Catalunya WRC: Tanak crowned champion as Neuville wins
Toyota’s Ott Tanak has won the World Rally Championship title with one round to spare with second place on Rally Catalunya, as Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville took victory.
Neuville did all he could to deny Tanak’s title with a perfectly controlled performance, hitting the front on Saturday when the action switched from gravel to tarmac and winning the rally by 17.2s over Tanak, who overhauled Dani Sordo on the final stage.
Needing to beat or finish just one place behind Neuville on the test, Tanak won the Power Stage with a scorching time, 3.6s quicker than Elfyn Evans with Neuville third quickest.
Tanak’s title means he is the first man to defeat either Sebastien Loeb or Ogier across a full season since Petter Solberg in 2003 and it also marks the first drivers' title for Toyota since Didier Auriol's triumph in 1994.
Defending champion Ogier was the other driver capable of stopping Tanak and led the rally after the opening stage but a hydraulic failure on stage two left his Citroen without its paddle-shift gear selector and crucially bereft of its power steering.
Ogier struggled on but lost four minutes, eventually forced to settle for eighth.
All three Hyundais flirted with the lead on Friday’s gravel tests following Ogier’s demise. Sordo took the early initiative but it was Sebastien Loeb who led a Hyundai 1-2-3 after Friday with an astonishing time on the final test.
As Neuville powered ahead on Saturday, Sordo and Loeb couldn’t keep up and fell into the clutches of a hungry Tanak in fourth. Loeb was overhauled by Tanak on Saturday’s final Salou spectator stage, but Sordo kept his nose ahead.
Sordo repelled Tanak throughout the majority of Sunday, but Tanak’s sensational push on the Power Stage was enough for him to steal second from Sordo by 0.4s.
Loeb wound up a distant fourth, with Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala finishing a mere 6.3s behind in fifth place to prolong the manufacturers battle onto Australia.
M-Sport’s Evans had been squabbling with Latvala for fifth but an engine misfire on Friday and brief lapses of confidence on Saturday confined him to sixth place.
Teammate Teemu Suninen finished seventh, surviving a late scare on the Power Stage when he slid wide into a bank and suffered a half-spin.
Kris Meeke had climbed as high as third on Saturday morning, threatening the Hyundai juggernaut, but pushed too hard on the morning’s second test and whacked his Toyota Yaris WRC into retirement.
Through no fault of his own, Esapekka Lappi compounded a weekend to forget for Citroen. Lappi had been in the mix until Friday’s final test when an engine-related issue stopped his C3 in its tracks.
The issue proved so severe that Lappi wouldn’t start either of the two tarmac legs.
Takamoto Katsuta was on for a points-scoring finish on just his second WRC appearance in a Toyota Yaris WRC but a gear selection issue on Saturday’s opening stage lost him over half an hour.
Citroen driver Mads Ostberg was ninth and won WRC2 Pro, one place ahead of WRC2 victor Eric Camilli in 10th overall.
Catalunya WRC: Neuville stretches lead, Tanak into third
Tanak: Tortuous career helped me seal WRC title
The former WRC star playing the unsung hero role for Rovanpera
Kalle Rovanpera’s 2022 World Rally Championship displays have been spectacular, with the Toyota driver benefitting from a secret weapon in his crew to win two of the opening three rallies. But while the former challenger to Sebastien Loeb won’t take credit for his fellow Finn's performances, a key bond has been formed which could prove key to Rovanpera’s title charge
How Rovanpera's Croatia turnaround sent a message to his WRC rivals
After a dominating Rally Croatia, a wrong tyre choice on the final day looked to have undone all Kalle Rovanpera's hard work and left him with a mountain to climb heading into the power stage. That he emerged the winner all the same has surely quelled any lingering doubts that the Finn is the man to beat in the 2022 WRC
How M-Sport's faith in Loubet led to a WRC reprieve after a dismal 2021
It's fair to say 2021 was a year to forget for Pierre-Louis Loubet. A maiden full World Rally Championship season offered hope but soon turned into a nightmare that ended in hospital, after being hit by a car in a road traffic accident. Now handed a lifeline by M-Sport, the Frenchman is desperate to rebuild his career
Why WRC mechanics deserve more respect
The drivers get the glare of attention, but it’s the mechanics who are key to the operation of any World Rally Championship car. Motorsport.com donned a set of overalls and joined M-Sport on a Belgian national rally event to get an inside look into the life of a rally mechanic.
The African McRae aiming to become a WRC pioneer
Taking his first step into the Junior World Rally Championship category, McRae Kimathi - named after 1995 world champion Colin - found himself in the unfamiliar climes of Sweden's snow and ice. Having impressed, Kimathi hopes to blaze a trail to the top level of WRC and help other African drivers to step onto the ladder
How Rovanpera grabbed the Rally Sweden spotlight
After a blockbuster opening act to the new era of the World Rally Championship with the battle of the Sebastiens at Monte Carlo, Rally Sweden would be the first chance to assess the next superstar of rallying. While teething issues with the new hybrid power thwarted some of the cast, Kalle Rovanpera’s display gave him headline billing
The "painful" journey behind the WRC's generational tech innovation
As the company selected to provide the hybrid kits for the 2022 World Rally Championship, the pressure was on Compact Dynamics at the Monte Carlo season opener. Needing to treat all three manufacturers equally, it wasn't a straightforward process, but its first big test was a resounding success that bodes well for the future.
The mentality shift key to Lappi’s shot at WRC redemption
He appeared poised to become the World Rally Championship’s new bright young star five years ago, but Esapekka Lappi's fortunes since his 2017 breakthrough win offer a cautionary tale of how the tables can turn. Now having rebuilt his career, the Finn is determined to make the most of his second shot at the big time with Toyota.