The final day then of this epic round of the championship and we had 75km’s over six stages to bring the event to a close. EP re-joined the action and would open the road throughout the day’s stages.
Into SS14 Malewa 1 – 8.33 km and when Esapekka got to the finish it emerged that he had another propshaft had failed. What, again?! Unbelievable for the Finn. Meanwhile Kalle took the stage win from Seb and Takamoto. Elfyn suffered a spin in the stage and with his Japanese teammate setting such a good time the gap between them came down to 11.4 seconds. Another gap that reduced was that between Kalle and Seb. Just 8.6 seconds was now separating them. The top three in WRC2 remained Kajetan, Martin and Carl.
Next up was SS15 Oserian 1 – 18.33 km and Seb won the stage from Kalle and Ott. The Frenchman doubled his lead as well over his younger teammate to 17.2 seconds. Their teammate Elfyn also increased the gap to Takamoto by 10 seconds.
The final stage before service then, SS16 Hell’s Gate 1 – 10.53 km and the first look at the power stage. EP struggled through with what he thought was front wheel-drive. His Spanish teammate also had technical problems after his powersteering failed. The Toyota’s had their problems, with Takamoto getting a problem with his hybrid system. There was a bigger problem for Seb though as he went wide and removed his rear wing and hatch completely. However, he only lost around four seconds of his lead. He was lucky that this happened on the stage before service. The top three were Ott, Thierry and Kalle.
After service SS17 Malewa 2 – 8.33 km was won by Kalle by just 6 tenths of a second from Seb and Takamoto third. Further back, Thierry was closing on eighth place overall which had been kept by Kajetan for most of the rally, the gap was just 13 seconds now.
Time then for the penultimate stage, SS18 Oserian 2 – 18.33 km and Takamoto took his second stage win of the weekend, beating Elfyn to the top spot, whilst Kalle was third. Once again, the gap reduced to just 9.2 seconds between the top two. Thierry made it past Kajetan and into eighth overall.
The final stage then SS19 Hell’s Gate 2[Power Stage] – 10.53 km and early pace setter EP’s time was eclipsed by first Thierry then Ott went second fastest and Kalle third. Rounding out the top five were Seb whose car crossed the line with a smashed windscreen, courtesy of a rock that flicked up near the end of the stage and Esapekka.
Let’s check out the final finishing positions and hear from the drivers.
Final Overall Classification –Safari Rally Kenya
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
3:30:42.5
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+6.7
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:58.5
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+3:23.8
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+5:05.4
6
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+9:14.4
7
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+16:15.7
8
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+24:47.0
9
K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak
Škoda Fabia Evo
+ 26:33.4
10
O. Solberg
E. Edmondson
Škoda Fabia Evo
+ 27:04.0
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (1st)
“This was a hell of a rally and a hell of a fight. I really enjoyed it but I would have liked to have a few less incidents because it could have been a much more comfortable race: the pace was really good, the car was great to drive, I had a good feeling and it seemed that we had everything under control. But we were hit by some little things here and there, including today when we lost the tailgate, and we had some overheating in the fesh-fesh sand. But I’m happy that we could bring it home. I think it’s a deserved victory and result for the whole team and we need to enjoy it.”
Kalle Rovanperä (2nd)
“The battle with Seb got quite tight at the end, and when you miss out on the win by a small margin like this then it’s not always the best feeling for a driver. But at the end we still scored good points for the championship. I stuck to my plan for the whole weekend, driving with quite good pace but not taking huge risks. So to still finish like this is quite nice. The final day was really tough for the cars: the penultimate stage especially with a lot of deep sand and ruts. It’s good that our cars were so strong and made it through, because to have the 1-2-3-4 finish for the team again here in Kenya is amazing.”
Elfyn Evans (3rd)
“It’s been quite a rally with a lot of challenges, so I think the team can be very proud to again get four cars in the top four. It shows both the speed and the strength of the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID and I’m proud to be a part of that and of this team. Of course, from a personal perspective I can’t be totally satisfied to be third in the order at the finish, but I’m very pleased for the team and of course to be on the podium in third means we take some reasonable points for the championship as well.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo (5th)
“Safari Rally Kenya was a really tough event, but at least we took home some points. In the end it was not as bad as it could have been, but we did expect a little bit more. Today was quite ok, quite rough in some places but the car was really strong – it is amazing how much you can put these cars through. We were running well and trying not to make any mistakes to bring car the home in fifth, which we achieved.”
Thierry Neuville (8th)
“A tough and challenging weekend. Obviously, we tried what we could but unfortunately, another time in Kenya where it didn’t work out for us. There’s a lot of frustration to be honest, because it is not good for our championship aspirations, but it is what it is. We did our best in the car, took the five points in the Power Stage and fought back to eighth place, which was the maximum we could do today.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Safari Rally Kenya, 22-25 June 2023 Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 3 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2023 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi (13th)
“It was an interesting week in many perspectives. The result is not what we all wanted but that’s a different story; I need to be pleased with the pace that we had and that we were really fighting for the podium positions until our technical problem yesterday. At least in the Power Stage I could try to drive more normally, but overall, I have to say it has been a good experience.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak (6th)
“Altogether a great safari with a lot of passionate fans a people who clearly love rally. So far it’s been a bit tricky this year, so we need to find a bit of speed for the next rally as it is all about the speed now.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet (7th)
“A lot of things happened! A couple of punctures on Friday unfortunately meant we missed the opportunity to do good things, and after that we were missing a bit of confidence and pace. We struggled to find good balance. It was a bit disappointing with the power stage, I wasn’t able to do a good run because I had an issue with the turbo pressure. So, I’m a bit disappointed about that, but it’s part of the game.”
Oliver Solberg (10th)
“What a fantastic rally. Before I say anything else, to Daniel [Chwist], thank you my friend for helping us this week – and to all of the Eurosol team. We couldn’t have managed to do this rally without you guys.
“And I’m so glad we came here. The roads have changed a lot from last year to this and it’s so important to keep up the knowledge base for next year.
“For the performance, I’m really happy. We weren’t pushing near the limit, that wasn’t what this rally was about for us. Of course, it would have been nice to win [RC2 class] but maybe that would have made the story too perfect.”
“Like I said, it would have been nice,” said Solberg, “but winning so many stages and even making fifth fastest time overall in the second run at that crazy Sleeping Warrior stage on Saturday afternoon was cool for me.
“I’m sure there will be time and chase a bigger Safari Rally Kenya trophy in the years to come. For me, this is really mission accomplished. It only remains to say congratulations to all of the organisers and thank you to the beautiful people of Kenya.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 7
1
K. Rovanperä
139
2
T. Neuville
102
3
E. Evans
98
4
O. Tänak
97
5
S. Ogier
97
6
E. Lappi
68
7
D. Sordo
46
8
T. Katsuta
35
9
P.L Loubet
20
2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 7
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
283
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
241
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
174
Summary
Well, what an epic rally we were treated to and another victory for the eight-time champion, his fifty-eighth as well! Just amazing. His decision to run throughout Friday with just one spare showed his intent that he wanted a second victory in Kenya. It was a brilliant drive.
Kalle had a great run and deserved a podium which he got. Not only that, but he increased his lead over Thierry and in fact all his challengers for the championship.
Elfyn took third of course and although he didn’t take a stage win, should be happy as the championship heads for two very fast rallies. He will have a good road position indeed.
Takamoto rounded out the top four with a very good drive which included two stage wins. Third place slipped away after some spins in the tricky conditions yesterday, plus the hybrid issues on the final day.
The next round is Rally Estonia on the weekend of the 20th to 23rd of July. Look out for my preview in the days ahead. The teams will enjoy something of a summer break till then.
Coming into the second full day of competition and there was 150km’s over six stages for the crews to tackle. Thierry returned to the action after his early retirement on Friday’s second loop and would open the road.
Into the first stage, SS8 Soysambu 1 – 29.32 km and Seb hit the top of the timesheets going 7.6 faster than Kalle, thus increasing his lead to over 30 seconds, whilst EP was third fastest. The Finns pace took him ahead of Elfyn and into third overall. This came about because Elfyn’s GR Yaris engine cut out after the water splash, and he lost 40 seconds. Gregoire continued to lead WRC2 from Kajetan, but the fastest WRC2 runner was Oliver.
The shorter SS9 Elmenteita 1 – 15.08 km was taken by Kalle with Seb just six tenths slower and Elfyn was third. However, EP was just 2 tenths slower and holding the Welshman at bay at around 20 seconds ahead. In WRC2 things were pretty static in terms of positions.
The final stage then before lunchtime service, SS10 Sleeping Warrior 1 – 31.04 km, so called due to the rising hill that the road ran almost and alongside. Kalle took a good stage win from Esapekka with Seb setting the third best time. Elfyn suffered a puncture in this one giving EP an even more secure position in third. There was a change in the WRC2 lead though as long-time leader Gregoire losing the lead to Kajetan. Meanwhile further back Thierry was on the climb back up the leader board, moving into fourteenth place.
After the lunch break the second run of SS11 Soysambu 2 – 29.32 km and the top three was Seb, Kalle and Takamoto. Unfortunately, EP dropped out on this one. After he drove through the water splash there was a loud noise from the underside of his car. The problem was terminal, and he pulled his car off the stage and was out for the rest of the day. This meant that Elfyn was back into third overall. In WRC2 Gregoire retook the lead from Kajetan.
We had a new stage winner in SS12 Elmenteita 2 – 15.08 km, with Takamoto going fastest from Seb and Thierry. The pace from the Japanese star took him ahead of his teammate Elfyn and into third place. Meanwhile Thierry had made his way into the top ten at the end of this stage. In WRC2 Gregoire fell from the lead again with Kajetan benefitting from a problem for the M-Sport driver. A mechanical problem put him out for the day.
