The earlier Superpole race saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) claim his 2nd win of the weekend, and the question on everyone’s mind was, who could stop him claiming his 3rd win.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a crash on the sighting lap, and that meant he would have to start at the back of the grid for race 2, instead of 4th.
Round 2, World Superbikes, Assen. Picture courtesy of WSBK.
Lights out then for race 2, and it was Bautista with the hole shot into turn 1, followed by Toprak (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 2nd, Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 3rd, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 4th, Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 5th, Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 6th, and Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 7th.
Next lap and drama for both Brad Ray (Motoxracing Yamaha) who crashed out, and then local rider, Vd Mark (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who had a massive high side into the chicane and landed with a gruesome looking injury to his leg. He got stretchered off into an ambulance, with later news confirming he had broken his leg. Vierge (Honda HRC) was next to crash, this time into turn 1. Neither Honda or BMW were having a good weekend, and it was now made a lot worse.
Next lap and Toprak made a move on Bautista, before Alvaro snapped straight back, also allowing Rea to come through into 2nd in the process.
With 18 laps of 21 remaining positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Rea 3. Toprak 4. Bassani 5. Locatelli 6. Aegerter 7. Redding 8. Lecuona. Meanwhile Rea, late on the brakes, dived into turn 9 briefly taking over the lead, before Bautista could unleash all of the Ducati power down the back straight to retake the lead. Toprak then repaid the favour to Rea and came through back into 2nd.
With 16 laps to go, and having to push so hard to make any ground on the leading Bautista, Rea lost the front end into turn 9 trail braking into the corner. The Kawasaki flew into the gravel, and a disconsolate Rea trudged back to the safety barriers, his race over.
Next lap and Toprak put in a new fastest lap a 1:34.304 to keep the pressure firmly on Bautista. The positions were as follows: 1. Bautista 2. Toprak 3. Bassani 4. Locatelli 5. Aegerter 6. Redding 7. Lecuona 8. Gardner (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) 9. Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) 10. Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati).
Next lap and Remy Gardner got through on Lecuona to take 7th, the Aussie had only started from 14th on the grid. Further ahead Locatelli got past Bassani to take 3rd. At the front Bautista held a gap of 0.9s to Toprak behind, and then put in a new fastest lap a 1:34.1 to respond to the pressure from the Yamaha.
With 12 laps to go Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) went down into turn 15, he had only just recovered from a fractured ankle. Meanwhile Bautista was upping the tempo and now held a gap of 1.8s to Toprak. Lowes had made a massive recovery after having started at the back of the grid, and was now up to 10th, with Rinaldi behind in 11th.
With just over half race distance covered, Bassani had fought back to Locatelli and was looking for the pass into 3rd. Meanwhile the poor weekend for Honda continued as Lecuona crashed into turn 4, he briefly rejoined before retiring into the pits. After all the crashes there were now only 19 riders left.
Round 2, World Superbikes, Assen. Picture courtesy of WSBK.
With 8 laps to go former Moto2 rider Gardner was having a great race, and was now all over the back of Redding.
Next lap and Bautista was firmly in line to take Ducati’s 400th WorldSBK win. Behind it was Toprak in 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, and Bassani in 4th.
With 3 laps to go Aegerter, like his team mate, was also having great late race pace, and was catching Bassani ahead in 4th, with the gap cut down to 0.7s. Meanwhile further back Lowes was up into 9th, Rinaldi 10th, and Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 12th.
Last lap and Bautista made no mistake to claim his 3rd win of the weekend, also his 40th career win, and Ducati’s 400th win. Toprak 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, Aegerter 4th, Bassani 5th, Gardner 6th, Redding 7th, Petrucci 8th, Lowes 9th, and Rinaldi 10th.
After the long break from round 2 in Indonesia, fans were eagerly anticipating another action packed weekend of racing ahead of the Assen round.
Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team. Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK
Superpole saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) initially claim top spot, but he was subsequently penalised after a dangerous incident between himself and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in the pit lane exit. Pole position was then handed to Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) with a time of 1:33.5, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 3rd.
Conditions were dry and mild for race 1, and most of the grid went for the soft SCX rear tyre.
Lights out then for race 1 and it was Rea with the hole shot into turn, 1 followed by Toprak and Bautista in 2nd and 3rd respectively, Lowes 4th, with Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) behind in 5th. Lowes started aggressively from the off, and was soon attacking Bautista into the chicane, which he did taking 3rd. Alvaro responded however, and snapped straight back into turn 1 to retake the position.
Next lap of the 21 lap race and positions were as follows: 1. Rea 2. Toprak 3. Bautista 4. Lowes 5. Redding 6. Locatelli.
His disastrous season continued, it was another mechanical issue for former champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his race was over. Meanwhile at the front, the leading 3 were pulling out a gap to the group behind of 4 riders, which included Lowes 4th, Redding (Rokit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 5th, Bassani (Motocorsa Racing Ducati) 6th, and Locatelli 7th. Meanwhile further back current BSB champion, and rookie Bradley Ray (Motoxracing Yamaha) was in 15th and on track to score his first ever point in WorldSBK.
With 17 of 21 laps remaining, Bautista moved through on Toprak into the chicane to take 2nd. Meanwhile further back drama for Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) who crashed out, but was subsequently able to rejoin at the back of the field. It was Gardner 8th, Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 9th and Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) in 10th.
With 15 laps to go, Rea held a gap of 0.2s to Bautista behind in 2nd. Further back it was Bassani 6th, and Bradley Ray was in 14th. Toprak held a gap of 2.5s to Lowes behind in 4th.
Next lap and Scott Redding got through on Lowes to move up into 4th. Next up was the turn of Bassani to pass Lowes, Lowes had now dropped from 4th to 6th in a few corners.
Race 1 Assen 2023. Picture courtesy of WSBK
With 13 laps to go Bautista got by on Rea into the fast turn 7 to take over the lead for the first time. Rea now in 2nd, with Toprak in 3rd. The gap to Redding in 4th was now 3.0s. Unfortunately for Bradley Ray he had now dropped down to 18th. Meanwhile making the most of the clear track ahead of him, Bautista set the new fastest lap a 1:34.830.
With 11 laps remaining, a mistake for Redding saw him run wide into turn 1, and allowed a grateful Bassani to come through into 4th. Scott was now in 5th. Toprak now held a gap of 4.5s to Bassani in 4th, while Locatelli held a gap of 4.9s to Aegerter (GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 8th.
With just over half race distance covered, Rea wasn’t giving up his fight for the win, and was putting pressure on Bautista. Rea held a gap of 1.1s to Toprak.
With 8 laps to go, Bautista had extended his lead to 0.3s and was slowly edging away from the grasp of 6 x world champion Rea. Toprak too was losing contact with both the riders ahead of him. Meanwhile behind the 4 way battle for 4th was still red hot between, Bassani, Redding, Lowes and Locatelli.
