Shakedown Rally Media

Meeke leads WRC regulars in Portugal.

Ogier takes the lead. Thierry, Elfyn and Ott all had major moments. Fourmaux broke a steering arm.

Final top three from Speyside. Bogie beats Retson who is followed by Thorburn.

David Bogie leads after taking 11 seconds off Finlay Retson on SS7.

Thierry Nueville retakes the lead in Rally Croatia.

Retson leads Bogie by three seconds, Scott Beattie now third and Thorburn fourth.

RETSON LEADS BOGIE BY FOUR SECONDS. NO SIGN OF FRED MILNE.

TOP FIVE AFTER STAGE FOUR ON THE SPEYSIDE. RETSON LEADS THORBURN, THEN BOGIE FOLLOWED BY MILNE AND ARMSTRONG

The Safari Rally stewards issue Oliver Solberg a suspended fine for video posted on Instagram - RallyJournal.com Before the official start of the Safari Rally, the stewards issued Oliver Solberg a suspended penalty.

Four dead in accident at Hungarian rally – DirtFish Rally – An incident on the Esztergom-Nyerges Rally has left four people dead and a further eight injured

Meeke wins again as he takes victory on the Casino Rally Algarve.

https://itgetsfasternow.com/2023/11/21/jonne-halttunens-concept-for-wrc-event/?fbclid=IwAR0S-eyqT4a0TRcaAp0w7nafpcGI0T_wrGFM5HwxsleA14QdEprBa-YS0cI

Jonne Halttunen’s Concept For WRC Event Two-Time World Champion Co-Driver Jonne Halttunen spoke on YLE Urheilupodcast in Finnish about how he would change the structure of WRC events. He is focusing on condensing the action into a smalle…

South Yorkshire Rally cancelled
https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/transport/rally-which-would-have-seen-closure-of-50-south-yorkshire-roads-cancelled-by-organisers-4410520?fbclid=IwAR0CdYKAYx3UuwLzVt0eQpOS-QSnp5T5y1OxArSnJ4nsdfK_z1ZJ1vigSuM

Rally which would have seen closure of 50 South Yorkshire roads cancelled by organisers A controversial road rally which would have seen the closure of 50 roads across Barnsley has been cancelled by the organisers.

Race and Rally are excited to announce preliminary details of a Rally4 Cup, which will launch in 2024, complete with a €75,000 prize fund.
The first manufacturer-supported championship in almost a decade, the Rally4 Cup will be open to all Peugeot Sport UK/Ireland 208 Rally4 and Opel Motorsport UK/Ireland Corsa Rally4 examples, with an emphasis on offering a breeding ground for talented youngsters. This exciting new Cup will also be supported by Michelin Motorsport.
The series will consist of eight rounds, four in Ireland and four in the UK, offering a mixture of both gravel and asphalt events.
Offering one of the biggest prize funds in national rallying, the Rally4 Cup will offer on-event prize money, plus a supported opportunity in the 2025 Junior FIA ERC - European Rally Championship for the Junior champion. The prize fund total is over €75,000 for the season.
Further information will be announced in due course, and interested parties are invited to get in touch for more information.
Contact:
Race and Rally on 02895 213335 or [email protected]

After careful review by the organising team and with our partners, there will
be no Rally Tendring & Clacton in 2024.
Since the inaugural rally in 2018, the rally has run annually using new 'closed roads' legislation,
except for interruptions due to COVID-19.
These events are a substantial undertaking, dependent on thousands of hours of time given by our
volunteers and require significant funding to host. We are in a period of budget cuts, as costs rise for
organisations and for our competitors too. We have therefore decided the rally will not continue at
present.
We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far and repeat our gratitude to our sponsors,
notably Corbeau Seats, who have been with us since the start of the journey. We also thank our
partners, local communities, volunteer officials and marshals, plus our competitors for their
encouragement and support over the past six years.
Chelmsford Motor Club remains committed to organising closed road rallies. We have some exciting
plans in development for a new format event in Essex. We will provide additional updates at an
appropriate time.
Ends. 6th November 202

Eamonn Boland and MJ will not start day two of Central European Rally
German police found issue with their Citreon’s paperwork when they crossed back into Germany after a day of ceremonial starts and stages in the Czech Republic
Three other crews are also effected by the police decision
MJ said: “You won’t believe this, we got a new registration number and plates, in Germany through the organisers. Last night, the police stopped us on the border, not allowed drive in Germany, insurance problem. Not allowed even to drive the car back in to service. A trailer had to come from Passau to collect.

Ben MacDowell from Balerno, Edinburgh has decided to build another BMW for forest rallying and intends to compete in next years SRC. Ben has only been competing since Feb 22 but has shown a lot of promise and has had some eye catching results. The youngster who retired on the last night in Mull will be navigated by Alison Horne, sponsorship comes from Engine 710, Signs Express, Falkirk and Andrew Lamont Motorsport.

Neil Roskell cannot wait for Mull to start and admits it would be fantastic to do well on his favourite event.

