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, the highest class of competition in international rallying. Sixty crews, including manufacturer teams and privateers, 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 in Flintshire and consisted of twenty-three special stages throughout North and Mid-Wales. The rally covered a total competitive distance of and an additional in transport stages.
The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team crew of Elfyn Evans and Daniel Barritt were the defending rally winners. 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; however, Astier and Vauclare did not defend their title as they did not enter the rally.
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. 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.
Background Championship standings prior to the event
Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul 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 and Martin Järveoja. Defending World Champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were third, a further ten points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a five-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT.
In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler led the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by thirty-two points, but did not contest the rally. Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson were in second place, thirty-eight points ahead of privateers Gus Greensmith and Craig Parry. Škoda Motorsport II held a seventeen-point lead over sister team Škoda Motorsport in the teams' championship.
Newly crowned Junior World Rally Champion Emil Bergkvist led the World Rally Championship-3 drivers' standings. Denis Rådström 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 was another eleven points behind. In the teams' championship, ACI Team Italia led Castrol Ford Team Turkiye 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.
No. Entrant Driver Co-Driver Car Group Eligibility Tyre 0 Stuart Egglestone Paul Morris Subaru Impreza STi N12 Course car 1 M-Sport Ford WRT Sébastien Ogier Julien Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 2 M-Sport Ford WRT Elfyn Evans Daniel Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 3 M-Sport Ford WRT Teemu Suninen Mikko Markkula Ford Fiesta WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 4 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Andreas Mikkelsen RC1 WRC manufacturer 5 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Thierry Neuville Nicolas Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 6 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hayden Paddon Sebastian Marshall Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Jari-Matti Latvala Miikka Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 9 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Toyota Yaris WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 10 Mads Østberg Torstein Eriksen Citroën C3 WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 11 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT Craig Breen Scott Martin Citroën C3 WRC RC1 WRC manufacturer 31 Škoda Motorsport II Pontus Tidemand Jonas Andersson Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 32 Gus Greensmith Gus Greensmith Alessandro Gelsomino Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 33 Printsport Łukasz Pieniążek Przemysław Mazur Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 34 ACI Team Italia WRC Fabio Andolfi Simone Scattolin Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 35 PH Sport Ole Christian Veiby Stig Rune Skjærmoen Citroën C3 R5 RC2 WRC-2 36 Škoda Motorsport II Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 37 Hyundai Motorsport Jari Huttunen Antti Linnaketo Hyundai i20 R5 RC2 WRC-2 38 BRC Racing Team Pierre-Louis Loubet Vincent Landais Hyundai i20 R5 RC2 WRC-2 39 Nil Solans Nil Solans Marc Martí Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 40 Citroën Total Rallye Team Stéphane Lefebvre Gabin Moreau Citroën C3 R5 RC2 WRC-2 41 Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Marco Bulacia Wilkinson Fernando Mussano Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 42 Simone Tempestini Simone Tempestini Sergio Itu Citroën C3 R5 RC2 WRC-2 43 M-Sport Ford WRT Eric Camilli Benjamin Veillas Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 WRC-2 44 Toksport WRT Chris Ingram Ross Whittock Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 WRC-2 61 Taisko Lario Taisko Lario Tatu Hämäläinen Peugeot 208 R2 RC4 WRC-3 62 Enrico Brazzoli Enrico Brazzoli Luca Beltrame Peugeot 208 R2 RC4 WRC-3 63 Louise Cook Louise Cook Stefan Davis Ford Fiesta R2 RC4 WRC-3 64 Tom Williams Tom Williams Phil Hall Ford Fiesta R2 RC4 WRC-3 81 M-Sport Ford WRT Matt Edwards Darren Garrod Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 National 82 David Bogie David Bogie John Rowan Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 National 83 Rhys Yates Rhys Yates Elliott Edmondson Škoda Fabia R5 RC2 National 84 Tom Cave Tom Cave James Morgan Hyundai i20 R5 RC2 85 Team MRF Tyres Gaurav Gill Glenn MacNeall Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 86 M-Sport Ford WRT Alex Laffey Patrick Walsh Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 87 Eamonn Boland Eamonn Boland Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 88 James Aldridge Sacha Kakad James Aldridge Ford Fiesta R5 NAT2 National 89 Palmeirinha Rally Paulo Nobre Gabriel Morales Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 90 Lawrence Whyte Lawrence Whyte Paul Beaton Ford Fiesta R5 RC2 91 Romain Courbon Ford Fiesta R2T RC4 92 Steve Rokland Steve Rokland Dai Roberts Peugeot 208 R2 RC4 National 93 Tom Woodburn James Williams Tom Woodburn Vauxhall Adam R2 RC4 National 94 William Creighton William Creighton Liam Regan Peugeot 208 R2 RC4 National 95 Tony Jardine Tony Jardine Tom Cary Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX NAT4 96 Kevin Horgan Kevin Horgan Liam Fouhy Škoda Fabia R2 RC4 National 97 John Morrison John Morrison Peter Carstairs NAT4 National 98 Paul Walker Paul Walker Geraint Thomas Subaru Impreza NAT4 99 Scott Partridge Scott Partridge Fiona Scarret Subaru Impreza NAT4 100 Peredur Davies Jordan Reynolds Peredur Davies Ford Fiesta R2 NAT2 National 101 Finlay Retson Finlay Retson Tom Hynd Ford Fiesta R2 NAT2 National 102 Spencer Wilkinson Spencer Wilkinson Glyn Thomas Subaru Impreza WRX STi RC2 National 103 James McDiarmid James McDiarmid Gareth Clarke Ford Fiesta R2T RC4 National 104 Alex Waterman Alex Waterman Harry Thomas Ford Fiesta R2T RC4 National 105 Bart Lang Bart Lang Sinclair Young Ford Fiesta R2 NAT2 National 106 Saleh Hijazi Saleh Hijazi Stephen Landen MG ZR NAT3 107 Nabila Tejpar Nabila Tejpar Richard Bliss Peugeot 208 R2 RC4 National 108 Jonathan Mulholland Jonathan Mulholland Jeff Case Ford Fiesta R2 NAT2 National 109 Stephen Southall Stephen Southall Richard Bestwick Ford Escort MK2 NAT4 110 Iwan Evans Iwan Evans Sion Williams Subaru Impreza NAT4 111 Neil Andrew Neil Andrew Dominic Adams Subaru Impreza NAT4 Source:
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 driver Jari-Matti Latvala 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 as a replacement for Rally Poland. 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 (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 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 and Rally Australia 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.