Brandon Semenuk is set to make his WRC debut this month in Latvia. Find out more about the Canadian rally star below.
Making His Debut
There has been talk for the last couple of seasons about now-two-time American Rally Association Champion Brandon Semenuk making his international rally debut. Semenuk did make that debut back at the legendary Otago Rally earlier this year. However, the Canadian has yet to make his World Rally Championship debut, let alone do a rally in Europe. That will all change come Rally Latvia next month. As Semenuk will make his debut in a Rally2 Yaris.
Brandon Semenuk has spent the last year in a half dominating the ARA in his top-of-the-line Subaru Rallycar built by Vermont Sportscar. Semenuk won every round of the ARA championship in 2023 and every round this season up until the Oregon Trail Rally when a rock damaged his car and forced him to retire. Brandon Semenuk also took home his first championship back in 2022 after a close battle with the late great Ken Block. Semenuk narrowly beat out the action sports legend, with Block sliding off the road at the final event of the season.
Overall Semenuk shouldn’t make any huge strides in his first WRC event. As the car, while slower than what he is used to stateside, will still have a learning curve. Add that to a decent amount of quality competition like Oliver Solberg who raced in the ARA some years ago alongside David Higgins. Semenuk may be able to take a handful of top-five stage times in class by the end of the weekend. As he is a quick learner and has shown he is not only a top driver in North America but potentially one of the better drivers in the world.
Brandon Semenuk works on a really tight schedule most of the time as he also does mountain biking. Balancing mountain biking and rallying hasn’t been an easy task for Semenuk persay, add having to travel to Europe or some other country and spend a decent amount of time preparing for an event and it makes it harder. Not that Semenuk doesn’t already do this stateside. He could potentially do Rally Chile this year or Rally Paraguay next year. If the opportunity arises for Semenuk to drive at either event.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season is halfway finished. Here’s who I believe has been the best in different ways this season.
Best Driver – Sebastien Ogier
Sebastien Ogier has looked like well Sebastien Ogier so far this season. As the Frenchman has won two events and came close to a third in Sardegna. Ogier would probably be leading the championship if it weren’t for him being a part-time. That still hasn’t discouraged the eight-time champion from putting on his best effort at every event he attends.
Most Improved – Adrien Fourmaux
Adrien Fourmaux hands down wins the most improved driver award for the first half of the season. Back-to-back podiums in Sweden and Kenya, plus a third podium in Poland. What more could M-Sport ask of Fourmaux at this point? Fourmaux spent the 2023 season behind the wheel of a Rally2 Fiesta. Where he contested events in WRC2 and the British Rally Championship. He took home the BRC win and had alright results in WRC2. Nobody really expected Fourmaux to do great this season. However, he sits in a battle for fourth in the championship heading into the season’s eighth event.
Most Disappointing Driver – Ott Tänak
Ott Tänak really hasn’t had a great first half of the season. As the Estonian only has two podiums under his belt. That goes along with his two super rallies. Granted Tänak is still very much in the battle for the WRC championship at this point, but it seems more like a pipe dream at this point. Tänak currently sits third in the championship just 6 points behind Elfyn Evans for second and 21 points behind Thierry Neuville. Overall it’s just been disappointing for Tänak so far this season.
Best Showing At A Single Event – Mikkelsen In Poland
Rally Poland was a whirlwind of an event. The one shining light from that event has to be Andreas Mikkelsen who was blisteringly fast. Not many drivers can go head-to-head in times with Kalle Rovanperä. Especially in their first event on gravel in a rally1 car. Sure both Mikkelsen and Rovanperä weren’t at 100%. As Rovanperä had to quickly do recce after being called to sub in for Sebastien Ogier just days before the event. Ultimately the two-time WRC champion in Rovanperä came out on top after Mikkelsen suffered a puncture that destroyed the rear half of his car.
