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World Rally Championship driver Craig Breen died Thursday at 33 years old following a crash during practice.
Tom Howard of Motorsport.com noted the crash happened during a team test on asphalt roads in Croatia. Hyundai Motorsport confirmed that co-driver James Fulton did not suffer any injuries in the crash.
"The WRC family is shocked and saddened to learn of Craig Breen's passing," the WRC said in a statement. "Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends of Craig at this incredibly sad time."
Breen, who was the son of Irish rally national champion Ray Breen, began in circuit racing before switching to rallying in 2009.
He was the 2011 WRC Academy champion and the 2012 WRC Super 2000 world rally champion before making it to the top tier of rallying in 2016. In all, he competed in 81 rallies and accumulated 30 stage wins.
Hyundai added Breen as a part-time driver from 2019 through 2021, and he eventually returned to the team in 2023.
He was off to an impressive start this year after finishing in second place at his first WRC start of the season at Rally Sweden in February.
Rally car driving star Ken Block died Monday at the age of 55 after a snowmobile crash in Utah, per TMZ Sports.
The Wasatch County Sheriff's Office announced that Block was pronounced dead at the scene from his injuries. He was riding on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended and landed on top of him. He had been riding with a group but was alone at the time of the accident:
Block competed for Hoonigan Racing Division, formerly known as the Monster World Rally Team. He was also a co-founder of DC Shoes and competed in other action sports, such as skateboarding, snowboarding and motocross.
"Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband," Hoonigan Racing Division said in a statement. "He will be incredibly missed."
Block recorded 16 wins and 28 trips to the podium in 60 starts while competing in Rally America from 2005 to 2014. Per Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports, Block was "one of just a handful of Americans" ever to score points in the World Rally Championship.
In recent years, Block built up a substantial social media presence, amassing millions of followers and subscribers across multiple platforms. In September, he announced a partnership with Audi to promote the company's electric cars.
Block's 16-year-old daughter, Lia, is also a rally car driver and competed in her first race at the age of 11, competing for Hoonigan Racing Division like her father.
Nasser Al-Attiyah won the cars division at the 2022 Dakar Rally, which wrapped up Friday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for his fourth career title in the race.
Al-Attiyah won the race's first and fourth stages to secure an early lead, and he never relinquished the advantage despite capturing no further victories across the 12-stage event. He teamed with co-driver Matthieu Baumel to finish 27 minutes and 46 seconds ahead of the closest competition.
Here are the top finishers from the cars event:
Al-Attiyah previously won the competition in 2011, 2015 and 2019. He finished second each of the last two years. His four career Dakar Rally titles are tied with Ari Vatanen for the second-most in the history of the cars category behind only Stephane Peterhansel, an eight-time champion.
The 51-year-old Qatar native and his team, Toyota Gazoo Racing, earned a $45,000 cash prize and a $450,000 sponsor bonus for finishing atop the standings, per Wajahat Tajamal of Total Sportal.
It's the third triumph as a co-driver for Baumel, who also paired with Al-Attiyah in 2015 and 2019.
The other winners crowned Friday included:
This year's Dakar Rally began New Year's Day with a prologue from Jeddah to Ha'il and ended Friday when drivers completed the 8,402-kilometer (5220-mile) round trip back to Jeddah.
The 2023 competition, which is expected to feature a new hybrid model from French constructor ORECA, will get underway early next year.
The historic 2020 Dakar Rally will be the first to take place on the Asian continent, kicking off in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The past 11 editions of the race have been held in South America, while the original race was held in Europe and Africa. Saudi Arabia will be the host for at least the next five years.
This year's event will take place from Sunday until January 17, starting in Jeddah and finishing in Qiddiya. Red Bull TV will provide full coverage of every stage.
Here's a look at the full route:
Crews will travel more than 7,500 kilometers over 12 stages. There will be one rest day, on Saturday in Riyadh.
Stage 9 is the longest, a gruelling 886 kilometers between Wadi Al Dawasir and Haradh. Stage 7 from Riyadh to Wadi Al Dawasir, immediately after the rest day, features a race-high 546 kilometers of specials.
The first Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia features a star-studded lineup, especially in the cars division. Nasser Al-Attiyah will defend his title, but will face tremendous competition in the form of 13-time Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel.
The Frenchman has six titles on the bike and seven in cars, with his most recent coming in 2017. He drove for Mini in 2019, winning two stages but not finishing the race. He will be without his regular co-pilot, wife Andrea Peterhansel, however, with doctors not allowing her to race because of health reasons, per Reuters.
