Earlier this week it was announced that William Creighton will join M-Sport for the upcoming season. Find out more below.
Moving Up
William Creighton won the Junior WRC Championship last season. Yesterday the Junior WRC entry list was announced and Creighton’s name was absent. This was expected however. As for the most part drivers who win or do well in the Junior Championship move into WRC2 cars the year after. Creighton has previously driven a WRC2 car. Having driven a Hyundai i20 for the Motorsport Ireland Academy team at the 2023 running of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Creighton is the first driver confirmed to drive a Rally2 Fiesta for the team this season. It’s expected more will be announced before Rally Sweden next month. Creighton will make his season debut at Rally Sweden. From there it’s unknown what events the young Irish star will contest.
What To Expect From Creighton
William Creighton probably won’t be winning Rally Sweden. That’s expected, as it’ll be only his second event in the car. However, closer to the year’s end he’ll probably take a step on the podium a couple times. As he has the skill and talent too. He just needs to find his footing in the Fiesta before worrying about podiums or event wins.
Who Could Join Creighton
If M-Sport were announcing a second driver for Rally Sweden they probably would’ve done it at the same time they announced Creighton. 2022 JWRC champion Robert Virves comes to mind as a driver that could join Creighton. Virves drove a Fiesta Rally2 last season. Meaning he has experience in the car. Another driver that comes to mind is Martin Sesks who finished second in the European Rally Championship last season. Both Virves and Sesks would be strong choices for M-Sport. However, it’s all just speculation at this point.
Pierre-Louis Loubet has announced his plans for the 2024 WRC season. Find them out below.
Moving Down To WRC2
Pierre-Louis Loubet has been moved down to the WRC2 class for the 2024 season. This comes after he had a very disappointing 2023 season with M-Sport. Out of the 12 events Loubet contested, he only finished 5 events without restarting. Loubet didn’t really have any standout moments in 2023. He had a decent showing in 2022, which is why he got a full-time drive last season. However, between the reliability of the Puma Rally1 and Loubet making mistakes he didn’t have the best season.
Joining Skoda
Pierre-Louis Loubet will drive a Skoda Fabia Rally2 for the 2024 WRC2 season. Loubet is hoping this step down will help him find what got him a top-level drive in the first place. Loubet won the 2019 WRC2 championship before joining 2C competition for the 2020 season and getting a drive in a Hyundai i20 WRC. The Frenchman spent two seasons with 2C, only managing two top-10 finishes. Loubet has the talent to be a top-level driver, he just hasn’t found much luck.
Loubet will be joined by Oliver Solberg and Gus Greensmith. Both Solberg and Greensmith have previously driven Rally1 cars. Greensmith was Loubet’s teammate in 2022 and Solberg drove for Hyundai. Both Solberg and Greensmith were moved down to WRC2 after the 2022 season for the same reasons as Loubet. Nevertheless, all three should be good drivers for Skoda and should give them a good chance at winning another championship.
What Events Will Loubet Do?
The full list of events that Pierre-Louis Loubet will compete at is unknown currently. Loubet won’t contest Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. He is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden however. From there he will likely contest one or both of Rally Italia Sardegna and Rally Vodafone De Portugal.
Earlier this week Gus Greensmith confirmed his plans for the 2024 WRC season.
Sticking With Skoda
Gus Greensmith will once again drive for Skoda this upcoming season. Greensmith finished second in the WRC2 championship last season. Greensmith was demoted to WRC2 at the end of the 2022 season. After a poor performance with M-Sport forced the team to drop the British star. The 27-year-old will once again be joined by Oliver Solberg this season. Greensmith is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden. As he is not contesting Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month. Last season Greensmith debuted at Rally Mexico. An event in which Greensmith topped the class.
What To Expect From Greensmith
Gus Greensmith is arguably the favorite to win the 2024 WRC2 championship. As he finished second in the championship last season, and Andreas Mikkelsen, who won the championship is no longer contesting the championship. Greensmith will have to fend off the likes of Oliver Solberg, Yohan Rossel and Sami Pajari who are also championship favorites. Greensmith won’t have an easy time achieving his goal of becoming WRC2 champion. Nevertheless, he will give it his all. Just like every other driver. Greensmith won two out of the seven events he contested last season. He will likely win the same amount or more this season.