The final stage of the day, SS13 Sleeping Warrior 2 – 31.04 km had a sting in its tail as the rain that was promised finally arrived. Takamoto set the early pace even though he went off the road and also damaged his rear wing. The rain was in the middle of the stage, but by the time the crews made it to the end it was dry. Of course, Kalle won the stage and with Seb taking it easy the gap and lead was reduced to just 16.7 seconds. The other news was that Elfyn moved back ahead of Takamoto and into third overall, the gap being the same, 16.7 seconds! Kajetan was firmly in the lead of WRC2, the gap between the top two was 10 minutes with Martin Prokop holding second and Carl Tundo now third in the category.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
2:43:49.2
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+16.7
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:23.3
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:40.0
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+3:52.3
6
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+8:38.9
7
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+13:56.6
8
K. Kajetanowicz
M. Szczepaniak
Škoda Fabia Evo
+19:53.1
9
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+24:06.2
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier
“We had a good morning with really good speed in the first stage, even though we lost a bit towards the end with a puncture. Then I was a bit more careful for the rest of the morning, especially in the last stage which was the roughest part of the rally, and it was so easy to damage something there. In the afternoon I think we did a good job and did everything we could in the first two stages. Then the last one was challenging for everyone with heavy rain and a lot of water on the road. I took it easy in those sections and just tried to manage. The most important thing is we’re still in the lead tonight. It’s not a big gap to Kalle now but hopefully we can have a smooth finish tomorrow and another result like this in Kenya for the team would be amazing.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“The whole of today was a big battle and it’s not easy to find the balance between trying to fight for the win here while also being on for really good points at the moment compared to our championship rivals. Seb was pushing really hard, but our plan was to drive smooth and not push too much in the rough places. I was maybe not so brave in the first stage this morning but after that I think we managed to stay on the pace and out of trouble. When the rain came in the last one it was a proper challenge just to stay on the road, but we could again take some time there so it was a good day overall. It’s pretty special for the team to be in this position going into tomorrow. It will be quite a long and tough day, but we’ll try to make it a clean one because the points are important for us.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a challenging day and we had a difficult start this morning. The feeling in the car was fine initially in the first stage but then we took on some water in the watersplash; maybe I didn’t take the best line into it. Then we unfortunately got a puncture in the Sleeping Warrior stage, so we had quite a lot of time loss this morning. In the afternoon, the first two stages were clean for me, but Taka was on a big push: he was driving well and driving quickly. The conditions in the last stage were extreme and sometimes there was no grip at all, but we got through it with an OK time. There’s still a big task ahead of us tomorrow but hopefully all goes well and we can bring this result home for the team.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Dani Sordo
Honestly, it was really tricky conditions out there. I was hoping to have a good time on that final stage as we didn’t make many mistakes. We were trying to push in the heavy rain, but it was as slippery as ice. I was trying to get through this rally with no problems. We’ve had some bad luck as a team, but we hope that is the end of our issues. The speed of the cars in front of us is a step up from where we are, and it is difficult to match their pace. Tomorrow’s stages will be a little bit faster, with different profiles from today. We might not be able to do much about our position, we just have to survive like we have today.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 07, Safari Rally Kenya, 22-25 June 2023 Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, Action during Day 2 of WRC Safari Rally Kenya 2023 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“It was a wild day in general. We had some muddy sections this morning and then some big rain and standing water this afternoon. I have to say it is what we were hoping for today; to be able to have some fun. My motivation wasn’t very high this morning, but we followed the target of driving through and keeping up our speed. We were hoping the rain would come later on that final stage, but it came five minutes too early, and we struggled a lot, yet we had some smiles in the car. We still have eighth place in our sights, so we are going to chase that tomorrow. It’s a four-minute gap with six stages to go and we are going to push hard.”
Esapekka Lappi
“It was very frustrating to retire on the first stage of the afternoon. I pushed the throttle to accelerate and there was a big bang. It seems the prop shaft cracked somewhere underneath the car, so we pulled over into the junction in front of us. I haven’t had this problem before this week, clearly something is wrong, and we need to investigate very carefully. I’m sure we have a chance to return tomorrow to try to gain experience and fight for some Power Stage points. I think we were doing a really good job and prepared very well for this rally to have a good weekend, but it wasn’t to be.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“Every stage closer to the end is a relief. The short stage tomorrow is quite rough, and the others are bit more sandy.”
Summary
Well, what an amazing day, with an incredible ending. It was a big shame to lose Esapekka from the top positions. Considering that this was his debut at this event, he was really on the pace. Having said that the Finns have always gone really well at this event, so he will certainly be looking to coming back to this event in the coming years.
Now, will we see more drama tomorrow, or can Toyota take another win with Seb and all four Toyota’s take the top four positions again? There is just a little under 75km’s over four stages to complete this year’s edition of Safari Rally Kenya and find out!
The first full day of action saw the crews tackle 130km’s over six stages. Kalle would be opening the road due to being the championship leader. Of course, he won this rally last year from first on the road but did have heavy rain giving him the best conditions. After the super special on Thursday Ott lead from Seb and Kalle.
First stage of the day, SS2 Loldia 1 – 19.17 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Elfyn. The Frenchman moved into the lead and his teammates also all gained a position moving into second and fourth places respectively. Thierry moved into third overall as well, showing similar pace to Elfyn. In WRC2 Oliver was the fastest, but as he decided to run with no nomination for points, Kajetan was leading the category from Gregoire and Martin Prokop.
Into the spectacular SS3 Geothermal 1 – 13.12 km and EP was fastest from Seb and Takamoto. Elfyn moved into third overall as Thierry suffered a puncture and fell to sixth place. Also going the wrong way down was Ott who was not on the pace, and he fell to seventh. EP jumped two places and into fifth overall. In WRC2 and whilst Oliver remained the fastest in the category, Kajetan remained the category leader from Gregoire and Martin.
The longest stage of the day, SS4 Kedong 1 – 30.62 km and it was a really fast stage again. Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Seb. The Belgian moved ahead of Takamoto and Esapekka into fourth overall. There was a change in the WRC2 lead with Gregoire moving into the lead.
After the lunchtime service and Seb was fastest in SS5 Loldia 2 – 19.17 km and Seb was fastest again from Esapekka and Ott. Pierre-Louis lost a position falling behind Oliver after breaking a wheel. Gregoire remained in the lead of WRC2 from Kajetan.
The next one, SS6 Geothermal 2 – 13.12 km saw Seb fastest again from EP and Kalle. There was drama though for Thierry whose suspension on the front left broke. He pulled off the stage and was out for the rest of the day. It was a good stage for EP though who gained two places, jumping ahead of Takamoto and back into fourth overall.
The final stage then of the day, SS7 Kedong 2 – 30.62 km and Seb was again fastest from Kalle and Esapekka. The Frenchman had built a lead of nearly 30 seconds. Unfortunately, Oliver broke his suspension and stopped in the stage. Gregoire held the lead of WRC2 from Kajetan and Martin.
Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid
1:14:38.7
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+22.8
3
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+43.5
4
E. Lappi
J. Ferm
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+54.0
5
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:19.4
6
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid
+1:28.4
7
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+3:03.3
8
P. L. Loubet
N. Gilsoul
Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid
+7:04.9
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Sébastien Ogier
“It’s been a pretty good day for us, almost perfect in fact. We had very good pace and I’m happy to be in the lead tonight. This morning I tried to push on the first two stages, and I had good fun in the car. On the third one there’s always a bit of fear with a lot of rocks coming out of the sand, and we lost the hybrid after a few kilometres which cost some performance. This afternoon I felt it was possible to go with just one spare tyre, and that if I drive very clean and smooth, I can still be fast with the advantage of being lighter. It paid off and I’m happy with that. It’s the first time I’ve got through Friday in Kenya without major time loss, so let’s hope we can carry on like this tomorrow, which is the biggest day of the rally with very difficult stages to get through.”
Kalle Rovanperä
“I’m quite happy with today. The first stage of the loop was the trickiest for us with a lot of cleaning and loose gravel in places. Then the next stages were much faster, and I felt I could push harder, and the time on the last one this morning was really good; I think we did some clever driving there. This afternoon I lost more time than I wanted on the first one: it was drying up and getting loose and my setup didn’t work so well for that. After that I tried to keep up a good pace and we didn’t lose too much time. Of course, I would like to be a bit closer to the lead, but tomorrow is still such a long day and will be much rougher than today, so we will try to stay out of trouble.”
Elfyn Evans
“It’s been a bit of a steady day for us, but we got through it without issues. Of course, it would have been nice to have been a bit faster and, looking back, maybe we could have taken a few more risks this morning when the conditions were not so rough. But it’s a very difficult balance to find here, with a lot of rocks beinng pulled out by the cars in front. The afternoon was generally better, but the long Kedong stage had a lot of big holes and stones, and it was difficult to judge how hard to attack. There’s still a long way to go and tomorrow’s probably going to be a tough day, so let’s wait and see what happens.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Esapekka Lappi
“If you take our puncture out of the equation, today has been quite a decent day. We started carefully and then improved quite quickly; our afternoon was really consistent. The conditions are interesting, but I found them really fun. It’s a different kind of roughness we are facing, unlike anything I’ve seen before. On the soft fesh-fesh, you don’t know what to expect and it is so fast, so you have no time to react – you just have to drive and hope for the best. I need to keep improving on what we did today; I think the pace was brilliant this afternoon. We will concentrate on our own performance and the podium will be there if it is meant to be.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 7, Safari Rally Kenya 21 – 25 June 2023 Esapekka Lappi Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Dani Sordo
“Thankfully we had no real issues on the car today, which is good. It was a bit difficult on some of the stages, particularly on Kedong. It was really soft, and the car was moving a lot in the fast sections, so I didn’t have a good pace there. With so many rocks, it is easy to make a small mistake. We also had a unique situation in one of the hairpins on the final stage, where we had to stop to allow dust inside the cockpit to clear. It is difficult to calculate the speed of the corners as you need to be aggressive, but you could easily move off the line onto the really soft surface and struggle to find traction.”
Thierry Neuville
“I’m very disappointed to be honest. Unfortunately, we had to retire in the second stage of the afternoon, which isn’t good for our championship fight. There was no warning at all; just before a left junction, the damper came out of its position and the top mount came loose under braking, which was the end of the rally for us. It was a shame as we hoped our puncture in the morning was the end of our bad luck for the weekend. With the conditions here, anything can happen, and now we have to analyse if there is an opportunity to return tomorrow and get back into the points.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tanak
“The conditions have not been too bad, the last one had some soft place but overall, not too bad. Tomorrow will be more tough than today.”
Saturday
Day two sees the crews tackle 150km’s over six stages and there are two stages run as usual twice that are just under or just over 30km’s! What will happen?!
Pop back tomorrow and check out my day two report.