Favourite Event – Rally Italia Sardegna
It’s normally a hard task to pick a favourite event, but not this season. Even if there are multiple contenders for me. Rally Italia Sardegna wins this category solely because of the absolute nail-biter of a finish. Ott Tänak won the event by just 0.2 seconds over Sebastien Ogier. A feat he achieved on the final stage of the event. All weekend it was a classic battle between Tänak and Ogier. Something we haven’t seen much of in recent years. This finish is also tied for the closest finish in WRC history. The other time it was this close? Well, Sebastien Ogier came out on top that time. Beating out his now boss Jari-Matti Latvala in 2011 at Rally Jordan.
Least Favourite Event – Rally Poland
Rally Poland was a good event in most ways. However, the fans absolutely ruined it. The event was completely overshadowed by stage stoppages and cancellations for me to have really enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong the roads and everything else were good but it’s just disappointing to see an event ruined because of fans who can’t listen to others. Never in my years of following and covering the WRC did I just want an event to end. I dislike saying that, I really do and I feel bad for all the drivers and crews. As well as the fans who actually were doing what they were supposed to. Overall extremely disappointing.
The fourth and final day of Rally Poland 2024 has come to an end. Kalle Rovanperä held on to take the event win.
SS16, Gmina Mragowo 1
Ott Tänak kicked off Super Sunday with a stage win. As the Estonian set a time 1.2 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to top the stage. Elfyn Evans was third fastest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Tänak and 1.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Adrien Fourmuax finished fourth fastest on the stage, 1.9 seconds slower than Evans. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 8.1 seconds slower than Fourmuax.
SS17, Mikolajki 2
Ott Tänak also took home the stage win on the seventeenth stage of Rally Poland 2024. With a time 0.7 seconds faster than Adrien Fourmaux. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 0.9 seconds slower than Tänak and 0.2 seconds slower than Fourmuax. Kalle Rovanperä set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.7 seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SS18, Gmina Mragowo 2
Kale Rovanperä took his first stage win of the day on SS18. As the event leader set a time 0.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win the stage. Adrien Fourmaux was the next fastest driver on the stage, 1.8 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 1.2 seconds slower than Tänak. Elfyn Evans finished fourth fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.3 seconds slower than Evans.
SS19, Mikolajki 2
Thierry Neuville took home the stage win on the final stage of Rally Poland 2024. As the Belgian set a time 1.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take the powerstage win. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Neuville and 1.7 seconds slower than Tänak. Adrien Fourmaux was fourth fastest on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
The third day of Rally Poland 2024 has come to a close. Kalle Rovanperä leads the event into the final day.
SS9, Swietajno 1
Kalle Rovanperä kicked off the day with a stage win. As the Finnish driver set a time 0.9 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to claim the stage win. Andreas Mikkelsen was third fastest on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 0.4 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmuax finished fourth fastest on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 4.5 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS10, Goldap 1
Kalle Rovanperä also took home the stage win on SS10 of Rally Poland 2024. With a time 0.3 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Thierry Neuville was third fastest on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 3.6 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Neuville. Andreas Mikkelsen rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.7 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS11, Czarne 1
Andreas Mikkelsen took his first stage win of the day on SS11. As the Norwegian set a time 1.1 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to top the stage. Kalle Rovanperä finished third fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Mikkelsen and 1.3 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmuax was fourth fastest on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Rovanperä. While Ott Tänak rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS12, Mikolajki Arena 3
Kalle Rovanperä capped off the morning loop with yet another stage win. The reigning champion set a time 0.1 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to top the stage. Adrien Fourmaux finished third on the twelfth stage of Rally Poland 2024, with a time 0.1 seconds slower than Neuville. Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans tied for the fifth fastest time on the stage. With both drivers finishing 0.1 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS13, Swietajno 2
Kalle Rovanperä kicked off the afternoon loop with yet another stage win. Setting a time 0.1 seconds faster than Andreas Mikkelsen to top the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest in the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 3 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Adrien Fourmaux had the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 4.3 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS14, Goldap 2
Kalle Rovanperä also took home the stage win on the fourteenth stage of Rally Poland 2024. With a time 2.2 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville. Andreas Mikkelsen finished third fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 0.2 seconds slower than Neuville. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Adrien Fourmuax rounded out the top five on the stage, 4.2 seconds slower than Evans.