Next lap and Locatelli who had been eyeing up a pass on Lowes, made it into turn 5, cutting up the inside of the Kawasaki to take 6th. Further back it was team mates Domi Aegerter and Remy Gardner in 8th, and 9th respectively, Petrucci 10th, Vierge (Honda HRC) 11th, Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) 12th, and Brad Ray in 18th.
With 5 laps remaining, reigning champion Alvaro Bautista, had put the hammer down and had extended his lead to 1.6s over Rea. Rea had done all he could to stay with Alvaro but it wasn’t enough, and he held a gap of 2.5s to Toprak who was in a lonely 3rd ahead of Bassani by 5.4s. Lowes 7th held a gap of 2.7s to Aegerter in 8th. Lowes then burst through on Redding to move into 6th, with Locatelli ahead of him in 5th.
Next lap and there was a 4 way battle for 12th between Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 13th, Oettl (Team GoEleven), 14th and Rinaldi 15th. Meanwhile current SSP champion Aegerter, got past Redding to take 7th, and was showing great late race pace.
Penultimate lap and Locatelli was all over the back of fellow countryman Bassani and looking for the pass.
Last lap and Bautista took the win followed by Rea in 2nd, Toprak in 3rd. Meanwhile Locatelli mugged Bassani into turn 5 as he had done with Lowes, and took 4th, Bassani 5th, Aegerter 6th, Lowes 7th, Gardner 8th, Petrucci 9th, Redding 10th.
Well, day two would see the crew tackle 116km’s over eight stages. Thierry held a small 5.7 second lead over Elfyn following Friday’s stages. The top ten would be reversed with Thierry starting the stage last of all.
First up was SS9 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1 – 23.76 km in which Kalle as fastest from Ott and Seb. The Frenchman was now fighting back up the leader board following getting a one-minute penalty for moving away after the tyre change. Thierry was 4.8 faster than Elfyn, therefore taking his lead to over 10 seconds. There was a change in positions between Takamoto and Pierre-Louis as the Japanese star was passed by the young Frenchman. In the WRC2 category, Adrien was fastest from Emil and Yohan.
Kalle made it two from two, winning SS10 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1 – 8.78 km from Seb and Ott. The top two duo of Thierry and Elfyn were fourth and fifth respectively separated by just three tenths of a second and they continued their battle for the lead, the advantage going to the Hyundai driver. Yohan continued to lead WRC2 with a thirty second lead over Nikolay.
There was drama in SS11 Ravna Gora – Skrad 1 – 10.13 km as last through the stage Thierry lost control of his car on a long right hander and slid into large rock on the outside of the corner and was spun into the trees. He knew immediately that they could not continue. Elfyn was now in the lead.
Into SS12 Platak 1 – 15.63 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. The Welshman held a 22 second lead over his former M-Sport teammate. Meanwhile, Seb had moved up into fifth place, pushing his teammate Takamoto down to sixth. In WRC2 there was a change for second place, with Nicolas Ciamin passing Nikolay, whilst Yohan continued to hold a big lead.
After the midday service the second run of SS13 Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2 – 23.76 km was won by Seb, with Ott and Kalle second and third fastest. With the pace of Seb and Kalle out there, they both moved up to fourth and sixth respectively, with Pierre-Louis falling to fifth and Takamoto to seventh. There was drama in WRC2 with Nicolas rolling out of second place.
Ott won SS14 Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2 – 8.78 km from Kalle and Seb, whilst Elfyn saw his lead over Ott fall to twelve and a half seconds. Kalle also passed Pierre-Louis for fifth overall as the Frenchman struggled with his hard compound tyres.
Kalle won SS15 Ravna Gora – Skrad 2 – 10.13 km and closed the gap to Seb for fourth overall to just 1.3 seconds, whilst Elfyn was third fastest and increased his lead over Ott. This was part in due to the Estonian getting technical problems with his Puma, mainly with his handbrake. Further back, Takamoto passed Pierre-Louis for sixth overall.
The final stage of the day, SS16 Platak 2 – 15.63 km saw Seb again leading the way from Kalle and Esapekka. Elfyn was fourth, whilst Ott could only manage sixth fastest and 8.6 seconds slower than the leader, who now had a 25.6 second lead over Ott.
Let’s hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
2:20:05.7
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+25.4
3
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+55.4
4
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+1:49.4
5
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:51.4
6
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:25.9
7
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+2:32.1
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a long day but a good one in terms of our position tonight. I was maybe taking a bit too much care in the dirty places to begin with, but I felt things were getting better as the morning went on and things were working quite well in the car. I wasn’t completely happy with my afternoon; we were losing some time compared to Ott but then he had some issues which has given us some breathing space. But it’s also a big part of the game on this rally to stay on the road and avoid trouble. It’s not a huge lead on a rally like this, so we still need to drive well tomorrow while managing the risks.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Today we were fighting really hard to gain some positions back, and we were able to gain three places and we also had a close fight with Seb. It’s always tough to fight with Seb, so it’s been a proper push today and we were fast during the whole day. After yesterday afternoon I knew that I now had a good feeling with the car and the setup, so I was more confident starting today. We also had a good road position this morning, starting first with a clean road, although for the second pass this afternoon it was still quite dirty and slippery. Tomorrow we’ll see what happens and try to score as many points as we can.”
Sébastien Ogier
“It has been nice to be fighting with Kalle and for us to both climb some positions today. OK, it’s not really the position that either of us want to be fighting for, but at least it’s working towards scoring more and more points for the team. It’s been enjoyable in the car and at least I could have a trouble-free loop this afternoon. This morning we had to fix an issue on the road section, and we were just a little bit too late to avoid another penalty. But at least we could keep going, and after that we had good pace. Now we will try to carry on like this for the four remaining stages.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Esapekka Lappi
“Of course, it’s nice to be in a podium position even though we have been lacking a bit of pace today; it’s been a different feeling compared to what we had yesterday, but I know I have never been perfect on the dirty tarmac. I have been trying to reproduce the driving we had on Friday, but it was difficult to match the times at the front. The conditions have felt more slippery, and if you feel like there’s no grip then the confidence just goes. We knew that the new stage would be tricky, but it was crazy how dirty it was. We have benefitted in terms of our position because unfortunately Thierry went off this morning, so we will have to concentrate, try to find some improvements in the car for the final day, and aim to complete the rally on the podium. That would at least be something to take away for the whole team.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 4, Croatia Rally 20 – 23 April 2023 Esapekka Lappi Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“We were trying to maintain defence of our lead over Elfyn, which we had done well on the two opening stages with good pace. In SS11, we were a bit late braking into a third gear right-hander, we entered the cut and just lost the rear of the car upon corner entry. We hit some concrete on the outside and our day was over; we broke the rear left damper and upright, so there was no chance to continue. I didn’t feel too comfortable up to that point. Even though we were slightly down on the splits, I had expected to continue my rhythm, but it wasn’t to be. When you are battling for victory sometimes small mistakes can happen. I want to apologise to the team. We were all dreaming about the victory this weekend for the reasons that we all know about. We were close, we were doing our best, we kept believing but unfortunately our efforts were not rewarded.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“There were many things (referring to problems that started in stage three), some hydraulic and transmission issues and the handbrake in the last stage, quite a few things at the moment. It’s tricky and for sure we will keep going for tomorrow with a short day.”
