Dan Cammish cruised to victory in round 28 at Brands Hatch in a lights to flag win, while Tom Ingram has one hand on the title by finishing ahead of title rival Ash Sutton.
Pole sitter Daryl DeLeon pulled into the pits on the formation lap with an issue, meaning Cammish was what was effectively pole position. Ingram lined up seventh with Sutton 11th.
Cammish led off the line, never surrendering his lead. Tom Chilton had a good start from fourth, jumping Dan Rowbottom for second on the run into Paddock Hill bend. Rowbottom got back in front of the veteran further into the lap. Ingram was up to fifty with Sutton ninth.
Jake Hill suffered a puncture to compound WSR’s woes with DeLeon stranded in the pits. The only saving grace for the beleaguered BMW squad was Charles Rainford, who passed Ingram for fifth on lap two.
Chilton managed to pass Rowbottom for second at the Druids hairpin. Adam Morgan wanted to pile further misery on Rowbottom and follow his team mate through. He tapped Rowbottom’s Ford going into Surtees and nudged his way through, with Rowbottom dropping to sixth. Ingram back through for fifth.
The title protagonists had a very quiet race, with Ingram happy to consolidate his fifth place finish and bank the all-important points he needed. Sutton was ninth but under pressure from Chris Smiley, himself fighting for the Independents title with team mate Dan Lloyd – who was further up the order.
Smiley managed to pass Sutton for ninth on lap 12 but went wide on Graham Hill bend and Sutton surged past.
Cammish took the chequered flag and strengthened his grip on third in the standings. Chilton and Morgan did Team VERTU’s Teams championship bid a world of good by finishing second and third.
Rainford finished fourth to secure points for BMW with the other three cars finishing out of the points; Aiden Moffat had to pit, speeding in the process, and earning a drive thru penalty. He finished 20th.
Ingram took fifth, extending his gap to 37 points with just 44 left to fight for. Rowbottom was sixth with Gordon Shedden seventh. Dan Lloyd finished eighth to lead the Independents title.
Sutton was ninth with Smiley tenth. Josh Cook battled from the back of the grid to finish 11th. Aron Taylor-Smith and Senna Proctor were next while Mikey Doble and Sam Osborne rounded off the points.
This is part two in our series looking back at the Super Touring era of the BTCC, be sure to check out part one.
The Super Touring era of the British Touring Car Championship had an inauspicious start to life. It was finding its feet and emerging from the shadow of the era of roaring Ford Sierra RS500’s. The new cars may have been more conventional looking, but that didn’t diminish the quality of the racing on show.
1991 saw a exciting title fight between Will Hoy and John Cleland, but 1992 was the year the series really kicked into life.
It would be the season of many a memorable moment, as well as a season finale which is still talked about nearly 35 years on.
The early proceedings were dominated by Vauxhall and Toyota. John Cleland and Jeff Allam in the Cavalier battled with Andy Rouse and Will Hoy, with the reigning champion now in a Toyota Carina. Cleland won the first two rounds at Silverstone and Thruxton before Rouse and Hoy won a race apiece at Oulton Park and Snetterton respectively.
Round five at Brands Hatch would see the first real flashpoint of the season. Cleland had made it past the Toyotas, and was sailing into the distance to strengthen his title bid. Rouse and Hoy were chasing hard, perhaps a little too hard as going into Westfield the pair collided and were in the barrier – breaking the first cardinal sin of motorsport, don’t hit your teammate!
At the halfway point of the season, Cleland was leading the championship, but an unlikely contender was about to enter the fray. While BMW won the title in 1991 with an M3, they were struggling with their new model, the Listerine liveried 318IS. Tim Harvey and Steve Soper led the team, with Soper splitting his time between the BTCC and the German touring car championship.
Leaving Donington Park, Harvey was fifth, 60 points behind Cleland. But he would go on an incredible five win streak, meaning he was a point behind Cleland going into the season finale at Silverstone. The minty marauder was in with a shout.
A race for the ages, the three title protagonists, Cleland, Harvey and Hoy all qualified in the middle of the pack, and had to fight their way through. Soper, who’d surged up from last following a collision earlier in the race, managed to pass Cleland and act as a rear gunner for Harvey. The onboard camera famously caught Cleland giving the finger to Soper, prompting the unforgettable quip from commentator Murray Walker – “I’m going for first says Cleland.”
Heading into Brooklands, Cleland got past Soper, going onto two wheels to do so, Soper, undeterred decided to lunge down the inside and took the pair into the gravel and out. This handed Harvey the title. Cleland was apoplectic, uttering his own famous line, “the man’s an animal” while claiming they “race clean” in the BTCC. The irony being as he says it you can hear tyre smoke and a probable collision in the background.
The pair have since buried the hatchet and are good friends, but the moment really put the BTCC on the map. It was front page of the newspapers and a much watch on Grandstand.
1993 saw the first of the big budget international drivers arrive on the scene, in the name of Jo Winkelhock at BMW. Renault also entered the series, tempting reigning champion Harvey to join Alain Menu (remember that name too). The Renault 19 struggled unless it rained, with Harvey managing just one win at Donington Park in the wet, Menu finishing second, a false dawn as the pair failed to make the top five in the standings.
Winkelhock and teammate Soper dominated, with Ford’s Paul Radisich putting on a late show to finish third despite missing the first seven rounds of the season. While not as controversial as the season before, there was definitely one moment which everyone remembers.
Reigning Formula One and IndyCar champion Nigel Mansell joined the Ford team for the ToCA shootout at Donington Park. The biggest of big names at the time, imagine Lewis Hamilton rocking up in a Ford Focus, that’s the magnitude we’re talking about.
Mansell wouldn’t finish the race however as going into the Old Hairpin, he lost the back end and and slid across the circuit. He was collected by Tiff Needell, who was a guest driver doing a feature for Top Gear – yes, that Top Gear.
