Luke Barry

United States

Motorsport Journalist at Freelance

Co-Founder at Minoia

Rally journalist | DirtFish

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Articles

Who is M-Sport’s latest privateer? – DirtFish

1 day ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

M-Sport Ford has given many drivers their top-flight debuts in the World Rally Championship – not least in the Rally1 era. In fact all four of M-Sport’s drivers this weekend in Portugal have started their Rally1 journeys with the team. But while Grégoire Munster, Josh McErlean and Mãrtiņş Seskş are known quantities, who exactly is the driver piloting a privateer, fourth car this weekend?
FIA approves reduction to driver language penalties – DirtFish

2 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

The FIA’s controversial amendments to Appendix B have been “improved” after an extensive review commissioned by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Appendix B relates to FIA steward penalty guidelines, which were modified in January 2025 in an effort to stamp out abusive language by increasing penalties stewards were able to award drivers.
The one-off alliance that could have been much more – DirtFish

3 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

Sport is full of tantalizing ‘what ifs’ that frustratingly linger in our minds as unanswered fantasies. This one is no different, but the exception is we got a small tease. For while Subaru unsuccessfully attempted to lure Marcus Grönholm out of retirement for the 2009 World Rally Championship season (before the manufacturer pulled the plug anyway), the big Finn ended up driving an S14 Impreza in Portugal that year anyway.
Sesks focused on experience over results – DirtFish

3 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

Mãrtiņş Sesks isn’t chasing headline results as he heads into the first of five consecutive World Rally Championship rounds this week with M-Sport. Instead, his priority is experience of events as he seeks to ready himself to be a podium contender in the future. The 25-year-old Latvian has a six-round program in place behind the wheel of a Ford Puma Rally1 this year, which began with a sixth-place finish at February’s Rally Sweden.
Hyundai targets 'championship fightback' in Portugal – DirtFish

3 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

Rally Islas Canarias was bad for Hyundai, that much nobody is denying. Even it is aware and seeing the light side with some amusing Uno-based social media content in the lead up to this week’s Rally Portugal. But quite what its self-titled “midfield finish” in the Canaries means for the rest of its World Rally Championship campaign will only begin to become clear through the course of the next events.
2027 cars designed not just for WRC – DirtFish

4 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

The FIA intends for the next set of World Rally Championship regulations to become the backbone of championships all over the world, not just the WRC. Rally1 machines will be retired at the end of next season, before the more cost-effective ‘WRC27’ (working title) cars are introduced in 2027.
Rally Portugal 2025 data: Entry list + itinerary – DirtFish

4 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

With more Rally1 cars than we’ve seen for two and a half years, and a record WRC2 entry, 2025’s edition of Rally Portugal is already grabbing the headlines before it’s even begun. But who are those entries? And what challenge lies ahead of them? Total 93 crews12 Rally145 WRC218 WRC3 (12 Junior WRC) For the first time since Rally Spain in October 2022, 12 Rally1 cars will line up to start a WRC event this week in Portugal.
What we learned from ERC Hungary – DirtFish

5 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

The smooth Tarmac rounds of Rally Sierra Morena were traded for the ultra-punishing gravel tracks of Rally Hungary for round two of this year’s European Rally Championship. With none of the top three from Spain (Nikolay Gryazin, Yoann Bonato and José Antonio Suárez) on the entry list for Hungary, the result was always going to be different this time round. But once more, the events of this weekend also pointed to some clues for the wider season narrative, which is now 25% complete.
A solution to perfect WRC Sundays – DirtFish

6 days ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

The keyboards are no longer tapping as far as the World Rally Championship’s Super Sunday is concerned. The outrage that consumed fans – and it has to be said, drivers too – swiftly after its introduction last year has certainly dissipated, largely thanks to the system tweak for 2025 no longer offering provisional Saturday points and instead just traditional rally ones. But for a device designed to energize the final leg of a WRC round, is no conversation actually a good thing?
Loubet's new perspective in a similar mission – DirtFish

1 week ago | dirtfish.com | Luke Barry

There’s a definite level of appreciation – an awareness of how important this chance is. Back in the M-Sport fold – albeit now in a Fiesta Rally2 rather than a Puma Rally1 – Pierre-Louis Loubet has the opportunity to right some wrongs. By all accounts, it’s clear he’s a very good rally driver. A WRC2 title in 2019 and stage wins at the top of the World Rally Championship didn’t happen by accident. But would many truly believe that he’s always put his best foot forward? Even Loubet doesn’t.