2018 Rally Australia

Defending world champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia entered the round with a three-point lead over the defending rally winners Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsoul.[8] Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja were third, a further twenty points behind. In the World Rally Championship for Manufacturers, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT held a twelve-point lead over Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT.

In the World Rally Championship-2 standings, newly-crowned champions Jan Kopecký and Pavel Dresler lead the drivers' and co-drivers' standings by thirty-three points. Pontus Tidemand and Jonas Andersson were in second, while the Finnish crew of Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were another twenty-one points behind in third.[9] However, all of them did not participate in the event.[4] In the teams' championship, Škoda Motorsport II held a seventeen-point lead over sister team Škoda Motorsport.

In the World Rally Championship-3 standings, Enrico Brazzoli and Luca Beltrame held a slender one-point lead over Taisko Lario and Tatu Hämäläinen, while 2018 Junior World Rally champions Emil Bergkvist and Johan Johansson were in third, eleven and seventeen points further behind in the drivers' and co-drivers' standings respectively. In the teams' championship, ACI Team Italia led Castrol Ford Team Turkiye by sixteen points.

The following crews were entered into the rally. The entry list consisted of twenty-nine crews, including twelve World Rally Car entries, four entries in the World Rally Championship-2 and two in the World Rally Championship-3.

No.	Entrant	Driver	Co-Driver	Car	Group	Eligibility	Tyre
1	M-Sport Ford WRT	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
2	M-Sport Ford WRT	Elfyn Evans	Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
3	M-Sport Ford WRT	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
4	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Synnevaag	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
5	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
6	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hayden Paddon	Sebastian Marshall	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
7	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
8	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
9	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
10	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
11	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën C3 WRC	RC1	WRC manufacturer	M
21	M-Sport Ford WRT	Jourdan Serderidis	Lara Vanneste	Ford Fiesta WRC	RC1	WRC	M
31	Pedro Heller	Pedro Heller	Pablo Olmos	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	WRC-2	M
32	Motorsport Italia	Armin Kremer	Pirmin Winklhofer	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	WRC-2	P
33	M-Sport Ford WRT	Alberto Heller	José Diaz	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	WRC-2	M
34	Gianluca Linari	Gianluca Linari	Pietro Elia Ometto	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	RC2	WRC-2	P
61	Enrico Brazzoli	Enrico Brazzoli	Luca Beltrame	Citroën DS3 R3	RC3	WRC-3	P
62	Louise Cook	Louise Cook	Stefan Davis	Citroën DS3 R3	RC3	WRC-3	M
71	Eli Evans	Eli Evans	Ben Searcy	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	N/A	MR
72	Harry Bates	Harry Bates	John McCarthy	Toyota Yaris AP4	ASN	N/A	MR
73	Team MRF Tyres	Gaurav Gill	Glenn MacNeall	Ford Fiesta R5	RC2	N/A	MR
74	Steve Glenney	Steve Glenney	Andrew Sarandis	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	N/A	MR
75	Les Walkden Racing	Molly Taylor	Malcolm Read	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	ASN	N/A	MR
76	Raana Horan	Raana Horan	Michael Connor	Škoda Fabia R5	RC2	N/A	P
77	Tony Sullens	Tony Sullens	Kaylie Newell	Citroën DS3 R3	RC3	N/A	MR
78	Wayne Morton	Wayne Morton	Kirra Penny	Toyota Auris S2000	ASN	N/A	MR
79	Atsushi Masumura	Naoya Tanaka	Super Alex Troop	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	RC2	N/A	H
80	Lewis Bates	Lewis Bates	Anthony McLoughlin	Toyota Corolla S2000	ASN	N/A	MR
81	Luke Anear	Luke Anear	Jon Mitchell	Subaru Impreza WRX STi	ASN	N/A	MR
Source:[4]

Coming into Coffs Harbour, Sébastien Ogier was the championship leader. Being first on the road, he had to endured the lack of grip. He ended the day in seventh after title contender Thierry Neuville suffered a rear-left puncture in the second pass of Sherwood, which dropped him down to tenth overall. Another title rival Ott Tänak also had some issue. His Yaris' engine took on water in a river crossing, which tore the front aero from his car and affected its handling. The Estonian eventually finished in fifth overall, 16.9 seconds off the lead.