Mansell was sent into the barrier and his first flirtation with the BTCC ended painfully. He’d be back later in the era…
The BTCC was really starting to hit the headlines, it was prime time viewing on BBC Grandstand, and the controversy and racing were only getting better and better. The big names were coming, and the budgets were ballooning. It wouldn’t be long before the big boys got involved.
Sam Osborne took his maiden win with a sensational lights to flag victory in round 27 at Silverstone. The Yorkshireman took his first win despite intense pressure from Josh Cook throughout the race.
Championship protagonist Ash Sutton took third to keep the title hopes alive with rival Tom Ingram fifth.
Sometimes the forgotten man in the NAPA Racing stable, Osborne can name race winners Dan Cammish and Dan Rowbottom as team mates, as well as four time champion Sutton no less. But Osborne was picked for pole by virtue of the reverse grid draw.
He led from the start, and held his nerve as there were battles throughout the field. The title rivals Ingram and Sutton were moving up the grid from the middle of the pack.
Sutton made it to third by lap six with Ingram in sixth, with Rowbottom and Jake Hill between them.
Cook was bearing down on Osborne, with the gap standing at seven tenths on lap 12. It was a tactical arm wrestle of when and how to use the boost. By lap 16 the gap was just two tenths with Cook, a multiple race winner, breathing down Osborne’s neck.
With just three laps to go Cook went wide into Luffield, losing the back end. This gave Osborne the slight gap he needed to cruise home for his first win, under intense pressure.
Sutton came third to cut into Ingram’s lead slightly, with Hill between the pair. Aiden Moffat was sixth with Vertu Hyundai pair Adam Morgan and Tom Chilton next. Dan Cammish and Mikey Doble rounded off the top ten.
The final points places were taken by Aron Taylor-Smith, Charles Rainford, Senna Proctor, Rowbottom and Dexter Patterson.
Osborne can finally call himself a race winner, and joins his NAPA teammates in that regard.
Going into the final three rounds at Brands Hatch in two weeks time, Ingram has a 33 point lead over Sutton. The title battle is sure to go down to the wire.
Tom Ingram took another step towards the title with victory in round 26 of the BTCC at Silverstone.
The championship leader and his title rival Ash Sutton showed why they’re the class of the field, finishing first and second by some distance.
At the start, Jake Hill passed race one winner Dan Lloyd into Becketts, while further down the order Ingram made an excellent start and was third by the end of the lap.
Brooklands was seeing plenty of action as Ingram made it second place by the end of lap two, taking Lloyd and chasing down Hill in the lead. The Hyundai man pulled away from the chasing pack and was on the tail of Hill’s BMW by lap four.
Ingram was through and away as he passed Hill down the Wellington straight and was off into the sunset with a lead he never surrendered.
Title rival Sutton, not to be forgotten, followed Ingram through the field and was up to third by lap eight with Hill between them.
The Safety Car was introduced for the second time today on lap nine when Tom Chilton was in the gravel trap. He tried a move on Charles Rainford but caught the front left, causing an instant puncture and he understeered off into the gravel and out of the race.
On the restart on lap 13, there was more drama when Hyundai’s Adam Morgan’s bonnet flew up after slight contact into Becketts.
Back at the front, Sutton could see Ingram pulling away, and in the slower medium tyre, his aim was to minimise the damage. He managed to pass Hill for second into Brooklands on lap 16.
While the top two pulled away, Hill was falling into the clutches of Dan Rowbottom, who was hunting the BMW man for third. The reigning champion was safe and secured third when on the penultimate lap Rowbottom’s engine gave up, and the Ford driver pulled into the pits to retire.
Ingram took the lead, and another small stride towards his second title, but with Sutton following behind, the fight is still very much on.
Hill, who is almost resigned to handing over his crown, was third. Aron Taylor-Smith secured his best finish of the season in fourth, with Rainford and Dan Lloyd close behind. Gordon Shedden and Aiden Moffat followed with Josh Cook and Daryl DeLeon rounding off the top ten.
Mikey Doble and Sam Osborne were next with Max Buxton, Nick Halstead and Chris Smiley taking 15th despite a penalty for track limits.
Dan Lloyd secured Restart Racing’s first ever BTCC win from fourth on the grid in a race which ended under Safety Car conditions. A fire for Nicholas Hamilton brought an early end to his race, and meant Lloyd’s excellent manoeuvres were rewarded with victory.
Title rivals Tom Ingram and Ash Sutton secured vital points finishes with not many races left to fight for the championship.
Pole sitter Daryl DeLeon led off the line with Shedden close behind. Sutton made a good start, squeezing up the inside and gaining a couple of places with a Ingram following his rival through.
Shedden dove down the inside of DeLeon at Luffield to take the lead. DeLeon began to slip down the grid as Dan Lloyd, Jake Hill and Senna Proctor passed the BMW man. Lloyd’s Restart Racing Hyundai took the lead at Brooklands with Shedden slipping into the clutches of Hill.
Further down the grid, the title protagonists were making their way through the field. Ingram made an important pass on Sutton for ninth on lap four, reducing any risk of losing any of his championship lead.
Hill passed Shedden for second and was bearing down on Lloyd in the lead, but the Hyundai driver stayed strong and held off Hill’s BMW.
Lap 11 saw Ingram pass Sutton’s teammate Dan Rowbottom. The Ford driver doing all he could to hold up Ingram but to no avail as the championship leader moved into seventh.
The race was neutralised on lap 18 when Nicholas Hamilon’s Cupra burst into flames. A small fire was spotted under the car which prompted Hamilton to park up on the Wellington straight. The car soon alight and being tackled by the marshals armed with fire extinguishers.
The Safety Car came out but the race never resumed as it finished behind yellow flag conditions.
Lloyd took the win, Restart Racing’s first ever BTCC victory, with Hill and Shedden rounding off the podium. Senna Proctor took fourth from sixth on the grid with Josh Cook and Aiden Moffat following close behind after a race-long battle.