What Events Will Greensmith Do?
Gus Greensmith has yet to reveal his full schedule for the upcoming season. However, he is expected to make his season debut at Rally Sweden next month. From there he will likely do Rally Vodafone De Portugal. After that, nothing is really expected. Greensmith will likely contest most of the European rounds and one of the non-European rounds. That lone round will likely be Rally Chile BioBio. The same round he chose to do outside of Europe last season.
Earlier this week rumors began to circulate about a return to the WRC for Lancia. Find out more below.
The Rumour
Earlier this week an article was put out linking Lanica to a WRC return. This came from Lanica’s parent company, Stellantis. Stellantis also owns brands like Citroen, Fiat, and Dodge among others. The reason Stellantis is interested in a WRC return for Lancia is to help revive the brand. Lancia hasn’t produced any notable vehicles since the 90’s. Stellantis wants that to change. In their eyes, they want to revive the brand by doing the same thing that made the brand notable in the first place. There isn’t much to go off of with this rumor. It sounds like Lancia will start development of the new car this year. While it’s expected to be used in 2025 at the earliest.
Why A Return Makes Sense
Lancia could be Citroen’s replacement in the WRC2 class, and potentially become the fourth manufacturer in the top class. Citroen only has a couple of seasons of use remaining in the C3. Before the car’s homologation runs out. Citroen going out of the WRC would be unfortunate. As the manufacturer is one of the most successful in the WRC. Unfortunately, Stellanois doesn’t seem interested in having two manufacturers under their control compete.
A History In The WRC
Lancia is probably the second most iconic manufacturer in WRC history, behind Subaru. As Lanica helped make the WRC become what we know today. Before the Lancia Stratos, rally cars were often just slightly modified road cars. The Stratos was the first car designed specifically for rally. The Stratos went on to become one of the most legendary cars in WRC history. Winning Lancia three consecutive Manufacturers championships from 1974-1976.
From 1977-1981 Lancia was absent from the WRC. However, in 1982 the brand would return to start the Group B era. Lancia would return with the brand new and legendary 037 rally car. This rear-wheel drive beast won the 1983 manufacturers championship. However, in 1985 an issue with the 037 would become apparent. The car was rear-wheel drive while the likes of Audi and Peaugot were running all-wheel drive cars. To counter this Lanica built a brand new car, the Lancia Delta S4.
The Delta S4 was both supercharged and turbocharged, giving it a load of power. However, all that power came at a cost, the car was difficult to control. Nevertheless, with Henri Toivonen behind the wheel, the Delta S4 won its first two events and would’ve won the third if it wasn’t for an engine issue. The Delta S4 went on to win two more events in 1986, including the Olympus Rally, the final event of the Group B era.
A young ARA star has revealed their preliminary 2024 schedule. Find out who and what WRC event they plan on attending below.
Who Is It?
2023 American Rally Association (ARA) runner-up Patrick Gruszka has revealed the list of events he plans on attending in 2024. This list included all the rounds of the 2024 ARA national championship and one ARA regional event. It also includes all rounds of the 2024-25 Nitrocross schedule. Which will kick off at Richmond Raceway in Richmond Virginia. However, one of the most notable events on Gruszka’s list for the upcoming season is WRC Poland.
Not A Huge Surprise
Patrick Gruszka has previously hinted at competing in a World Rally Championship event. As the 20-year-old revealed on episode 13 of the Into The Dust Podcast that he intended on travelling to Europe to compete in an event. Gruszka has been one of the ARA’s top young drivers. Winning the 2023 RC2 championship. Beating a former Junior WRC driver in the process. Not only would Rally Poland be Gruszka’s first time competing in Europe. It will also be a home event for the Polish American. As Gruszka’s father Ark is originally from Poland.
What Class?
Gruszka will likely compete in the WRC2 class in a Hyundai i20 R5. The same model of car he currently drives in the ARA. However, it’s unlikely he will use the same i20 he uses in America as he intends on competing at the South Ohio Forest Rally earlier that month. Gruszka’s co-driver Florian Barral has experience driving at European events. As well as what to expect from the events as he has served as a crew member for Pierre-Louis Loubet. Gruszka likely won’t be fighting for the WRC2 class win but will look to use the event as a learning experience.