SS15, Czarne 2
Kalle Rovanperä capped off the penultimate day with yet another stage win. Setting a time 2.8 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take the event lead into Super Sunday. Andreas Mikkelsen was third fastest on the stage, 4.2 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 1.4 seconds slower than Evans. Thierry Neuville finished fourth fastest on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Grégoire Munster rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.9 seconds slower than Neuville.
What To Expect From Rally Poland Day Four
The fourth and final day of Rally Poland will see teams contest 63.06 km across 4 stages. Including the 20.8 km Gmina Mragowo stage. The 10.73 km Mikolajki stage will serve as the Wolf Powerstage. There is no midpoint service or tire fitting zone on the day. Meaning drivers will have to both preserve the car and tires as much as possible on Super Sunday.
Andreas Mikkelsen leads after the second day of Rally Poland 2024. Find out what occurred on the day below.
SS2, Stanczyki 1
Andreas Mikkelsen kicked off the day with his first stage win of the season. As the Norwegian set a time 0.3 seconds faster than Martins Sesks to take the event lead. Kalle Rovanperä was third fastest on the stage, 7.6 seconds slower than Mikkelsen and 7.3 seconds slower than Sesks. Adrien Fourmaux was next fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS4, Olecko 1
Andreas Mikkelsen also took the stage win on the second completed stage of the day. With a time 3.1 seconds faster than Grégoire Munster to top the stage. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 4.1 seconds slower than Mikkelsen and 1 second slower than Munster. Martins Sesks set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the fourth stage of Rally Poland 2024, finishing 1.1 seconds slower than Sesks.
SS5, Stanczyki 2
Kalle Rovanperä topped the first stage of the afternoon loop. As the reigning champion set a time 4.7 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take his first stage win of the weekend. Martins Sesks finished third fastest on the stage, 8.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä and 3.4 seconds slower than Evans. Adrien Fourmaux set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Sesks. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.9 seconds slower than Fourmaux.
SS6, Wieliczki 2
Thierry Neuville took his first stage win of the Rally Poland 2024 on SS6. With a time 0.2 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta to top the stage. Andreas Mikkelsen finished fourth fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Neuville and 0.2 seconds slower than Katsuta and Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five on Thea stage, finishing 1.5 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
SS8, Mikolajki Arena 2
Kalle Rovanperä and Takamoto Katsuta tied for the stage win on the final stage of Rally Poland 2024 day two. As both drivers set a time 0.3 seconds faster than Andreas Mikkelsen to top the stage. Thierry Neuville finished fourth fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Neuville.
Two Stages Cancelled, One Red Flagged
SS3 and SS7 were cancelled due to spectators being in unsafe positions. Hence the absence of both stages above. SS6 was also red-flagged for a short while for the same reason but was not cancelled.
Rally Poland 2024 Day Three Rundown
The third day of Rally Poland will see drivers contest 124.1 km across 7 more stages. Including the 22.4 km Czarne stage. The day will feature two service points, including one 40-minute at the day’s midpoint and one after the day has been completed. Ott Tänak is first on the road, followed by Takamoto Katsuta and Thierry Neuville. Mikkelsen takes a 1.8 second lead over Kalle Rovanperä into the day.
Ott Tänak has retired on SS2 of Rally Poland 2024. Find out more about why the Estonian retired below.
Oh Deer
Ott Tänak was leading Rally Poland 2024 to kick off the second day. However, 18km into SS2, the first full stage of the weekend a deer ended Tänak’s event early. Tänak can still restart, as he only stopped to ensure his brand-new engine didn’t get damaged beyond repair which would’ve fully ended his event. Luckily the damage only looked minor. Unlike the incident, Ken Block had in an i20 WRC back in 2022 at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood in the American Rally Association.
What Does This Mean For Tänak?