Importantly, Ingram led Sutton home in seventh and eighth respectively with Rowbottom and Adam Morgan ninth and tenth. Aron Taylor-Smith was 11th with Dan Cammish moving from 21st on the grid to 12th. DeLeon fell from pole to 13th with Charles Rainford and Chris Smiley’s Restart Hyundai book-ending the points with 15th.
Ingram’s lead is now 33 points ahead of Sutton with just five races to go, and the chance to build on impressive race one finishes in race two.
It was the series that had it all, the finest drivers, prime time TV coverage, wheel to wheel action, and budgets big enough to make even the deepest pockets feel the pinch.
The British Touring Car Championship in the 1990’s had everything going for it, it was flying high and went from national competition to worldwide fame. But it soon became a victim of its own success and imploded on itself. By the end of the decade the writing was on the wall. All the momentum the series built evaporated and it took the BTCC years to fully recover. Never hitting the same heights.
As we welcome the 25th anniversary of the end of the Super Touring era, it’s still talked about today as one of the most exciting periods in motorsport history – even if it almost consumed the BTCC in the process.
To understand why this era was so significant, and why the ending was so abrupt, we need to go back to the start.
Touring cars in the late 80’s was dominated by Ford and their Sierra Cosworth RS500’s. Footage of Andy Rouse and Steve Soper hurling their fire-breathing monsters around Brands Hatch at breakneck speeds became stuff of legend. Accompanied by motorsport’s finest commentator, Murray Walker, and shown on BBC Grandstand in a highlight package format, the BTCC was indeed popular viewing.
But alas, there was a flaw in the system.
The BTCC field was split into classes, and on rare occasions, slower cars in lower classes would win the outright championship, not the driver finishing first on the road in the fastest car.
A prime example of this was John Cleland (remember that name, it’ll be important later), he won the 1989 title, not in a Group A Sierra, but rather, a Vauxhall Astra competing in Group C. For context that would be akin to a Formula Three car winning the Formula One world championship over the likes of McLaren and Red Bull.
For 1990, changes were made, and the 2.0 litre formula was introduced, which would become known as Super Touring. The cars eligible had to have naturally aspirated six cylinder 2.0 litre engines. Another stipulation was that 2,500 of these cars had to be built and manufactured for homologation purposes.
The beauty of the Super Touring era was that the cars you saw race on TV looked very much like the family car sat on your drive way. Instead of futuristic looking race cars, it was Ford Mondeo’s and Honda Accords you saw battling it out for victory. The phrase “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” became a popular mantra for car dealers around this time.
The move was made to combat escalating costs, and create a more open and even field. The unpopular class system remained in place, reducing to two – A and B. Essentially Class A was for the Sierra RS500’s, while Class B was the genesis of Super Touring. Vauxhall and BMW entered as manufacturers with the Cavalier and the M3 respectively.
Robb Gravett won the championship in a Sierra, but the signs were clear, Super Touring was born.
1991 saw a raft of manufacturers join the series. Vauxhall and BMW remained, and Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Mitsubishi followed. The multi-class system was dropped, instead opting for manufacturer and independent entries which would remain in place for the whole era.
The new rules brought with them the desired effect. Closer action, thrilling races, and the emergence of a host of what would become household names. John Cleland and Will Hoy fought it out for the title, with Hoy coming out on top in his BMW M3 after a thrilling season finale at Silverstone. ‘91 also saw the debut of future three time champion Matt Neal as an independent. BMW took the manufacturers crown.
Little did they know at the time, but the BTCC had stumbled upon a golden formula. One which would grow and be as popular as Formula One over the course of the 90’s.
This is the first of a five part article series chronicling the Super Touring era, what made it great, the controversies that ensued, and hopefully an explanation as to why this series and era of the sport is still very much talked about today.
Onto the final day then and with a little under 55km’s over four stages. Two of the M-Sport crews would return as well as Ott and Martin in their Hyundai. They would be looking to set the highest possible pace from third on the road.
First up then was SS13 Laraquete 1 – 18.62 km and Seb set the pace from Elfyn and Kalle. Ott was fourth despite reporting that his engine was overheating. He reported that he was a bit ragged, but clearly something was working! Greg in the Puma was running in eighth overall.
Into SS14 BioBío 1 – 8.78 km and Elfyn who was trying to catch his rally leading teammate was fastest from Takamoto and Seb. The gap came down a little and with two stages to go was now a little under six seconds. Ott was eighth fastest after setting the benchmark before all the other crews came through beating his time.
We came then to the final stage, SS16 BioBío 2[Power Stage] – 8.78 km and Seb set the pace from Thierry and Elfyn. The Belgian was only three tenths faster than Elfyn as the Welshman who had a larger time gap earlier in the stage and came through the final sectors much faster. It was not quite enough though giving him the third fastest time, whilst Sami and Kalle rounded out the top five.
Seb and Vincent had taken a second victory in a row in Seb’s two-hundredth WRC round. It was also Seb’s sixty-sixth win. Also taking a well-deserved victory in WRC2 were Oliver and Elliot and with it the 2025 WRC2 crown. Elliot becomes the first British co-driver to take a WRC crown since Robert Reid in 2001 when the late great Richard Burns took the WRC for Subaru in Wales Rally GB.