Former WRC driver Bryan Bouffier has confirmed he will contest Rallye Monte-Carlo later this month.
Returning To The Sport
Bryan Bouffier will return to rally after a 4-year absence from the sport. The three-time Polish national champion will look to compete at his home event for what could be the final time. Bouffier last competed at the 2019 running of Rajd Barbórka in Poland. He finished fourth overall at the event.
What Will Bouffier Drive?
Bouffier will be one of the many drivers to take the brand-new Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 for a spin. Last season fellow rally legend Francois Delecour returned to the WRC to try out the then new Sköda Fabia Rally2. Bouffier seems to be following in Delecour’s footsteps.
What To Expect From Bouffier
As previously mentioned Bryan Bouffier hasn’t competed at a rally in over 4 years. This means he’ll likely have some rust to shake off before he can get going at a good pace. Bouffier won’t challenge for the WRC2 class win. Instead he, in partnership with Toyota will likely use the event to get his opinions on the car. As Bouffier has experience driving many different cars. Including multiple variations of the Ford Fiesta and Hyundai i20. He has also driven a modified Mitsubishi Mirage in the American Rally Association on a few occasions. This means Bouffier has experience in a variety of cars and could provide valuable input to Toyota.
Could Bouffier Do More Events?
It’s unlikely that Bouffier will make any more appearances this season. However, anything is possible. He may look to compete in some of his former favourite events for a final time this season. If we were to see Bouffier again it would likely be for Rally Poland in June. As Bouffier has a load of experience in Poland. Something that could make him slightly more competitive despite the age difference between him and his fellow competitors.
Chris Ingram has announced he will make his return to the WRC at the 2024 running of Rallye Monte-Carlo.
A Return
Chris Ingram has been absent from WRC2 competition since the 2023 running of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Ingram intended to run more than just one event. However, the 29-year-old couldn’t get the budget to do so. This left Ingram without a drive last season. Fortunately, he was able to find the money to compete at select European Rally Championship and other national championship rounds in a Volkswagen Polo R5. Since winning the 2019 ERC championship, Ingram hasn’t found much luck. As the Brit has only won at two national events since then. Ingram’s most notable accomplishment last season was contesting Sebastien Loeb at a French national event. Both drivers were in Volkswagen Polo R5’s. Loeb ultimately won, whilst Ingram finished third overall.
Looking For More
Currently, Chris Ingram heads into Rallye Monte-Carlo with the same lookout as he did last season. As Ingram has only been confirmed to contest Monte-Carlo with the Racing Factory team. However, it is expected Ingram will contest more events as the season goes on. What events those are will be revealed in due time, if there are any. Ingram will also contest the Jänner Rallye in Austria this weekend as a test for Monte-Carlo. It’s a hope from British rally fans that Ingram will find the budget to contest more events.
What To Expect From Ingram
Chris Ingram finished 6th in the WRC2 class at the Rallye Monte-Carlo next season. However, he was also driving a last generation Sköda Fabia R5. This time around he will drive the new Sköda Fabia Rally2. However, this likely won’t affect his results much. As he will have a tough time beating out the likes of Oliver Solberg among other WRC2 championship contenders. However, as with anything to do with rally, anything can happen on the stages.
Earlier this week Toyota Gazoo Racing announced the Yaris Rally2 has been officially homologated.
Can Officially Be Used
The Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 can officially be used at FIA events this upcoming season. This was expected as Toyota had already started selling the Yaris Rally2 before it was officially homologated. The new version of the Yaris will give Toyota the chance to develop drivers in a car under their own company. As previously they have either used cars from other manufacturers or signed drivers from other teams. Toyota will use this platform to build its next generation of stars.
Who Will Drive The Yaris Rally2
The full list of drivers that will drive the car for the upcoming season is unknown. However, we do know a few that will contest Rallye Monte-Carlo in the car. This list includes Bryan Bouffier, Sami Pajari, Stephen Lefebvre and Jan Solans. It’s expected this list will grow come January 8th when the official start list for Rallye Monte-Carlo is announced. Solans has already announced he will contest a full WRC2 campaign in the Yaris Rally2.
