RedGrey Team

RedGrey Team is a rally team based in Kurna, Estonia, established in 2020 by former rally driver Markko Märtin and the 2019 World Rally Champion, Ott Tänak. The team replaced an older team established in December 2005, MM-Motorsport, following Tänak's investment in Märtin's company that formed the team.[1][2] The team rarely enters motorsport competition itself, principally offering rally cars for rent and associated operational services to customers, such as Hyundai Motorsport.

RedGrey Team
IndustryRallying
Founded2005
HeadquartersKurna, Estonia
Key people
Juss Roden, President
Websiteredgreyteam.com

History

MM-Motorsport

RedGrey's origins began in 2005 as MM-Motorsport, the competition entry and trading name used by Märtin's company, Triple-M.[2] This team won consecutive Estonian Group N championships between 2006 and 2010.[3] In 2011, Ott Tänak finished second in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in cooperation with MM-Motorsport.[4]

Ott Tänak in 2011 Rallye Deutschland

Between 2015 and 2019, MM-Motorsport operated Ford Fiesta R5 cars entered into the WRC by Tommi Mäkinen Racing and driven by Takamoto Katsuta on behalf of Toyota Gazoo Racing.[5]

MM-Motorsport changed its name to RedGrey Team in 2020. In April 2023, it was announced that Märtin had sold his stake in the business and would no longer work in partnership with Tänak, or in the motorsport industry.[6]

Activities

WRC2: Hyundai Motorsport N (2020–2022)

In 2020, RedGrey began operating the official Hyundai Motorsport N entry in the WRC2 Championship with Hyundai i20 R5 and later, i20 N Rally2 cars.[7] The contract between Hyundai Motorsport and RedGrey ended after 2022, making the partnership coincide with Tänak's tenure as a Rally1 driver for the Hyundai World Rally Team.[8]

2020

In the 2020 WRC2 season, Nikolay Gryazin and Ole Christian Veiby were entered as drivers for the team. The team finished third of four entries, with Gryazin and Veiby finishing fifth and fourth respectively in the driver's championship and level on points.

2021

In 2021, the i20 N Rally2 car was debuted and several drivers had opportunities to drive with the team. After Rally Portugal, the entire membership of the RedGrey team were ordered to isolate in hotels within the country for two weeks following the discovery of a COVID-19 case within the team. Driver Ole Christian Veiby was banned from global motorsport for six months for breaching these quarantine rules.[9][10]

The team finished the season fourth of five entries in the WRC2 team's championship.

2022

Teemu Suninen and Fabrizio Zaldivar headed the campaign in the 2022 season. The team finished second, just two points behind champions Toksport.

After winning the teams class at Rally Finland, Suninen was disqualified for having an underweight bumper fitted. RedGrey team were found to have fitted a bumper used for testing which did not comply with the rules.[11]

2023

RedGrey entered the 2023 ERC season in their own name, they competed in the first round using Ford Fiesta Rally2 and Hyundai i20 N Rally2 cars for Robert Virves and Georg Linnamäe.[12][13]

Results

SWRC Results
Year Entrant Car No Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points TC Points
2011 MM Motorsport Ford Fiesta S2000 22 Estonia Ott Tänak MEX
3		 JOR ITA
1		 GRE
Ret		 FIN
3		 GER
1		 FRA
1		 ESP
6		 2nd 113

ERC Results
Year Entrant Car No Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points TC Points
2014 MM Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 1 Estonia Ott Tänak JÄN LIE GRE IRE AZO YPR EST
1		 CZE CYP VAL COR 11th 44
19/9 Estonia Timmu Kõrge JÄN LIE
Ret		 GRE IRE AZO YPR EST
3		 CZE CYP VAL COR 20th 26
2023 RedGrey Team Hyundai i20 N Rally2 24/8 Estonia Georg Linnamäe PRT
3		 CAN POL LAT
8		 SWE ITA CZE HUN 13th* 35* 6th* 60*
Ford Fiesta Rally2 25/14 Estonia Robert Virves PRT
16		 CAN POL LAT
5		 SWE ITA CZE HUN 27th* 19*

* Season still in progress.

References
  1. "RedGrey Team – Eesti võistkond MM-sarjas". sport.postimees.ee. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  2. "e-Äriregister – osaühing Triple M". ariregister.rik.ee. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. "About | MM-Motorsport". 22 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. Shacki. "Season 2011 rally - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  5. "Toyota hands Katsuta first WRC outings". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  6. Evans, David (10 April 2023). "Tänak and Märtin part company". DirtFish. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  7. "Märtini ja Tänaku firma hakkab vastutama Hyundai WRC2-programmi eest". sport.postimees.ee. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  8. "Tänaku ja Märtini ühisfirma (RedGrey) koostöö Hyundaiga saab läbi". 9 November 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  9. "Solberg to miss Rally Italia Sardegna". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. "WRC2 driver Veiby gets six-month ban for COVID breach". www.motorsport.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. Kolsi, Sami (7 August 2022). "WRC2 winner Suninen disqualified from Secto Rally Finland". Secto Rally Finland. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. "ERC - European Rally Championship". ERC - European Rally Championship. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  13. Shacki. "Season 2023 rally - eWRC-results". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
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