Time for round six of this season’s championship and we come to the Island of Sardegna for the Italian round! Known for its extreme dusty roads and jumps this event is a favourite on the calendar.
Kalle and Jonne won the last round and come to this as championship leaders. They are joined as always in the Toyota team with their usual teammates, whilst Seb and Vincent are also entered. They will look to use their good starting position to set the pace throughout Friday’s stages and hope to hold on and take victory. However, Elfyn and Scott will want to do the same and it will be interesting to see how they get on.
Thierry and Martijn will have the same idea though and of course Thierry won this round in 2018. There is another Hyundai crew that will have the same idea. Yep, Dani won this round twice in recent years, taking victory in 2019 and also 2020. Let’s see what they can do this year! In fact, Esapekka and Janne will also be I believe challenging for victory. They showed great pace in Mexico and could do the same this weekend.
Meanwhile Ott and Martin at M-Sport Ford will definitely be in the fight this weekend. They took victory last year when at Hyundai and the Puma showed great pace in the hands of Craig Breen co-driven by Paul Nagle who of course took second place last year. For Pierre-Louis and Nicolas in the other Puma, the young Frenchman who has shown very good pace on gravel this year, they will want to take a great result and if things go well, could claim a top five finishing position. Of course, Nicolas won the event as co-driver in 2018 when with Thierry at Hyundai. Could he guide the young Puma driver to a podium this year? It will be interesting to watch!
Craig and Paul took second last year when at M-Sport Ford World Rally Team. Photo credit M-Sport Ford
Stage information
There is 320km’s over nineteen stages this year. Here’s the detail of what lies ahead throughout the weekend.
Following a shakedown in the morning, Rally Italia Sardinia officially begins on Thursday evening with the 3.23km Olbia – Cabu Abbas stage.
Friday is the longest day of the event with a total distance of 138.04km, which includes two passes of the mammoth test that is Monte Lerno – Sa Conchedda (49.90km).
Saturday’s itinerary consists of two loops of the four stages: Coiluna – Loelle (16.28km), Su Filigosu (19.57km), Erula – Tula (21.92km) and Tempio Pausania (9.96km).
Two passes each of Arzachena – Braniatogghiu (15.22km) and Sardegna (7.79km) bring the event to a close on Sunday.
Let’s hear from the drivers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“Portugal was a great weekend for us, and it was nice to get a victory again. We will try to continue like this in the next events, but we know that Sardinia will be a much more difficult job. Of all the rallies in the calendar, I think this one has maybe been the trickiest for me, and if the weather is dry and hot like it usually is in Sardinia, it can be very difficult to be the first car on the road there; perhaps even more so this year with the 50-kilometre stage to be driven on Friday. It will be a demanding weekend but, like always, we will push together with the team to get the best result that we can.”
Elfyn Evans
“Portugal was a disappointing weekend on my side, but we have to put that behind us now, move forward to Sardinia and see what’s possible there. Our road position will be more favourable than what we started with on the last rally, but we know that it’s a challenging event regardless and one of the rougher rallies of the year. It definitely needs a smart approach but I’m looking forward to it, nonetheless. Like always in Sardinia, they mix up the stages every year. A lot of the route is known from before but some of it has not been driven for many years, so there will be a lot of new pacenotes to write during the recce – and this very long stage on Friday will of course be key.”
Sébastien Ogier
“Sardinia is a rally that I have learned to love. At first, I used to struggle going there, but over the years I started to master it more and more. The most recent memories I have of Sardinia are really good from when we managed to win in 2021 after starting first on the road, which is not normally possible on this event. Having missed Portugal, we will have a bit of a better starting position this time, but it will still be a difficult challenge, especially with this very long stage of 50 kilometres that the organisers have made for this year. I quite like that challenge, honestly; it adds some spice to the rally and the need for tyre management. It will certainly be an interesting rally.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“Sardinia presents a lot of challenges, but the biggest are the heat and tyre wear. The stages are also difficult as the surface is rough, and they are quite narrow and technical too, so there is not much room for mistakes. Our target is to deal with the conditions as best we can and fight hard for a good result. Portugal was a tough weekend for us. I had a different set-up from Dani and Esapekka which we think is one of the reasons why I was struggling with traction and car balance. Switching my car to similar settings to those of my team-mates should be beneficial in the quest for improved performance and I’m looking forward to putting this to the test.”
Esapekka Lappi
“Sardinia is generally quite a slow rally with very technical stages. The second pass is particularly demanding for the tyres and car as there’s some bedrock and lots of loose rocks that get pulled onto the road. The usual high temperatures of around 30 degrees also add to the challenge. Personally, I sweat quite easily, so as a driver I need to concentrate more on nutrition and keeping myself well hydrated. At dry gravel rallies, Friday is always very crucial in terms of making a successful weekend, so that will be the key focus for us. Our hope is that we can deliver a consistent performance, avoid the rocks that could cause punctures, and bring home a podium for the team.”
Dani Sordo
“Sardinia offers a different challenge to previous gravel events this year, as the roads are narrower, more sandy and more slippery. Because of this, you cannot afford to make any mistakes. If you do so in Sardinia, you will pay. Road position can be very important at this event, as starting later in the order usually gives you a cleaner stage than those at the front. The almost 50km-long Monte Lerno stage will be a real challenge. We had one that was 37km in Portugal and even that was hard to stay fully concentrated the entire time. Our minimum goal for the weekend is to finish on the podium and hopefully we can be in a position to fight for the victory.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 05, Rally Italia Sardegna 02-05 June 2022 Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak
“Sardinia is a unique rally in many ways, the roads are demanding with very low grip conditions but at the same time very narrow and fast between trees and rock faces. I always enjoy driving there!
“All the M-Sport team, together with the Ford Performance guys in the US, have been on it to bring on the next steps in our performance and we have a busy test day before Sardinia. We are looking into everything to extract some extra speed.
“The target is to get another step closer to our competitors. Things will take a bit of time, but I’m sure that improving step by step we will be there one moment!”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“I think with the pace we showed on Friday in Portugal we can expect to do something good in Sardinia. It will be very important to avoid any mistakes this time, as even small ones can have big consequences. We know that the pace is there, we just need to put it all together to get a good result and we’re hoping that will all happen in Sardinia.”
WRC2 Category
Once again there is a huge entry for this category. M-Sport will be running three Fiesta Rally2 cars for Adrien, Grégoire and Robert and of course Oliver Solberg will also be competing in a Skoda Fabia Evo. Also joining these crews will be two cars from Hyundai Motorsport.
Let’s hear from these drivers.
Adrien Fourmaux
“Sardinia is a really rough event, with hot conditions, and this year we have a nearly 50km stage to look forward to! It’ll be a huge challenge for everybody, for the crews and the mechanics. But I like the challenge, and this will be my fifth time in Sardinia, so we have a good base knowledge of the stages.
“This is a famously difficult event, there’s no margin for error with rocks everywhere! When you hit something, you hit it hard. Let’s see what we can achieve.”
Grégoire Munster
“Sardinia is a new event for us, just like Portugal, so it will all be about discovery and gaining experience. Portugal didn’t go so well for us, but it was our first time on gravel in the car, so we will try to use that experience in Sardinia and do better there.”
Robert Virves
“This will be my first time competing in Sardinia, so there will be a lot to learn as it is a very tough event. Luckily, we have had some good experience in Portugal, and we can use a lot of that information on the stages in Sardinia. This is a big opportunity to learn a lot, it’s a tough event and we will need to manage the car and the tyres. But the experience in the Rally2 is all about learning, and it’s all beneficial to us going forward. Let’s see what happens!”
Oliver Solberg
“We’re back based on the east side of the island in Olbia again this year. The roads here are not usually quite so rough, they’re more sandy over here. We need to have a look from the recce – the conditions depend a lot on how hard the winter has been.
“The approach for this event is going to be the same as for the other gravel rallies: we just try to do our job. The car has been nice, it’s been fast and comfortable for me. The key here is really that, you want a comfortable car that’s easy to follow – and you have to make sure the rear of the car’s not sliding too much.”
“The long stage on Friday will be tough,” said Oliver. “It will be tough on the car, the tyres and the body a little bit as well. But I’m looking forward to it. These are great roads and to sit on the start line and know you have to drive a car as cool as the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 as fast as I can for the next 50 kilometres is really something special.
“And, of course, it’s always nice to win a rally my Dad has already won. For me in Sardinia this week, I will try to do my job, like I have done all year. This has been enough so far.”
Teemu Suninen
“Sardinia is normally quite a lot warmer than other events, which makes the driving tougher and it can create higher levels of wear on the car and tyres. The surface is also hard and rough which can be more demanding for the suspension setups. It was clear in Portugal that the level in WRC2 is very high this year, so we must focus on every small detail and fight on every stage. We will also try to have a good pace and stay away from problems. If we do this, I believe we can get a good result. The goal is to win the rally, but with many top drivers in the class, it will be challenging.”
2023 FIA World Rally Championship Round 05, Rally de Portugal 11-14 May 2023 Teemu Suninen, Mikko Markkula, i20 N Rally 2 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Fabrizio Zaldivar
“We travel to Sardinia looking for a better result than we achieved in Portugal. It will be a difficult challenge, but I am determined to keep pushing and improving. We know there is pace in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 on this surface, hopefully we can find a good rhythm and show the car’s potential. The initial forecast shows it may not be as hot as last year, but we still expect the heat to play a part in the event. I hope we can come to the end of Rally Italia Sardegna without any incidents and having shown what we are capable of.”
Summary
Well, we are set for a cracking rally ahead this weekend! Keep an eye out for my daily reports!
The championship returns after as always, a short winter break. This will be the 91st running of this classic event, and M-Sport Ford return as the winning team after their victory with Seb and Isabella.
Let’s take a look at the stages then. The rally has over 325km’s over the 18 stages.
Rallye Monte-Carlo begins on Thursday with two evening stages, including the longest test of the rally: La Cabanette / Col de Castillon (24.90km)
Friday’s itinerary consists of two loops of Roure / Roubion / Beuil (18.33km), Puget-Théniers / Saint-Antonin (19.79km) and Briançonnet / Entrevaux (14.55km), separated by a tyre fitting zone
Saturday is the longest day of the event, with the six stages boasting a total distance of 111.78km
The rally concludes on Sunday with two passes each of Lucéram / Lantosque (18.82km) and La Bollène-Vésubie / Col de Turini (15.12km), with the second of the latter acting as the Power Stage.