Let’s take a look at the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification – Rally Chile
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:55:42.1
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+11.0
3
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+46.5
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+59.0
5
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:03.4
6
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:35.7
7
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:14.0
8
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:44.1
9
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+8:18.8
10
N. Gryazin
K. Aleksandrov
Škoda Fabia RS
+8:59.0
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m very happy to take another win in South America and to also come away with the maximum points this time: I think they are well deserved after the ones we lost because of the weather in Paraguay. To take the lead of the championship with three rallies to go is definitely positive too. I’m also very happy for everybody at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing that we could achieve this record win. Thanks to our Chairman, Akio Toyoda, for the great support that means we can keep pushing the limits for better. We can be very proud of what we’ve achieved so far and I’m sure that we can keep adding to these great numbers in the coming rallies.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s mixed feelings for us at the finish because we always want to win, but the big positive is that after struggling for pace two weeks ago in Paraguay we were able to come here and show good speed. I think we paid a big price for being first on the road on Friday afternoon but otherwise I think we’ve done a really solid job. Of course, I would have liked to fight Seb harder over the last day or so, but he is always very strong and tough to beat. Well done to him, as well as the team on a record win for Toyota. The championship is still close and we’re looking forward to the next rallies on asphalt and continuing to give it our best shot.”
Sami Pajari
“It’s been a really positive weekend for us. We’ve had good speed in some other rallies but here I was really trying to fight until the very end. I was on a mission to try and catch Neuville, and we could catch him a little bit but not quite by enough. Still, it’s been nice to see that we are able to fight like this. To be fourth on the Power Stage and Super Sunday is also nice to see because everyone is pushing to catch the points. It feels good to be pushing yourself to the limits and there were some really enjoyable moments this weekend. The next rallies are a totally different challenge on asphalt, but we’ll try to continue like this.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s not been a good weekend for us. We needed to get a good result here but unfortunately it didn’t come after what happened on Friday morning. Today we were trying to push hard again and take as many points as we could. It wasn’t going to be easy with our road position and we couldn’t challenge the top times, but I think we did what we could. The championship starts to get more difficult for us now and it’s clear that we need to try to get some wins in the next rallies, but we’ll keep giving it our best.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It’s been quite a difficult weekend for us, but at least we could end with something positive today. Both of the stages were new for me, but we were still able to match the pace of the others sometimes: on the first pass of the Power Stage, we were second fastest. As usual on the second pass we had narrower lines to follow and I think it was getting faster with every car, but still our time was not too far away. I’m glad to finish this rally and now I will move on and start preparing for the coming rallies on asphalt which are important to me, especially Rally Japan, and I will try to do my best.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Adrien Fourmaux
“I’m happy to be on the podium after missing out in Paraguay, which was really hard to accept. Overall, I would say it has been two strong rallies in South America for me. We ended Friday in the lead and held it well on Saturday morning, but then the advantage shifted to Toyota. However, we managed to keep a world champion in the same car behind, so I am pleased with that. Of course, there are things we need to improve on the car, but I am confident we will be able to push at the remaining events.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Rally Chile 2025, 11-14 September 2025 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“We survived the day. After three stages, Adrien and I were more or less equal – the gap was pretty steady, and I couldn’t have done much more. I tried a few different settings today that allowed me to push quite well in some places, but the times just weren’t coming. Even though the Power Stage had high grip and was quite abrasive, I knew my tyres weren’t too bad, so I pushed hard. It was a scary run at times, but it paid off!”
Ott Tänak
“It has been a long and frustrating weekend here in Chile. Friday was hard, but it was going quite well for us until our rally went off track. Since then, it’s been a difficult couple of days. The last few rallies have been challenging for us, but we are determined to finish the season strongly. As always, we will go into the final three rallies with full commitment; hopefully, we can finish with some strong results.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“It’s been a good weekend overall and I think we showed some strong pace. We pushed from start to finish without making mistakes, and while there’s always room for improvement, I feel that both the team and I have made a real step forward in performance. It’s a positive way to end the gravel events, and now we look ahead to Central European Rally – an event I really enjoy and one I’m looking forward to.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s been a challenging weekend, obviously it was a shame to miss out on both Saturdays in Paraguay and now Chile. But we still go to do the recce and write the pacenotes, and we got through Friday and Sunday’s stages, but we still need to work on the pace and performance. In Chile it’s been hard to compete with the boys at the top, and we’ve got a lot to take home from the weekend.”
Alberto Heller
“It was a really good rally for us, and we enjoyed it a lot with the team. We learned a great deal, and with all the fans here in Chile it was an amazing experience – the support on the stages was incredible. We gained some valuable kilometres and learned a lot about driving in this category, which is very different and at such a high level. Of course, it was a shame about what happened on Saturday, but that’s part of motorsport and sometimes these things happen. It was nice to be able to restart on Sunday and continue learning, and overall, it’s been a very positive rally for us.”
Oliver Solberg
“What can I say?” smiled Oliver. “This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. We came so close last year, but that ended with disappointment, to do it like we have this year is so important for me. I said at the start of the year that I wanted the title this season and we really had to do it this time – the way we have done it is really nice. Winning five rallies from the seven WRC2 rounds we started is something special.
“I think we deserve this one.
“The rally has been a tough one, we had to play lots of strategy with the tyres, but Toyota, the whole Printsport team, Elliott, everybody back at home – all of my family and my fiancée Chloe – I can’t thank them enough for the support they’ve given me.
“And the same for Monster Energy, HTB Racing, Quadrant, 4F, Autopay, OMP and Bell – all of our partners are so, so important to us. We couldn’t have done this without all of you!
“This has been the most amazing year for us, winning Rally Estonia in the [GR Yaris] Rally1 car and now this. Honestly, I’m a little bit lost for words and it’s definitely going to take some time for this to sink in.
“But to bring another world championship – a fourth one – home for the Solberg family. That makes me very proud. I guess we still have one more step to make before I can really equal my dad, but tonight we will definitely be celebrating as world champions!”
Elliot Edmondson
“This one is definitely going to take a moment to sink in. I’ve been so impressed – not just on this rally but for the whole season – with how cool, calm and collected Oliver has been. We knew what we wanted to achieve this year, we knew how close we’d come last year, but we had a plan for 2025 and we stuck to it.
