2018 Wales Rally GB
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The 2018 Wales Rally GB (formally known as the 74. Dayinsure Wales Rally GB) was a
motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
event for
rally cars Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sports ...
that took place over four days from 4 to 7 October 2018. The event was open to entries competing in
World Rally Car A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...
s and cars complying with
Group R In relation to motorsport governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, Group R refers to a set of regulations providing production-derived vehicles for Rallying, rally competition. The Group R regulations were gradually introduce ...
regulations. It marked the seventy-fourth running of Rally Great Britain and was the eleventh round of the
2018 FIA World Rally Championship The 2018 FIA World Rally Championship was the 46th season of the World Rally Championship, a rallying championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and cre ...
, the highest class of competition in international
rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...
. Sixty crews, including manufacturer teams and
privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
, were entered to compete in the World Rally Championship, the FIA World Rally Championship-2 and FIA World Rally Championship-3 support series and the MSA British Rally Championship. The 2018 event was based in
Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...
in
Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...
and consisted of twenty-three special stages throughout
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and
Mid-Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...
. The rally covered a total competitive distance of and an additional in transport stages. The
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (formerly "M-Sport World Rally Team", "Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team", and "Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team") is the privately run World Rally Championship team of M-Sport, the firm run by Malcolm Wilson (rally d ...
crew of
Elfyn Evans Elfyn Rhys Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh professional rallying, rally driver. He has competed full-time in World Rally Championship since 2014, originally for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, M-Sport Ford and currently for Toyota Gazoo ...
and
Daniel Barritt Daniel Barritt (born 23 August 1980) is a British World Rally Championship co-driver from England. Background Barritt was born in Burnley, UK. His family has been involved in rallying for three generations. His grandfather, for example, was a ...
were the defending rally winners.
Pontus Tidemand Pontus Johan Tidemand (born 10 December 1990) is a Swedish rally and rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion and a previous M-Sport and Å koda Motorsport driver. Pontus is the son of Swedish rally driver Tomas Tidemand and ex-rally co ...
and Jonas Andersson of
Å koda Motorsport Å KODA Motorsport is the sports factory team of the car manufacturer Å koda Auto, currently focusing on the development and construction of racing cars. The latest model from Å koda Motorsport's workshops is the Å koda Fabia RS Rally2, which was ...
were the defending winners of the World Rally Championship-2, and French privateers Raphaël Astier and
Frédéric Vauclare Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impressio ...
were the reigning winners in the World Rally Championship-3 category; however, Astier and Vauclare did not defend their title as they did not enter the rally. The rally was won by
Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...
and
Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia (born 26 November 1979) is a retired French people, French rally (sports), rally co-driver. Working with Sébastien Ogier, he became World Rally Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Volkswagen Motorsport, 2017 World Rall ...
. The result marked their fifth win in Wales and saw them become the most successful crew in the history of the event. Ogier and Ingrassia moved to within seven points of championship leaders
Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...
and
Nicolas Gilsoul Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville and the current co-driver for Pierre-Louis Loubet.
.
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
's
Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala (; born 3 April 1985) is a Finnish rally driver who has competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). His co-driver for most of his career was Miikka Anttila, who co-drove for Latvala between the 2003 Rallye Deutschland and ...
and
Miikka Anttila Miikka Anttila (born 10 September 1972) is a Finnish rally co-driver, mostly known teaming with Jari-Matti Latvala. Anttila has previously served alongside such drivers as Mikko Hirvonen, Janne Tuohino and Kosti Katajamäki. Career Debuting ...
finished second, with their teammates
Esapekka Lappi Esapekka Lappi (; born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2012 Finnish Rally Champion, 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. He now drives for Hyundai Motorsport. In 2024, he won his second ever event in ...
and
Janne Ferm Janne Ferm (born 29 August 1980) is a Finnish rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Esapekka Lappi and is competing for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT in the World Rally Championship. Rally career Janne Ferm began his rally career in 2007, c ...
completing the podium.
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team (formerly "M-Sport World Rally Team", "Qatar M-Sport World Rally Team", and "Stobart M-Sport Ford Rally Team") is the privately run World Rally Championship team of M-Sport, the firm run by Malcolm Wilson (rally d ...
were the manufacturers' winners, whilst
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is a competitor of the World Rally Championship (WRC) based in Finland, serving as the entry for the car manufacturer Toyota. Its team principal is former WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala and its drivers for ...
extended their lead in the manufacturers' championship. The Å koda Motorsport II crew of
Kalle Rovanperä Kalle Rovanperä (; born 1 October 2000) is a Finnish professional rally driver who competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. He is a double World Champion, having won the 20 ...
and
Jonne Halttunen Jonne Halttunen (born 13 December 1985) is a Finnish rally (sports), rally co-driver. Currently, he is the co-driver of Kalle Rovanperä, driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Previously, they represented Škoda Motorsport to participate in the 20 ...
won in the World Rally Championship-2 in a
Škoda Fabia R5 The Škoda Fabia R5 is a rally car built by Škoda Motorsport. It is based upon the Škoda Fabia road car and is built to R5 (rallying), R5 regulations. It made its competition début in 2015 as a successor to the Škoda Fabia S2000. The car pro ...
, while the local crew of Tom Williams and Phil Hall won in the World Rally Championship-3.


