1 month ago
A rally event in Aberdeenshire will give a "good insight" of what to expect when the World Rally Championship (WRC) comes to the region next year, according to organisers.
The Grampian Forest Rally starts in Banchory on Friday and forms part of the British Championship.
It has also attracted some drivers from the WRC, including current points leader Elfyn Evans, who will be keen to try and get a feel for what could lie in store next year, with stages still to be announced.
WRC stages will be held in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray for three years, at a cost of £1m per year but it is thought the economic benefits could run to tens of millions of pounds.
More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland
#stages
The Grampian Forest Rally starts in Banchory on Friday and forms part of the British Championship.
It has also attracted some drivers from the WRC, including current points leader Elfyn Evans, who will be keen to try and get a feel for what could lie in store next year, with stages still to be announced.
WRC stages will be held in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray for three years, at a cost of £1m per year but it is thought the economic benefits could run to tens of millions of pounds.
More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland
#stages
2 months ago
Elfyn Evans extended his lead at the top of the World Rally Championship standings to 30 points as Toyota team-mate Sami Pajari won his home event in Finland.
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin finished in third place for Toyota despite a roll on Saturday, which ended their chances of victory, and hold a healthy margin with four rounds remaining.
The 37-year-old, who has been a runner-up in the WRC five times, lost two minutes when he ran wide on a corner, rolled and got stuck in a ditch on the 14th stage of 20 in the rally.
With the help of spectators - including his dad, former rally driver Gwyndaf, who just happened to be spectating near where he crashed - Evans was able to return to service where Toyota mechanics repairs his GR Yaris.
"A surreal set of circumstances, but we owe the guys who fixed the car because without them the rally would have been over," Evans said after completing the rally.
#elfyn
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin finished in third place for Toyota despite a roll on Saturday, which ended their chances of victory, and hold a healthy margin with four rounds remaining.
The 37-year-old, who has been a runner-up in the WRC five times, lost two minutes when he ran wide on a corner, rolled and got stuck in a ditch on the 14th stage of 20 in the rally.
With the help of spectators - including his dad, former rally driver Gwyndaf, who just happened to be spectating near where he crashed - Evans was able to return to service where Toyota mechanics repairs his GR Yaris.
"A surreal set of circumstances, but we owe the guys who fixed the car because without them the rally would have been over," Evans said after completing the rally.
#elfyn
2 months ago
Elfyn Evans holds third place at Rally Finland despite rolling his Toyota on Saturday, as Sebastien Ogier was taken to hospital after crashing out of the lead.
Nine-time champion Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia had a big accident on stage 17 - Saturday's penultimate stage - after they ran wide on a fast, right-hand corner and their Toyota crashed into trees.
The stage was stopped and an update from Toyota said both Ogier and Ingrassia got out of the car "unassisted", and were taken to hospital for checks but were "conscious and generally OK".
Sami Pajari, who won his first rally at the previous round in Estonia, inherited first place from Ogier and leads his home event with two stages remaining on Sunday.
The Finnish driver holds an advantage of 46.4 seconds over Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg, while Evans moved into third place ahead of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux after setting the fastest time on Saturday's final stage.
#toyota #place #ingrassia #holds
Nine-time champion Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia had a big accident on stage 17 - Saturday's penultimate stage - after they ran wide on a fast, right-hand corner and their Toyota crashed into trees.
The stage was stopped and an update from Toyota said both Ogier and Ingrassia got out of the car "unassisted", and were taken to hospital for checks but were "conscious and generally OK".
Sami Pajari, who won his first rally at the previous round in Estonia, inherited first place from Ogier and leads his home event with two stages remaining on Sunday.
The Finnish driver holds an advantage of 46.4 seconds over Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg, while Evans moved into third place ahead of Hyundai's Adrien Fourmaux after setting the fastest time on Saturday's final stage.
#toyota #place #ingrassia #holds