It was Mads Østberg and Craig Breen made full use of advantages of being late on the road that gave Citroën a 1–2. Jari-Matti Latvala was 1.9 seconds behind Breen in third, followed by Hayden Paddon, another 3.8 seconds behind in fourth. Esapekka Lappi recovered to sixth after of the same watersplash issue as Tänak's. Ford duo Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen completed the day in eighth and ninth respectively after giving positions to their defending world champion Ogier. Andreas Mikkelsen was the only major retirement of the leg. The Norwegian parked his i20 with suspected radiator damage after crashing into a ditch.

Because of the puncture on Friday, Thierry Neuville was the first manufacturer car on the road. The Belgian managed to catch two places despite dry roads meant he was effectively high-speed road-sweepers, cleaning the surface of thick gravel to expose a faster line with more grip for those starting later. He eventually ended the leg in eighth, more than 50 seconds behind the title rival Sébastien Ogier, who kept his position in sixth after a trouble free day. Meanwhile, Ott Tänak set some brilliant pace, which elevated him to the top spot, around 20 seconds cleared of his teammate Jari-Matti Latvala. If the rally ends today, Ogier will win his sixth consecutive drivers' title with 212 points, while Tänak will snatch the runner-up spot from Neuville with an advantage of only one point in the championship standings.

Following two Toyotas, Hayden Paddon was in third, just 4.4 seconds off Latvala. Mads Østberg came into the day as the rally leader, but he was struggled with his Citroën C3’s balance in the afternoon loop. The Norwegian completed the day in fourth, just edged Esapekka Lappi by 3.8 seconds. Teammate Craig Breen fared worse — He spun into a bank and damaged his rear suspension, which dropped him down to tenth overall. Seventh-place Elfyn Evans provided a convenient buffer between Ogier and Neuville, with teammate Teemu Suninen finished the leg in ninth.

It turned out the final leg of the season was a total disaster for two title contenders Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak. Neuville, who led the championship for most of the year, clipped a bank and a tree on SS22 and forced to retire.[10] One stage later, Tänak stopped because of the damage to transmission.[11] Following two title rivals' retirements, Sébastien Ogier successfully won his sixth drivers' title with a fifth-place finish.[12] Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala won the rally, which helped the team to win their first manufacturers' title for the first time since 1999. Hayden Paddon and Mads Østberg rounded out of the podium, followed by Esapekka Lappi in a third Yaris. Elfyn Evans completed the event in sixth after teammate Ogier, while Craig Breen gained one place from Teemu Suninen, who retired his Fiesta before the final test following an impact in the previous stage. WRC-2 category winner Alberto Heller, local driver Steve Glenney and rally veteran Jourdan Serderidis covered out of the leaderboard.

The Power stage was a 7.16 km stage at the end of the rally. Additional World Championship points were awarded to the five fastest crews.

Pos.	Driver	Co-driver	Car	Time	Diff.	Pts.
1	Sébastien Ogier	Julien Ingrassia	Ford Fiesta WRC	4:16.2	0.0	5
2	Esapekka Lappi	Janne Ferm	Toyota Yaris WRC	4:16.3	+0.1	4
3	Mads Østberg	Torstein Eriksen	Citroën C3 WRC	4:18.9	+2.7	3
4	Elfyn Evans	Daniel Barritt	Ford Fiesta WRC	4:19.2	+3.0	2
5	Jari-Matti Latvala	Miikka Anttila	Toyota Yaris WRC	4:20.4	+4.2	1

The following crews were given time penalties during the rally.

Stage	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Reason	Penalty
SS5	79	Naoya Tanaka	Super Alex Troop	Atsushi Masumura	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	N/A	13 minutes late	2:10
SS8	76	Raana Horan	Michael Connor	Raana Horan	Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	1 minute late	0:10
SS9	72	Harry Bates	John McCarthy	Harry Bates	Toyota Yaris AP4	N/A	4 minutes late	0:40
SS9	76	Raana Horan	Michael Connor	Raana Horan	Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	17 minutes late	2:50
SS9	78	Wayne Morton	Kirra Penny	Wayne Morton	Toyota Auris S2000	N/A	13 minutes late	2:10
SS10	78	Wayne Morton	Kirra Penny	Wayne Morton	Toyota Auris S2000	N/A	Jump start	0:10
SS12	11	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	WRC	23 minutes late	3:50
SS17	11	Craig Breen	Scott Martin	Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT	Citroën C3 WRC	WRC	1 minute late	0:10

The following crews retired from the event. Under Rally2 regulations, they were eligible to re-enter the event starting from the next leg. Crews that re-entered were given an additional time penalty.

