Two titans of the British rallying scene are the latest guests to join us on the Gravel Notes podcast. Gwyndaf Evans lit up the stages in the 1980s and 1990s winning the British Rally Championship in 1996 driving a Ford Escort RS2000 before going on to finish a championship runner on four occasions. His son Elfyn has since developed into a regular World Rally Championship title contender with eight WRC wins under his belt. The factory Toyota Gazoo Racing driver is firmly in the fight for the 202...
Jul 19, 2024•24 min
Few wore their heart on the sleeve and entertained like Petter Solberg, which earned him legions of fans and the nickname Mr Hollywood. More than two decades on from winning the 2003 World Rally Championship title the much-loved Norwegian remains a force in the rallying scene. But what is it like to be Petter Solberg - the showman? Autosport’s WRC reporter Tom Howard and rally journalist Luke Barry find out how defying his parents earned him his first national success, his WRC dream team and dis...
Jun 28, 2024•58 min
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Kalle Rovanpera is one of the brightest young talents in Motorsport having rewritten the World Rally Championship record books, becoming the youngest ever champion aged 22 in 2022. Last year he joined an elite group of drivers to defend the crown that include Juha Kankkunen, Miki Biasion, Tommi Makinen, Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier. The Finn may be familiar for tackling the world toughest roads but this year he is expanding his motorsport horizons, dovetailing a part-...
Jun 06, 2024•43 min
The dust has just about settled from an absolute barnstormer of a Rally Italia Sardinia that saw Hyundai’s Ott Tanak victorious by the joint smallest winning margin in series history. Tanak defeated Toyota’s Sebastien Ogier by 0.2s after final stage drama, while points leader Thierry Neuville and contender Elfyn Evans found the going tough as the WRC rolled out its new sprint format. Autosport WRC reporter Tom Howard and rally journalist Luke Barry review a record equalling rally and discuss the...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min
It has been a big week for rallying already. Lancia has announced it is making a long-awaited comeback to the stages while the World Rally Championship will trial its new sprint concept in Sardinia. Autosport WRC reporter Tom Howard and rally journalist Luke Barry take a look at what Lancia’s announcement means for the world of rallying and preview the sixth round of the WRC in Sardinia. There is also a return of the Barry’s Brain quiz as Luke’s Sardinia knowledge is put to the test....
May 28, 2024•49 min
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....
May 21, 2024•35 min
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 jo...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 5 min
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...
May 07, 2024•47 min
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...
Apr 24, 2024•56 min
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!
Apr 16, 2024•54 min
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 broug...
Apr 02, 2024•53 min
On a special edition of the Gravel Notes podcast, Tom Howard and Luke Barry are joined by the latest driver to step on the WRC's podium M-Sport's own Adrien Fourmaux as they discuss the young French man's career, his first podium in Sweden, how he came back to the WRC1 after a tough 2022 season, as well as his thoughts going into the Safari Rally.
Mar 14, 2024•43 min
The world motorsport governing body has shared its key objectives for the future of the WRC which was presented at the World Motor Sport Council. Out are Hybrid engines and its place a more cost-effective future. But what does a cost effective future mean? To answer that Tom Howard is joined by Luke Barry as they analyse this radical overhaul for the WRC.
Mar 01, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Rally Sweden proved to a rally of attrition as contenders rose and fell, and when all was said and done it was Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi taking an unexpected victory. The popular victory marked Lappi’s first win in six years, six months and 19 days. Tom Howard is joined by Luke Barry as they take a look back at the stories that came out of Rally Sweden.
Feb 20, 2024•1 hr
Of the back of the Monte Carlo Rally, we are now heading to perhaps one of the fastest Rally on the calendar Rally Sweden. World Champion Kalle Rovanperä makes his return, raising the stakes as he looks to help Toyota get back on track. Once again Tom Howard is joined by Luke Barry as they preview this weekend's event in Sweden.
Feb 12, 2024•45 min
Gravel Notes is back and a new era for the WRC is already upon us. With Kalle Rovanperä taking on a part time schedule it is up to the likes of Elfyn Evans to carry the mantle of Toyota in 2024. He has his work cut out for him as the power duo of Ott Tanak and Thierry Neuville are looking to capitalize on any weakness. Tom Howard is joined by Luke Barry as they take us through the opening round of the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Feb 01, 2024•53 min
As Tom Howard returns from an incredible weekend of action in Sweden, he talks to Martyn Lee about the battle for the win and what it says about the championship fight this year.
Feb 16, 2023•31 min
Welcome back to the Gravel Notes podcast in 2023. We're back for our first WRC preview show and also a wider look ahead to the season ahead. This podcast incorporates a shorter section we also made for the Autosport podcast channel, but we know you're a fan of rally, so then we continued the conversation and heard from three of our title contenders this year - Kalle Rovanperä, Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville.