Background


Championship standings prior to the event

Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...
and
Nicolas Gilsoul Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville and the current co-driver for Pierre-Louis Loubet.
entered the round as the leaders of the World Rally Championship for Drivers and the World Rally Championship for Co-Drivers respectively. They held a thirteen-point lead over
Ott Tänak Ott Tänak (; born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver and the 2019 World Rally Champion. He is currently teamed with Martin Järveoja and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Tänak achieved his maiden ...
and
Martin Järveoja Martin Järveoja (; born 18 August 1987) is an Estonian rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Ott Tänak and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Rally career He is the son of Estonian politician Toomas ...
. Defending World Champions
Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...
and
Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia (born 26 November 1979) is a retired French people, French rally (sports), rally co-driver. Working with Sébastien Ogier, he became World Rally Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Volkswagen Motorsport, 2017 World Rall ...
were third, a further ten points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers,
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is a competitor of the World Rally Championship (WRC) based in Finland, serving as the entry for the car manufacturer Toyota. Its team principal is former WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala and its drivers for ...
held a five-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. In the World Rally Championship-2 standings,
Jan Kopecký Jan Kopecký (born 28 January 1982) is a professional rally driver from Czech Republic who drives for Škoda Motorsport. He is the 2013 ERC champion, 2018 WRC-2 champion as well as a multiple champion of the Czech Rally Championship. Career ...
and
Pavel Dresler Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...
led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by thirty-two points, but did not contest the rally.
Pontus Tidemand Pontus Johan Tidemand (born 10 December 1990) is a Swedish rally and rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion and a previous M-Sport and Å koda Motorsport driver. Pontus is the son of Swedish rally driver Tomas Tidemand and ex-rally co ...
and Jonas Andersson were in second place, thirty-eight points ahead of privateers
Gus Greensmith Fergus "Gus" Greensmith (born 26 December 1996) is a British rally driver. Rally career Greensmith's family owns fuel and lubricants distributor Crown Oil. A former youth goalkeeper for Manchester City F.C. and karter before moving into th ...
and
Craig Parry Craig David Parry (born 12 January 1966) is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2 ...
. Å koda Motorsport II held a seventeen-point lead over sister team
Å koda Motorsport Å KODA Motorsport is the sports factory team of the car manufacturer Å koda Auto, currently focusing on the development and construction of racing cars. The latest model from Å koda Motorsport's workshops is the Å koda Fabia RS Rally2, which was ...
in the teams' championship. Newly crowned Junior World Rally Champion
Emil Bergkvist Emil Bergkvist (born 17 June 1994) is a Swedish rally driver. He has competed in the World Rally Championship since 2015. Bergkvist is the 2018 Junior World Rally Champion and the 2015 Junior European Rally Champion. Since 2021 Emil Bergkvist ...
led the World Rally Championship-3 drivers' standings.
Denis Rådström Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, Bishop of Győr (13th century), Hungarian prelate * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baro ...
was second, six points behind Bergkvist and Jean-Baptiste Franceschi third; Franceschi entered the rally, but did not nominate it as a round to score points. Johan Johansson held a one-point lead over Romain Courbon in the co-drivers' standings, while
Tatu Hämäläinen t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian reco ...
was another eleven points behind. In the teams' championship, ACI Team Italia led
Castrol Ford Team Turkiye Castrol Limited is a British oil company that markets industrial and automotive lubricants, offering a wide range of oil, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications. The company was originally named CC Wakefield; the name ...
by sixteen points.