Summary
Well with just 54km’s over four stages, it will be interesting to see if Ott can close the gap again to Elfyn and take victory or will the two-time championship runner up take his first win since Rally Finland 2021. I know this would be a very popular win.
The first full day of competitive action in Croatia saw some incredible drama out there. Here’s the round-up of the first eight stages from Friday.
First up, SS1 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1 – 19.20 km and with the crew starting in championship order, Seb was first in and would ultimately set the fastest time from Thierry and Ott. At this stage, Kalle and Elfyn were holding fourth and fifth overall, a little over ten seconds from the leader. In the WRC2 category, Yohan held the lead From Emil and Gus with third.
It was all change in SS2 Stojdraga – Hartje 1 – 25.67 km with both Seb and Kalle suffering punctures at the same point and on the same side in the stage and having to change their wheels. Seb lost over a minute and Kalle over two minutes changing their wheels. Thierry also had some drama, colliding with a bale in a chicane and damaging the right front bumper and splitter. Once Elfyn completed the stage he now held second overall, whilst Esapekka moved into third, and just 5.6 seconds covered the top three.
Into SS3 Krašić – Vrškovac 1 – 11.11 km and Seb was back to the fastest time, but of course was holding seventh overall, now a minute and thirty seconds from Thierry. The Belgian was second fastest and opened up the gap to Elfyn a little to over 15 seconds.
The final stage of the morning loop SS4 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1 – 9.11 km and Seb was making the most of still being first on the road and took another stage win, whilst Ott and Elfyn were second and third respectively. In WRC2, Yohan continued to lead, from Nikolay who gained two places overall and moved into ninth overall.
After the service break, Seb was fastest in SS5 Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2 – 19.20 km from Elfyn who was starting to close the gap to Thierry, whilst Ott was third fastest. There was a change in positions further back, with Pierre-Louis moving into fifth place.
Esapekka took his first stage win in SS6 Stojdraga – Hartje 2 – 25.67 km from Elfyn whilst Seb was third. The former champion was now up into fifth overall, whilst Elfyn had now closed the gap to Thierry to just eight seconds. Kalle was also on the move up the leader board gaining one position and moving into eighth overall.
We had another new stage winner with Ott winning SS7 Krašić – Vrškovac 2 – 11.11 km from Thierry and Elfyn. Ott moved ahead of Esapekka and into third overall, just 1.5 seconds ahead now of the Hyundai driver.
The final stage of the day, SS8 Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2 – 9.11 km was won by Elfyn from Kalle and Ott was third fastest. Thierry was fifth and lost a further few seconds of his lead to Elfyn, the gap just 5.7 seconds at the end of the stage.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
1:16:02.4
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+5.7
3
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+30.0
4
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+33.4
5
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+1:23.7
6
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:52.1
7
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+1:52.9
8
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:40.3
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“First of all, I am happy to get to the end of the day in the lead of the rally; this is the best result we could expect especially after the incredibly tough week we have had as a team. It was a big relief as we passed the final stage end and saw we were still in front. It has not been an easy day; this morning, it was tough and more challenging than we were expecting. We changed the dampers on the car and felt more comfortable, but I still don’t feel that I can commit 100%. We were fast but we weren’t chasing those final tenths of a second which make all the difference. The next two days will also be challenging; we have a new stage which was dirty in the recce, and we must remember we will be starting from the back of the field, so it could be tough.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 04, Croatia Rally 20-23 April 2023 Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“This morning, we didn’t have the greatest pace, but we also carried a disadvantage that we didn’t do these stages last year. We were lacking a bit on the pace notes as a result, particularly on the high-speed parts; we needed to make sure they were correct so we could commit more. There were lots of places where I know I could gain on the second pass, and we made good progress. The conditions in the afternoon were much better and more equal for everyone. The gravel crew notes were also more precise which gave me extra confidence. It was quite an enjoyable afternoon. Tomorrow could be a bit ‘easier’ for me as I have done all but one of the stages before. I’m looking forward to it.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“It’s not been easy out there today. The grip was changing almost with every corner and the amount of dirt brought onto the road from the cars in front of us was varying quite a lot. It maybe wasn’t the strongest start to the day, with a lot of pollution on the road with our road position in the first stage this morning. But after that we kept building and building. This afternoon we had some rain showers, and it was a bit of a lottery, but we actually managed to make the right tyre calls at the right time. So, it’s been a pretty positive day overall. There’s a long way to go, but it’s hopefully going to be an interesting fight for the rest of the weekend.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“This morning was more difficult than I expected. The conditions were tricky with more loose gravel and less grip than anticipated. The setup we started with was not so good for me in these conditions, so I was struggling a bit with the balance. Then in the second stage we had the same thing happen as Seb: I had this compression in my pacenotes but it seems the bump was bigger than expected. This afternoon was definitely much better. In mid-day service we could make some changes to the setup, and it was much easier to enjoy the driving and to be on the pace. Hopefully we can continue with a good feeling tomorrow.”
Sébastien Ogier
“The pace was good this morning but unfortunately, we lost a lot of time when we had to stop in SS2 and change the wheel. It happened in a compression on the road in a high-speed section, which is difficult to see in the recce at slower speeds. I was trying be safe and avoid the cut on the inside of the road, but the impact in this compression was too hard. After that, we just needed to keep pushing and try to catch back as many positions as we can. The gap in front now is pretty big so it will be tough to gain more, but we have nothing to lose so we need to keep trying and see what happens.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“The afternoon was better than the morning, although we didn’t make a good choice in one stage, which was tricky, but other than that the last two were more positive. It’s been quite an improvement since Monte, and also to get reliability and to have a bit of fun actually. Everything is open, we need to keep doing own, and I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen the full potential of this car and there’s still a few things to do, so let’s go step by step.”
Summary
Well, after a full day of rallying, the leader board is interesting. It should be noted that Seb was given a one-minute penalty for moving away with the safety belts not done up after the tyre change and therefore dropped two positions to seventh overall. That means that Takamoto and Pierre-Louis both gain a position each and hold fifth and sixth respectively.
Saturday will see the crews take on 116km’s over eight stages. Can Elfyn close the gap further and take the lead? We shall see.
The 2023 Green APU American Rally Association season continues this weekend with the third round, the Olympus Rally.
National Championship Rundown
Reigning ARA champion Brandon Semenuk’s championship defense has gotten off to a strong start. As Semenuk has taken both event wins so far this season. Only one driver has been able to take any points away from Semenuk this season. As Barry McKenna would win the Powerstage at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood last month. Lowering Semenuk’s point total at the event from 27 to 26. Semenuk currently sits 27 points above Patrick Gruszka, who sits second in the championship. Matthew Dickinson sits third in the championship, three points behind Gruszka. Barry McKenna sits fourth in the championship, one point behind Dickinson. Tom Williams rounds out the top five in the overall championship, sitting one point behind McKenna. Unfortunately, McKenna won’t be at the Olympus Rally this weekend, which should make it easy for Williams to move into fourth overall or higher this weekend.
