Gravel Notes - Rallying News Gravel Notes - Rallying News

World Rally Championship points leaders Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe join Gravel Notes for a special episode.

The Hyundai Motorsport duo have made a blistering start to the 2024 season headlined by a stunning win in Monte Carlo. 

In a wide-ranging interview Thierry and Martijn discuss their first rally memories and how they work together as driver and co-driver. We also find out where their never give up attitude comes from and how they unwind away from the stages.

Sebastien Ogier chalked up the impressive milestone of 60 career World Rally Championship victories at Rally Portugal while Thierry Neuville opened up a 24-point lead in the title race.

Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais produced a faultless display to emerge from an intense head-to-head with a Hyundai’s rejuvenated Ott Tanak to claim a record sixth Rally Portugal win moving him one clear of WRC legend Markku Alen.

In the latest edition of Gravel Notes, Autosport’s WRC reporter Tom Howard is joined by rally journalist Luke Barry to dissect all the key talking points from Portugal. The pair also select their stars, unsung heroes and best quotes from the rally, and discuss the WRC Promoter’s vision for the future.

Four different winners from as many events has left the World Rally Championship delicately poised with Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville maintaining a six-point lead over Toyota’s Elfyn Evans heading into Portugal this week.

A founding member of inaugural WRC season in 1973, Portugal is a firm fan and driver favourite, thanks to its challenging, yet brutal stages.But will it serve up another twist in the title chase?

Autosport WRC reporter Tom Howard is joined by rally journalist Luke Barry to discuss all the key topics heading into Portugal, including the return of Kalle Rovnapera and a thrilling WRC2 battle. The pair also go head-to-head in the third round of the Gravel Notes Barry’s Brain quiz.

The World Rally Championship returned to Croatia this past weekend for Round 4 of the 2024 season and with it, an epic battle between Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville took place, but with errors from both men in the closing stages, Sebastien Ogier came through to take the overall victory. 

On this week's Gravel Notes, Tom Howard and Luke Barry break down all the drama, hold a referendum on the controversial points system and the impact it's having on close Rallies like this one. Also, a review of WRC2 and another dominant weekend for Citroen, as well as their favourite quotes and unsung heroes from the weekend! (And check back next week for a special interview with Championship leader, Thierry Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe!)

Welcome back to another edition of Gravel Notes and in this episode, hosts Tom Howard and Luke Barry discuss the breaking news that the Ireland Rally attempt for 2025 has sadly been cancelled and whether there's any chance it can be brought back in the future.

The pair also preview the 2024 Croatia Rally and there's an extra challenging edition of "Barry's Brain" as Tom tries to stump Luke over his Croatia Rally knowledge! 

Welcome back to the winner's circle Kallie Rovanpera! It was a dominant victory at the 2024 Safari Rally of Kenya as both he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen led a Toyota 1-2 finish with Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston also on the podium.

In this edition of Gravel Notes, Tom Howard and Luke Barry break down the heavy attrition rate amongst the regulars, another tough rally for Hyundai as their struggles continue, more on the sport's potentially hybrid-less future, and how an upset stomach brought back bad memories for one of the co-hosts in the Quote of the Rally!