Entry list

The following crews were entered into the rally. The entry list consisted of sixty crews, including eleven World Rally Car entries, fourteen entries in the World Rally Championship-2, four in the World Rally Championship-3 and nineteen in the British national championship.


Calendar changes

The event swapped places on the calendar with the Rally Catalunya de España. Where the 2017 rally was run as the penultimate round of the championship, the 2018 event was brought forward from the last week of October to the first week in the expectation of better weather conditions for the event.
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
driver
Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala (; born 3 April 1985) is a Finnish rally driver who has competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). His co-driver for most of his career was Miikka Anttila, who co-drove for Latvala between the 2003 Rallye Deutschland and ...
anticipated that the change would see the rally run with stable, more-predictable temperatures than in previous years, making it easier to set the car up for the prevailing conditions. Further changes to the calendar saw the revival of
Rally Turkey The Rally of Turkey (also known as Anatolian Rally) is a rally competition on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule. History First international rally in Turkey was held in 1972, starting and finishing in Istanbul. In 1999, the idea o ...
as a replacement for
Rally Poland The Rally of Poland (in Polish, ''Rajd Polski'') is a motorsport event for rally cars that was first established in 1921. It is third-oldest rally in the world, preceded only by Österreichische Alpenfahrt and Monte Carlo Rally. The event becam ...
. The Turkish event was named as the tenth round of the championship and in light of the distance crews needed to travel from Turkey to Wales, the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA)—the governing body of international motorsport—gave entrants an additional week to prepare for Rally GB compared to previous years.


Route

The 2018 event featured a heavily revised route from the 2017 rally. The route for the 2018 event was designed to be more challenging than the routes used in previous years. The changes were introduced in response to criticism from crews and teams over the lengthy transport route, or the route taken on public roads to travel between special stages. The final route featured an additional in competitive kilometres compared to the 2017 route and the transport distance was shortened. The changes to the route allowed the crews to return to the service park in
Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...
at the end of the first day of competition as the omission of the return to the service park had been one of the teams' criticisms of the 2017 event.


Details

The rally was made up of gravel roads through forests and moors. Many of these roads received little commercial traffic through the year aside from forestry maintenance and logging projects. Unlike events such as
Rally Italia Sardegna The Rally Italia Sardegna (until 2010 Rally d'Italia Sardegna) is a Rallying, rally competition in Sardinia, Italy, which has been a round of the World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule and also the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Chara ...
and
Rally Australia Rally Australia is an Rallying, automobile rally event which was held in Coffs Harbour as the final leg of the World Rally Championship (WRC) until 2018. First run in 1988, the rally was held in and around Perth, Western Australia until 2006. ...
where loose gravel on the road surface creates dust, the road surface in Wales is made up of heavier gravel on a hard-packed road base. This creates more grip for crews in the dry, but the roads can become muddy and rutted in wet weather, particularly when a stage is used multiple times. The event featured two days in
northern Wales North Wales ( ) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park ( ...
and one day in the middle of the country. The first leg was long and started with a spectator stage at Tir Prince Raceway on the evening of 4 October. It then moved into the forests of
Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...
and
Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
on 5 October and was made up of two passes over Clocaenog Forest, Penmachno Forest and a new stage formed by merging the Brenig reservoir stage—which was run as the
Power Stage The Power Stage (abbreviated as PS) is a Special stage (rallying), special stage that usually runs as the final stage of a rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and European Rally Championship (ERC). Additional championship points are avail ...
between
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
—with the Alwen stage using parts of the B4501 to connect them. Now known as Brenig, it was the longest stage of the rally at . Penmachno Forest was run in its full length by using public roads. The
Cholmondeley Castle Cholmondeley Castle is a English country house, country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has be ...
spectator stage in England was removed and replaced by a new spectator stage called Slate Mountain. The rally moved to
Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
and
Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...
on 6 October for the longest day of the rally, totalling competitive kilometres. It consisted of two passes over the Myherin, Hafren, Dyfi and Gartheiniog stages and a single running of Dyfnant. The Hafren stage was extended to include the Sweet Lamb spectator arena. The 2018 event marked the first time since
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
that these five stages were run on the same day. The rally returned to northern Wales on 7 October and the forests of
Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...
and
Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...
. The third leg was the shortest of the rally at long and featured Elsi, a brand new stage, and two passes of Gwydir. The Gwydir stage was doubled in length from previous years before the rally concludes with two passes over a spectator stage around the
Great Orme The Great Orme () is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old Norse word for ...
headland and the streets of
Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community â ...
. A shortened version of the Great Orme stage had previously been used in
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
when it was run in the opposite direction. Organisers of the event had a dispute with the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
(FIA) over the planned route. The original proposal featured the
Great Orme The Great Orme () is a limestone headland on the north coast of Wales, north-west of the town of Llandudno. Referred to as ''Cyngreawdr Fynydd'' by the 12th-century poet Gwalchmai ap Meilyr, its English name derives from the Old Norse word for ...
stage—which had previously featured in the route of the 2013 event—as the event's
Power Stage The Power Stage (abbreviated as PS) is a Special stage (rallying), special stage that usually runs as the final stage of a rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and European Rally Championship (ERC). Additional championship points are avail ...
. However, the FIA rejected the route as the proposed stage was not representative of the rally; the route primarily consisted of gravel stages, but the proposed stage was tarmac. The dispute was resolved when the organisers agreed to run the first pass over Gwydir as the Power Stage, allowing the event to finish in Llandudno as originally planned. The inclusion of public roads in the route was made possible with the passage of the ''
Deregulation Act 2015 The Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20) is an act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. One notable piece of legislation that was introduced is aimed at countering retaliatory evictions (e.g. following a complaint by a tenant to ...
'' by the British government, which amended parts of the ''
Road Traffic Act 1988 The Road Traffic Act 1988 (c. 52) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, concerning licensing of vehicles, insurance and road regulation. Contents Part I contains a number of traffic offences including causing death by dangerous dri ...
'' to make it possible for events to close public roads to be used for motor racing events in the United Kingdom. In February 2018, the
National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...
passed the ''Road Traffic Act 1988 (Motor Racing) (Wales) Regulations 2018'', a piece of secondary legislation that enabled
motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
events to take place on public roads in Wales.