“Well, I say we stuck to it… winning Rally Estonia in a Rally1 car wasn’t part of the plan at the start of the season, but we’ll definitely take it! Like Oliver said, it’s been one very special year – but we still have more to achieve. I would like to thank him, the whole team and all of my family and friends for the support.”
Summary
What a drive then from the new leaders of this years world championship. Seb and Vincent had a very good drive to take their fifth victory this year. They did benefit from good road positions to take these wins, but nevertheless it has been quite remarkable.
For Elfyn and Scott though, this for me was an even better drive than their teammates. They opened the road throughout Friday and were even leading at the mid-day service on the first day. Then on Saturday’s first stage they moved up two positions in the first stage to hold third place before taking the lead in the last morning stage. They then continued to set great pace throughout Saturday’s stages finishing second overall at the end of the day. Then Sunday saw them take a stage win, their second of the rally and then finish second overall, securing very good points for their championship challenge. They are now just two points from the championship leaders as the next round moves to asphalt for two rounds.
Finally, Adrien and Alex had a great result taking a well-deserved podium. They’d lead a rally for the first time on the overnight halt from Friday to Saturday’s stages. Then in the morning stages on Saturday they lost time, but not as badly as their teammates and took a very good result, especially after they were ‘retired’ following the end of the last rally.
There is a gap now before the next round, the Central European Rally over the weekend of the 16 to 19 of October. The teams will use that time to head back to their bases and prepare for this event.
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 11
1
S. Ogier
224
2
E. Evans
222
3
K. Rovanperä
203
4
O. Tänak
181
5
T. Neuville
166
6
T. Katsuta
94
7
A. Fourmaux
86
8
S. Pajari
70
9
O. Solberg
60
10
G. Munster
25
2025 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 11
The second full day then of this southern hemisphere springtime rally and the crews faced 139km’s over six stages which included the longest stage of the event at just a little under 30km’s. Ott and Martin returned to the action and would open the road.
First up then was SS7 Pelún 1 – 15.65 km and the rain which had been falling overnight was still falling. It would really make this first stage super tricky and slippery. Ott would set the pace despite opening the road, with Elfyn going second fastest just 1.4 seconds off the pace of the Estonian’s, whilst Kalle was third fastest. Elfyn and Scott’s pace brought them up two positions and into third overall as Seb and Sami slipped behind, now holding fourth and fifth respectively. Sadly, we lost two of the M-Sport crews as Josh and Alberto both had mechanical problems with their Puma’s. Greg was still running though, now in eighth place after being passed by Kalle after the Puma slid into a bank.
Onwards then into SS8 Lota 1 – 25.64 km and Ott was again fastest in the stage. There was no rain in this stage, but there were still sections with were damp. Kalle and Seb were second and third fastest. There were some changes on the leaderboard as Elfyn who set the fourth fastest time passed Thierry for second overall as the Belgian was around five seconds slower with the sixth best time. The Welshman’s pace took him and Scott really close to rally leaders Adrien and Alex, just nine tenths of a second now separating first and second positions. Also moving up the top ten were Kalle and Greg who both passed Takamoto as they moved into sixth and seventh respectively.
Now to the final stage of the morning loop and the longest stage of the whole weekend, SS9 María Las Cruces 1 – 28.31 km. Before the stage started Ott and Martin who were on their way to the start of the stage, then turned around and headed back to the service park. There was no problem with their car, and this was a decision it seemed to protect their car and look to Sunday’s stages and the points available. Kalle was fastest from Elfyn and Seb. Elfyn’s time saw him move into the lead passing Adrien, whilst Seb also moved into second overall. Adrien fell to third and Thierry was now fourth. The two Hyundai crews were not quite able to show the pace on this one.
Into the afternoon stages then, SS10 Pelún 2 – 15.65 km and Seb set the pace again from Elfyn and Thierry. It was an encouraging run from the Belgian crew who hoped that the afternoon would show that they were back on the pace after the struggles in the morning. With Seb setting the pace, he and Vincent halved the gap to Elfyn who remained 2.7 ahead of his teammate in the lead.
Onto the middle stage of the day then, SS11 Lota 2 – 25.64 km and Seb was again fastest from Elfyn and Sami. The Frenchman’s pace took him into the lead as Elfyn was 3.7 seconds slower with the gap now one second between them. The Hyundai crews really struggled on this one, going 7.8 and 10.3 seconds slower than Seb.
Onto the final stage of the day then, SS12 María Las Cruces 2 – 28.31 km and Seb was again fastest from Elfyn and Adrien who were 5.3 and 8 seconds slower than the leader. Thierry lost a huge 13.6 seconds in this one and was now over 40 seconds back from the lead.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:23:13.9
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+6.3
3
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+26.8
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+41.7
5
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+50.4
6
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:23.2
7
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:54.3
8
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:00.4
9
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+6:12.7
10
N. Gryazin
K. Aleksandrov
Škoda Fabia RS
+6:42.9
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“I can be pleased to be in the lead tonight but not with my whole day. The conditions were not easy this morning and unfortunately I was not in the right rhythm in the first stage. I was just too cautious and lost a lot of time. That was a frustrating start, but we managed to react well and find a good rhythm. Elfyn was very strong in those conditions this morning, but we managed to turn it around in the afternoon. Tomorrow will still be very intense: the fight for the win is very much on and there are a lot of extra points to try and secure too. Every stage will be important, so I will need to be awake and on it from the first one.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a very positive day overall today. We had a really good run this morning in difficult conditions. It rained a lot overnight and during the first stage, and it was there where we were able to make the biggest difference, so I was happy with that. This afternoon the tyre wear wasn’t as bad as expected and I was maybe a bit conservative, especially at the start of the loop. Seb’s driven really well and taken some time back, but it’s still pretty close and all to play for tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to the fight.”
