne, while Rowland stayed out and took P2.
There were fantastic battles with Rowland and Wehrlein not leaving anything between the two. Mortara and Barnard collided, which sent Barnard into the wall and brought out the safety car but not any added laps. The safety car went into the pits at the end of lap 31, which meant we got a 1-lap shootout.

Oliver Rowland won Nissan’s home race of Tokyo and further extended his championship lead. Pascal Wehrlein finishes P2 with Dan Ticktum getting his and Cupra Kiro’s first podium. Jake Dennis finished P4 ahead of the Lola Yamaha Abt of Lucas Di Grassi in P5. Jean-Eric Vergne finishes P6 ahead of Nick Cassidy in P7, with Sam Bird managing P8 and Sebastian Buemi and Maximilian Guenther finishing P10.

Formula E returns at the end of May for the Shanghai E-Prix doubleheader!

19th May 2025
WorldSBK: Instant classic Czech Race 2 settled by just 0.027s

After victory pole position and victory in Race 1 on Saturday, Sunday started well for Toprak Razagatlioglu as he saw off an early challenge by Nicolo Bulega in the Tissot Superpole Race but was thwarted on the finish line in Race 2 by his Ducati rival by just 0.027 seconds.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

Much like in Race 1, Bulega beat Razgatlioglu to turn 1 at the start of the 10-lap affair. This began a thrilling battle that lasted just under half of the race before the crucial moment came when Bulega cut the first chicane while battling Razgatlioglu for the lead.

While running wide, Bulega added a second to Razgatlioglu’s lead that the Turkish rider was able to protect for the remainder of the race, with the BMW rider going on to secure a new race lap record on his way to the victory. It was another comfortable 2^nd place for the factory Ducati rider ahead of the two satellite riders behind him.

Danilo Petrucci recorded another podium finish and was ran close by Sam Lowes. Behind them came a charging Alvaro Bautista who came from 10^th to 5^th with some audacious move in the 10-lap sprint to secure a second-row start for Race 2 in the afternoon.

Alex Lowes split the Honda HRC riders, with Xavi Vierge only just pipping Andrea Locatelli to the line for 8^th place. Jonathan Rea was also right behind in the battle for the crucial top 9 positions that set the grid for Race 2 but fell short behind his teammate.

Axel Bassani had been in contention for a top-9 spot but was docked with a double long-lap penalty for jumping the start. Up front, there was definitely some renewed vigour that Bulega could challenge Razgatlioglu more than in Race 1 heading into the final full-distance even in the afternoon.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

RACE 2

For the third time in succession, Bulega beat Razgatlioglu to the first corner at the Motul Czech Round as the BMW rider struggled to get the hole shot from his three successive pole positions. The pair were fortunate to get to the chicane before everyone else as just like in Race 1 the filed concertinaed up with disastrous consequences for some.

Once again, Bautista found himself caught in the madness that he hoped he would avoid having started from P5 instead of P10 but it was not to be for the Spanish veteran. It was Rea who checked up going through the apex of turn 2 that saw a distraught Bautista and Vierge eliminated on the spot and Alex Lowes being forced to ride through the gravel and condemn himself to the back of the grid after taking the necessary avoiding action.

Rea had got himself into 5^th thanks to the chaos he had initiated but was unsurprisingly dealt a double long-lap penalty from the stewards. Once he rejoined from both he ended up 12^th and would finish 13^th, although there had at least been flashes of pace this weekend for the Northern Irishman who continues his recovery from injury earlier in the season.

Razgatlioglu stuck within range of Bulega for the first half of the 22-lap race, meanwhile Petrucci and Sam Lowes resumed their battle from the Tissot Superpole over the final spot on the podium, with the former once again securing 3^rd place but by a very slim margin over his British rival.

The other big mover in the first half of the race was Bassani who rose as high as 5^th ahead of an impressive Remy Gardner. In the end it was Gardner who prevailed while his teammate Dominique Aegerter fought his way up through the lower points-paying positions and another satellite Yamaha of Bahattin Sofuoglu had yet another long-lap penalty that ruined his progress for cutting turn 1 again after a solid ride until that point.

With half the race completed Razgatlioglu passed Bulega with a surprise move through turns 16 and 17 having stalked his rival to identify his weaknesses around Most. Although Bulega was back past at turn 1 shortly after, the next time around saw Razgatlioglu launch a successful block pass through the first chicane to steal the lead.

It appeared that Razgatlioglu had it all under control as he sought the treble in the Czech Republic before Bulega started to reel him in right towards the very end of the 22 laps. With 3 laps to go and rain starting to fall around the outskirts of the circuit, it suddenly looked as if the race was well and truly on instead of another forgone conclusion.

Even exiting the last corner on the final lap Bulega was still not ahead but by the finish line he was, by just 0.027 seconds. It was the sort of ending that Razgatlioglu used to suffer back in his Yamaha days when battling Bautista at tracks like Portimao and the Turk predictably made his frustrations clear on the slowing down lap while also pinning the blame on his bike.

Bulega’s victory was thoroughly well deserved after his horrific highside on Friday and it brought a nice bit of variety after he himself blitzed everyone at Cremona a fortnight ago. Razgatlioglu ultimately brings the points gap down to Bulega by 3 overall and 31 total this weekend, while Petrucci jumps ahead of a hapless Bautista for 3^rd overall in the standings.

RACE 2 RESULTS

Image Credit: WorldSBK

Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

18th May 2025

Blog

WSR are back – and then some!

Crees out, Bensley in

Who to look out for

After victory pole position and victory in Race 1 on Saturday, Sunday started well for Toprak Razagatlioglu as he saw off an early challenge by Nicolo Bulega in the Tissot Superpole Race but was thwarted on the finish line in Race 2 by his Ducati rival by just 0.027 seconds.

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

RACE 2

RACE 2 RESULTS