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Halftime report: How have 2025 WRC drivers fared so far this season?
The 2025 FIA World Rally Championship reaches the far end of the Mediterranean Sea this week, as drivers and teams descend for Acropolis Rally Greece.
The seventh round of the season marks the halfway point of a fourteen-race calendar, making it the perfect time to take stock, draw breath and look back on the year so far.
After two events on Tarmac, a snowy winter rally in Sweden, gruelling heat in the Safari and a pair of European gravel events, just how has everyone fared against expectations?
DAZN News goes back to school and gets the grade book out, ranging from an A+ for the high flyers down to a D for those that need to kick it up a gear.
Championship Leader - Elfyn Evans (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) - DAZN Grade: A
DAZN
After the win on the Safari Rally - Elfyn Evans’ title bid was looking concrete, Fort Knox like if you will. But the second string of three rallies this season has taken him back from an A+ down to an A.
The road sweeping in Portugal and Sardinia was a tough pill to swallow - but if the British driver wants to be considered as a title favourite he needs to maximise every moment - even when the going gets tough.
In the Canaries he had no answer to his two teammates - Sébastien Ogier who had the best part of two months out of the car and Kalle Rovanperä who is not known for his sealed-surface flair.
This is an area Evans needs to work upon - his asphalt form and taking the fight to his stablemates head on. It’s not panic stations yet, but the Welshman has had his points lead slashed dramatically on the last two events and needs to fire back!
2nd in the Championship - Sébastien Ogier (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) - DAZN Grade: A
One of the star pupils, Ogier would have an A+ if his attendance was a little better.
This is nod to the fact the Eight-time World Champion is only contesting a part-time programme in the WRC this year, but despite missing two events (Sweden and Safari) he is second in the standings with three wins and a second on the board.
Can he win the title despite missing events? Despite downplaying a record equalling ninth title, deep down the Frenchman will do everything he can to keep himself in the mix come Saudi Arabia in November.
3rd in the Championship - Kalle Rovanperä (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) - DAZN Grade: B
Rovanperä gets a grade less than Evans, only because of his poor (by his standards) start to the year.
The Monte and Sweden required real soul searching and the Finn was almost going to be left behind by the rest of the class, but the Toyota driver dug deep and did his homework and is well and truly in the championship fight when it was looking very bleak in March.
Kalle is poised nicely coming into two events he enjoys - Estonia and Finland and if he can get a solid result, even a podium in Greece, the momentum could well swing in his favour. Promising - but needs to keep it up to be considered for the top grades this season.
4th in the Championship - Ott Tänak (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team) - DAZN Grade: A-
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The man who has been closest to the Toyota juggernaut this season.
The Hyundai i20 is becoming more of a competitive beast with each event and that is all thanks to Tänak dragging it into places it probably shouldn't be - especially if all the Toyotas are on full song.
Three second places and pushing Ogier to within 10 seconds on the last two events - the Estonian, if he can continue this upward trend will give Evans, Ogier and Rovanperä plenty to think about in the second half of the season. Tänak for the title? You can’t discount it.
5th in the Championship - Thierry Neuville (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team) - DAZN Grade: C+
The reigning champion was on a high at the end of 2024. Fast forward to January and Thierry Neuville just hasn’t had the most explosive of title defences so far. Two podiums in Sweden and Safari is solid but not up to his ferocious 2024 form.
Struggling like Rovanperä to turn on the new Hankook tyres for this season, the Belgian needs to crack them fast to keep pace with his teammate Tänak and the Toyotas galloping away into the distance.
The next two events are the most important of his career if he wants to have any chance of making it back-to-back titles. If anyone can do it - it's Neuville with nine top three finishes in the championship including that outstanding term last year under his belt already.
6th in the Championship - Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT) - DAZN Grade: C
The Japanese driver was just a whisker away from his first ever WRC win in Sweden and the first for a Japanese driver in a Japanese car. A silly mistake on the Safari dented his chance of his first back-to-back podium, but he got back up and dusted himself off with two fifths and a fourth.
We feel he could go deep into the B grades as the potential is there. Katsuta’s fifth full season in the top-flight in the best car should give him the motivation and experience to kick on now.
The pressure is mounted high on the shoulders with the weight of Toyota and his country on top of him - but we think this season the likeable character in the service park can do the business and seal that first win. Keep going Takamoto!
7th in the Championship - Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team) - DAZN Grade: D+
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Room for improvement from this A+ student last year. This current grade is only a reflection of Fourmaux’s current hole and not the bright potential future the French star has.
The Monte Carlo rally podium was a dream start to the academic year - but that is sadly a long, distant memory. Mistakes and mechanicals have truncated his events so far this season.
The WRC world knows the car and driver are capable - and we hope a corner can be turned in the second half of the season with more podiums and that breakthrough WRC win!
8th in the Championship - Sami Pajari (Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT2) - DAZN Grade: B
We are extremely encouraged by Sami’s performance in the first half of 2025. Stepping into the top class from WRC2 is never easy - but the Finn looks a natural.
It does help that he is in the best car - but he has earned the right to be there and boy is he grabbing it with both hands.
A fourth in Kenya has been the highlight - but a few accidents have knocked his grade down a little. We hope he keeps up the progress and is doing a fine job as top rookie this season.
9th in the Championship - Grégoire Munster (M-Sport Ford) - DAZN Grade: C-
M-Sport have banked on youth over experience in 2025 and that shows when Munster has been thrust into the de facto team leader role despite only having a year in the Rally1 Puma under his belt.
Fifth in Kenya was the highlight but has been the only real highlight. On pace he has been beaten by his less experienced teammate McErlean. Munster has shown he can do it, as the end of 2024 saw a real page turn.
Mid-season events should enable him to show pace over his younger teammates and help him stamp his mark as the M-Sport number one. We know he can do it.
10th in the Championship - Josh McErlean (M-Sport Ford) - DAZN Grade: C+
The Monte Carlo was a wake-up call for McErelan. Instructed to finish - that he did but was well off the pace, understandable as he had hardly turned a wheel in the Rally1 Puma but a strong seventh was a great result.
Sweden might have seen a visit to a snow bank but after three years away from the snow his form was brilliant and that wasn’t just a flash in the pan as his pace has been strong - putting him top of his M-Sport set.
However if he wants to improve the grade, finishes are what guarantees points and what counts. Great start - look forward to seeing more!
Elsewhere…
Mārtiņš Sesks - (M-Sport Ford) -DAZN Grade: C-
We need to see more from Sesks as he has only done three rounds to date - but we need to see the pace that excited the rallying world in 2024. All eyes on the Latvanian in his next few rounds to bump up his grade.
Jourdan Serderidis and Diogo Salvi - (M-Sport Ford) -DAZN Grade: B
B for brilliant. The elder statesmen drivers of the WRC are only doing a handful of events each but giving us all something to aspire to. They may be off the pace - but they don’t care, they are there for the hell of it and we all would if we could. Keep up the good work!
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