We have already seen the detailed changes to two of the three teams. It will be interesting to see who has made the most of their testing schedule over the winter as they attempt to understand their new cars and how to get the most out the performance capabilities.
Let’s hear from the drivers.
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Kalle Rovanperä
“My feeling is good before the start of the new season. We know that it will not be easy to defend the championship. We have seen that the competition level is getting higher all the time, so we need to try and raise our game also and keep pushing hard. The team is again doing a great job to try and maximise the performance and make the car faster and stronger. Rallye Monte-Carlo is a special event, and usually makes for a bit of a tricky and nervous start to the season. But I’m more confident going into the rally than I was last year when everything was so new with the car; now I know that we should have everything in the right direction and be able to have an easier start. It’s never simple to have a clean rally there, but that will be our plan to begin the season in the right way.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 01 / Rallye Monte Carlo 2022 / 20-23 January 2022 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“The WRC off-season is always pretty short, but I was still happy to take a bit of a break and now I feel ready to go into the new season. Last year fell short of my own expectations personally, but we managed to make some progress and I’m hoping to be able to put better results together this season. The team is always working to evolve the car, and twelve months in to the Rally1 era we understand things a lot better. Like always it should be a competitive year, but I definitely feel that we’re in a better place to challenge, and to fight for the title remains my goal. Rallye Monte-Carlo is a classic event and one that everyone wants to win. It’s always a big challenge, especially with the conditions, but it’s a challenge I enjoy and hopefully we can start the year with a positive result.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m still very excited at the start of the season, even though I’m no longer taking part in the full year. It’s always a pleasure to sit behind the steering wheel of a top WRC car. Last year I really enjoyed doing these few rallies. It was good to see I could still be competitive, and the target is to try and stay on a similar level this year and fight for some more wins. I know that the team is never relaxing; even though the last seasons have been very successful, they are still working very hard. Rallye Monte-Carlo is probably the one I want to win the most and I will do my best once more. Preparation has been more difficult as everybody is limited to one day of testing, which is difficult for such a complex event with different conditions and tyre options. But it’s the same for everybody, and I will try to make the most of my experience.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ott Tänak
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is always a difficult one to expect something, but for sure it’s the trickiest rally of the season. It won’t be any easier this time as well to get into the rhythm right away, so we expect nothing less than another tricky weekend in the mountains.
“We tried to get the best out of our first test days and we were lucky to experience the car in different conditions. It’s never easy to start the season from the blank page and building up the setup, but the boys and girls from M-Sport are working hard and hopefully we are well prepared for the upcoming challenge. I’m really looking forward to our first race together.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“I’m really happy with this week’s test; we tried a number of things, much more than usual, and the car felt great. The car is built for these kinds of roads and it’s very enjoyable to drive. I hope we will see similar conditions to the test on the rally next week, that would suit us really well.
“I’m trying to stay calm, it’s a fantastic opportunity to have my first full season with M-Sport, but it’s also a big responsibility and I take that very seriously. So, I’m trying to keep a cool head, and we’ll see how we do throughout the season. We have all the tools we need to do well.”
Jourdan Serderidis
“Starting the WRC season with a Puma Rally1, with M-Sport at Monte-Carlo is first a privilege but also a major challenge. Considering the level of competition and the tricky snow and ice conditions, I will be more than happy to be in the top 20 of this fantastic rally. It’s not only the most beautiful event on the calendar but the most challenging as well. We had a good test in snowy conditions yesterday, so I believe we are ready for the fun!”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville
“I always like starting the year with Rallye Monte-Carlo; it is an event where we have been competitive in recent years. I expect we will face some tricky conditions, despite the warm weather in the region at the moment. Monte-Carlo is always a bit of a surprise, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s nice to kick off a new season; everyone is on equal points again, and it’s up to us to make the best out of the clean slate. The package of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid has improved so much since its first round in 2022, which helps with our confidence going into this year. There’s been some slight evolutions on the car which will give it even more performance. We never know what our opponents have done during the winter, but I don’t think there will be any big changes. While everybody will have improved a bit, hopefully we are all on a similar level.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 01, Rallye Monte-Carlo 2022 17-23 January 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Esapekka Lappi
“Rallye Monte-Carlo changed location last year; it moved closer to Monaco and there was a bit less snow and ice than before. I don’t know whether that will be the case this year as well, but if it is, then it will certainly make things simpler for us, as we also have to learn a whole new car. Thursday night is always quite tense – I have to say it is not the nicest feeling climbing up the hill in the darkness on slick tyres in potentially icy conditions! There is excitement, but there is also a small bit of fear. However, it’s quite special, and the following morning you feel more at ease – at least in your mindset. I’m excited to start this adventure with a new team; I will only have one test day on tarmac, but I will go there with my mind open and not give up before we’ve even started. I am confident we can have good pace – maybe not from the very first stage, but certainly we will develop a lot during the weekend and hopefully finish well.”
Dani Sordo
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is a difficult event, but now it is based more around Monaco and the south of France it may be a little bit better in terms of the weather. It is always a challenge due to the conditions; normally it is cold, and you have the potential for ice, especially first thing in the morning. As a result, in the course of one stage you can come across so many different levels of grip on the tarmac, so it is very demanding. However, we need to be a little bit closer to the rally to see what the weather will do and understand what we are going to face on the stages. It is important to start the season well; every time you arrive to the first event you do so with full power and recharged batteries. Overall, I really like Monte-Carlo and its stages, so hopefully we can perform well and begin the year with a positive result.”
The WRC2 category is hugely supported as well in this round with Skoda, Ford, Citroen, Hyundai and Volkswagen cars being run.
M-Sport are running two Fiesta Rally2 cars for Adrien and Gregoire this year. Let’s hear from them both.
Adrien Fourmaux
“Rallye Monte Carlo is, of course, the most famous in the Championship, and it’s always a fantastic way to start the season. We’re hoping for a good result on this rally to give us the best start possible for the WRC2 Championship. It’s one of the most difficult rallies of the season, with tricky and changing road conditions, and we should have the full effect with some snow and ice conditions too. I’m looking forward to getting back out in a Rally2 and seeing what we can achieve.”
Grégoire Munster
“We’re looking forward to going to Monte Carlo for the first time with a car prepared by M-Sport. We’ve done the rally a few times in the past so we have some experience there, but I don’t think it would be realistic to say we will aim straight for a big result. We will just try to get familiar with the car, be consistent throughout the weekend and see where we end up. We want to start our campaign on a good footing.”
TokSport will also be running a number of the new Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 for the following drivers: Sami Pajari, Nikolay Gryazin and Marco Bulacia. In addition to those drivers, Oliver Solberg, Chris Ingram and lots of others will also be driving Skoda’s as well. Hyundai’s will be run by Motorsport Ireland for Josh McErlean and William Crieighton. Finally, there are also some C3 Rally2’s for Yohan Rossell, Stephane Lefebvre and Sean Johnson. It’s great to see this championship so well supported and this championship will likely be decided just like last year on the final round. The drivers get to choose the rounds that they enter, which brings an interesting element of uncertainty and unpredictability to the championship.
Summary
Who are the drivers that are likely to challenge for victory this weekend? It’s fair to say that Seb Ogier will be in the mix along with Thierry Neuville. Other drivers likely at be at the front include Kalle, Elfyn and Ott. Rising young stars Takamoto and Pierre-Louis will look to gain more experience for the future and the young Frenchman will certainly benefit from his new co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul who won this rally with Thierry in 2020.
The action starts on Thursday evening with the first two stages in the evening. Enjoy!
The first full day of action would encompass 130km’s over six stages. The startlist looked like this – Rovanperä, Tänak, Neuville, Evans, Katsuta, Ogier, Breen, Sordo, Greensmith.
The first morning stage then and the second of the rally, SS2 Isegami’s Tunnel 1 – 23.29 km was won by Kalle with Thierry and Elfyn second and third fastest. All three of them jumped up into the top three overall positions. Those to fall down the order were Ott, Craig and overnight leader Seb, who suffered a puncture in this one. He did not know where he picked this up and sounded very unhappy already. In the WRC2 category, Kajetan crashed out at the exit of the tunnel and his hopes of this year’s category title were gone, as his Skoda had very heavy damage. Emil Lindholm was now leading the category. It was far worse though for Dani Sordo. Just after the section with the tunnel, he stopped as there was smoke in his car. He and Candida found that the car was on fire, and whilst attempting to put this out, Gus arrived at the scene, but unfortunately despite their best attempts, they could not put it out. The stage would then be red flagged.
The next stage SS3 Inabu Dam 1 – 19.38 km which was cancelled, as the cars were all not able to make it to the start line.
Next up then was SS4 Shitara Town R 1 – 22.44 km and Elfyn was fastest from Seb and Thierry. Former leader Kalle could only manage sixth fastest and fell to third overall. Elfyn and Thierry held the lead, having so far set the same overall time after these stages. Sadly, the day was over for Craig and his new co-driver James. They hit a barrier and damaged their Puma, putting them out for the rest of the day. All was not well with their teammate, Gus and Jonas either. They were suffering with a broken driveshaft, a problem that they’d been dealing with all morning, but at least they could get back to the service and get the car fixed.
After service, SS5 Isegami’s Tunnel 2 – 14.33 km, massively shortened due to the fire in Dani’s car (it finished at the tunnel entrance) was won by Elfyn with Thierry second fastest and Seb third. The Welshman took the lead by 1.1 seconds over Thierry. With his driveshaft replaced, Gus moved back into sixth overall, moving ahead of Emil and Reeta who were still leading the WRC2 category.
The following stage, SS6 Inabu Dam 2 – 19.38 km, was taken by Kalle, from Elfyn and Ott and now Elfyn’s lead over Thierry was three seconds. Things were going well for the Toyota crew. There were changes in the WRC2 leaderboard though, with Teemu going fastest from Sami and Heikki Kovalainen (yes, the former McLaren F1 driver). Sami now assumed the lead of the category, from Teemu and Emil was now in third.
The final stage of the day SS7 Shitara Town R 2 – 22.44 km was cancelled, due the damage sustained to the barrier following Craig’s incident.