KTM have dominated the bikes category, winning every single Dakar held in South America. Defending champion Toby Price is once again among the favourites and already looking forward to the race:
Matthias Walkner has been the most consistent competitor recently, with three straight top-two finishes, and is another to keep an eye on.
Eduard Nikolaev is the logical favourite in the trucks category after winning the past three editions of the race. A five-time winner―once as a co-driver―the Russian is just 35 and expected to continue his domination for a long time.
Compatriot Dmitry Sotnikov has finished in second place in two of the past three editions, further highlighting the Kamaz dominance.
The 40th edition of the Dakar Rally kicks off in Lima on Saturday, with the first of 14 stages running south from the Peruvian capital to Pisco on the country's south-west coast.
Thursday's sixth stage will see the move from Peru into Bolivia. On Jan. 15, the famed race enters Argentina, where it culminates in Cordoba five days later.
The 2018 Dakar Rally will be the final race involving Peugot, who are going for a third consecutive triumph in the cars category with Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret.
Read on for full details of the upcoming race and a closer look at the route, along with scheduling and viewing information.
Race Dates: Jan. 6 until Jan. 20
Route: Fourteen stages between Lima, Peru, and Cordoba, Argentina. See the full route here.
TV Info: Eurosport (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)
Live Stream: Eurosport Player (U.K.), NBC Sports App (U.S.)
2018 marks the 10th consecutive year in which the Dakar Rally has been held in South America and the first time it has visited Peru since 2013.
Per Dakar, competitors will be faced with the daunting task of tackling Peru's desert dunes during the first six stages before the cross into Bolivia, where the rest day takes place in La Paz on Jan. 12.
Then the challenge changes, as the extreme altitude will become the racers' worst enemy. There are only three stages in Bolivia, but they have proved crucial in the past, as altitude can play havoc with fitness and mental strength.
The gruelling route covers 10,000 kilometres of uncompromising terrain, and 13-time winner Peterhansel has picked out the time spent at more than 3,000 metres above sea level as being potentially decisive, per Reuters (via Marca): "Once again, I can see the days we spend at high altitude being the key to this race. We have four or five days at extreme altitude, and this is never easy to manage."
Given the weather can be hugely changeable in Bolivia as well, the ability to adapt will be crucial during the middle section of this year's race.
Stage 9 sees the move from Bolivia into Argentina, which will be the backdrop for the final five stages.
The event's official Twitter account provided an indication of the scale of the event ahead of the start of the race:
Lima welcomed 540 vehicles that will participate in the #Dakar2018. Amazing, isn't it?
— DAKAR RALLY (@dakar) January 3, 2018
Lima le dio la bienvenida a 540 vehículos que participarán en el #Dakar2018. Increíble, ¿verdad?#DakarPerú #Dakar40th #DakarRally pic.twitter.com/obsUg2ekn4
Competitors in quads, cars, trucks and UTVs and on bikes will attempt to navigate some of the most difficult off-road environments the globe has to offer.
Per Reuters (via Marca), two-time winner Nasser Al-Attiyah summed up the attitude of many going into the brutal but exhilarating event: "This will not be an easy race for anyone, but we are determined to enjoy ourselves and also try to go for the win."
The Dakar Rally is the most famous race of its type in the world—and the 2015 edition of the rally raid once again began in South America on Sunday, starting from Buenos Aires, Argentina. This is the seventh time the race has started on the continent.
This year's rally will comprise of 13 stages, with the race passing through Chile and Bolivia before concluding on January 17 back in Argentina.
Four major vehicle groups compete in the rally raid: motorcycles, quads, cars and trucks. As always, the race is open to keen amateurs as well as professionals.
The event takes place over 9,110 kilometers of gruelling endurance racing with 665 competitors taking part, per TopGear.com.