Sami Pajari
“This morning the conditions were surprisingly tricky. Like everyone, we were expecting the rain and the muddy sections, but the tyre wear was also quite high, and I quickly realised that I had to be clever and not just push like crazy everywhere. I don’t think we did too badly, and we were able to catch Thierry a little bit. I was hoping we could have done even more this afternoon, but we do have some new tyres available and will do all we can to try and catch him tomorrow.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It was pretty good for us this morning when the rain came: in those conditions it was not so bad to be at the front of the pack and we were able to do some good times and catch up quite a lot. But after all, three cars running in front of us dropped out, the afternoon was tough as first car on the road. It was drying up a lot, especially the last stage, and with so much loose gravel we lost a lot of time. Hopefully everyone restarts tomorrow, and we have more cars in front of us and we’ll try to get what we can from the final day.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“It was a difficult start today with the conditions. The first two stages of the loop were new for me, and we did the recce for them in fog, so it was not easy to trust the pacenotes and we had to accept that we would lose some time there. The last stage of the loop wasn’t so bad, so I knew that the pace was there, and the speed was quite OK in sections this afternoon too. Overall, I can’t be satisfied but the rally is not over yet and I’ll try to make tomorrow a good day.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Adrien Fourmaux
“We were aiming for the win here in Chile, and while today has been frustrating, the rally is not yet over. Let’s see what tomorrow brings – it will be a big fight with Séb and Elfyn, as well as Thierry. We gave it everything today, but the times just weren’t there; we are definitely missing something. However, I will not give up, and tonight we will try to improve the car to be on the pace tomorrow.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally Chile 11 – 14 of September 2025 Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“I took a gamble this afternoon by running with one more soft tyre than Adrien, but the conditions were still humid and tricky. We were quicker on the first stage of the afternoon, but he was faster on the second. Ideally, I would have had four hard tyres on the final stage, and I lost a bit of time. Overall, today, I was on the limit and couldn’t have gone much faster. Tomorrow is going to be a close fight with Adrien, and we’re going to enjoy it.”
Ott Tänak
“We returned to service after the first two stages today to save the engine for tomorrow. We gained good data from this morning that will aid in our preparations for Sunday, where we are aiming to score as many points as possible. It is not the position we want to be in, but we will do everything in our power to get the best out of this event and the remaining rallies this season.”
Oliver Solberg
“There was quite a lot of rain around in the first stage this morning,” said Oliver. “It was quite muddy and dirty in places, but after that the road was drying quickly and we had to look after the tyre. I was maybe taking it a little bit too easy in some places.
“The middle stage this afternoon, I was a little bit cautious, so we were back pushing harder on the last one – just to keep the gap. Now the focus is on tomorrow and not taking any major risks. The team, Elliott, everybody has done a fantastic job, and it would be amazing to bring this thing home tomorrow.”
Sunday
The final day will see the crews tackle 54km’s over four stages. Can Elfyn and Scott pass their teammates and take victory, or will the French crew hold on and take another win? Can the Hyundai crews fight back after a poor Saturday?
The first full day then of round twelve of this season with the crews facing just under 113km’s over six stages. The day dawned bright and dry, but after the week of rain there were damp sections in the stages and some fog as well. How would Elfyn and Scott do was the question of course.
Into SS1 Pulpería 1 – 19.72 km and Kalle set the pace from Elfyn and Ott. It was a very good stage from the crew in the number 33 Yaris to be only 3.9 from the lead, whilst Ott was a further eight tenths of a second further back. It was not a good stage for Thierry or Seb who both suffered in the stage with a car that was not allowing either of them to drive at their best and they held sixth and seventh respectively. However, there was worse to come for Josh as he suffered a high-speed spin and lost the front bumper including the front splitter.
Next up was SS2 Rere 1 – 13.34 km and Kalle was fastest again from Ott and Adrien. There were some changes in the leaderboard behind Kalle as Elfyn dropped one position to third. Ott had moved past the Welshman and into second overall. Also on the move was Adrien who passed Sami and was now fourth. Greg in his Puma also gained a position, moving into eighth after passing Takamoto.
The final morning stage then, SS3 San Rosendo 1 – 23.32 km and there were more changes as Elfyn moved into the lead after setting a time which could not be beaten from Ott and Seb. Kalle who was leading slid wide on a corner and put one of his rear tyres off the rim. He would lose over a minute and fell to ninth.
After the service break came SS4 Pulpería 2 – 19.72 km and Sami was fastest from Thierry and Ott. The Estonian’s pace saw him move into the lead from Elfyn and Adrien. Thierry also gained a position, passing Seb for fourth position as the changes they’d made to the car meant that they were able to set the pace and helping them climb the standings.
Next up then came SS5 Rere 2 – 13.34 km and Ott also set the fastest time from his teammates Adrien and Thierry. With the pace from the Hyundai crews, they now held the top three positions, whilst Elfyn held fourth as the best of the Toyota crews.
Onto the final stage then, SS6 San Rosendo 2 – 23.32 km and Seb was fastest from Thierry and Sami. Ott sadly retired in the stage after suffering engine issues. With Adrien moving into the lead and Thierry now second, the best placed Toyota crew was now Seb who gained two positions and Sami passed Elfyn, moving into fourth. Greg was the best placed Puma, holding seventh place.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
57:48.5
2
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1.0
3
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2.3
4
S. Pajari
M. Salminen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+11.2
5
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+13.1
6
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+41.0
7
G. Munster
L. Louka
Ford Puma Rally1
+49.8
8
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:05.0
9
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Toyota GR Yaris
+2:27.4
10
J. McErlean
E. Treacy
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:35.7
Hyundai Motorsport
Adrien Fourmaux
“I’m very pleased to be leading the rally, but it’s a shame that Ott had an issue. From our side, we had a consistent day without mistakes. In hindsight I could have pushed more this afternoon, but I was concerned about tyre wear and struggling to finish the loop. Overall, it has been a good day, and it’s great to be in first place at the end of Friday for the first time. We’re expecting rain tonight, so tomorrow morning will be wet and muddy – a big challenge ahead, but I’m looking forward to it.”