Let’s take a look at the standings and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
57:18.8
2
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+3.0
3
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+5.1
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+13.9
5
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+20.6
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:00.4
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans (1st)
“It’s always nice to be leading at the end of the day but there’s still a long way to go, so it doesn’t mean too much just yet. The morning’s first stage was very demanding and a proper wake-up call. We lost a bit of time in there but then we had a good run through the second stage that we did, and we’ve followed that up with a decent afternoon as well. It’s still been pretty difficult, very twisty and very technical, and the grip levels have been changing all the time. The character changes within stages so we need a car that works well in many different scenarios. Again, there will be a bit of everything tomorrow but we’ll give it our best as always.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 13 / Rally Japan / 10-13th November, 2022 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä (3rd)
“It’s has been not too bad today and it’s still fairly close, so we can be somewhat happy. It definitely wasn’t easy driving these stages, with a lot of corners all the time. Without testing and going onto fully new roads, it’s not easy to have everything feeling 100 per cent straightaway – especially on these types of roads, as I like to have the balance a bit different to the others. We made some changes at lunch and it was better this afternoon. If we can find a bit more precision with the car, I will be able to push harder tomorrow.”
Sébastien Ogier (10th)
“Unfortunately for us the hope of a top result here ended very early this morning with this puncture in the first stage. It’s very frustrating of course, and we’re not sure why it happened but we had to stop to change the wheel and lost over two-and-a-half minutes to the lead. Now the excitement is not quite the same when you’re no longer fighting for victory, but of course we’ll try to keep pushing and to keep enjoying these stages. It’s also an opportunity to work with my new co-driver Vincent who is doing a very good job so far, and also to work with the setup of the car. These roads are very unique and the feeling is not yet at the optimum like we had in Spain on roads we knew very well.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (2nd)
“Despite a shorter day than we expected, it was still a tough challenge out there; a lot of hard work for the drivers and the co-drivers. We managed our day quite well, I think. It was a bit up and down because of the characteristics of the road, and some changing conditions. It’s difficult coming to a brand-new rally because we have to start from zero; you have to go through different options and settings. We prepared as well as we could, but we didn’t expect so many grip changes. We need to find the right compromise and we’re fighting with that a bit at the moment. At the end, we’ve done a good job, and we’re near the front and with some good times. We will do our best to continue in this way.”
Ott Tänak (4th)
“We managed two stages in the morning; the first one was very demanding with many grip changes and overall, it wasn’t easy to drive. On the following one it was almost the opposite, with high grip but tricky with the visibility and we also had some issues with our diffs. The afternoon felt a bit better, gaining in some places and losing out in others; but altogether it was an improvement. It’s been hard to find a confident feeling on tarmac, but we are there or thereabouts. It’s challenging, of course, but if the grip levels are higher then it’s OK. Tomorrow’s stages are more or less the same as today, the first one quite slow and twisty, but the other ones a bit more ‘racey’. We are still in the fight; there is a long way to go, so let’s see what the rally looks like at the end.”
Dani Sordo (DNF)
“At some point during SS2 we started to have a lot of smoke in the car, and it all happened really fast. I stopped, and we used the small extinguisher to try and put out the fire. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do more; I was trying all that I could, but it was impossible. I’m so sorry to the team to lose the car. I have never seen anything like this before. It is definitely something we all have to look into and learn from.”
Saturday
The second day would see 80km’s over seven stages. The startlist would now be the reversed top ten, with Craig opening the stages and Elfyn being the final car through.
The Welshman would make a very good start to the day, winning SS8 Nukata Forest 1 – 20.56 km from Thierry and Seb third. Elfyn’s lead was now up to 5.9 seconds over the Belgian crew, whilst Kalle went wide on a corner and suffered a puncture, the result being that the new world champions dropped three places falling to sixth overall. The fight continued for the WRC2 win, with Emil moving back ahead of Teemu.
Seb took SS9 Lake Mikawako 1 – 14.74 km from Thierry and Elfyn. The gap narrowed a little between the top two overall crews, but Elfyn remained in the lead by 4.7 seconds. Seb’s pace had now brought him ahead of Kalle, who was now down in seventh overall. Emil remained the leader of WRC2 and was holding eighth overall as well.
Ott took his first stage win, in SS10 Shinshiro City – 7.08 km from Seb and Takamoto. Meanwhile, Elfyn, who was fourth fastest increased his lead over Thierry who was sixth fastest. Kalle took a penalty of a minute due to being six minutes late to the time control. The Finn fell down to 12th overall.
After lunch time service, Seb won SS11 Nukata Forest 2 – 20.56 km from Thierry and Elfyn. The Frenchman’s pace took him ahead of Gus and into fifth overall. The Brit was suffering with an intermittent powersteering problem and this was really affecting his ability to push hard on these twisty stages. Emil and Reeta remained in control of WRC2 with a lead of 46 seconds over Sami and Enni.
Into SS12 Lake Mikawako 2 – 14.74 km and Seb took another stage win from Thierry, with Elfyn third fastest. Elfyn lost the lead to Thierry and was now two seconds behind the Belgian. Top three in WRC2 was Emil, Sami and Gregoire.
SS13 Okazaki City SSS 1 – 1.40 km was cancelled due to delays getting it underway.
The final stage then, SS14 Okazaki City SSS 2 – 1.40 km and Thierry showed that as always, he’s the super special stage specialist, winning the stage from Ott and Seb. Elfyn was only sixth fastest, setting the same time as Teemu.
Let’s take a look at the standings and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
1:51:28.3
2
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+4.0
3
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+39.9
4
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:04.5
5
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:46.7
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Ford Puma Rally1
+3:25.4
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans (2nd)
“We got off to a good start this morning. Everything was working well in the car and we managed to extend our lead. Then this afternoon we were not performing as well as we would like. I was still trying but I was struggling to find the same feeling and deliver the stage times. We’ll need to have a look tonight and try to understand why that was. It’s unfortunate to be in this position now after the strong morning we had. But it’s still pretty tight – like it has been for the whole rally – and there are plenty of kilometres left in which to fight back, and if the rain comes as expected then it could be a complicated day.”
Sébastien Ogier (5th)
“It’s been a positive day for us. To be fastest over the day is always good and it’s been enjoyable in the car with a good rhythm. We’ve been working on the setup, trying to make the most of this opportunity and we now have a better idea on how we should set-up the car for conditions like these. It’s also working well with Vincent, who is doing a great job. Unfortunately, we’re not fighting for so much anymore in terms of positions, but we managed to get into the top five which was the maximum we could do on speed. But tomorrow will be a long day with rain expected and many things can still happen.”
Kalle Rovanperä (11th)
“Things got a bit tricky for us straightaway in the opening stage this morning. I got caught out in a slippery braking area which I didn’t have in the pacenotes and we went a bit wide and broke the wheel. We had to stop and change it, so basically, we lost the chance to fight for the podium right there. This afternoon was more positive, not necessarily in terms of pace but we were trying some new things on the car and learning a bit about the setup. There is nothing for us to fight for now so it’s just trying to manage everything. Let’s see how the rain is tomorrow but it seems like it will be a big challenge.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (1st)
“The target at the start of the day was to stay close to Elfyn and to keep the gap behind. He had a great morning loop, and we were generally looking for a better balance with our car. We just drove to our rhythm and pushed when we could. We got it right for the afternoon with a good tyre choice, and a soft for the final stage, which allowed us to take and increase the lead. Tomorrow is going to be another difficult day, just as it’s been all event, and with extra excitement. To finish the season with a victory would be great.”
Ott Tänak (3rd)
“It’s good to end the day in the provisional podium positions but it’s not over yet. We had a generally clean day, with no trouble; everything worked well. We weren’t far off the pace but the cars at the front were able to find a bit more and go faster than us. Stage 10 was a bit different, and we could set the fastest time. It was a very “racey” stage, so we stiffened the car a bit and it was a big improvement. Tomorrow looks set to be trickier with more challenging stages. Let’s see what it brings; we’ll do all we can to bring home a good result for the team.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Japan 10-14 November 2022 Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Sunday
The final day of the rally and whole season had arrived and there would be 69km’s over five stages. There was also the predicted rain that was due to arrive at any time throughout the day. Once again Craig opened the road and Thierry would be last to complete the stages.
Into SS15 Asahi Kougen 1 – 7.52 km and Elfyn was fastest from Seb, with Thierry third fastest and 3.4 seconds slower than the Welshman. It was game on for the lead between the top two. Meanwhile, Emil remained on course for the WRC2 title holding the lead from Sami.
The longest stage of the day, SS16 Ena City 1 – 21.59 km was taken by Thierry, from Seb and Ott. It was disaster for Elfyn though. He went wide in a corner and picked up a puncture. He stopped around 9.9 km’s into the stage and dropped a minute 30 with the tyre change and with it any hopes of victory. He fell to fourth overall, now one minute 47 seconds from Thierry. Takamoto was now holding third overall and Ott moved into second place.
Into the single run SS17 Nenoue Plateau – 11.60 km and Seb was fastest from Elfyn and Takamoto. It was a case of what might have been, as Elfyn may have been able to retake the lead, as the Belgian was three and a half seconds slower than the Welshman. Meanwhile, Craig was just cruising through the stages, waiting for the rain and saving his wet weather tyres for this.
The rain arrived for the second running of SS18 Ena City 2 – 21.59 km and Craig showed he’s kept his tyres in very good shape, winning the stage from Seb and Gus. Thierry was faster than Elfyn by a huge margin, just because he’d had some wet weather tyres, whereas, Elfyn only had hard and soft tyres. If the battle had continued, it’s likely that Thierry would have pulled away, but we’ll never really know now. There was a change around in the WRC2 category though! Gregoire took the lead- and long-time leader Emil was now in second and Sami was holding third.
The final stage then SS19 Asahi Kougen 2[Power Stage] – 7.52 km and the early pacesetter in his Skoda, Maurio Miele’s time was not beaten by a number of top-class crews, until Craig came through and went 11 seconds faster. The WRC2 master ended up with the second fastest time in the stage, Teemu was third fastest Thierry fourth and Fabrizio, another WRC2 category driver fifth fastest, all taking home powerstage points. The reason that there were only two top class crews in the top five, was because the weather was moving around and therefore the conditions were constantly changing. If you’ve not seen the stage, I would recommend watching it if you have WRC Live. We also had a new WRC2 champion crew, with Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hamalainen taking the crown! So good to see a female co-driver taking a championship. They completely deserve this success.