Well in short it means he probably got another potential Rally Poland win stolen from him. In the long term, this could be the difference between winning and losing the championship for Tänak who just got back into the battle. Tänak is at his best on fast gravel. Which is what made the next three events so critical for the Estonian. If Tänak restarts he will have to go all out on Super Sunday and the powerstage to salvage what he can from this weekend. Then he will have to be in tip-top shape in both Latvia and Finland to try and take the championship lead. This won’t be easy. As Tänak will have to battle off Kalle Rovanperä who is equally as fast at fast gravel events. Everything that could’ve gone wrong for Tänak and his championship hopes has. The 2019 World Rally Champion sat just 18 points behind Neuville in a tie for second with Elfyn Evans. Evans and Neuville will both now have to take advantage of Tänak’s misfortune to take a sizeable lead over Tänak for Neuville and a lead of some kind of Evans.
The first day of Rally Poland 2024 has come to an end. Ott Tänak leads the event after the days lone stage.
Shakedown
Ott Tänak kicked off the weekend by setting the fastest time on the shakedown stage. As the Estonian was 0.7 seconds faster than reigning Rally Poland winner Thierry Neuville. Adrien Fourmaux finished third fastest, 1.8 seconds slower than Tänak and 1.1 seconds slower than Neuville. 2016 Rally Poland winner Andreas Mikkelsen posted the fourth fastest time on the shakedown stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Fourmaux. Martins Sesks rounded out the top five on the Rally Poland 2024 shakedown stage. The reigning event winner finished 0.2 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
SS1, Mikolajki Arena 1
Ott Tänak took home the stage win on the first stage of Rally Poland 2024. As Tänak posted a time one second faster than championship leader Thierry Neuville. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the opening stage, 1.3 seconds slower than Tänak and 0.3 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta was the next fastest driver on the stage, as the Japanese driver was 0.3 seconds slower than Evans. Andreas Mikkelsen rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Katsuta.
Rally Poland 2024 Day Two Rundown
The first full day of action will see drivers contest 113.5 km across 7 stages. Including the 29.4 km Stanczyki stage. As previously mentioned the day will not feature a service until the end of the day. The teams will then get 45 minutes to service the cars. The day does feature a midpoint tire fitting zone. The day will end with another running of the same SuperSpecial stage as day one. Thierry Neuville will be on road sweeping duties. Followed by championship rivals Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans.
The 2024 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with round 7 Orlen 80th Rally Poland.
Championship Rundown
Thierry Neuville still holds the championship lead. The Belgian has led the championship since his win at the Rallye-Monte Carlo to kick off the season. The 4-time vice world rally champion takes an 18-point lead into Rally Poland. Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans sit tied for second in the championship after Tänak’s win in Italy earlier this month. Sebastien Ogier sits fourth in the championship. With two wins and two additional podiums under his belt, the Frenchman sits just 12 points behind Tänak and Evans. Adrien Fourmaux rounds out the top five in the championship, sitting 18 points behind Ogier. Overall the championship is still up for grabs and doesn’t have a clear frontrunner. Especially when the next three events favour Tänak and Evans.
First Time Since 2017
Rally Poland will make its return to the WRC for the first time since 2017 this weekend. The reigning event winner at the WRC level is Thierry Neuville. Other previous winners of the historic event include Andreas Mikkelsen and Sebastien Ogier. Both Mikkelsen and Ogier will be in attendance this weekend. Mikkelsen will be making his gravel debut in the Rally1 car. While Ogier will be looking for his third win at the event or yet another podium finish.
Day Breakdowns
Day One
The first day of Rally Poland kicks off with a lone SuperSpecial stage. The stage is 2.5 km in distance. Not much time should be gained or lost during the stage. However, crews will have to be careful as there is no service until the end of the second day of the event.
Day Two
The first full day of action will see drivers contest 113.5 km across 7 stages. Including the 29.4 km Stanczyki stage. As previously mentioned the day will not feature a service until the end of the day. The teams will then get 45 minutes to service the cars. The day does feature a midpoint tire fitting zone. The day will end with another running of the same SuperSpecial stage as day one.