Rally commentator Colin Clark spoke about the wonderful atmosphere building in Argentina, expressing delight at some of the opening scenes from the first stage:
Here is the up-to-date schedule information for the rally, as well as the latest results information:
| Date | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 4 | Buenos Aires | Villa Carlos Paz |
| Jan. 5 | Villa Carlos Paz | San Juan |
| Jan. 6 | San Juan | Chilecito |
| Jan. 7 | Chilecito | Copiapo |
| Jan. 8 | Copiapo | Antofagasta |
| Jan. 9 | Antofagasta | Iquique |
| Jan. 10 | Rest day Bike / Quad | |
| Jan. 10 | Iquique | Uyuni (Car) / Marathon (Truck) |
| Jan. 11 | Uyuni (Car) / Marathon (Truck) / Iquique (Bike) | Iquique (Car/Truck) / Uyuni (Bike) |
| Jan. 12 | Rest day Car/Truck | |
| Jan. 12 | Uyuni | Iquique |
| Jan. 13 | Iquique | Calama |
| Jan. 14 | Calama | Marathon (Bike) / Salta (Car/Truck) |
| Jan. 15 | Marathon (Bike) / Salta (Car/Truck) | Termas Rio Hondo |
| Jan. 16 | Termas Rio Hondo | Rosario |
| Jan. 17 | Rosario | Buenos Aires |
Sam Sunderland Speeds into Opening-Day Lead
Englishman Sam Sunderland made a spectacular start to the 2015 Dakar Rally, grabbing a five-second lead to win the stage.
The 25-year-old, riding a KTM motorcycle, completed the 175-kilometer opening gambit of the race ahead of Paulo Goncalves on his Honda.
According to Eurosport's Toby Keel, Sunderland clocked in at one hour, 18 minutes and 57 seconds to take a lead into Stage 2, with defending champion Marc Coma trailing in third spot— 1:12 behind the Brit.
Sunderland was pleased with his opening effort and significant lead over multiple-time champion Coma, but warned there is much more dangerous racing to follow, per Keel:
It's difficult to judge your strategy based on the first day because you still don't know who's pulled out all the stops.
It's also important not to go all in, you've got to leave something for the other stages. However, I think I had a good special and that's always a reason to be happy.
The bike didn't miss a beat, it was very fast and I probably posted a good time. I'm a contender for the first day. I hope I'm also a contender at the end, but we've only covered 175 kilometres and there's still a long road before us.
Hans Stacey grabbed the win for the trucks section, taking a 35-second lead into Stage 2.
Ignacio Casale leads in the quads, nurturing a useful 1:07 margin of victory:
Nasser Al-Attiyah Takes Command
The Mini of Qatari racer Nasser Al-Attiyah took control of the car rally for Day 1 with a huge performance to establish a 22-second lead.
Al-Attiyah pushed hard to leave Argentine Orlando Terranova in his dust as he stormed through the first and second checkpoints ahead.
American Robby Gordon in the Gordini was third-fastest for the first stage, a full 1:04 behind Al-Attiyah.
South Africa's Giniel de Villiers was fourth, recording a time which was eight seconds further back.
But the most dramatic news of the day came with defending champion Nani Roma, whose challenge was destroyed by mechanical troubles, leaving his chances of regaining his crown in ashes.
This is the most exciting race of its type on the planet, but the opening stages usually mean so little with such perilous challenges ahead for the racers.
Sunderland and Al-Attiyah will be delighted with their opening performances, but as was shown with Roma, one bad day at the office will destroy any hope one might have of winning.
For the 10th consecutive year, October saw a “Sebastien” crowned as king of the rally-driving scene, but it wasn’t the Sebastien Loeb who had dominated the sport since 2004, as everyone was expecting.
Instead, it was Sebastien Ogier who stopped his namesake from making it a decade of triumph, capitalising on the Frenchman having to pull out three weeks ago and claiming overall victory for himself.
That achievement was capped with another stage win at the Rally de Espana this weekend, where Ogier lived up to expectations and finished atop the podium for the eighth time this season.
| Position | Driver | Car Manufacturer | Time |
| 1 | Sebastien Ogier | Volkswagen | 3:33:21.2 |
| 2 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Volkswagen | +32.9 secs |
| 3 | Mikko Hirvonen | Citroen | +1:13 secs |
| 4 | Thierry Neuville | Qatar WRT | +1:39 secs |
| 5 | Evgeny Novikov | Qatar Motorsport | +2:01 secs |
| 6 | Mads Ostberg | Qatar Motorsport | +2:26 secs |
Winning by 32.9 seconds in his Polo R, Ogier’s triumph also means that Volkswagen Motorsport will add the manufacturers’ championship to their collection, ending Citroen’s five-year grip on the title.
As the Official World Rally Championship Twitter account suggests, the Frenchman’s win on the gravel and tarmac of Salou didn’t come easily and included a superb comeback along the way:
The Finnish pair of Jari-Matti Latvala and Mikko Hirvonen finished second and third, respectively, with the latter giving his rivals a firm pat on the back in his post-race comments:
Colin McMaster took this image, capturing Ogier’s moment of Spanish triumph:
Although it holds little prospect for a competition whose top prize has already been awarded, drivers and co-drivers alike now look ahead to the final leg of their rally season, a British meeting in November.