Overall Championship Points Heading Into Olympus
B. Semenuk, 53
P. Gruszka, 26
M. Dickinson, 23
B. McKenna, 22
T. Williams, 21
RC2 Championship Rundown
Only two RC2 drivers will be competing this weekend. RC2 Championship leader Patrick Gruszka will be one of them. Tom Williams will be the other. Gruszka leads the championship by 14 points. Williams will likely look to close that gap this weekend. Williams would fail to take any points at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood last month as he would retire with a turbo issue on day two. Kyle Tilly was registered to compete at Olympus this weekend, but he would, unfortunately, pull his entry out.
RC2 Championship Points Heading Into Olympus
P. Gruszka, 39
T. Williams, 25
K. Tilley, 17
O2WD Championship Rundown
Micah Nickelson leads the O2WD championship after taking the class win at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood last month. Unfortunately, Nickelson won’t be at Olympus this weekend, and likely won’t be seen again until the Southern Ohio Forest Rally in June. Nick Allen sits second in the championship, 15 points behind Nickelson. Nickelson’s absence should make moving into first place easy for Allen this weekend. As only three other drivers will be competing in the O2WD class this weekend. Those drivers are Lia Block, Michael Hooper and Tim O’Neil. All three drivers will likely look to keep Allen out of a top-three finish this weekend. Lia Block sits third in the championship, 15 points behind Allen.
O2WD Championship Points Heading Into Olympus
M. Nickelson, 47
N. Allen, 32
L. Block 17
T. O’Neil 14
LN4 Drivers Championship Rundown
Matthew Dickinson leads the LN4 Drivers Championships, sitting 30 points above Vincent Trudel and Javier Olivares who both sit tied for second overall. Dickinson has taken both class wins so far this season, as well as three points on the Powerstage at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood last month. Vincent Trudel will return to the ARA this weekend, after missing 100AW. Javier Olivares will also be at the event this weekend. Jason Bailey and Ele Bardha will also be at the event this weekend looking to move their way up the championship rankings.
LN4 Championship Standings Heading Into Olympus
M. Dickinson, 47
V. Trudel, 17
J. Olivares, 17
No McKenna
Barry McKenna will miss the Olympus Rally this weekend. McKenna has been the only driver so far this season to challenge reigning ARA Champion Brandon Semenuk. As McKenna would manage to take nine out of 17 stages at the Rally In The 100 Acre Wood last month, including the powerstage. McKenna would retire from the Olympus Rally last season. After a DNF on SS11 would end his rally early.
Celestino Vietti was not able to convert pole position to a win as Pedro Acosta battled alongside Tony Arbolino for almost the whole duration of the race to come out on top.
Pedro Acosta – Moto 2 picture courtesy of MotoGP
Following Jake Dixon’s crash on the warm-up lap, 28 riders started the 16 lap pursuit to the finish.
Acosta had a blistering start, taking over the race lead but had to defend from Alonso Lopez into the second and third corners but Lopez was able to take over the lead. Acosta was able to get past Lopez at the back of the circuit.
Arbolino started the race in eighth position but was able to get past Lopez at the final corner to cross the start-finish line in second place at the end of the first lap.
Joe Roberts was another rider who really enjoyed the first lap, gaining six positions on the first tour of the circuit.
Aron Canet joined in the battle for the top four in lap two, fighting with Arbolino throughout the entire lap.
At turn 12 on the third lap, Acosta accidentally put the bike into neutral rather than first gear and went wide, losing three places in the process. However, he was able to gain one of these places back at turn one on the following lap, overtaking Canet.
Albert Arenas went onto the paint on the back straight and Lorenzo Dalla Porta crashed at turn 18, also on the fourth lap.
During the fifth lap, Arbolino was able to pass Lopez and make it stick before they, and Acosta, began to break away from the chasing pack. Acosta gained the lead back on the brakes into turn one on lap six. The chasing group slowly began to catch up to the front three, bringing the gap down to 0.4 seconds.
Lopez continued to drop down the field to sixth by the end of lap seven. Barry Baltus was riding in fifth place, setting fastest laps at the same time.
However, Baltus crashed the following lap at turn nine, after rising through the field from twelfth on the grid. Lap eight was also not good for Lopez, as he went wide at turn 12, dropping to seventh.
Arbolino and Acosta continued to drive away from the rest of the field with a margin of 2.427 seconds into lap 10.
Marcos Ramirez and Sergio Garcia both retired on lap ten.
Acosta continued to look for a move on Arbolino for laps eleven, twelve and thirteen, even if he was a little wabble on lap twelve. Bo Bendsneyder was able to capitalise on the chasing pack fighting between each other on lap thirteen to pass Lopez for seventh.
Arbolino ran wide at turn one on lap fourteen and Acosta was able to get past but Arbolino kept close to the young Spaniard. Acosta rode deep into turn twelve and the Italian was able to get through, retaking the lead.
Arbolino rode defensive for the entire of lap fifteen, even with the pressure being applied from behind from Acosta but went into the final lap with the lead of the race. Fermín Aldeguer, Jeremy Arcoba and Canet were all fighting for third place.
As always, the final lap of the race was a delight to watch. Once again, Acosta tried the move into turn one but Arbolino had placed his bike in the ideal spot to defend. Into turn 12, Acosta was able to make the move on Arbolino, immediately moving to defend the lead of the race. Arbolino started to line up to make a move into the final corner but was unable to beat Acosta to the line.
The battle for the final podium position was hectic as Bensneyder rose from sixth at the start of lap sixteen to third across the line, beating Alcoba and Filip Salac through a drag race. Aldeguer finished in sixth, ahead of early leader Lopez. Caner, Vietti and Manuel Gonzalez rounded out the top ten.
2023 AMERICAS MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, AUSTIN – RACE RESULTS
The event will run but with the loss of Craig Breen during a test day for the rally on the 13th of April, the fourth round of the championship will be a very low-key event and the teams, drivers and fans will look to celebrate the life of the popular Irishman.
Here’s what the team principles of Hyundai Motorsport and Toyota World Rally team had to say ahead of the event.
Hyundai Motorsport
Cyril Abiteboul
“After careful consideration involving all stakeholders, we have decided to participate in Croatia Rally. We will do this in memory of Craig, to honour him, his passion for rallying and his competitive spirit. We will enter two cars and withdraw the third entry as a mark of respect. Both cars will run with a special livery for Craig, his family, friends and fans. It is clear from speaking to everyone that the best way to honour Craig’s legacy was not to withdraw our entry, so we participate mindful of our lost team-mate, friend and incredible competitor.”