Day Three
The third day of Rally Poland will see drivers contest 124.1 km across 7 more stages. Including the 22.4 km Czarne stage. The day will feature two service points, including one 40-minute at the day’s midpoint and one after the day has been completed.
Day Four
The fourth and final day of Rally Poland will see teams contest 63.06 km across 4 stages. Including the 20.8 km Gmina Mragowo stage. The 10.73 km Mikolajki stage will serve as the Wolf Powerstage. There is no midpoint service or tire fitting zone on the day. Meaning drivers will have to both preserve the car and tires as much as possible on Super Sunday.
Sebastien Ogier has been injured in a car accident before the start of Rally Poland. Find out more below.
The Crash
Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais were preparing for recce on a stage earlier this week. When they had a collision with a civilian vehicle. Both Ogier and the civilian driving the second car were airlifted to hospital. Ogier and Landais have both reported they have minor injuries due to the collision.
A statement from the Toyota Gazoo World Rally Team said the following “TGR-WRT crew Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais were taken to hospital for checks following a road traffic collision during reconnaissance for Rally Poland on Tuesday morning. Two occupants of the other vehicle involved, members of the public, were also taken to hospital for medical checks. The incident took place while Ogier and Landais were preparing for the Goldap special stage, which forms SS10 and SS14 of the rally this Saturday. Ogier and Landais were driving a road car as is the standard practice for rally reconnaissance. All recce cars have GPS tracking, which shows the speeds were within the limits set. All involved have underdone scans which showed no serious injuries. While Landais has been discharged, Ogier will remain under medical observation overnight and will not be able to participate in the event. The safety and wellbeing of all involved remains the upmost priority of the team. Alongside this, the team is considering its options regarding any replacement and will provide an update in due course.
Ogier’s Replacement
Due to Ogier being forced to miss Rally Poland, an event he has won twice before, he will be replaced. Who is that replacement? Some guy named Kalle Rovanperä. Rovanperä will have to fly into Poland as he was not scheduled to contest the event. This change only gives the two-time World Champion two days to prepare for the new test. This will add an entirely new challenge to the event as preparations for events normally begin weeks before. Both Ogier and Rovanperä are set to contest Rally Latvia next month, alongside Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.
The Junior World Rally Championship season is halfway through. Let’s check in on the championship and see where everything sits.
Championship Rundown
Estonian Romet Jürgenson leads the Junior WRC championship with two events to go in the season. Jürgenson has one event win under his belt, winning in Croatia. He also finished second in Sweden to kick off the year. Diego Dominguez Jr. sits second in the championship. Dominguez finished second in the championship last year and has one win under his belt so far this season. Taking the class win in Sardinia earlier this month. Dominguez sits just 25 points behind Jürgenson. Australian Taylor Gill is third in the championship, just one point behind Dominguez. Gill has yet to win an event although he finished second in Croatia.
A Close Battle
Once again this Junior World Rally Championship season will be a close battle until the end. As just 26 points separate first from third in the championship and all three drivers have the skill to win. Rally Finland and EKO Acropolis Rally Greece will be the final events for the Junior Championship. Both will push drivers to their limits for different reasons. Finland’s speed often catches drivers out with its unforgiving nature. While the rough gravel stages of Greece reward those who respect the stages. It is also worth mentioning only 4 of the 5 events count towards the championship, only one of the top three drivers in the championship has scored at every event. That lone driver is Taylor Gill. Jürgenson finished fourteenth in Sardinia and Domiquiez retired in Sweden.
Are There Any Dark Horse Contenders?
After the top three, the championship really starts to spread out. Sure Millie Johanson sits one point behind Gill, but Johanson has only competed in Rally Sweden. Norbert Maior sits fifth in the championship, 5 points behind Gill and 31 points behind Jürgenson. Outside of that nobody sits in a realistic spot to take the championship lead and ultimately the championship.