Now, this is something special. According to Motorsport.com, double world rally champion Carlos Sainz is stepping back into a top-flight WRC machine to contest the Rally de Asturias Historic in Spain this weekend.
The 1990 and 1992 world rally champion (yes, that Carlos Sainz) will jump behind the wheel of a Ford Puma Rally1. The event itself is paying tribute to his illustrious career, and the 64-year-old is coming prepared.
Sainz will team up with his long-time co-driver Luis Moya for the 10-stage asphalt rally, which spans 126.66 competitive kilometres around Pravia. It has been quite a while since the Spaniard last tackled an asphalt rally in anger, making this outing all the more fascinating.
"That surprise has now been confirmed, and I want to say a huge thank you to both Ford and Red Bull for bringing a Ford Puma Rally1 to the event," Sainz said on social media. He also noted that the homologation for this fantastic car expires at the end of this year, adding an extra layer of timing to the whole affair.
Looking back at his remarkable career, Sainz clocked up 196 WRC starts, securing 26 wins and 97 podium finishes while driving machinery from Toyota, Subaru, Lancia, Ford, and Citroen. Since calling time on his full-time WRC career at the end of 2005, he has hardly slowed down, conquering the Dakar Rally four times in 2010, 2018, 2020, and 2024.
He currently sits ninth in the championship standings this season after joining Ford’s factory World Rally-Raid Championship programme for 2025. But for this weekend, the focus shifts to Asturias, where fans will get a rare chance to see a true legend unleashed in modern WRC machinery once again.