How much consideration was given to withdrawing from Croatia Rally?
“Very careful consideration was given when making this decision. It was clear from the feedback given by all who knew Craig well that participating would be the best way to honour him. We consulted with the family, and they have endorsed this approach.”
What is the reasoning for the special livery?
“We are contesting this rally primarily to honour Craig and his incredible life and talent. Craig was a proud Irishman and passionate representative of the Irish rally community so the livery will represent the colours of the Irish flag in his memory.”
Toyota World Rally Team
Jari-Matti Latvala
“Along with the rest of the WRC family, we are truly saddened following the sudden loss of Craig Breen. As well as being a top driver, Craig was a real enthusiast for rallying, and we shared the same passion for old rally cars and for the history of our sport. As we prepare for the next rally, our thoughts are with Craig’s family, friends and his colleagues within the service park.
We know that the Croatia Rally can be a very challenging event: last year the conditions were extremely difficult, and even in the dry there is still a lot of dirt brought onto the road. It has been a good rally for us on our previous two visits and, together with our drivers, we will try our best to make it another successful weekend. As championship leader, Seb will be first on the road and this is a good starting point. Kalle had one of his best performances last year in Croatia, showing how good he is when the conditions get difficult, and we know Elfyn can also be strong whenever grip levels are changing a lot.”
Stage information
There will be 302km’s over twenty stages for the crews to tackle this year. Friday is the longest day with 130km’s over eight stages.
Summary
Well, I hope that the event passes with no problems. I suspect that we won’t see a normal celebration at the end and that it will be a respectful celebration of Craig Breen and his passion for the sport.
After claiming pole position earlier in the day, Pecco Bagnaia has taken a truly dominant win for the Americas Grand Prix sprint race in Texas. Just behind him was Alex Rins in 2nd and Jorge Martin who held on to 3rd despite a tough fight with Aleix Espargaro in 4th.
Pecco Bagnaia gave a faultless performance at the Circuit of the Americas to win the Americas GP sprint race. Having started on pole, he was able to hold off an early attack from Alex Rins at the start and quickly pulled out a large lead to win very comfortably. He also smashed the race lap record at the halfway point of the race.
As the lights went out, the race started surprisingly cleanly and everyone completed the first lap safely. The winners off the line were Jorge Martin, who flew from 12th up to 5th, and Miguel Oliveira, leaping from 15th up to 9th. Others faced more of a struggle with the likes of Luca Marini going wide and dropping from 3rd down to 13th and Maverick Vinales struggling at the start and falling back from 8th to 17th.
On the second lap, Rins went wide at turn 12 and gets shuffled back to 3rd. This dropping in right in to a battle with Fabio Quartararo who was trying desperate moves to try and get something out of his Yamaha. As the pair fought, Quartararo clatters in to the side of Rins, leaving rubber marks on his leather.
As the riders settled in to the race, and Bagnaia was enjoy some clear air, Quartararo was still fighting against his Yamaha at every corner. It eventually ended in tears as he went down at turn 1 of lap 5. He was able to rejoin the race and eventually ended the day in 19th.
On lap 7, Rins makes an aggressive move on Aleix Espargaro to steal 2nd from him. However, a few corners later, he goes wide and takes Espargaro with him. Whilst Rins holds on to 2nd, this error gifts 3rd place to Jorge Martin and shuffles Espargaro back down to 4th.
On the same lap, at turn 12, Alex Marquez goes down on the slipper track surface. This promotes Bezzecchi to 6th and allows him to keep the lead of the championship for another day.
In the final laps of the race, Espargaro is trying everything he can to get past Martin and in to 3rd but he simply can’t find a way through.
Lights will go out for the feature race in less than 24 hours time so make sure you follow Crew On Two for all the action.
British Superbikes kicked off the 2023 season this weekend at Silverstone and what a treat it was. What would await us at the long anticipated opening round of the season, with a shake up of the showdown points and one of the biggest changes up in terms of teams and rider movement for a long time… Well let’s say if this is a sign of the season to come, then sit back, strap in and hold on tight!
Three different winners, from three different manufacturers kicks off the first race meeting of the year from Silverstone National circuit. A scrappy little track with little room for error and rest. With only two main straights, the national circuit is a busy, short lap with lap times under a minute. No wonder all three superbike races were contested with +0.00 on the leaders pit board.
Kyle Ryde – Lami Vape OMG Racing Yamaha – Image courtesy Easi-Grip Racing Products
Race One saw battle commence between a resurgent Josh Brookes on his FHO BMW swapping places with Kyle Ryde OMG Lami Yamaha, Beer Monster Ducati riders Glenn Irwin, Tommy Bridewell and a feisty Jason O’Halloran of McAMS Yamaha. The pack closely followed by Leon Haslam of Rokit BWM Motorrad Team and Mar-Train Yamaha’s Jack Kennedy. An intense sprint race saw first seven places covered by only three seconds. Kyle Ryde managed to get his hands on the winners trophy in Race One after an adrenaline fueled fight, sharing the podium with Tommy Bridewell and Josh Brookes.
After his Race One victory, Ryde said,: “That was a great race! It was definitely the hardest, but most enjoyable races I’ve had since I started in BSB. I was pushing because I just wanted to get to the front because I knew I had a little bit more pace than what the lap time was saying. It was very clean and good fun to ride – there was a lot of moves in turn one from me, I must’ve made about 15 moves but none of them stuck! I had to work, so for me it’s been a great weekend so far. We’ve had a great pace all weekend and been strong, the only thing that went wrong was to have a silly little crash in qualifying and that did hinder me a bit for the race. It took me ages to get going again to know where the braking marker was and Josh and Tommy kept passing me. I’m really happy to get the win; I think over the winter and everything we’ve done so far, I feel like we deserve it, so I’m very proud of myself.”
Race Two was much of the same but for second place back as Josh Brookes hit the front after the first lap and maintained a relatively trouble free race barring a bit of back and forth with Jason O’Halloran. While not breaking away, as is very difficult on such a small track when the level is as competitive as it is in BSB, he was also unchallenged for the win when the race finished under a red flag incident involving Synetiq BMW’s Danny Buchan crashing out of the race. Race Two winner, a very popular winner might I say, Josh Brookes followed by both Beer Monster Ducati riders Tommy Bridewell and Glenn Irwin.
Josh Brookes – FHO BMW Motorrad – Official BSB Image
Race Three started off with surprise leader Danny Kent of Lovell Kent Racing Honda hitting the front, and looking very competitive around his peers. Surprisingly Kyle Ryde didn’t seem to have the pace to match the front runners in the third and final Superbike race of the day with Glenn Irwin, Josh Brookes and Tommy Bridewell stretching a lead after working their way past the former Moto3 World Champion, Kent. A very close chase towards the end of the race saw a first race win of the season from Beer Monster Ducati rider, Glenn Irwin closely followed by Josh Brookes FHO BMW and Beer Monster team mate Tommy Bridewell.