Let’s take a look at the final standings and hear from the drivers
Final Overall Classification –Rally Japan
1
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
2:43:52.3
2
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:11.1
3
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:11.3
4
S. Ogier
V. Landais
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+2:23.6
5
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+4:05.1
6
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Ford Puma Rally1
+4:07.4
7
G. Munster
L. Louka
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
+7:50.8
8
T. Suninen
M. Marrkula
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
+8:12.4
9
E. Lindholm
R. Hämäläinen
Škoda Fabia Evo
+8:25.6
10
H. Kovalainen
S. Kitagawa
Škoda Fabia
+8:59.8
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Japan 10-14 November 2022 Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Julien Moncet Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (1st)
“This victory feels fantastic! It wasn’t an easy weekend, or indeed season, but to end with this result is incredible and shows that the performance is there. Thanks to our weather guy for a great job. We knew that the title chase was over, but the target was to come here to Japan to win and we’ve achieved that with a 1-2. It has been a challenging season; we’ve shown a turnaround but there is still plenty of work left to do. Results like this give a special boost to the whole team. We know the areas where we need to improve; I keep believing in this team and I will keep pushing also. Next season will be a different challenge. Monte is less than two months away and we have to be ready for that.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 13, Rally Japan 10 – 13 November 2022 Thierry Neuville Photographer: Austral Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak (2nd)
“It is good to finish the season on the podium. These were extremely tricky conditions at the end, and it’s been a demanding rally overall. For the past couple of events on tarmac, we’ve been lacking some speed to be where we should be. Still, we took the result that we could this weekend and there’s been nothing much left. We came to Hyundai Motorsport to fight for another championship title; obviously we have never delivered enough to achieve that, but it’s been an incredible experience. We’ve met another bunch of people and probably made some friends for life, so it’s been worth every year.”
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Takamoto Katsuta (3rd)
“It is a very special feeling to be on the podium in my home country. I need to say a huge thanks to the team and to the many fans who were supporting us and cheering for us everywhere – on the stages and also on the road sections. It was a really tough weekend with very tricky stages, and the grip level was changing a lot. At first, I was struggling a bit with the feeling but on Friday lunchtime we changed the setup with the team and it went in a very good direction, so I had a more comfortable feeling and the times were pretty good. We had some very difficult conditions at the end of the rally especially, but we were able to survive. Thank you to Aaron and also to our gravel crew, Juho Hänninen and Craig Parry, who did a great job supporting us with information for the pacenotes.”
Sébastien Ogier (4th)
“It was a challenging end to the rally today with the rain which we knew was coming. It was a tough tyre choice this morning with some stages to be driven in the dry and some in the wet so we had to go with a compromise. I think we had the correct choice overall as we were fastest again over the day. It’s been a good weekend in terms of the performance and speed we showed again this weekend, and the first time with Vincent who has done a perfect job. Of course, it would have been even better if we were rewarded with the result that I think we deserved, but some bad luck hit us again this weekend. We are all happy to see Taka on the podium at home and it’s been great to have so much support here in Japan.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 13 / Rally Japan / 10-13th November, 2022 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans (5th)
“Naturally I’m massively disappointed about today. It’s been a tough season personally and we had a chance here and threw everything at it. Today started really well, we had a good rhythm in the car and things were working well. But on the second stage we ran marginally wide and damaged the tyre. It was a big penalty for a small error but that’s the nature of the game. It’s really busy on the stages here so it was easily done. After that the battle for the win was over and then the rain came and the tyres, we had left were not optimal for that. I’m really happy for Taka to be on the podium at his home event: He’s worked hard all year and really deserves it.”
Kalle Rovanperä (12th)
“This has been a tough rally and a challenging one just as we expected. It didn’t go our way this weekend but sometimes it’s like this. The main thing is we got to the end of the rally and learned some things for the future. Again, we were using today as a test day and we wanted to keep the balance with the tyres consistent for the dry stages so that we could try some more things with the setup. I think we made a positive step and found some things which were nice to drive and at least we know the direction for the future. Overall, we’ve had a really good season so we can be very happy with that and thanks to the team and everybody who made it possible.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 13
1
K. Rovanperä
255
2
O. Tänak
205
3
T. Neuville
193
4
E. Evans
134
5
T. Katsuta
122
6
S. Ogier
97
7
C. Breen
84
8
D. Sordo
59
9
E. Lappi
58
10
G. Greensmith
44
2022 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 13
1
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
525
2
Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team
455
3
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team
257
4
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team NG
138
Summary
Well, what an amazing final round of the championship. Two Finnish crews walk away with both titles, and Takamoto takes an amazing third place at his home rally.
There were the issues throughout the weekend, with punctures, mechanical problems, and even a road car getting onto a stage (that was number 4) leading to it being cancelled, when the WRC2 crews were going through.
I’ll be reviewing the season, team by team. Look out for these coming soon.
Well, after a long-awaited return, including two cancelled attempts in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, the championship is heading to the land of the rising sun, with an all-new tarmac event. This has 283km over 19 stages
Toyota head there having secured the manufacturers world championship last month in Spain, to go with the driver title that Kalle and Jonne took in New Zealand.
Now the last time this rally featured in the championship was in 2010 and there are two drivers going there this year that competed all those years ago. Seb Ogier and Dani Sordo. However, there are no carry over stages, as 12 years ago, this event was an all-gravel rally.
Let’s take a look at the stages and hear from the drivers.
Rally Japan begins on Thursday evening with 2.75km stage in Kuragaike Park
Friday is the longest day of the event in terms of distance, with the two loops of stages totalling 130.22km.
The itinerary on Saturday consists of seven stages, including two passes of the super special Okazaki City (1.40km).
Five stages, including the Asahi Kougen Power Stage (7.52km), bring the event to a close on Sunday.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It’s going to be very nice to finally be able to go to Rally Japan, and especially after a season like we have had with the team this year with such good results and the championships already in the bag. It means the team can go to Japan more relaxed and enjoy this home rally, and we will try to push hard and hopefully have a really good result at the end of it. Having seen some stages there three years ago, I think it’s going to be a really tricky event. There are some wider and smoother roads as well as some very narrow forest sections which can also be quite dirty. So it’s going to be a difficult recce before the rally with roads that we’re not used to and a lot of new pacenotes to write.”
Elfyn Evans
“I think the whole team is looking forward to finally have the chance to compete at Rally Japan. Of course, the target will be to try and get a good result on home ground for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. Personally, the last round in Spain was not the best for me but hopefully we can use the rally in Japan to find some improvements and prepare for next year in a good way. I was there in 2019 to recce some of the stages around the area of the rally and from what I remember the roads were very demanding with sections that were extremely twisty and narrow and others which were more fast and flowing, so there will probably be a lot of changes in character to deal with during the rally.”
Sébastien Ogier
“I’m really excited for Rally Japan. It was quite a big disappointment the last two years that this rally had to be cancelled as we definitely see it as a highlight for us as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing drivers. I love the country itself and have some good memories from there: I only competed there once before but it was a win, so there is also some pressure to try and keep my 100 per cent record! This rally will be totally different to before though and probably quite a demanding one from what we have seen so far. But I always like the challenge of a completely new rally where everybody starts from scratch and has to adapt as quickly as possible. I’m sure the experience is going to be a special one and I’m looking forward to it.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“Rally Japan is going to be a challenging one for us because it’s a new event, so I personally don’t have too much information on what to expect, but we will gather all the info we have available with the recce and prepare for it as much as possible. After three years with Hyundai Motorsport, this is going to be my last one with them, so I hope that we can find a good feeling on the roads and finish the season and our partnership on a high note.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 09, Ypres Rally Belgium 18-21 August 2022 Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja, Hyundai i20 N Rally 1 Photographer: Dufour Fabien Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Thierry Neuville
“New country, new rally, new adventure. Other than knowing it will be tarmac stages we have no clue what is waiting for us. This obviously makes it a bit more difficult to prepare but most of the time I have done better when the rally is new than when it is one, I have done before. We always want to finish in the highest place possible at the end of the season, as it gives you a nice feeling going into the winter break and helps motivate you for the next year. So, the target will be to give the best of ourselves, get the most out of the car, and then see where we end up.”
Dani Sordo
“I have rallied in Japan back when it was on gravel, but I am excited to try the new tarmac stages, which I have been told are very narrow and difficult. When you don’t know what to expect it is always more challenging, as all you can do to prepare for the stages is to watch videos. Once we are at the event, the recce and pace notes will be important to producing a good weekend. As always, our goal is to get on the podium at a minimum and deliver the best result possible for the team.”
Hyundai WRC2
Teemu Suninen
“I had a taste of Rally Japan back in 2019 when I did the recce of the candidate event and I have been looking forward to coming back ever since. It is a unique rally with nice smooth tarmac, but it can be surprisingly slippery. There are many slow sections, which creates a big challenge for the drivers and the car has to be good in the slow corners. It’s going to be a fantastic experience to rally in Japan as the fans there are amazing.”
Fabrizio Zaldivar
“I am happy with how we have performed this season and hope that we can finish the year with another good result. At each event I feel like I have learned more about the car and improved my feel and pace in it. I have never competed in Japan before, but I am really looking forward to it. I have also heard that the fans are very passionate, so hopefully we can put on a good show for them.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Craig Breen
“It is the last rally of the year and a new rally for everyone. From what we can see so far, the roads look challenging; incredibly twisty and technical. It looks like it will be up there as one of the most difficult rallies that we’ve seen on Tarmac so far. Still, it should be a nice challenge, Spain got better and better as the weekend went on, I felt like we made some good progress and changes with the car. Hopefully we can hit the ground running here in Japan and try to bring home a good result to end the season.”
Gus Greensmith
“Japan as a country itself is a place I’ve always dreamed about visiting, the fact I am able to go and compete on there and then enjoy the country after is a double bonus. We feel we will have a strong package coming into this weekend. It’s going to be a good weekend; we want to round out the season on a high.”
Summary
Well, we are set for a big end to this year’s championship, and although the titles are wrapped up, I still recommend following the rally through my reports and also if you can, follow the coverage either live, or watching later on WRCPlus. We are looking at similar time difference to the New Zealand stage times.