Itinerary


Reception

The new route was received positively by drivers—particularly former
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
driver
Kris Meeke Kris Meeke (born 2 July 1979) is a British professional rally driver from Northern Ireland, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is Seb ...
—who appreciated the inclusion of challenging stages.
Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...
and
Craig Breen Craig Breen (2 February 1990 – 13 April 2023) was an Irish rally driver who last competed part time for the Hyundai team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He won the 2012 Super 2000 WRC, scoring class wins in the Monte Carlo Rally, Wale ...
also applauded the route as the best route used by the rally since it moved from
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
to
Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...
. Defending rally winner
Elfyn Evans Elfyn Rhys Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh professional rallying, rally driver. He has competed full-time in World Rally Championship since 2014, originally for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, M-Sport Ford and currently for Toyota Gazoo ...
had a more muted response, expressing disappointment that organisers had not taken full advantage of road closures to create a more demanding route, such as merging the Dyfi and Gartheiniog stages. Rally organisers revealed that they had considered many of the suggestions Evans had raised, but chose a more conservative approach to road closures as the legislation that allowed them to close roads had only been passed in February 2018 and they wanted to ensure that the protocol had been followed properly.


Report


Leg 1

Esapekka Lappi Esapekka Lappi (; born 17 January 1991) is a Finnish rally driver. He is the 2012 Finnish Rally Champion, 2014 European Rally Champion and the 2016 WRC-2 Champion. He now drives for Hyundai Motorsport. In 2024, he won his second ever event in ...
and
Janne Ferm Janne Ferm (born 29 August 1980) is a Finnish rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Esapekka Lappi and is competing for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT in the World Rally Championship. Rally career Janne Ferm began his rally career in 2007, c ...
completed the opening
super special stage A special stage (SS) is a section of closed road at a stage rallying event used for timed speed tests. Racers attempt to complete the stage in the shortest time. A race on a special stage is coordinated such that each competing racer begins after a ...
three tenths of a second ahead of fellow Toyota crew
Jari-Matti Latvala Jari-Matti Latvala (; born 3 April 1985) is a Finnish rally driver who has competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC). His co-driver for most of his career was Miikka Anttila, who co-drove for Latvala between the 2003 Rallye Deutschland and ...
and
Miikka Anttila Miikka Anttila (born 10 September 1972) is a Finnish rally co-driver, mostly known teaming with Jari-Matti Latvala. Anttila has previously served alongside such drivers as Mikko Hirvonen, Janne Tuohino and Kosti Katajamäki. Career Debuting ...
and championship leaders
Thierry Neuville Thierry Jean Neuville ( ; born 16 June 1988) is a Belgian rally driver who is competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Motorsport. During his career, he has finished as runner-up five times (2013, 2016–2019) and achieved his maiden ...
and
Nicolas Gilsoul Nicolas Gilsoul (born 5 February 1982) is a Belgian rally co-driver. He is the former co-driver for Thierry Neuville and the current co-driver for Pierre-Louis Loubet.
, who tied for second. As the event moved into the forest stages,
Ott Tänak Ott Tänak (; born 15 October 1987) is an Estonian rally driver and the 2019 World Rally Champion. He is currently teamed with Martin Järveoja and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Tänak achieved his maiden ...
and
Martin Järveoja Martin Järveoja (; born 18 August 1987) is an Estonian rally co-driver. He is currently teamed with Ott Tänak and is competing for Hyundai Motorsport in the World Rally Championship. Rally career He is the son of Estonian politician Toomas ...
—who entered the rally having taken three consecutive victories—dominated the early running. He won five of the eight stages and established a comfortable lead to end the day twenty-eight seconds ahead of Neuville and Gilsoul. Tänak had been closely matched by defending rally winners