Neil told Shakedown

I’m hoping for a clear run and to see how my pace is then we can make a game plan. A finish is a big thing for Mull, it’s a major thing at the pace we have to be at near the front against these regulars.
As for result we will have to wait and see!
The thing with these roads is knowing where we can carry the speed and where to back off. There are a lot of blind crests with big rocks on the outside so I will need to keep my wits about me. I am really looking forward to the night stages as it has a great feel about it and you need your navigator to on top form, which I am lucky Andrew (Roughead)is."

Ian Forgan is returning to the sport next Month. The Fife man has only competed in two rallies since his horror accident on last years Snowman Rally. His old faithful Ford Ka will be wheeled out for his local event, the Kingdom Stages before he competes at Kinloss in his Fiesta R5.

Apologies for a lack of news lately. Been very busy on other rally projects. I will now make a concerted effort to bring you more news

SOLBERG STARS IN SWEDEN

Oliver Solberg and Elliott Edmundson won this weekend’s Royal Rally Scandinavia in a VW Polo R5, with European Rally Championship leaders, Hayden Paddon and John Kennard coming home in second place in the Hyundai i20 Rally2 to extend their points lead.

Solberg and Paddon were fastest on every single stage of the two-day event, but it was the home hero who would come out on top; eventually taking the win by 22.5 seconds. The event was a battle for those looking for a top WRC seat, with Mārtiņš Sesks finishing third and Nikolay Gryazin in fourth spot. Jon Armstrong was the top UK driver, with the Northern Irishman finishing in 11th position on his first outing in an R5/Rally2 car since the Galway International Rally in 2019.

DACIA TO DAKAR IN 2025

Romanian manufacturer, Dacia will join the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship from 2025, with the nine-time WRC champion, Sébastien Loeb and his 2022 Extreme-E title partner Cristina Gutiérrez lead the line-up.

There are no details of which vehicle will be used to create the new machine, which will take on the Dakar Rally as part of the World Rally-Raid series. Ford have also committed to the championship from 2024, while Audi and Toyota are already involved. That will make four manufacturers – more than the WRC features, raising yet more questions about the attractiveness of the series.

FINLAND RETURN FOR LATVALA

The boss of the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, Jari-Matti Latvala has revealed that he will get back behind the wheel of a top-level rally car in a one-off drive at next month’s Rally Finland next month.

In a social media announcement, the Finn revealed that he will drive a Yaris Rally1 on the event, with Juho Hanninen on pacenote duties. The driver-turned-team-boss ended his full-time driving career at the end of the 2019 season, but did enter Rally Sweden in 2020. He has still been driving regularly, but in Toyota Celicas run from his own rally preparation workshops.

FOURMAUX MARCHES ON IN YPRES

Adrien Fourmaux has continued his march toward BRC glory with a comfortable win at Ypres Rally. The M-Sport driver had been in a battle with the Citröen of Stéphane Lefebvre and Loris Pascaud, but the 2022 Belgian champion’s rally ended in dramatic style with a massive crash on SS7. Both walked away unharmed, but their demise left the way clear for the British series leader.

Chris Ingram and Alex Kihurani were second, with Belgian Championship contenders, Maxime Potty Maxime and Renaud Herman third. Gary Pearson and Dan Barritt were the next best BRC crew after Fourmaux, in 15th place, with James Williams and Dai Roberts in 20th spot. Casey Jay Coleman and Lorcan Moore took the Junior BRC award, in their Ford Fiesta Rally4.

Latest results from Argyle.... https://www.rallies.info/res.php?e=526

HOME WIN FOR SESKS

Mārtiņš Sesks dominated this weekend’s Tet Rally Liepāja in Latvia, taking his second win in a row in the 2023 European Rally Championship. It was an impressive performance from the local who, with Renārs Francis alongside him in the ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2, won seven of the nine stages.

Current championship leader, Hayden Paddon came second in a Hyundai i20 Rally2, but was a distant 41-seconds back. Mads Østberg was third in a Citröen C3, making three different cars in the top three. Motorsport Ireland Academy star, Josh McEarlean was fourth – his best ERC showing so far. Despite Sesks’ dominance, Paddon is still 30-points clear of his rival at the halfway point in the championship, with the next round taking place at Sweden’s Royal Rally of Scandinavia in July.

DEVINE RESULT AT DONEGAL

Callum Devine has won this year’s Donegal Rally, alongside co-driver, Noel O’Sullivan. The pair were involved in a weekend-long battle with Josh Moffett and Andy Hayes, but the Hyundai i20 R5 crew cashed out on Sunday morning’s Fanad Head test, leaving Devine to take the spoils in his Polo R5.

Matt Edwards and David Moynihan put in a great recovery drive in their Polo; scoring a string of fastest times to fight their way back up to second after suffering differential issues on Friday. Sam Moffett upheld family honours in third spot, alongside his co-driver, Keith Moriarty. Kevin Gallagher and Ryan Moore were an impressive 10th overall in the Darrian T90 GTR, making them the top 2WD finishers.