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Ott Tanak has explained the crash he described as a “proper disaster” that handed team-mate Thierry Neuville the World Rally Championship crown and dented Hyundai’s manufacturers’ title bid.Tanak started Sunday with a commanding 38 second rally lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans but his Rally Japan victory bid unravelled in the most spectacular fashion on stage 17.The 2019 world champion …Keep reading

Ott Tanak has dramatically crashed out of the lead of Rally Japan which has handed Thierry Neuville the World Rally Championship and swung the manufacturers title battle towards Toyota.Tanak started Sunday with a 38 second rally lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans which he needed to maintain to keep his WRC title hopes alive.However, Sunday morning’s opening stage (Nukata, 20.23km) proved decisive …Keep reading

Franco Colapinto has been cleared to race in Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix following a heavy crash in qualifying. Colapinto suffered a huge smash into the Turn 16 barriers after clipping the inside wall, destroying his FW46 Formula 1 car.The Argentinian reported he was okay, but because he had suffered an impact of over 50G he was sent to the medical centre for check-ups.There, it was decided …Keep reading

Thierry Neuville says he cannot afford to cruise through the Rally Japan’s final leg to secure a maiden World Rally Championship title following a stirring Saturday fightback.The WRC points leader started Saturday outside the points-paying positions in 15th after Friday’s costly turbo failure dashed hopes of a relatively comfortable run to score the six points required to seal the …Keep reading

Yamaha turned heads in Tuesday’s official MotoGP test in Barcelona as it introduced a significantly overhauled version of the M1.As the Japanese manufacturer revealed, further improvements have been made to the chassis, engine and aerodynamics on the back of some promising updates at the end of the season.The most striking and macroscopic change was the new front end, including a complete …Keep reading

Toyota will need a “maximum performance” from its drivers and “a little bit of support” from M-Sport Ford to deny Hyundai the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ title in Japan. This year’s championship will go down to the wire with Toyota trailing Hyundai by 11 points heading into the final five stages of the Rally Japan season finale on Sunday.Toyota began the weekend 15 points …Keep reading

Formula 1 chiefs may have been hard at work to improve their cherished Las Vegas Grand Prix for its sophomore outing, but what hasn’t changed one bit is the technical challenge that will decide over victory and defeat, and over the possible crowning of a world champion.The newly-added ice skating rink F1 installed on the roof of its swanky paddock building was conceived as a bit of fun, but it may …Keep reading

Since last Sunday, when Jorge Martin crossed the line in third place in the final race of the season, many members of the MotoGP paddock, as well as fans, have been raising their hands in apology to Ducati.The Borgo Panigale brand spent more than a year ensuring that all four riders competing on the latest specification Desmosedici would have exactly the same technical coverage for their title …Keep reading

An investigation into how an unauthorised vehicle entered a live World Rally Championship stage at Rally Japan is underway, an incident which the FIA has described as “a very serious issue.”A minivan entered stage 12 (Ena) on Saturday morning, forcing officials to cancel the test after six of the eight Rally1 crews posted times.Television cameras captured a vehicle that was stationary facing in …Keep reading

Thierry Neuville boosted his World Rally Championship hopes by provisionally claiming more than half of the points needed to secure the title, while rival Ott Tanak extended his Rally Japan lead.Six points from the Japan season finale will secure a maiden title for Neuville, but that task was hanging in the balance after a turbo issue on Friday left the Hyundai driver in 15th position at the start …Keep reading