Elfyn Evans Elfyn Rhys Evans (born 28 December 1988) is a Welsh professional rallying, rally driver. He has competed full-time in World Rally Championship since 2014, originally for M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, M-Sport Ford and currently for Toyota Gazoo ...
and
Daniel Barritt Daniel Barritt (born 23 August 1980) is a British World Rally Championship co-driver from England. Background Barritt was born in Burnley, UK. His family has been involved in rallying for three generations. His grandfather, for example, was a ...
until their Fiesta WRC developed a misfire and was forced to retire from the leg. Latvala and Anttila dropped down to third overall after losing their rhythm in the afternoon loop. Lappi and Ferm recovered from an early spin to finish fourth, while
Sébastien Ogier Sébastien Eugène Emile Ogier (; born 17 December 1983) is a French Rallying, rally driver, competing for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He is currently teamed with co-driver Vincent Landais. He has won 8 List ...
and
Julien Ingrassia Julien Ingrassia (born 26 November 1979) is a retired French people, French rally (sports), rally co-driver. Working with Sébastien Ogier, he became World Rally Champion in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 with Volkswagen Motorsport, 2017 World Rall ...
completed the leg in fifth. Ogier and Ingrassia had fallen to eighth during the first pass over the stages when they suffered a series of spins and the loss of first and second gear. Their M-Sport Ford teammates
Teemu Suninen Teemu Suninen (; born 1 February 1994) is a Finnish rally driver. He currently competes part-time for the Hyundai team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). Rally career Suninen won the WRC-3 class in the 2014 Rally Finland and 2015 Rally ...
and
Mikko Markkula Mikko Markkula (born 3 January 1981) is a Finnish rally co-driver. Rally career Mikko Markkula began his rally career in 2001, co-driving for several drivers in the World Rally Championship. From 2007 to 2011, he was the co-driver of Juho H ...
completed the team's woes when they slid off the road and into a ditch; Suninen and Markkula were unable to re-enter the rally.
Craig Breen Craig Breen (2 February 1990 – 13 April 2023) was an Irish rally driver who last competed part time for the Hyundai team in the World Rally Championship (WRC). He won the 2012 Super 2000 WRC, scoring class wins in the Monte Carlo Rally, Wale ...
and Scott Martin were the lead
Citroën Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
crew in sixth after enjoying a trouble-free day, ahead of Hyundai crews led
Hayden Paddon Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rallying, rally driver. He was World Rally Championship-3, PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2023 Europea ...
and
Sebastian Marshall Sebastian Marshall (born 29 May 1988) is a British rally co-driver. Rally career Sebastian Marshall began his rally career in 2005, co-driving for several drivers. In the 2008 Rallye Deutschland, he made his WRC debut, where he partnered Rich ...
in seventh and
Andreas Mikkelsen Andreas Mikkelsen (born 22 June 1989) is a Norwegian rally driver. He is currently competing in the World Rally Championship for Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT. He previously drove for the factory teams of Volkswagen and Citroën, finishing third in th ...
and Anders Jæger-Synnevaag in eighth. Both Paddon and Mikkelsen complained of unpredictable handling in their cars, particularly during the afternoon loop of stages when rain affected the profile of the roads. Neuville, by comparison, reported that his car's handling improved in the afternoon, benefiting from a new specification of tyre provided by
Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
that offered improved grip whilst being more durable than previous tyres. Citroën's
Mads Østberg Mads Østberg (born 11 October 1987) is a Norway, Norwegian Rallying, rally driver. His co-driver is Torstein Eriksen. Career Østberg competed in his first rally in 2004. His first World Rally Championship event was the 2006 Swedish Rally, in ...
and
Torstein Eriksen Torstein Eriksen (born 29 April 1990) is a rallying co-driver from Norway. He is currently teamed with Andreas Mikkelsen and is competing for Toksport WRT in the World Rally Championship-2. Rally career Torstein Eriksen began his rally career i ...
were the last of the drivers in a
World Rally Car A World Rally Car is a racing automobile built to the specific regulations set by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and designed for competition in the World Rally Championship (WRC). The cars were introduced in 1997 as a repl ...
-specification entry, finishing the leg in ninth place.