Jan 17, 2023•58 min
The World Rally Championship heads to Japan this weekend for the final round of 2022 with nothing but pride to race for, with both championships already decided. The 10-year wait for WRC to return to Japan in 2020 was ultimately delayed as the event became a casualty of the pandemic, and the sense of anticipation is even higher now amongst the passionate local fans cheering on Toyota. This weekend the Gravel Notes podcast is in to Japan with Autosport’s Tom Howard as the previous gravel roads of...
Nov 10, 2022•26 min
Tom Howard is back to review the penultimate round of WRC in 2022, but can't talk about anything else first but Ott Tänak's decision to leave Hyundai at the end of the year. But does it mean he'll leave the sport itself? Tom also talks about how Toyota exerted their strength to win another team title and why all teams need to be looking for the next generation of rally stars. Martyn Lee is your host.
Oct 25, 2022•32 min
WRC returned for the Repco Rally New Zealand after a ten-year hiatus to see a new world champion crowned. Kalle Rovanperä could have settled for a cautious points finish to secure his first title, but instead delivered his trademark 'maximum attack' on the wet and muddy gravel roads around Auckland. Rovanperä also takes the title of being the youngest world champion in the history of WRC taking that benchmark from the late Colin McRae. The penultimate day of the event saw Rovanperä celebrate his...
Oct 04, 2022•19 min
Martyn Lee is joined by TOM HOWARD to analyse a fairy tale weekend for Hyundai, as other teams fell by the wayside, they picked up a 1-2-3 result for the first time in history. What makes this story more remarkable is from how far back Hyundai came in 2022, with a Rally1 challenger developed and built far too late. From the lows of Monte Carlo and Kenya, the team were forced to build reliability whilst watching rivals run away with an early lead. However, a controversial decision to impose team ...
Sep 12, 2022•27 min
Tom Howard and Michael Haffenden are back from WRC Ypres Rally Belgium where Ott Tänak secured his second rally win on the bounce, as a high rate of attrition saw multiple crashes.
Aug 22, 2022•51 min
Last weekend witnessed a truly incredible Rally Finland with WRC's best battling it out for the win. Today on Gravel Notes with Tom Howard he talks to all three podium teams - Tanak, Rovanpera and Lappi. We also hear how Hyundai ended Toyota's winning streak in Finland, and how the land of 1000 lakes was able to keep Lappi's car topped up with water after a massive shunt. Stick around to the end of the podcast because Tom talks about an experience no mere mortal has any business doing - co-drivi...
Aug 09, 2022•39 min
Kalle Rovanpera clinched a fifth win from seven World Rally Championship rounds with a masterclass display to defeat Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans at Rally Estonia. The WRC championship leader produced yet another stunning performance, despite starting first on the road in changeable weather conditions, to beat Evans by 1m00.9s on Estonia’s fast gravel roads. Martyn Lee is joined by Tom Howard to discuss all the action, and we hear from the top three of Rovanpera, Evans and Tanak.
Jul 18, 2022•33 min
Round 7 of the World Rally Championship in Estonia kicks off tomorrow just after 6:30pm UK, and Martyn Lee is joined by Tom Howard to preview the action. Safari Rally Kenya was a car-breaker with harsh conditions hurting many teams and drivers, whilst 2022's sensation Kalle Rovanpera dominated from first on the road. Can home hero Ott Tanak fight back at an event he has won multiple times, and will Toyota's upgrade package be another blow for the teams playing catch up? On the podcast today, Tom...
Jul 13, 2022•26 min
Kalle Rovanpera enhanced his World Rally Championship title credentials with victory at a gruelling Safari Rally Kenya, as Toyota locked out the top four positions. Tom Howard is back on the podcast to review a weekend of attrition and superb performances. Martyn Lee is your host.
Jun 27, 2022•27 min
Tom Howard is live from Africa as he previews all the action for this weekend's Safari Rally Kenya
Jun 22, 2022•16 min
Tanak is back on top of the podium after 462 days, Rovanpera extends his championship lead and Craig Breen has technical trouble with his giggling pin. Martyn Lee is joined by Tom Howard to look back at WRC Rally Sardinia.
Jun 06, 2022•32 min
WRC teams have made the relatively short hop from Portugal to Italy for this weekends WRC Rally Italia Sardegna. The more observant podcast fans will have noticed we didn’t bring you our usual review show last week to wrap up Portugal, and we explain why on today’s podcast. So we look back at Portugal and the incredible job by Kalle Rovanpera to win his third consecutive event this year. Tom Howard and Martyn Lee discuss how he overhauled Evans to show he has an answer to every surface in 2022 –...
Jun 01, 2022•28 min