Glenn Irwin – BeerMonster Ducati – Image Courtesy of PBM Motorsport and Double Red Photography
All in all a successful weekend for Brookes, keen to put the last couple of season behind him and show that he’s not ready to stop racing just yet. Beer Monster Ducati, Bridewell and Irwin will all be pleased to also start the year off competitively after a couple of seasons in the doldrums. How ironic they have shared the podium with their former rider, Josh Brookes.
Standings after round one have Brookes in the lead of the championship, by two points from Tommy Bridewell and then Glenn Irwin.
There were two short stages on the first day of the event and we had an early leader in the shape of Ott and Martin who led Kalle and Esapekka.
Friday
The first full day of real stages would see the crew tackle eight stages and 124 km’s in total, although only six real stages and two mickey mouse stages at the end of the day.
First stage then would see the crews enter in championship order. Yep, Ott and Martin would be first into SS3 El Chocolate 1 – 29.07 km and but they would suffer a turbo failure in the stage and lose so much time. Both of the other Puma Rally1 had problems as well, with Jourdan having an accident and Pierre-Louis damaging his suspension. The Frenchman was out for the day sadly. There was a lead change as well, with Esapekka moving into the lead, Seb into second and Dani into third. Of course, the demise of Ott meant that Kalle was going to open the road for the rest of the day.
Into SS4 Ortega 1 – 15.71 km and Seb was fastest from Esapekka and Elfyn. The Welshman’s pace took him ahead of Dani and into third place. Meanwhile, Kalle was on the move as well, as the Finn passed Thierry for fifth overall. Meanwhile in WRC2 we had a battle between Emil, Gus and Adrien with just seven seconds between them.
The last morning stage, SS5 Las Minas 1 – 13.79 km and Esapekka set the fastest time from Seb and Dani. It was not a good stage for Takamoto as he lost control and slid off the side of the road. The car was not damaged, but the bank they slid down was too high to drive back onto the road.
After the lunch service the second run of SS6 El Chocolate 2 – 29.07 km saw Esapekka fastest again from Seb as they continued their fight for the lead, but the Finn was opening up the lead from his former Citroen teammate. In WRC2 there was a lead change with Emil tumbling down three places as Gus, Adrien and Oliver moving ahead of the Finn.
Next up was SS7 Ortega 2 – 15.71 km and Seb closed the gap to Esapekka to just three tenths of a second. Elfyn remained third overall. However, Dani fell from fourth to sixth overall with Thierry and Kalle both moving ahead of the Spaniard.
The final proper stage of the day then SS8 Las Minas 2 – 13.79 km and Esapekka led a Hyundai 1-2 with Seb third fastest. Elfyn was till holding third overall, but with Thierry faster, he closed the gap to the Welshman ahead. Meanwhile in WRC2 Oliver dropped two places with Emil and Kajetan moving past the young Swede who was now in 11 place overall.
The last two stages SS9 Las Dunas Superspecial 1 – 3.53 km and SS10 Distrito León Mx SSS – 1.30 km ended the first full day of the rally. Esapekka led from Seb by 5.3 seconds with Elfyn holding third overall.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
1:25:12.0
2
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+5.3
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+30.1
4
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+39.8
5
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+59.7
6
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+1:27.2
Hyundai Motorsport
Esapekka Lappi
“This has probably been one of the best days of my career. I hoped that I could fight at the top but to be leading and fighting all the time against Séb was not in my mind. I was confident that our pace would be competitive, but I didn’t really give it much thought. This is a good car. We did a lot of work during Monte-Carlo and Sweden, as well as between those events. We can now stop searching for the right set-up because I think we’ve found what I like, so I can just concentrate on the driving. You can then gain time here and there. I’ve been trying to keep it clean, close to the limit, have good acceleration out of the corners and just see at the end what times we have set. It’s been a positive start.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 03, Rally Mexico 16-19 March 2023 Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“I think we expected more from the day, but we had a few situations that cost us some time. In the morning loop, in SS4, we had a hard compression on the car, hitting a bump that was not there in the recce, causing the loss of the hybrid. On this particular stage, at high altitude and with long straights, we lost a lot of time and that influenced our position. I have been working on the car throughout the day; we had some concern with the driveshaft in the heat – the grease was gone – so we had to try and repair that between every stage. We also had a blocked rear right damper in SS8, which might have been related to the morning issue, but we were able to clear that. It could have cost us more, so we were fortunate to make it to the end. Ultimately, we are 20 seconds clear of Rovanperä and less than ten from Evans, so I think we’ve done a good job today.”
Dani Sordo
“In general, we were having a really nice day, and we had found a good feeling from the car until we lost our chances of a podium push in the afternoon loop when we picked up a puncture in SS7. I felt good at the start but then after the first few corners, the car started to slide too much from the rear when I came on the throttle. I thought it was a diff problem; I couldn’t drive the first few kilometres, and I then realised I had a puncture. Before that, we’d been on the pace, but the problem now is when you have an issue on the first day you start closer to the front on Saturday, so we’ll have to keep pushing and try our best to regain something.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s been a good day and we can be happy tonight. There was not so much more we could do except for taking a lot of risk and that’s never the approach I like to have on this rally. So I’m satisfied. Esapekka has done a great job as well and is in the lead, so there’s still some work for us to do and some analysis to do tonight to try and find a bit of extra speed. The gap is very close, and tomorrow’s stages have a different profile and different grip, so we’ll see how the fight evolves.”
Elfyn Evans
“Overall, it’s been a positive day. Maybe we were not quite as fast as we would have liked to be, but Rally México is a rally where you also have to look after the cars and the tyres. So, I was perhaps a bit careful in some moments but the feeling in the car has been quite OK. This afternoon there were a few surprises with a few big rocks, and we lost a bit of time in some of those places, so we’ll look to try and improve on that for tomorrow. We’re on the podium for now but there’s still a very long way to go, with a big day tomorrow.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“Today has not been too bad considering our road position. I think we did what we could, and we tried our best and the time loss is probably what we would have expected running at the front. It was actually better than I was expecting in the first two stages this morning, even though we were kind of cleaning the road. We lost a bit more on the third stage when we didn’t have the hybrid available. There was still quite a lot of cleaning this afternoon, but I think we managed it well. Tomorrow we’ll be in a better position, and we need to be on the pace straightaway in the morning.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“It’s been a tough day, generally some issues out there which I didn’t notice this morning so, yeah, let see now. Would be nice to find some more pace.”
Saturday
With 126km’s over nine stages there would be a good challenge for the crews out there in the first seven stages, with two mickey mouse stages to end the day.
First stage of the day, SS11 Ibarrilla 1 – 14.82 km had a sting in the tale. Our overnight leader, Esapekka Lappi was last through the stage, and unfortunately, he lost control on a right hander and spun into a post at the side of the road. This took the power out for some houses nearby. The stage was won by Seb from Elfyn and Thierry. Meanwhile in WRC2 Gus remained in the lead. These crews did not complete this stage due to the accident for Esapekka.
