2018 Wales Rally GB

2018 Wales Rally GB
74. Dayinsure Wales Rally GB
Round 11 of 13 in the 2018 World Rally Championship
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Host country United Kingdom
Rally baseDeeside, Flintshire
Dates run4 – 7 October 2018
Start locationTir Prince Raceway
Finish locationLlandudno Promenade
Stages23 (318.34 km; 197.81 miles)
Stage surfaceGravel[a]
Transport distance1,083.01 km (672.95 miles)
Overall distance1,401.35 km (870.76 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered60
Crews57 at start, 48 at finish
Overall results
Overall winnerFrance Sébastien Ogier
France Julien Ingrassia
United Kingdom M-Sport Ford WRT
3:06:12.5
Power Stage winnerFinland Jari-Matti Latvala
Finland Miikka Anttila
Japan Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Support category results
WRC-2 winnerFinland Kalle Rovanperä
Finland Jonne Halttunen
Czech Republic Škoda Motorsport II
3:15:27.2
WRC-3 winnerUnited Kingdom Tom Williams
United Kingdom Phil Hall
United Kingdom Tom Williams
3:49:44.9

The 2018 Wales Rally GB (formally known as the 74. Dayinsure Wales Rally GB) was a motor racing event for rally cars that took place over four days from 4 to 7 October 2018. The event was open to entries competing in World Rally Cars and cars complying with Group R regulations. It marked the seventy-fourth running of Rally Great Britain and was the eleventh round of the 2018 FIA World Rally Championship,[3] the highest class of competition in international rallying. Sixty crews, including manufacturer teams and privateers,[4] 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.[5][b] The 2018 event was based in Deeside in Flintshire and consisted of twenty-three special stages throughout North and Mid-Wales.[1] The rally covered a total competitive distance of 318.34 km (197.81 miles) and an additional 1,083.01 km (672.95 miles) in transport stages.[6]

Elfyn Evans was the defending rally winner.

The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team crew of Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt were the defending rally winners.[7][8] Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson of Škoda Motorsport were the defending winners of the World Rally Championship-2, and French privateers Raphaël Astier and Frédéric Vauclare were the reigning winners in the World Rally Championship-3 category;[7] however, Astier and Vauclare did not defend their title as they did not enter the rally.[4]

The rally was won by Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia. 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 and Nicolas Gilsoul. Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila finished second, with their teammates Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm completing the podium. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team were the manufacturers' winners, whilst Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT extended their lead in the manufacturers' championship.[9] The Škoda Motorsport II crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen won in the World Rally Championship-2 in a Škoda Fabia R5, while the local crew of Tom Williams and Phil Hall won in the World Rally Championship-3.[10]

  1. ^ a b "Taking it to the streets ..." walesrallygb.com. Wales Rally GB. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference blocked was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Rally Aus retains WRC finale in 2018". speedcafe.com. Speedcafe. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Rally GB Entry List was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b "2018 Prestone MSA British Rally Championship calendar announced". msabrc.com. Motor Sports Association. 16 August 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. ^ "2018 Dayinsure Wales Rally GB" (PDF). walesrallygb.com. Wales Rally GB. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Final Results Rally Wales 2017". ewrc-results.com. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  8. ^ "Evans: 'Nobody was getting in the way'". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Breaking News: Ogier wins GB Thriller". wrc.com. WRC. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  10. ^ "WRC 2 in Britain: Rovanperä takes comfortablw win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 7 October 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.


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