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Sport news50-car FIA Historic entry for 3-day gravel classicEuropean Capital of Culture, Elefsina, to host prize giving ceremonyCategory 3 podium positions remain to be decided in the grand finale of a memorable seasonThe FIA European Historic Rally Championship heads to the Historic Acropolis Rally for its season-ending finale on November 3-5, where a full 50 cars will be present to take the start ramp in one of the most prestigious gravel events.After eight rounds of…

Sport newsAndreas Mikkelsen and co-driver Torsten Eriksen are the 2023 WRC2 champions thanks to their Wolf Power Stage victory at Central European Rally on Sunday*.In perhaps one of the most remarkable turnarounds Mikkelsen has experienced in his career, the Norwegian driver clinched the crown despite finishing in 13th place and more than 13 minutes rally winner Nicolas Ciamin.Mikkelsen’s chances of wrapping up the title on pace alone vanished on Friday morning when his Škoda Fabia…

Sport newsKalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen have become two-time WRC champions, clinching the title on Sunday by finishing second overall at Central European Rally*. By finishing runner-up to Hyundai rivals Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe at this penultimate round, the Finns ensured they could no longer be caught in the 2023 season.125’000 spectators watched the action unfold during the last four days along the stages of Austria, Czech Republic and Germany.Just one year ago, Rovanperä, now 23 years old, made…

Sport newsMax Verstappen made it a clean sweep of practice sessions at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, topping final practice for the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Williams’ Alex Albon and Red Bull team-mate Sergio Pérez. At the start of the final hour of practice it was the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton who topped the order, with the former in P1 with a lap of 1:18.644. Red Bull’s drivers sat out the…

Sport newsJust four stages stand between Kalle Rovanperä and back-to-back FIA World Rally Championship crowns after his only remaining title rival Elfyn Evans crashed out of the Central European Rally today.Having dominated Friday’s challenging tests in the Czech Republic to build a commanding lead, 23-year-old Rovanperä was already doing more than enough to successfully defend his 2022 WRC drivers’ award.A spin on Saturday’s second stage allowed Thierry Neuville to slash the Finn’s advantage by more…

Sport newsKalle Rovanperä took a major step towards claiming back-to-back FIA World Rally Championship titles* after his team-mate Elfyn Evans crashed out of the Central European Rally’s second full day.While championship leader Rovanperä had been all but untouchable on Thursday, an off on the second of two stages in Austria this morning resulted in the Finn’s lead over Thierry Neuville being almost halved when he went off the road.But Rovanperä’s moment proved highly insignificant in…

Sport newsRed Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the timesheet in the opening practice session for the 2023 FIA Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix, beating Williams’ Alex Albon by less than a tenth of a second, as local hero Sergio Pérez finished third. When the driver made the switch to Soft compound Pirelli tyres a little over half way through the session, McLaren’s Lando Norris jumped top of the order with a lap of 1:20.237. Verstappen…

Sport newsKalle Rovanperä made full use of his road position to open up an advantage of 36.4s at the completion of the Central European Rally’s first full leg, despite the challenging stage and weather conditions in the Czech Republic throughout Friday.Heavy rain and mud greeted the FIA World Rally Championship crews as they tackled six special stages across the border from Germany, where the event is based.Opening the road, points leader Rovanperä made the most…

Sport newsThierry Neuville holds a slender overnight lead as the first edition of the Central European Rally, the penultimate event of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, got under way today (Thursday).Thousands of fans descended on Czech capital Prague’s Hradčanské Square earlier to cheer the WRC cars and their star drivers being flagged away by President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.Two stages, the superspecial at Prague’s Chuchle Arena horseracing venue and the 8.92-kilometre Circuit…

Sport newsSo how does the FIA go about checking for compliance, and is it the same at every event? The answer is that a series of random checks are carried out every weekend on different areas of the cars. This process has been in place for many decades, and exists to ensure compliance with the regulations by virtue of the fact that the teams do not know before the race which specific areas of which…