Round nine of the World Rally Championship swaps Greek rock for fast Estonian gravel this weekend, IndyCar’s title contenders swapped Milwaukee for the Oval Office, MotoGP’s Tech3 saga refuses to cool off in the mid-season lull, and NASCAR dusts off a track it hasn’t visited in three decades. Here’s Wednesday’s motorsport briefing.
WRC: Evans leads a five-car Toyota armada into Estonia’s flat-out gravel. According to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s official event preview, championship leader Elfyn Evans arrives at this weekend’s Delfi Rally Estonia with an 11-point cushion over team-mate Takamoto Katsuta, who reaches his 100th WRC start on the event, while nine-time champion Sébastien Ogier – third in the standings – returns to Estonia for the first time since 2021. “It’s cool to be going back to Rally Estonia this year,” said Kalle Rovanperä in the same release. “It’s where I took my first win in the WRC … I really enjoy driving on the fast and flowing roads and they suit my style well.” Per WRC.com’s entry list, 53 cars will start round nine, including 11 Rally1 machines split across Toyota’s five-car squad, Hyundai’s three-car effort and M-Sport’s three Puma Rally1s, with Thierry Neuville’s team still chasing the win that got away in Greece.
IndyCar: Palou, Rosenqvist and Malukas take the White House pit lane. Per IndyCar’s official site, four-time champion Alex Palou joined Felix Rosenqvist and David Malukas at the White House this week, where Team Penske ran a pit-stop demonstration and President Trump hosted the trio to promote next month’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington DC. Palou, who presented a race helmet to the President, called the visit “like being in a movie,” according to Forbes, while Roger Penske said more than 250,000 ticket requests have already come in for the 100,000 free spots at the 22-23 August street race around the National Mall. Palou heads into the event chasing a record-tying fourth straight IndyCar title, with rivals such as Arrow McLaren’s in-form Pato O’Ward the biggest threat to it.
MotoGP: Vinales’ Tech3 fallout drags into the summer lull. Maverick Vinales continued to make clear his KTM career is ending, telling The Race after last weekend’s German Grand Prix that a contract he signed in good faith was later declared “not valid” by the manufacturer: “That’s why I’m really burned out of this world… I don’t think I will continue.” KTM boss Pit Beirer maintained to Crash.net that a 2027 seat is technically still open, but the same outlet reports Tech3 is now leaning towards signing Honda-bound Luca Marini instead, extending the pressure that has built on Vinales’ KTM future since June.
NASCAR: Cup Series returns to North Wilkesboro for the first time since 1996. NASCAR’s confirmed 37-car entry list sets up Sunday’s Window World 450, the Cup Series’ first points-paying race at the 0.625-mile North Carolina track in three decades. Series points leader Denny Hamlin, already with four wins and four poles this season, is the betting favourite at +425 with DraftKings, according to Fox Sports, arriving off the back of last week’s late-race thriller at EchoPark Speedway.
