TGR-WRT remain unbeaten on the toughest round of the FIA World Rally Championship since it returned to the calendar in 2021, with Toyota’s all-time Safari record now extended to 11 victories – 10 of those achieved as part of the WRC. The 1-2-3-4 finish comes 30 years to the month since Toyota first recorded such a result in Kenya with the Celica ST185, something it repeated with the GR Yaris … [Read more...]
UK new car sales rise most in Wales
New car registrations in Wales went up 20% in May, the most in any part of Britain. SMMT figures indicated a 19.8% increase in Northern Ireland, 17.4% in England and 10.6% in Scotland as fleets moved to build up stocks, possibly driven by makers' incentives to register models and encouragement from major lenders to dealers. In Wales the top ten were: Ford Puma, Vauxhall Mokka, MGHS, Ford Fiesta, … [Read more...]
Estonian ends M-Sport Ford’s 385-day victory drought in Sweden
Ott Tänak secured a pivotal win at Rally Sweden on Sunday afternoon - ending M-Sport Ford’s victory drought on only his second FIA World Rally Championship event since returning to the team. The Estonian scored his second Sweden success by 18.7sec ahead of Hyundai i20 N driver Craig Breen, taking the lead of the series by three points after round two of 13. Tänak drove for M-Sport between … [Read more...]
Rally Sweden test for WRC teams this weekend
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team aim to continue their record of success on the snow and ice of Rally Sweden when round two of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship takes place this week. Sweden was the scene of the team’s first victory, in 2017, when Jari-Matti Latvala – now Team Principal – claimed a shock win in TGR’s second WRC outing. Since then, the team have won three times in the last … [Read more...]
Welsh car registrations slipping most
Car registrations in Wales slipped back more than the rest of the UK in August. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed just 2,251 new cars registered in Wales in August, The top ten were: Vauxhall Crossland, Ford Puma, Ford Kuga, Vauxhall Corsa, VW Polo, Vauxhall Mokka, Hyundai Tucson, VW T-Rock and MG ZS. The total for Wales represented a 4.74% drop on August 2021, … [Read more...]
WRC Croatia washout win for Rovanperä
Kalle Rovanperä snatched an extraordinary Croatia Rally victory on Sunday afternoon as a downpour turned the event on its head in the final kilometres of the last stage. The Finn led from the start of the three-day rally in the hills around Zagreb in his Toyota GR Yaris, only for a storm in the penultimate speed test to wipe out his hard-earned advantage. A resurgent Ott Tänak, whose gamble on … [Read more...]
Ford lead in Wales and buck UK fall
Ford turned its poor UK performance on its head and emerged the top selling car brand in Wales last year. While it struggled in other regions and was knocked down from top to fourth place nationally, in Wales it enjoyed loyalty from its owners and 20 satisfied dealers. The result is the revised Puma was the most popular cross-over registered in Wales in 2021, just outselling the … [Read more...]
Loeb joins Fourmaux in Ford Puma WRC team
M-Sport says Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Loeb will join Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith in Monte Carlo in a fleet of all-new Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 cars. Frenchman Fourmaux joins Breen and Greensmith to form M-Sport’s trio of drivers for a full 2022 World Rally Championship campaign as the sport enters its new and exciting hybrid era. Fourmaux began his rally career a mere five years ago, … [Read more...]
Breen and Puma spearhead Ford WRC bids
M-Sport Ford has announced that Craig Breen and Paul Nagle will spearhead the World Rally team’s attack on the 2022 and 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, behind the wheel of the all-new M-Sport Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 car. With all-new technical regulations being introduced for 2022, the WRC moves to a new era of competition and sees the introduction of a space frame chassis for the Puma … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Ford Puma ST-Line X hybrid-petrol
Ford revealed its new 5-door Crossover – you could call it a compact SUV – towards the end of last year with UK deliveries scheduled in January, writes David Miles. However the COVID-19 lockdown derailed delivery to over 7,000 early adopter customers awaiting this new addition to the market place and more than 90% have chosen the petrol/hybrid 48V mHEV models. My initial test drive programme … [Read more...]