You might ask why follow the rally? Well, with all drivers not worrying about titles and getting points finishes for their teams, we might well see a no holds barred approach to the stages from all the top crews and this with the predicted to be very technical stages that make up this year’s route, we are likely to have a very spectacular rally!
The second day of Rally Spain saw the crews tackle 118km’s of competitive over seven stages.
First up was SS9 Savallà 1 – 13.93 km and Thierry was fastest from Seb and Kalle. Only 1.5 seconds covered the top three. The overall gap now between Thierry and Kalle in their battle for second place was just 6.2 seconds. Could the Belgian close the gap any further in the following stages? Meanwhile Craig felt a lot better, with the changes made to his Puma making the car really good and he was only eight tenths slower than Ott who was fourth fastest.
Next up was SS10 Querol – Les Pobles 1 – 20.19 km and Seb once again set the fastest time from Thierry and Kalle. There was quite a big-time gap between the 2021 and 2022 champions with the young Finn now almost 10 seconds from the leader. Also Thierry closed a little bit more to the second placed Kalle, bringing the gap down to less than five seconds.
The first run of SS11 El Montmell 1 – 24.18 km and the only drivers to complete were Pierre-Louis and Jourdan in their Puma’s. Unfortunately, as Gus, who was the next car into the stage, came to the end on the stage, he slid wide on a right-hander and in an attempt to turn the Puma into the corner using his handbrake, the car then slid sideways into the barrier on the outside and was spun around so that the car was facing the opposite direct back the way it had come. With the car blocking the stage, first the red flag was shown and the later the decision was made to cancel the stage. All the crews were given a notional time that matched Pierre-Louis’ time.
After lunchtime service SS12 Savallà 2 – 13.93 km, Seb was fastest from Ott and Kalle, with Thierry fourth quickest. Kalle was now five seconds away from Thierry in their battle for second overall, but this battle was not over. Meanwhile, Seb was now 12 seconds ahead of Kalle.
Into SS13 Querol – Les Pobles 2 – 20.19 km and Seb was really into the groove now, going fastest again from Ott and Kalle. Thierry was again fourth, and Kalle was taking a few tenths of a second out of the Belgian.
The rerun of SS14 El Montmell 2 – 24.18 km went better than earlier in the day as all the crews made it through this time. Dani took his first stage win of the rally as well, with Thierry and Seb second and third fastest.
Finally, the short SS15 Salou – 2.15 km and Hyundai teammates Ott and Thierry shared the fastest time and Seb was third. Meanwhile Kalle was only fifth fastest and actually fell to third place behind Thierry and the gap was now 1.4 seconds between them.
Let’s take a look at the standings and hear from the drivers.
Classification after Day Two
1
S. Ogier
B. Veillas
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
2:10:18.5
2
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+20.7
3
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+22.1
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+36.6
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+1:13.2
6
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:27.6
7
C. Breen
P. Nagle
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:39.7
8
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:58.6
9
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:13.7
10
P. L. Loubet
V. Landais
Ford Puma Rally1
+2:59.2
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (1st)
“It’s been another good day today. It’s a nice feeling to have this kind of speed and to be able to increase the gap on almost every stage like we did today. It’s what you dream for coming to a rally. I’m really enjoying driving the GR YARIS this weekend, and today with a comparable road position to our nearest competitors we were able to make more of a lead. It would be nice to get a win and now we have to finish the job. Normally this should be a decent gap but there are still some kilometres to go, so the target is to stay out of trouble until the end.”
Kalle Rovanperä (3rd)
“It has been a nice day overall. Of course, Seb was faster all the time, he was pushing hard and driving really well and we couldn’t really match him, but we were not taking all the risks that we could have done. This afternoon in the first two stages we still had consistent and quite nice pace, but then on the next one we had a small issue with some settings which were wrong on the startline. It meant we were losing time with the hybrid system and we had to try and fix it during the stage. Thierry is now ahead of us but it’s still really close and hopefully tomorrow we will score a good result either way.”
Elfyn Evans (6th)
“Today we were consistently a bit off the pace unfortunately. We already had some struggles yesterday and we couldn’t really overcome that today and find that last bit of feeling and confidence needed to fight at the front where we want to be. The car is clearly competitive and working well in the hands of my team-mates, but it’s just not suiting me perfectly at the moment. So, it’s a bit of a frustrating situation but of course we’re trying to improve all the time and see what we can do, and again we’ll explore what we can tomorrow.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (2nd)
“It was a tough day, but we had some speed in the morning. We won the first stage, but the longest sector of the loop was cancelled, so we held our third place. We wanted to keep pushing in front of the fans; it’s been great to see so many spectators. We had less speed in the afternoon, but we were just hoping to stay in the fight for the lead. There wasn’t much more we could do. All three of our crews struggled to find that little bit extra to match the frontrunner. Some stages we were there, but others we weren’t. We’re going to see what happens tomorrow; it could be tricky in the dark early morning conditions.”
Ott Tänak (4th)
“It was an OK day for us. Technical wise, we had no issues, but we were just missing a bit of pace and lacking a general feeling in the car. This afternoon, I was pushing quite a bit, actually outside of my comfort zone. We had a moment, well it was actually more of an off, but we got back on the road. It was a bit of a miracle. Other than that, it has been a challenging day. The roads have been nice to drive, so we have tried to enjoy ourselves as much as we can. Tomorrow morning in the dark on tarmac could be fun.”
Dani Sordo (5th)
“We made some important set-up changes during the day, and we seem to have unlocked some performance and confidence from the car. Things were much better, and we could show that in the El Montmell stage. My friend said that I had to do a fastest time today, and not just the short one at Salou, so I knew it would have to be this stage. I know the people living in the area; they wait for me to come through. It’s really fast in the middle and you just want to push hard. The car was working well, so I could just enjoy it. I gave it everything I had, and it was an amazing time. This was the feeling I’ve been looking for all weekend. We’ve not been doing badly, but the times were not there. Tomorrow, there are more stages like this one so I will try again to find that confidence to push, especially for all these fans we have cheering us on.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 12, Rally de Espana, 20-23 October 2022 Dani Sordo, Candido Carrera, Hyundai i20 N Rally1, Action during Day 2 of WRC Rally de Espana 2022 Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Tomorrow (Sunday 23rd October)
The final day sees the crews tackle 56km’s over four stages. Can Seb hold on and take his fourth victory, or will Thierry join the Frenchman with three wins? Look out for my report tomorrow evening.
The first day is over and whilst there wasn’t huge drama, we did have a few lead changes. The startlist looked like this with our new world champion opening the road – Rovanperä, Tänak, Neuville, Evans, Katsuta, Breen, Ogier, Sordo, Greensmith, Loubet, Fourmaux, Serderidis.
Kalle won SS1 Els Omells – Maldà 1 – 11.05 km from Thierry and Ott. There was less than three seconds between the top five. The top placed Puma crew was Craig and Paul who held seventh overall.
The first run of SS2 Serra de la Llena 1 – 11.79 km saw Kalle set the fastest time from Thierry and Elfyn, but sadly Ott dropped back a bit after suffering issues with his hybrid unit. The Estonian was only fifth fastest and dropped two places to fifth overall. Seb and Elfyn benefitted from this, moving up into third and fourth respectively. Kalle now had a 3.3 second lead over Thierry.
It all changed at the end of SS3 Les Garrigues Altes 1 – 22.64 km. Seb was showing his pace out there, setting the fastest time from Thierry and Ott. The Estonian was still having some issues with the hybrid, but it was working more often meaning that he had a better pace out there, and his pace took him ahead of Elfyn and into fourth. Meanwhile, Seb’s pace took him into the lead, whilst Thierry remained in second place and Kalle fell to third place. Once again there was only 3.5 seconds between the top three.
The final stage then of the morning loop SS4 Riba-roja 1 – 13.98 km and Thierry was fastest this time from Ott and Seb. This propelled the Belgian into the lead and Seb dropped to second place. Kalle remained in third overall.
After lunchtime service Seb won SS5 Els Omells – Maldà 2 – 11.05 km and he moved back into the lead, the gap over Thierry now 3.2 seconds. Elfyn and Dani had a better start to the afternoon stages and set the identical time for third fastest.
Kalle was fastest in SS6 Serra de la Llena 2 – 11.79 km from Seb and Dani, the Spaniard showing great pace out there. He was a lot happier. Kalle’s pace lifted him up into second overall, the gap between the two teammates was 4.3 seconds. Sadly, things were not so good for Elfyn, who was only ninth fastest.
Kalle also won SS7 Les Garrigues Altes 2 – 22.64 km from Seb and Thierry. This is the stage that had some drama for the crews with Dani and Elfyn both getting punctures. The Welshman dropped one place to sixth overall to Dani who despite his puncture gained one place. Takamoto also got a puncture in this one. This problem meant that the very consistent pace from Craig brought him ahead of the Toyota driver and into seventh overall.
The final stage then of the day, SS8 Riba-roja 2 – 13.98 km and Seb was fastest from Kalle and Pierre-Louis. Elfyn was back up to some pace going sixth fastest but expected the conditions to be quite different and not as dry as it was.
Let’s take a look at the top ten and hear from some of the drivers.
Classification after Day One
1
S. Ogier
B. Veillas
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
1:06:07.9
2
K. Rovanperä
J. Halttunen
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+4.8
3
T. Neuville
M. Wydaeghe
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+12.5
4
O. Tänak
M. Järveoja
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+20.0
5
D. Sordo
C. Carrera
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
+50.9
6
E. Evans
S. Martin
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:01.2
7
C. Breen
P. Nagle
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:03.7
8
T. Katsuta
A. Johnston
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
+1:28.6
9
A. Fourmaux
A. Coria
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:31.3
10
G. Greensmith
J. Andersson
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:38.8
11
P. L. Loubet
V. Landais
Ford Puma Rally1
+1:48.7
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Sébastien Ogier (1st)
“It’s been a good day. We had fun in the car, I really enjoyed driving the GR YARIS today. I was not really sure this would be possible today starting seventh on the road with the amount of cutting in the stages. But the feeling was good and we were able to push most of the time even though the conditions were a bit challenging and changing all the time. It’s nice to be in the lead tonight and have two Toyotas at the front – it’s been a great day for the team today – but the gap behind us is not so big so we will have to keep pushing tomorrow.”
