Fernando Alonso’s Toyota Hilux has been damaged in a double rollover during the 10th stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally. The Spaniard hit a dune at an awkward angle just over a kilometre into the 331-mile test, pitching he and Marc Coma’s Hilux into a roll. The car landed back on its wheels after two

The Dakar Rally stewards have issued a “public warning” to Mini crew Vladimir Vasilyev and Vitaly Yevtyekhov over the alleged use of “forbidden roadbook annotations” during the 2020 event. Organiser ASO has sought to crack down on what it considers illegal navigation aids for this year’s event, and had cameras installed in the cockpits of

Ex-Toyota World Rally Championship driver and double Intercontinental/European champion Juho Hanninen will co-drive for privateer Jari-Matti Latvala on Rally Sweden in a Yaris WRC next month. Latvala was dropped by Toyota for 2020, and the M-Sport squad that gave him his break in the WRC elected to sign Citroen refugee Esapekka Lappi to the last

Ex-Toyota World Rally Championship driver and Intercontinental, European champion Juho Hanninen will co-drive for privateer Jari-Matti Latvala on Rally Sweden in a Yaris WRC next month. Latvala was dropped by Toyota for 2020, and the M-Sport squad that gave him his break in the WRC elected to sign Citroen refugee Esapekka Lappi to the last

X-raid Mini driver Stephane Peterhansel recorded his third stage win of the 2020 Dakar Rally, as Nasser Al-Attiyah closed in on rally leader Carlos Sainz Sr. The three frontrunners benefitted from an advantageous position in the running order for the near-296-mile Wadi ad-Dawasir – Haradh stage, following low-key finishes on Monday. But whereas Peterhansel and

Hyundai will enter the World Rally Championship’s WRC 2 R5 category for manufacturers for the first time in 2020 with an upgraded i20. It has signed European Rally Championship regular Nikolay Gryazin and WRC 2 regular Ole Christian Veiby as its drivers for 2020. The squad will be formally entered as Hyundai Motorsport N in

Fernando Alonso says he has already “exceeded all kinds of personal goals” for his first Dakar Rally, after taking second place in the eighth stage of the marathon. Alonso finished four minutes behind surprise stage winner Mathieu Serradori in the 477km timed special, as the usual frontrunners Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Stephane Peterhansel had

This year’s Autosport International featured one of the most original and special rally collections in the world as, from Ford to Subaru, all decades were covered. Thanks to the DirtFish Rally School and BGMsport, cars of Colin McRae, Richard Burns, Stig Blomqvist and Roger Clark all appeared in what was a rare opportunity to see

Mathieu Serradori edged Fernando Alonso to top the eighth stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally, amid a low-key showing for the marathon’s leading contenders. Serradori claimed a first-ever stage win for himself and his South African-built Century CR6 buggy in the 474km loop around Wadi ad-Dawasir. Though he was only one of several drivers with

X-raid Mini driver Carlos Sainz has picked up his third stage win of the 2020 Dakar Rally to further extend his advantage at the top of the general classification. Sainz, chasing his third Dakar win, picked up where he had left off in the first half of the marathon and delivered Mini’s sixth stage win

Veteran motorcycle rider Paulo Goncalves has passed away following a crash on Sunday’s seventh stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. Goncalves was contesting his 13th Dakar for Indian manufacturer Hero, and was 46th overall when the rally resumed on Sunday following yesterday’s rest day. During Sunday’s 339-mile Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir

Stephane Peterhansel scored X-raid Mini’s fourth consecutive Dakar Rally 2020 stage win with victory on the sixth test, while Carlos Sainz heads into the rest day as the marathon’s leader. Peterhansel outpaced fellow Mini buggy driver Sainz by a minute and 21 seconds over the 296-kilometre timed special between Ha’il and Riyadh, with the day’s

Mads Ostberg will contest a full schedule in WRC 2 this season in a works-supported Citroen, despite the French manufacturer’s exit from rallying’s top level. Norwegian driver Ostberg, a mainstay of the WRC from 2011 until 2018, will contest the full eight-round schedule at the wheel of a PH Sport-run Citroen C3 R5. It follows

Kris Meeke will spend this season considering his options after accepting his full-time career in the World Rally Championship is over following his Toyota exit. Meeke lost his Toyota seat at the end of last season, with the squad electing to sign Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanpera. While Meeke remains under contract with

Carlos Sainz became the first repeat stage winner of this year’s Dakar Rally as he beat Nasser Al-Attiyah to extend his advantage overall to just under six minutes. X-raid Mini Buggy driver Sainz came onto the stage with a 3m3s lead over Toyota rival Al-Attiyah and looked set to drop further time as he lost