Next up was SS12 El Mosquito 1 – 22.56 km and finally Thierry found the car to his liking and was fastest from Elfyn and Seb. Meanwhile Ott was climbing up the leaderboard and after setting the sixth fastest time was now into thirteenth overall and about a minute away from the points paying positions. WRC2 top three remained Gus, Adrien and Emil.
Into SS13 Derramadero 1 – 21.70 km next and Thierry continued to show great pace winning the stage with Seb and Elfyn second and third fastest. Elfyn reported at the end of the stage that he was a bit safe in places but said that things were going quite well.
The final morning stage before the service break, SS14 Las Dunas Superspecial 2 – 3.53 km and as usual Thierry who is the super special specialist was fastest from Seb and Oliver in his Fabia Rally2! Sadly, Elfyn lost 1.7 seconds to the Belgian. He would look to fight back in the proper afternoon stages though.
The afternoon action started with SS16 El Mosquito 2 – 22.56 km as SS15 was cancelled due to the damage to the post damaged by Esapekka. Seb won the stage from Thierry and Elfyn. Although the Belgian was faster, it was only by two tenths of a second and Elfyn remained eight and a half seconds ahead of his challenger. In the WRC2 category Oliver was fastest from Gus and Adrien, whilst the Brit continued to lead the category by 18.8 seconds over former M-Sport teammate, Adrien.
The second run of SS17 Derramadero 2 – 21.70 km saw Thierry set the fastest time from Elfyn with Seb third and looking to manage the gap that he held over his teammate. Elfyn did lose a little bit of time to the charging Belgian, the gap now just 5.9 seconds between the two of them. There was a change in positions between Oliver and Kajetan as the Swede moved ahead and into fourth place in the WRC2 category.
The last two stages were the mickey mouse SS18 Las Dunas Superspecial 3 – 3.53 km and SS19 Rock & Rally SSS – 1.30 km with Ott setting the best times on both. In the battle over second overall, Thierry closed the gap even further to just 4.3 seconds.
Here’s the top positions at the end of day two.
Classification after Day Two
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
2:35:37.6
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+35.8
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+40.1
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:34.0
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+2:21.2
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“I think I can be very satisfied with my day. To be in the lead tonight with a bit of a gap is great, of course. It was another strong day with a bit of a different approach once the battle with Esapekka ended this morning. I felt sorry for him because he was doing a great job. But this is rallying, and you have to put three days together to win. After that I tried to stay in more of a safe mode but still, we managed to set some good times and increase our lead. It was a surprise to me to see the time in SS16; I was just trying to be very clean and maybe my tyre management helped to make the difference. Tomorrow could still be the trickiest day of the rally with the longest stage to get through, so we cannot afford to relax.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a solid day out there and a close fight. Of course, I would have preferred to increase the gap behind us rather than concede some time. Thierry has ever so slightly had the upper hand, but it’s been very close on most of the stages with only a few tenths of a second in it. Things have been working well inside the car and I’ve been feeling quite comfortable, but there’s still a big fight on. Tomorrow has a mix of stages with sections we’ve driven already and others we haven’t, so it could be tricky to choose the tyres and nail the setup. But we’ll try to prepare well tonight and do our best to secure the position.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s been a tough day but quite OK overall. We were trying to have good pace and I felt the driving was good but it seemed the road was getting faster with each car so it was not easy. We also had to use a lot of soft tyres yesterday to give us more grip when cleaning the road, so we had to use some hards this morning which was not ideal. When the gaps in front and behind are quite big it’s always difficult to maintain the speed and stay focused, but we could have some good pace in some stages this afternoon. Tomorrow we’ll just try to have a clean morning and then focus on the Power Stage.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I have continued with the same speed as we were driving yesterday, but we attacked a bit more this afternoon to try and close the gap to Elfyn. It worked out quite well. We won three stages this morning and moved up to third on the classification. I felt sorry to see EP and Janne going off first thing; they were doing a great job out there. We knew with a better road position we could be faster but obviously Elfyn also increased his speed. He has been driving well so the gaps have been small. On the last stage, unfortunately, we picked up a puncture after 1.5km, which lost us 1.5-2s, otherwise the gap would have been below three seconds. Still, it’s a small margin, so we are going to push for it on the final day; we’ve been trying all weekend and we are now firmly in the fight for second place.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 3, Rally Mexico 2023, 16-19 March 2023 Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Rally Mexico 2023 Photographer: Romain Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Dani Sordo
“With our road position today, it has been difficult to stay on the pace of the crews in front. The road cleaning effect is very high. Unfortunately, we lost Esapekka’s car early on, which from a team perspective has made things a bit harder. I have to say, though, that the roads here in this rally are nice to drive. I’ve enjoyed it a lot but sometimes we have just lacked grip; that tends to improve when more cars have been through each stage. Still, we’re here inside the top-five, so we will keep motivated, keep pushing and we will try to enjoy ourselves also on the final day. We’ll continue to give our maximum.”
Esapekka Lappi
“As we have often said, when you drive with more caution and safety, it becomes more difficult; I think this is exactly what happened on the opening stage this morning. I wasn’t attacking or pushing particularly hard. There was a long right-hand turn which you cut before the entry to the left-hander where we crashed. I felt that I got a bit stuck on the cut, and I couldn’t make the entry immediately. I missed the apex by about 40 centimetres, went wide by about half a metre and touched a bank. That alone would have been OK, but we then spun and hit the post. There was also a fire in the car, which we managed to put out. I am disappointed, of course. We need to take away the positives from yesterday, along with our pace from Sweden. We have the speed; we just haven’t been able yet to translate into the results we know we can deliver.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“Compared to yesterday it’s been a fantastic day, amazing I must say, ah yeah, it’s been trouble free and quite a bit more fun, but still struggle to drive the car fast and for me it’s a bit unnatural but at least we are a bit closer than yesterday. Just the way it’s behaving with many surprises and unexpected moments from nowhere, it’s difficult to find the confidence, but I must say that we’ve definitely learnt something today, and I’d like to believe it can only get better from here.
Sunday
The final day then with 61km’s over four stages including the longest stage of the day and event, Otates at 35km. A proper stage.
First up was the final run through SS20 Las Dunas Superspecial 4 – 3.53 km and Elfyn did well to limit the time loss to just 2 tenths of a second going second fastest to Thierry.
Onto SS21 Otates – 35.63 km and Elfyn was fastest from Thierry by 1.7 seconds and the gap between grew to 5.8 seconds in their battle over. Seb was third fastest in the stage. Sadly Pierre-Louis had a belt failure in this one and stopped to change the belt. Ott was taking it easy as he felt there was a problem with one of his dampers. However, he had now made it into the top ten at last.
Into the penultimate stage then SS22 San Diego – 12.61 km and Thierry was fastest from Ott and Elfyn and the gap between them was just 2.7 seconds. What caused the time loss then? Well, turned out that there was some damage to his GR Yaris which he’d been fixing, and he was managing the problem that he’d picked up in Otates.