What To Expect From The New Toyota
Obviously, the biggest goal for Toyota is to challenge and best Sköda this upcoming season. However, Sköda won’t go down easy. As they have already confirmed Oliver Solberg will drive for the team. Pajari and Solberg battled for position in the WRC2 championship last season. However, Solberg was arguably the fastest driver in WRC2 last season. He just didn’t have the luck to finish out some events. Pajari is entering his second season of competition in WRC2. He is one of the WRC’s best up-and-coming stars. Toyota may have themselves a future World Rally Champion in Pajari. If they play their cards correctly. Who will join Pajari as a Toyota driver in WRC2 is unknown. Lefebvre may be that driver.
Earlier today Sami Pajari confirmed his plans for the 2024 World Rally Championship season.
A New Team
Sami Pajari will leave Toksport for the 2024 WRC2 season and join Printsport. Pajari finished seventh in the WRC2 championship, five points behind Oliver Solberg. Pajari will drive a brand new Toyota Yaris GR Rally2. The 22-year-old was expected to move on from Toksport at the end of last season. As Toyota made their interest in the 2021 Junior World Rally Champion.
What To Expect From Pajari
Sami Pajari will look to build off a strong first season in WRC2. He will look to challenge for both the WRC2 and WRC2 challenger championships. How the Toyota Yaris GR Rally2 will hold up against the Skoda Fabia Rally2 is unknown. However, the car is believed to be a championship contender. Pajari showed rapid growth throughout the 2023 season. He even managed to take home his first WRC2 event win at his home event of Secto Rally Finland. He also challenged Oliver Solberg for the class win at Rally Chile Bio Bio.
How Many Events Will Pajari Do?
Sami Pajari confirmed he will contest a full season. It’s unknown if he meant all 13 rounds of the 2024 World Rally Championship season or just the 7 required for the WRC2 championship. Pajari will kick off his 2024 campaign at the legendary Rally Monte-Carlo later this month. From there he will likely do Rally Sweden. He may choose to skip Safari Rally Kenya in March, however, attending the difficult event would be good for his future in the sport. As Pajari knows he’s already on the radar of WRC teams, gaining valuable experience at events like Safari Rally Kenya could go a long way for him. Especially if he puts up a good result at the event.
Oliver Solberg has announced his plans for the 2024 World Rally Championship season. Find out all you need to know below.
What Are Solberg’s 2024 Plans?
Oliver Solberg will once again pilot a Sköda Fabia for the 2024 World Rally Championship season. This is the same car he used last season on his way to finishing 6th in the WRC2 championship. Solberg had some promising drives last season. He was also arguably the fastest driver at every round he competed in. Which ended up being all but two rounds, the Central European Rally and Rally Japan. Solberg claimed wins at Rally Sweden and Rally Chile.
A Slight Disappointment
It had been rumoured that Solberg was a contender to get a drive with M-Sport next season. However, that obviously didn’t happen. M-Sport had previously talked to Solberg before the 2023 season after he and Hyundai parted ways. However, M-Sport’s offer wasn’t what Solberg was looking for. Instead the then 21-year-old opted to drive the WRC2 class for the season. In hopes a strong performance would land him a slot back in a Rally1 car. The reason why Solberg didn’t get a drive with M-Sport this season is likely due to sponsorships. As Solberg is sponsored by Monster Energy whilst M-Sport is sponsored by Redbull. Nevertheless, the goal heading into this season will be the same as last season, try to win the WRC2 championship and try to land a Rally1 drive for 2025.
What To Expect From Solberg
Oliver Solberg is one of the WRC’s best young drivers. Being only 22 years old, Solberg has shown loads of skill so far in the WRC. The exact list of rallies the Swede will compete in is unknown. However, he has made it known he intends on running as many events as possible again this season. Solberg will make his first appearance of the 2024 season at the Rallye Montecarlo next month. From there he will likely look to go back to back at his home event in Sweden. From there everything is up in the air.