2025 FIA World Rally Championship Rally Chile 2025, 11-14 September 2025 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“It was a tough day, but we can be pleased with the outcome. This morning was tricky, as we had some issues with the transmission, but we were able to revert to settings we are familiar with. Immediately, the balance was much better, and the road conditions improved as well. All in all, it was a disaster in the morning, but a very good afternoon as we closed in on the lead. We have a chance of a good result here this weekend, but the rally is still long.”
Ott Tänak
“This is difficult to digest. Everything was on track for a strong result, and the car was running well for most of the day. There was no indication that something was wrong, and we tried to carry on when the first signs appeared, but in the end it was terminal. The morning was quite messy, with the gravel not really clearing from the top of the roads, which were also very soft in some sections – very different to what we normally see here. It is a shame to end the day like this, especially when the championship is very close, but as always, we’ll do everything we can to salvage a good result.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Sébastien Ogier
“We didn’t make an ideal start this morning. Even after 200 starts, we can still go the wrong way with the setup occasionally and this morning I was missing the feeling and the precision needed for these narrow roads. We knew what we wanted to change in service and things definitely went in the right direction this afternoon, even if the conditions were challenging for the frontrunners. We kept pushing and managed one very good stage at the end which saved the day for us and put us in contention for the lead, so I’m happy with that. Tomorrow could be even more challenging with the rain that’s expected, but we’ll try and continue in this positive way.”
Sami Pajari
“It’s been a good day overall. This morning the feeling was not quite there, and I felt I could do better, but with some different conditions in the afternoon and some small fine-tuning with the car, I started to feel that everything is coming together. We managed to take a stage win and to be fourth overall, 11s from the lead, it’s a really positive day. I tried to save my tyres in the middle stage of the loop, and I probably could have pushed more, because I still had good grip at the end. I’ll try to do my best again tomorrow, when the stages will be more twisty, and the conditions could be more wet and muddy.”
Elfyn Evans
“It was a good start for us this morning. With the moisture in the air and on the road, the conditions were not as bad for us as usual running first on the road, even if there was still some loose gravel in places. The feeling in the car was pretty good after the work we’ve done in Paraguay and between rallies, and it was a reasonably clean morning. Then the afternoon was a big struggle with the cleaning being much worse than in the morning. At the same time, I don’t feel that I did a lot wrong and we’re still in touching distance of the lead, knowing that many things can still happen with the weather this weekend.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“This morning started quite well. I’ve never felt so comfortable on these stages, but today the pace was finally there. We’ve made some progress with a combination of the car setup and my driving; I was doing something differently and it was working well. Unfortunately, we went wide in one narrow place, where the braking is always tricky, and lost the rear. It was not a big hit, but enough to push the tyre off the rim and we lost a lot of time. The afternoon was more difficult with more cleaning than the morning. Tomorrow we expect some tricky weather: hopefully if it’s wet the cleaning won’t be too bad, and we’ll push to see what we can get.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“In the morning I was struggling quite a bit as I was lacking the feeling with the car, and it was not easy to be committed on these fast stages. But we changed quite a lot during the mid-day service, and I felt much better in the afternoon and the times were improving a lot. It was a pity that we lost the time in the morning, but we’re sixth overall with still a long way to go and maybe some tough conditions ahead. I will just keep pushing and trying to improve.”
Oliver Solberg
“Today has been OK. We kind of knew these stages wouldn’t work quite so well for our car – tomorrow and Sunday should be better for us. So, to come here in a strong position is good.
“The morning was quite mixed. We had a half-spin in the first stage, but then in the third one we were able to take some good time out of our rivals. This afternoon the roads have become more abrasive, so we’re really having to focus a little more on looking after the tyres. Because we have a limited supply for the softs, it’s going to be about who has enough to come through the rally – especially if there’s more rain coming tonight.
“I’m happy with the position we’re in for the tyres and, of course, it’s nice to lead tonight and to take some more time out on the final stage.
“Basically, the priority today was to make no mistakes and that’s the way we have to carry on into tomorrow. We have a bigger prize to think about right now.”
Saturday
Day two of the event will see a much longer day with 139.20km’s over six stages. What will we see happen?
The second round in a row in South America sees the eleventh round of this years championship. Last time out in Paraguay Seb took victory from Elfyn and Thierry, whilst Ott took fourth.
Elfyn and Scott actually opened up their lead in the championship over Kalle and Jonne, bringing an eight-point lead into this round. Last time out Kalle and his co-driver could have taken victory but for the tyre blowout. They will hope that this time out they can have a clear run. Seb and Vincent are nine points behind the championship leaders and will hope that their good road position will get them an advantage which they can exploit.
At Hyundai Ott and Martin are the closest challengers as they are eighteen points from their former M-Sport teammates, whilst Thierry and Martijn are a further thirty points behind their Estonian teammates.
At M-Sport there will be more learning for Josh and Eoin, Greg and Louis in this round. Greg and Louis had a good result last year taking seventh position, just eight seconds behind Sami and Enni.
Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers.
Weekend at a Glance
Cars take to the stages on Friday, with two loops of Pulpería (SS1/4, 19.72km), Rere (SS2/5, 13.34km) and San Rosendo (SS3/6, 23.32km)
Saturday’s six stages cover 139.20km of competitive action: Pelún (SS7/10, 15.65km), Lota (SS8/11, 25.64km) and María las Cruces (SS9/12, 28.31km)
Sunday concludes with two loops of Laraquete (SS13/15, 18.62km) and BioBio (SS14/16, 8.78km).