Stage	No.	Driver	Co-driver	Entrant	Car	Class	Cause	Re-entry
SS3	4	Andreas Mikkelsen	Anders Jæger-Synnevaag	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	WRC	Rolled	Yes
SS3	71	Eli Evans	Ben Searcy	Eli Evans	Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS3	80	Lewis Bates	Anthony McLoughlin	Lewis Bates	Toyota Corolla S2000	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS6	61	Enrico Brazzoli	Luca Beltrame	Enrico Brazzoli	Citroën DS3 R3	WRC-3	Mechanical	Yes
SS8	79	Naoya Tanaka	Super Alex Troop	Atsushi Masumura	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS9	79	Naoya Tanaka	Super Alex Troop	Atsushi Masumura	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS10	31	Pedro Heller	Pablo Olmos	Pedro Heller	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Mechanical	Yes
SS11	73	Gaurav Gill	Glenn MacNeall	Team MRF Tyres	Ford Fiesta R5	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS14	61	Enrico Brazzoli	Luca Beltrame	Enrico Brazzoli	Citroën DS3 R3	WRC-3	Accident	No
SS14	72	Harry Bates	John McCarthy	Harry Bates	Toyota Yaris AP4	N/A	Engine	No
SS14	76	Raana Horan	Michael Connor	Raana Horan	Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	Mechanical	Yes
SS16	32	Armin Kremer	Pirmin Winklhofer	Motorsport Italia	Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Mechanical	Yes
SS19	76	Raana Horan	Michael Connor	Raana Horan	Škoda Fabia R5	N/A	Mechanical	No
SS19	78	Wayne Morton	Kirra Penny	Wayne Morton	Toyota Auris S2000	N/A	Accident	No
SS19	79	Naoya Tanaka	Super Alex Troop	Atsushi Masumura	Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X	N/A	Mechanical	No
SS20	31	Pedro Heller	Pablo Olmos	Pedro Heller	Ford Fiesta R5	WRC-2	Mechanical	No
SS21	32	Armin Kremer	Pirmin Winklhofer	Motorsport Italia	Škoda Fabia R5	WRC-2	Mechanical	No
SS22	5	Thierry Neuville	Nicolas Gilsoul	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC	WRC	Lost wheel	No
SS23	3	Teemu Suninen	Mikko Markkula	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta WRC	WRC	Mechanical	No
SS23	8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota Yaris WRC	WRC	Accident	No

• Bold text indicates 2018 World Champions.

Drivers' championships World Rally Championship Pos. Driver Points 1 Sébastien Ogier 219 2 Thierry Neuville 201 3 Ott Tänak 181 1 4 Jari-Matti Latvala 128 1 5 Esapekka Lappi 126 World Rally Championship-2 Pos. Driver Points 1 Jan Kopecký 143 2 Pontus Tidemand 111 3 Kalle Rovanperä 90 4 Gus Greensmith 70 5 Łukasz Pieniążek 56 World Rally Championship-3 Pos. Driver Points 1 Enrico Brazzoli 98 2 Taisko Lario 97 3 Emil Bergkvist 86 4 Denis Rådström 80 5 Jean-Baptiste Franceschi 79

Co-Drivers' championships World Rally Championship Pos. Co-Driver Points 1 Julien Ingrassia 219 2 Nicolas Gilsoul 201 3 Martin Järveoja 181 1 4 Miikka Anttila 128 1 5 Janne Ferm 126 World Rally Championship-2 Pos. Co-Driver Points 1 Pavel Dresler 143 2 Jonas Andersson 111 3 Jonne Halttunen 90 4 Przemysław Mazur 56 5 Craig Parry 55 World Rally Championship-3 Pos. Co-Driver Points 1 Luca Beltrame 98 2 Tatu Hämäläinen 97 3 Johan Johansson 80 4 Romain Courbon 79 5 Stefan Davis 59

Manufacturers' and teams' championships World Rally Championship Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 368 2 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 341 3 M-Sport Ford WRT 324 4 Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT 237 World Rally Championship-2 Pos. Team Points 1 Škoda Motorsport II 150 2 Škoda Motorsport 133 3 Printsport 81 4 ACI Team Italia WRC 80 5 Hyundai Motorsport 76 World Rally Championship-3 Pos. Team Points 1 ACI Team Italia 83 2 Castrol Ford Team Turkiye 67 3 OT Racing 62 4 ADAC Sachsen 62 5 Équipe de France FFSA Rally 55