Going into that 12th stage, Ogier holds a decisive 95-point lead over his closest opponent, Thierry Neuville, who could only muster a fourth-place finish on Sunday afternoon.
The Belgian was forced to relinquish any hopes of a world title a long time ago, and it’s really no wonder that Ogier has raced to victory in the fashion he has, with just four wins being shared among the rest of the field in total.
| Position | Driver | Car Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Sebastien Ogier | Volkswagen | 238 |
| 2 | Thierry Neuvelle | Qatar WRT | 143 |
| 3 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Volkswagen | 125 |
| 4 | Mikko Hirvonen | Citroen | 117 |
| 5 | Dani Sordo | Citroen | 111 |
The result is a decisive mark up for Ogier; his previous best WRC overall finish was the third place achieved with Citroen in 2011, when he racked up a respectable 196 points.
That tally is now blown out of the water, with the 29-year-old finishing off the podium just twice this year.
The Spanish result showed that, in addition to having a great mechanical team behind him and a co-driver to match, Ogier holds incredible driving skill and is fully deserving of his championship ahead of his British victory lap.
The World Rally Championship revs into the seaside tourist town of Salou, Spain for the penultimate race of the 2013 tour.
The honour of the final race of the season has been bestowed on Wales this year, after the Rally de Espana acted as the curtain closer to last year’s tour.
The world of rally driving crowned its first new champion in over nine years during the Rallye de France-Alsace at the beginning of the month. Sebastien Ogier took home the big prize with two races to spare, bringing an end to the dominance enjoyed by Sebastien Loeb, who had finished top of the pile every year since 2004.
| Position | Driver | Team |
| 1 | Sebasatien Ogier | Volkswagen Motorsport |
| 2 | Dani Sordo | Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team |
| 3 | Jari-Matti Latvala | Volkswagen Motorsport |
Loeb’s supremacy on tour was evident at the Rally de Espana down the years. The French driver boasts eight consecutive victories in Salou, but after retiring three weeks ago, this year’s race is wide open.
The rally in the Iberian Peninsula is the only true mixed-surface round during the year, according to WRC, and is challenging for drivers, engineers and mechanics alike.
Drivers have to negotiate tarmac over the first two days of the competition before switching to gravel on Sunday. WRC call it the “Jekyll and Hyde style transformation” as teams have just 75 minutes to convert their cars for the change in surface.
Plenty can happen over 15 stages on 355 kilometres of road, but here’s a look at who we think will be popping champagne on the podium.
Top Drivers to Watch
Sebastien Ogier
Ogier has already sewn up the drivers’ championships but he will be eager to impress in Spain after bowing out of the race early in both 2011 and 2012.
It will be his first race as world champion and he is the only driver, besides Loeb, to have won on both gravel and asphalt this year—per WRC.
The 29-year-old, who was a teammate of Formula One’s Kimi Raikkonen in 2010, has won seven races this year in Sweden, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Australia and in front of his home support in France.
Dani Sordo
Sordo will be absolutely gunning for top spot this weekend. The Spaniard has finished on the podium five times at his home race without ever winning.
The driver, who competes for the Abu Dhabi Citroen Total World Rally Team, finally got his hands on a maiden race win in Germany this year, and after finishing runner-up in the last race in France he arrives in Salou full of confidence.
Sordo was the Spanish National Rally Champion in 2005 and would love nothing more than to come good at home on the main tour.
Jari-Matti Latvala
Latvala, a teammate of Ogier at Volkswagen, currently sits third in the drivers' championship on 125 points and will relish the opportunity to win in Spain.
According to WRC, Latvala will race without the limitations of team orders this weekend after Ogier already sewed up the title in Spain. Team boss Jost Capito told the WRC website that they can each fight for the win.
“They can do whatever they want and show what they are capable of," Capito explained. "I love to see the competition.”
Volkswagen currently lead the constructors’ title race and need just six points to ensure they stay there when the season ends. If, or rather when, they seal top spot they will become the first manufacturer to win the title in their maiden year of racing.
The Finnish driver, who finished third in the overall standings last season, sits in third spot this year and will be hoping a good performance this weekend is enough to hold off the challenge of Sordo, who sits seven points behind him in fourth place.