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“After a tough rally we found some good improvements on the final day in Paraguay and the result wasn’t too bad in the end. It means we’re still leading the championship and opening the road on gravel once more in Chile. Let’s see how the weather is there: if it’s dry we could face the usual challenge on Friday, but if it rains it’s not so dissimilar to somewhere like Wales in terms of how muddy and slippery it can get, and then it’s not so bad to be first. Either way, the roads are really enjoyable to drive. Friday’s stages are technical with a lot of crests and quite like Finland, while the others are wider and more open, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Even if our result in Paraguay was not as good as it could have been, we still took good points from Sunday and the drivers’ championship remains close. Unlike in Paraguay, we know what’s coming in Chile. The roads are fast and flowing like in Finland, but the surface is quite different with a harder base. Last year, I didn’t feel the most comfortable with that on the Friday stages, but we still managed to do a good rally after that when the conditions changed with rain and fog, and we were able to take the win. We’ll do everything we can again this year and try to score good points.”
Sébastien Ogier
“It was great to win in Paraguay and stand on the top step of the podium, and we will try to continue the same way in Chile. We haven’t finished off the podium this year, and the plan is to keep it like that as we continue the fight in the championship. Last year was my first time back in Chile since 2019 and we had amazing speed, but we didn’t have a clean weekend to bring it all together. So, we’ll definitely be trying to put that right this year. The roads there are enjoyable to drive, and the atmosphere is nice like always when we’re in South America, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“Paraguay was a really enjoyable rally, even if the result was not what I wanted, and now I’m really looking forward to going back to Chile. As I wasn’t there last year, there will be some stages that will be new for me, but I’m trying to prepare as well as I can by watching videos from previous years. The surface in Chile is different to what we experienced in Paraguay, so I don’t know how much we can take from one rally to the next, but the stages are very nice and I’m feeling quite confident that we can have a good performance there.”
Sami Pajari
“I’m looking forward to Rally Chile. Like Rally Finland, it’s one of the events that I did in the Rally1 car already last year and I enjoyed it a lot. We were quite close to the lead on the first day before the conditions became more tricky and it became more about learning. The roads are nice to drive and quite similar to Finland in places. The feeling and the performance that we’ve had in the car in the last few rallies has been really good, and the plan will be to try to carry that on in Chile.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“Chile is all about rallying. The roads are exceptionally cool there – they’re flowing and smooth at the same time. You have to be as efficient as possible, and that’s something that comes through your driving style and car setup. Your car balance needs to be adaptable but easy to manage, and your tyre choice is massively dependent on the weather, road conditions and road position. There’s a lot to learn on each loop, and the weather can be a lottery for each car. Our performance was compromised by punctures and some small issues in Paraguay, but we will make sure that’s back on form in Chile.”
Thierry Neuville
“We’ve had some good results at Rally Chile in the past and we are looking forward to heading back there. Our experience is invaluable, and we’ll be starting the rally in a good road position, so we are hoping to get some decent runs in from the start. We went into Paraguay with a car setup based on Chile, so the car should also feel more comfortable there, particularly with our familiarity with the surface. It’s a very demanding event on our tyres, so we need to make the right calls to get us to the end of the loops.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“Last year might have been my first entry at Rally Chile, but it quickly became an event I enjoy. The challenges with the road profile and the tyres are exciting, particularly with the differences seen across the weekend. The weather can be tricky; the elevation changes mean we face a lot of fog, and it doesn’t ever stay in the same place. Pacenotes are key for us; we need landmarks to make sure that we stay on track if the weather isn’t on our side. While the result in Paraguay didn’t go our way, our weekend was positive – we had the pace. If we have that kind of performance again in Chile, we’ll be happy.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Grégoire Munster
“Chile is an event I know quite well, as it was where I made my first Rally1 start at the top of the WRC. The itinerary is identical to last year’s event, which means we can reuse our pacenotes and focus on building more speed. It won’t be as rough as Paraguay, and we’re motivated to turn things around after last weekend. Chile is always tough on tyres, so it will be interesting to see how the Hankooks perform here and how that affects the car’s behaviour.”
Josh McErlean
“It’s great to be going to Chile for the next stop in our South American adventure. The itinerary is the exact same as last year’s event, we will be writing fresh pacenotes as it’s our first time there – but we will do our homework and be prepared. It’s a stunning part of the world and I’m looking forward to the challenge and continuing to build momentum on these incredible roads.”
Alberto Heller
“I’m very happy to be able to represent my country in the top category, as part of a tremendous team like M-Sport. Racing in my region and close to my hometown is something very special for me. “In Chile, the motorsport culture has been growing, and I’m sure we’ll have an even better event than in previous editions. “Our country probably has the best roads in the world, and I feel truly privileged to be able to travel them in a Rally1 car.”
Oliver Solberg
“If I win, I win,” he smiled.
“It’s like that. If I win the race, then the WRC2 title is mine. There are some different calculations for some of my rivals, but this is the main one and this is what we focus on.
“For me, it’s the same as always: I drive my own race and do my own thing. Nothing changes from that side. OK, maybe we don’t go completely flat out all of the time, let’s maybe come one step down from the speed we were showing in Paraguay.
“Like we know, this sport is a team effort and to be at this point is a big reflection on how hard everybody at Printsport has worked with us. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 is an amazing car and I’m grateful to Toyota and the whole team for what they have done to help us in the fight this year. Now, we have one more battle in the WRC2 title race.”
“That was a lot of fun,” said Oliver. “But it would be nice if Chile was a little bit more straightforward. We have been in this position (to win for the title) last year and it didn’t quite go our way – let’s hope we can turn that around next week. I love Chile, the rally is a really nice one; the roads are great and the people, the fans are fantastic.
“Since Paraguay, we have been travelling a little bit to the south of South America – we went down to Punta Arenas, the city most south in Chile. It was super-cool… actually it was freezing, don’t forget, we are still in the winter in this part of the world.
“It was a really nice time to relax with my fiancée and my parents. Now, it’s time to get back to the business.”
Summary
We are set then for a great event, and it will be very interesting who will hold the lead at the end of Friday.