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team has unveiled a retro-inspired livery for its World Rally Championship-contending Ford Fiesta WRC at Autosport International. M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson said the livery, which in 2020 features a white and blue scheme instead of the predominantly blue and silver colours of last year, is inspired by the early ’90s

Stephane Peterhansel became the fourth different driver to top a stage in the 2020 Dakar Rally, as Nasser Al-Attiyah halved the gap to leader Carlos Sainz. Wednesday’s Neom – Al-‘Ula stage included the marathon’s longest timed test so far at 281 miles, which was split by an 80km neutralised zone, and was completed by Peterhansel

M-Sport is targeting a return to World Rally Championship wins this year, with the “biggest change” made to its engine since the current regulations began in 2017. The Ford Fiesta WRC was an immediate contender when the WRC’s new rules came in three years ago, as Sebastien Ogier, Ott Tanak and Elfyn Evans all took

Fernando Alonso believes he could challenge for a “magical” maiden stage win on his Dakar Rally debut following a strong third day of competition. Having lost over two hours to wheel and suspension repairs on Monday, Alonso and co-driver Marc Coma rebounded by finishing fifth-fastest in the 265-mile loop around Neom. Alonso was just six

X-raid Mini driver Carlos Sainz Sr has taken the lead of the 2020 Dakar Rally after topping the third stage on Tuesday. Sainz became the third different Mini driver to win a stage of the Saudi Arabia-based event, as he set the pace over the 265-mile loop around Neom in his buggy. His final winning

Fernando Alonso learned a hard Dakar Rally lesson on Monday, when his Toyota Hilux lost a wheel after he hit a ditch while blinded by dust from competitors. The double Formula 1 world champion started Monday’s second stage 11th overall and was close to the frontrunning pace on the Al Wajh – Neom test when

Double Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has blamed “zero visibility” caused by dust for his Dakar Rally crash, which cost him over two hours repairing his Toyota Hilux. Alonso lost 2h34m to the winner of the second stage, Giniel de Villiers, after damaging the suspension on his Hilux following an accident some 160km into the

X-raid Mini driver Orlando Terranova leads the 2020 Dakar Rally after the second stage, on which star debutant Fernando Alonso has already lost more than two hours due to damage. Two-time Formula 1 world champion Alonso was close to the frontrunners’ pace over the first 100 miles of the test, but his Toyota Hilux was

Double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso lost over two hours working to repair his Toyota Hilux around 100 miles into the second stage of the 2020 Dakar Rally after picking up damage. Alonso and his co-driver Marc Coma suffered their first major setback of the event on the second test, of which 228 miles

Two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso drove “on tiptoes” on his first Dakar Rally stage, and plans to keep pacing himself until the event’s traffic “jungle” clears up. Alonso, who is partnered by co-driver Marc Coma in a Toyota Hilux, finished 11th-fastest on the near-200-mile opening stage of the Saudi Arabia-based rally. He was

Mini driver Vaidotas Zala claimed a shock maiden stage win on the first test of the 2020 Dakar Rally, as two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso placed 11th. Toyota’s defending champion Nasser Al-Attiyah led the way for most of the near-200-mile timed special on the coastal stage from Jeddah to Al Wajh that kicked

World Rally Championship exile Kris Meeke says he would “love to explore” a Dakar Rally entry in the future, having attended the event as a back-up for Cyril Despres’s co-driver. Meeke is without a full-time drive in the WRC for 2020 after Toyota went for a fresh line-up of Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Kalle

Toyota’s Fernando Alonso says finishing is the priority on his Dakar Rally debut and that he needs to avoid any ‘stupid mistakes’ in the event that begins this weekend. The two-time Formula 1 champion has undergone an extensive test programme in his Hilux – the car that Nasser Al-Attiyah used to win last year’s event

After Citroen’s World Rally Championship exit left him without a seat, Esapekka Lappi has joined the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team for 2020 alongside Teemu Suninen and Gus Greensmith. Finnish drivers Lappi and Suninen will tackle all 13 rounds of this year’s WRC, while Greensmith gets nine rounds aboard a Ford Fiesta WRC. The team’s

The organisers of the Dakar Rally have taken measures to crack down on illegal navigational aids and practices ahead of the 2020 edition of the marathon. The initiative, spearheaded by new rally director David Castera, comes as a result of continued suspicions that teams have been able to circumvent the regulations in the last few