The final one then, SS23 El Brinco [Power Stage] – 9.59 km and Seb was fastest amazingly from Ott and Thierry. There was heartbreak though for Elfyn who only managed the sixth best time and ultimately Thierry pipped him to second overall by just 4 tenths of a second. However, what an amazing drive for Seb to his seventh Rally Mexico victory, the most in history!
In WRC2, Gus scored a very well-deserved class win from Emil, with Oliver taking third. The Brit hadn’t put a foot wrong all weekend.
Here’s the final standings.
Final Overall Classification – Rally México
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
3:16:09.4
2
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+27.5
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
+27.9
4
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:55.3
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+2:58.8
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Škoda Fabia RS
+12:31.5
7
E. Lindholm
R. Hämäläinen
Škoda Fabia Evo
+13:04.4
8
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Škoda Fabia RS
+13:37.7
9
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+15:19.6
10
K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak
Škoda Fabia Evo
+15:56.6
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“It has been an amazing weekend and I’m very happy to take this victory. We came here with a clear goal to win this rally. The car was great this weekend; it was a faultless weekend for us and a strong weekend for the team, so thank you to them for making this possible. When you end up taking 30 points it’s really a perfect weekend. We had great pace when we needed it, and great management too when it was required. It’s not easy when you need to manage a gap like that, and I think today was the toughest loop of the weekend. I could afford to lose a bit of time, but it was important to stay focused. I felt I had to go for it in the Power Stage because I love that stage, and it’s important to score the points, also for the team. Records and numbers are always nice and of course I’m proud of them, but the most important thing for me is this victory.”
Elfyn Evans
“We had a pretty good start to the final day, but unfortunately just near the end of the long stage we picked up some damage to a suspension arm. We could carry out a repair on the road section, but I felt I had to try and take care with it through the last two stages, and we weren’t quite able to keep Thierry at bay. It was very close in the end but just not quite enough. Overall though it has been a solid weekend. I think we had the speed to finish second and the positive thing is that we are back on the podium after what feels like a really long time. So, I’m happy for that and also now with the feeling in the car on gravel.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has not been an easy weekend for us. We lost out on Friday when we were kind of opening the road and then we were a bit behind in the fight for the rest of the weekend. I was hoping we could get some more points from the Power Stage; we were pushing really hard and tried everything we could, but we lost the rear wing going wide in one corner and after that I couldn’t really push so much without that downforce. But to finish fourth overall from our starting position gives us some decent points. Congratulations to Seb who did a great job this weekend.”
Takamoto Katsuta
“This was a difficult rally for me because all of the stages were new for me, and it was hard to know what to expect. I had to be a bit cleverer on Friday; maybe I was in too much of a rush to move forwards and one mistake cost us quite a lot. It was a very high-speed section, and I was a little bit optimistic on the braking point, a bit too late to turn in and we lost the line. Thank you to the team for fixing the car. It was not so easy to get back the confidence and the feeling, but it was nice to finish the rally and get some experience on all of the different stages. I found that the grip levels are changing a lot – more than I had expected after the recce – and it’s not easy to trust it 100 per cent. The car was amazing, but I was not able to use its full performance. Hopefully next time I can do that and have a better result.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I have been flat out all weekend, and I am delighted to take our third podium in three rallies. We had tried hard to improve the car all weekend; the handling has been getting better. With our road position on the first day, it was tough; we ended Friday almost 40 seconds adrift of the lead. Since Saturday, things have been better and slowly we could catch up with Elfyn. He didn’t make it easy, so we had to fight hard right to the end. After today’s long stage, Otates, I was a bit disappointed, as I had to slow down for a couple of dogs on the road. That cost us time, but I stayed calm and saw an opportunity in the Power Stage. I pushed as hard as I could, without taking unnecessary risks. Second place is a great reward for the whole team.”
Dani Sordo
“I have mixed feelings because on the one hand I am pleased that we could score some good points for the championship, but there is also a little bit of frustration. The puncture we had on Friday prevented us from being more involved in the fight. We had higher expectations coming into this event. The competition is fierce and there are a lot of strong drivers at the front. We did well to bring the car home in the points and I am sure we can do an equally good job at our next rally. It has been great to be back in Mexico on amazing roads, in front of all these incredible spectators who give so much love and support to WRC. I’ve enjoyed it and I think we’ve shown our potential.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“Happy to cross the finish line, there was nothing more we could have taken from here. Still, it’s positive to at least take some points because on Friday it didn’t look like we could get any points. The car [performance] is there, it has always been there, it’s just me and the car are a bit of a mismatch, which is tricky but let’s see what we can come up with in the next weeks.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“It’s been a tough weekend for sure. A few mistakes with my driving, it’s like that. We can take experience and I know it will be good for the future. I am sure we will have some better days.”
Oliver Solberg (WRC2)
“Third isn’t exactly what we came here chasing,” said Oliver, “but it’s good for the championship and I’m happy enough. This is a really tough event. It’s tough for the tyres, the cars and everything, with the altitude, the heat and the rough, rough roads. We go home with some good points and a big smile.
“This rally has so many amazing people, so many fans and fantastic spectators, to give them something to cheer for is a really nice feeling.”
“There was a compression in the stage before,” explained Oliver. “It was not too big, but we dropped the three cylinders. After the stage, I was checking to the sensors and all the connectors, but we couldn’t find anything. That was a bit frustrating, it would have been nice to take more points.
“But OK, like I said, we had a good time on this rally, and we are more ahead than when we started. That’s good. I have to thank Elliott for another great job as well as the whole team. What a weekend for Toksport! Our team has been leading for the whole time. Congratulations to Gus [Greensmith] and Jonas [Andersson] on taking the win and with Emil [Lindholm] and Reeta [Hämäläinen] second it means we are dominating the podium. I’m very happy for everybody in Toksport – it’s a very cool bunch of people.”
Summary
Well, what an incredible return to Mexico for the championship! Seb drove a very good rally and took a very good victory. Having said that, Esapekka had a great first day and was leading when he crashed. It was a shame, as we lost a really good battle that could have lastest the whole rally. We will never know if the Finn could have kept Seb behind him. Hopefully we’ll get another chance this season to see them fight it out again.
2023 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 03 / Rally Mexico / 15-19 March, 2023 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Thierry had a crazy rally and took his time to find some pace out there, struggling to find the right set-up for his i20 Rally1, but once he got there was no stopping him. He got very lucky with taking second place on the final stage when Elfyn had the suspension problem.
Finally, Elfyn, we saw a really great drive from the Welshman, and he deserved to finish in second place. Winning the longest stage of the rally and setting a number of top three times out there. He really does not like and get on with the mickey mouse stages at all.
Next rally is Rally Croatia in the middle of April from the 20th to the 23rd. We know that Seb will be competing there as well, and the part time driver is leading the championship!
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’