Leg 2

Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja continued their form through the opening stages of the second leg until they were forced to retire. Tänak damaged his radiator after a heavy landing off a jump during the second pass through Sweet Lamb Hafren. Tänak and Järveoja had experienced similar retirements in the Rallies of Portugal and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. Ogier and Ingrassia experienced a resurgence, climbing from fifth place to take the lead; however, Ogier chose the more-durable medium compound tyres as the dry gravel would damage the faster soft compound, and was unable to build a lead of his own. He finished the leg with a slender four-second advantage over the surviving Toyotas of Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in second place and Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in third. Craig Breen and Scott Martin ended the leg in fourth, some fifteen seconds off the lead. The reversal of the running order for the second leg meant that Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen ran with favourable road conditions, which allowed them to find some pace in the morning loop and climb the leaderboard. Andreas Mikkelsen and Anders Jæger-Synnevaag similarly benefited from their road position, winning three of the day's stages and finishing the leg two and a half seconds behind Østberg and Eriksen. Hayden Paddon and Sebastian Marshall completed the day in seventh overall ahead of Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul; Neuville and Gilsoul had been running second at the time, but lost fifty-one seconds when they ran off the road in the early morning stages and he conceded a further fifteen seconds to Ogier and Ingrassia when they was unable to match the leaders' pace.


Leg 3

The final leg of the rally saw Ogier and Ingrassia trade places with Latvala and Anttila several times. Ogier and Ingrassia initially held the advantage, but a fast time by Latvala and Anttila through the Gwydir
Power Stage The Power Stage (abbreviated as PS) is a Special stage (rallying), special stage that usually runs as the final stage of a rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and European Rally Championship (ERC). Additional championship points are avail ...
—that saw them take the five bonus points—was enough to seize the lead. Latvala and Anttila held the lead through the first pass over Great Orme Llandudno, only for Ogier and Ingrassia to reclaim it on the return to Gwydir. The final stage was delayed following an incident that required the attention of emergency services and not all of the competitors were able to start the stage. Latvala and Anttila was unable to set a competitive time, meaning Ogier and Ingrassia only needed to finish to claim victory. They ultimately set a time fast enough to win the stage and the rally, taking twenty-five World Championship points for the win and an additional three points for third place on the Power Stage. Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm completed the podium and scored an extra Power Stage point. Craig Breen and Scott Martin were fourth, ahead of Neuville and Gilsoul. Neuville and Gilsoul led the three Hyundais, with Mikkelsen and Jæger-Synnevaag in sixth and Paddon and Marshall seventh. Mads Østberg and Torstein Eriksen were eighth, with the final points-scoring places going to World Rally Championship-2 entrants
Kalle Rovanperä Kalle Rovanperä (; born 1 October 2000) is a Finnish professional rally driver who competes in the World Rally Championship (WRC) for Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. He is a double World Champion, having won the 20 ...
and
Jonne Halttunen Jonne Halttunen (born 13 December 1985) is a Finnish rally (sports), rally co-driver. Currently, he is the co-driver of Kalle Rovanperä, driving the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1. Previously, they represented Škoda Motorsport to participate in the 20 ...
and their
Å koda Motorsport Å KODA Motorsport is the sports factory team of the car manufacturer Å koda Auto, currently focusing on the development and construction of racing cars. The latest model from Å koda Motorsport's workshops is the Å koda Fabia RS Rally2, which was ...
teammates
Pontus Tidemand Pontus Johan Tidemand (born 10 December 1990) is a Swedish rally and rallycross driver. He is the 2017 WRC-2 champion and a previous M-Sport and Å koda Motorsport driver. Pontus is the son of Swedish rally driver Tomas Tidemand and ex-rally co ...
and Jonas Andersson. Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja re-entered under Rally2 regulations and finished nineteenth overall, scoring four points on the Power Stage in the process. Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt also re-entered and finished twentieth in the final classification.