Kalle Rovanperä (2nd)
“I can be quite happy with what we did today. The morning was quite nice with two new and fast stages where we could do good times. Then the longest stage was tricky with a lot of grip changes and we a lost a bit too much time there. The afternoon was a bit more consistent and I had a better feeling with the hard tyres on the car. It’s nice to be in this battle but the cars behind are still close, so tomorrow we will need to continue going as fast as possible and see what we can do.”
Elfyn Evans (6th)
“For us it’s not been the best day overall. It started OK this morning in difficult mixed conditions, with differing levels of grip through the stage, but I wasn’t fully at one with everything and was a bit hesitant in places. In the afternoon we seemed to be struggling a bit more. At some points the feeling was OK in the car but then we had the puncture in SS7 and lost quite a lot more time. It does give us an opportunity to look at changing a few things tonight and try to find a better feeling for tomorrow.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Thierry Neuville (3rd)
“It was an OK day. This morning, we had a good rhythm, and the speed was there. Unfortunately, this afternoon it seems our competitors were able to go a bit faster, so we were constantly losing time. We are twelve seconds off with two days to go, and everything is still open. I think personally that I could have gone a bit harder and pushed more, but also, I have lacked the feeling in some corners and didn’t know exactly where the limit is. We have to work on that. On Saturday, we have a different profile of stages, which we know well, so there will be room for more improvement.”
2022 FIA World Rally Championship Round 12, Rally de Espana, 20-23 October 2022 X Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Ott Tänak (4th)
“On the first two stages this morning we had some hybrid issues. Somehow, we managed to get it working for the next two, but then we had to change a broken alternator belt in the road section. We had a similar hybrid issue in the afternoon, so the team needs to find out what’s causing it. Generally, we struggled to get the feeling we would expect from tarmac. We knew before the rally it would be difficult. For Thierry and Dani, it seems to suit but for me it’s demanding. The plan is to try and get the car to work like it should be and hopefully keep in touch with Thierry tomorrow. That’s our objective at least.”
Dani Sordo (5th)
“I have been frustrated with today because we came here hoping to push for victory. Unfortunately, the conditions and circumstances have meant we’ve not been able to. I knew when we picked up the puncture in SS7 because I heard something; I think it was a stone in the mud during a small corner. There was nothing in our pace notes, but I know that others had the same issue. We took it steady after that to avoid losing the tyre off the rim, which would have lost more time. I expected better today, but there are still two days to go, and we need to push more. I hope the weather will be OK.”
Tomorrow (Saturday 22nd October)
The crews will have six normal stages to face, and then a superspecial in the evening. There is a total of 118km’s over the seven stages. Pop back tomorrow evening for my report on the day’s action.
We are down to the last two rounds of this season’s championship and with Kalle and Jonne having taken their first world title in the last round, will we see a completely a new level of pace from the youngest ever world champions? They will open the road throughout Friday and as we know the road will get slower as the dirt and gravel that gets pulled on with the level of cutting in the corners.
Any number of crews from the top teams could win this rally, and it’s worth looking at the list of the last winners of this rally. Thierry won the last two times in 2021 and 2019 for Hyundai Motorsport, whilst Citroen took the two wins before with Kris Meeke winning in 2017 and Seb Loeb in 2018.
This rally will see the final drive of Paul Nagle in the world of rallying. He has sat alongside Craig since the start of 2019, taking a number of podiums for Hyundai and then M-Sport. He took a win with Kris Meeke here in 2017, and will be much missed. Could we see a final flourish for the Irish duo this weekend? Here’s hoping!!
Let’s take a look at the stages then for this year and hear from the drivers.
After a Thursday morning Shakedown, Rally de España will officially open with a ceremonial start in the seaside town of Salou – home of the WRC service park.
Friday will see the first running of the event, with two brand-new stages for crews to contend with. Eight stages will total a competitive distance of 118.92km.
Crews will tackle a similar distance in Saturday’s seven stages, including the rally’s longest stage (El Montmell, 24.18km), finishing with a short sprint in Salou.
Four stages on Sunday will round out the event, with Riudecanyes – which features a 360° donut in front of the fans – bestowed with the honour of the rally’s Power Stage.
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Kalle Rovanperä
“It has been nice to have a few days to appreciate what we achieved in New Zealand but we still have two rallies to go where we want to perform as strongly as possible, so the work doesn’t stop. Already last week when we got back to Europe, we were almost straight back in the car for our pre-event test in Spain. The big goal now is to win the manufacturers’ championship and it would be great if we could secure it already in Spain. It’s a really nice rally with fast and flowing roads, and the stages are the closest thing we have to a racing circuit. That means we need to be quite precise with the driving, but it’s really enjoyable when you get it right.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 11 / Rally Catalunya/Spain / 14-17 October 2021 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Elfyn Evans
“Spain is a really enjoyable rally now that it’s fully on asphalt again since last year. The stages will be by-far the raciest asphalt roads we’ve encountered with this car. We were strong on the last asphalt event in Belgium but Spain could hardly be more different in character. Arguably Monte Carlo is actually the most similar, but the temperatures and conditions will obviously be completely different in Spain. It’s a rally where the margins tend to be quite tight so we can expect it to be a hard-fought weekend. The manufacturers’ championship is an important target for the team and the easiest way to achieve it will be with good results. Hopefully we will manage to score a top one for the team.”
Sébastien Ogier
“New Zealand was a very nice comeback for me after a few months away, and it was a really special weekend to be a part of. Our one-two finish also took us a good step closer to the manufacturers’ championship and this is now the next target for Spain. For me it will be good to have two events on asphalt to finish the season, and it gives me the opportunity to get back in the rhythm on this surface and be as ready as possible for Japan, which will obviously be a special event for the whole team. But before that we also have a job to do in Spain to try and get the best result possible there. The roads are always great to drive and I’m sure it will be a strong fight for the victory.”
Hyundai Motorsport
Ott Tänak
“I would say Spain is the first true tarmac rally of the season, as it is quite smooth and at the same time quite fast. It is always difficult to find the correct balance there, so our confidence in the car will need to be high. The stages have lots of long, fast corners that make you fight with understeer, which is something we will have to get right with the setup of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1. I’m expecting it to be a fun and enjoyable rally, but it also quite important for us to be competitive and fight for as many points as possible. We showed how good our tarmac package is in Croatia and Belgium, and our aim is to continue that streak in Spain.”
Thierry Neuville
“I think Rally de España is quite straightforward now that it is back to being a full tarmac event. The roads are flat, wide and smooth; the grip level is more or less the same across all of the stages. Being quick there is about getting a good setup and finding a nice flow with the car – then pushing as hard as you can. The gaps are always very small, so it almost feels like you are driving on a race track, fighting for every tenth of a second. It would be nice to take a third win in a row in Spain; we’ll certainly be aiming to fight at the front and finish the event on the podium again. We will try our best to perform to our maximum and secure a good result for the team.”
2021 FIA World Rally Championship Round 11, Rally de Espana 14-17 October 2021 X Photographer: Vincent Thuillier Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Dani Sordo
“Going to Rally de España is always special for me, as it is my home event and I am lucky to have a lot of support from the fans there. I also really like the roads; they are very nice to drive and suit my style. I am excited to drive the stages with the new hybrid-powered Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car for the first time. It should be an amazing experience. Cándido and I are enjoying a good run of results, which we will do everything in our power to continue in front of our compatriots. There will be lots of people coming out to see the rally, so like every year I will do my best to deliver a win.”
Hyundai WRC2
Teemu Suninen
“I have liked Rally de España from the very beginning of my career; it is the most similar to circuit racing with nice, smooth tarmac. Wide long corners make you feel like you are driving on a track, and you have to choose the best driving line to carry your speed. It is quite an unique rally in terms of how you set up the car, so we have to do a lot of work on the pre-event test and get into a good rhythm quickly. The last time I drove a tarmac event was last year in Rally Monza, so almost a year ago, but we had a good outing last year in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and finished second in class. I hope we can replicate those results this time out.”
Fabrizio Zaldivar
“Spain will be our first commitment on tarmac and naturally, we really want to see how much we can achieve with the Hyundai i20 N Rally2. We are learning a little more every day. To prepare for this event, we have organized a very thorough preparation, with three days of testing on different roads in the Catalan region. Our focus in the tests will be to find the most comfortable car to face this challenge. Having engineering support every day will allow us to work very efficiently, and to adjust everything that is necessary. I want to thank my team-mate Teemu as well, who is also helping me with his experience, and he will surely contribute a lot that will benefit me at the next event.”
M-Sport Ford WRT
Craig Breen
“Spain should be nice, it’s an event that I haven’t done for a couple of years, 2018 was my last time. It’s an event that I like and the closest we ever really get to circuit racing on a rally stage with nice smooth tarmac. Hopefully the weather will be nice and dry so that we can enjoy the high grip and speeds there. We had our test before New Zealand and it went really well, the feeling was good so hopefully we can find a good feeling in the shakedown and try to get the best result possible. There are two events left on Tarmac to finish off the season so we want to try and finish on a high and see if we can turn this bad luck around.”
Gus Greensmith
“Spain is like the race track rally of the year, it has very, very smooth roads that are beautiful to drive on which is something that I think suits the Puma very well. The test went really well, we made very few changes and the car felt fantastic from the first runs so I am looking forward to it.”
Adrien Fourmaux
“I am really pleased to be back in the car and it’s a beautiful rally, we have some really nice flowing stages and I will be really happy to be back in the World Rally Championship. We had a really good test and I am really happy to drive the car in Spain and enjoy the moment, I hope for a good result for the team and all our crews.”
Pierre-Louis Loubet
“I am looking forward to Spain, I hope that we will be confident with the car like we have been all season. After our test I am really confident in the car and sure it will perform very well on the Spanish Tarmac. This will be mine and Vincent’s last time in the car this year, so we are hoping for a strong end to the year.”
Round up
We are set for a spectacular event then and anyone could take victory. The stages may suit the Hyundai with it’s longer wheelbase, but the Toyota team will want to take victory for the first time in this event for the first time since they returned to the championship in 2017. However, M-Sport Ford will want to have their say as well, and given that the Puma has shown great pace on all surfaces’ throughout this year. Enjoy!