Support categories

In the
World Rally Championship-2 The FIA WRC2 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after Rally1 class crews. WRC2 is limited to production ...
standings, eighteen year-old Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen finished the first leg as the category leader and tenth in the overall standings. Rovanperä and Halttunen won every stage but one to establish a lead of fifty-five seconds over teammates Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson, while British privateers
Gus Greensmith Fergus "Gus" Greensmith (born 26 December 1996) is a British rally driver. Rally career Greensmith's family owns fuel and lubricants distributor Crown Oil. A former youth goalkeeper for Manchester City F.C. and karter before moving into th ...
and
Alessandro Gelsomino Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * A ...
finished the leg in third. Rovanperä and Halttunen maintained their lead over Tidemand and Andersson throughout the second leg and the two crews climbed to ninth and tenth in the overall classification following the retirement of Tänak and Järveoja. Rovanperä and Halttunen went on to win the category by ninety-four seconds, aided by an off-road excursion by Tidemand and Andersson in the Power Stage. Tidemand and Andersson damaged their rear suspension, but were able to continue after repairing the damage during a transport stage. The result was Rovanperä and Haltunnen's second win in the category. Tidemand and Andersson recovered to finish second, with Greensmith and Gelsomino finishing third. Tom Williams and Phil Hall led the first leg in the
World Rally Championship-3 The FIA WRC3 is a support championship of the World Rally Championship. The calendar consists of the same rallies and stages as the parent series and crews usually compete immediately after WRC2 entrants. Entry into WRC3 is limited to cars that ...
category after trading stage wins with Taisko Lario and
Tatu Hämäläinen t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian reco ...
throughout the day. Williams and Hall's lead was consolidated during the second leg when Lario and Hämäläinen were late checking into a stage and had thirty seconds added to his time as a penalty. Williams and Hall went on to win the event, marking their first victory in the category. Italian privateers
Enrico Brazzoli Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from '' Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry ( English), Henri ( French), ...
and
Luca Beltrame Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name) Luca is a masculine given name used mainly in Latin America, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Romania. It is derived from the Latin name Lucas (given name), Lucas. It may also come fr ...
caught and passed Lario and Hämäläinen during the second leg and held the position until the end of the rally. Lario and Hämäläinen ultimately finished third overall. The first two legs of the rally also served as the final two rounds of the MSA British Rally Championship. M-Sport driver Matt Edwards and co-driver Darren Garrod secured the 2018 championship title with fourth place on the first leg of the rally. Edwards and Garrod won the second leg and were the highest-place national entrant at the end of the rally.


Classification


Final results


Special stages


Power stage

The
Power stage The Power Stage (abbreviated as PS) is a Special stage (rallying), special stage that usually runs as the final stage of a rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and European Rally Championship (ERC). Additional championship points are avail ...
was a 14.70 km stage run on the final day of the rally. Additional World Drivers' and Co-drivers' Championship points were awarded to the five fastest crews. As the Power Stage was not the final stage of the rally, crews had to complete the event to be eligible to receive the points.


Penalties

The following crews were given time penalties during the rally.


Retirements

The following crews retired from the event. Under Rally2 regulations, they were eligible to re-enter the event starting from the next leg. Crews that re-entered were given an additional time penalty.


Championship standings after the rally


Drivers' championships


Co-Drivers' championships


Manufacturers' and teams' championships


Notes


References


External links

* * 2018
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World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is an international rallying series owned and governed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the oldest FIA world championship after Formula One. E ...
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