2023 Rally Mexico
19th edition of Rally Mexico
| 2023 Rally Mexico Rally Guanajuato México 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Round 3 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship
| |||
 The Rally Mexico returned to the championship after a two-year absence. | |||
| Host country |  Mexico | ||
| Rally base | León, Guanajuato | ||
| Dates run | 16 – 19 March 2023 | ||
| Start location | City of Guanajuato, Guanajuato | ||
| Finish location | León, Guanajuato | ||
| Stages | 23 (315.69 km; 196.16 miles)[1] | ||
| Stage surface | Gravel | ||
| Transport distance | 653.93 km (406.33 miles) | ||
| Overall distance | 969.62 km (602.49 miles) | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Crews registered | 32 | ||
| Crews | 31 at start, 28 at finish | ||
| Cancellation | SS15 cancelled due to the accident of Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in the stage at the morning loop. | ||
| Overall results | |||
| Overall winner |  Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT3:16:09.4 | ||
| Power Stage winner | Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 5:14.8 | ||
| Support category results | |||
| WRC-2 winner |  Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson3:28:40.9 | ||
| WRC-3 winner |  Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate3:46:34.2 | ||
The 2023 Rally Mexico (also known as the Rally Guanajuato México 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days between 16 and 19 March 2023.[2] It marked the nineteenth running of the Rally Mexico, and was the third round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2023 event was based in the city of León in Guanajuato and was consisted of twenty-three special stages, covering a total competitive distance of 315.69 km (196.16 mi).[1]
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the defending rally winners.[3] However, Ingrassia did not defend his title as he retired from the sport at the end of 2021 season.[4] Pontus Tidemand and Patrick Barth were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.[5] Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Giovanni Bernacchini were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category.[6]
Ogier and Vincent Landais won their second victory of the season. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners.[7] Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson and Patrick Barth were the winners in the WRC-2 category, while Diego Dominguez Jr. and Rogelio Peñate were the winners in the WRC-3 category.[8]
Background
Entry list
The following crews were entered into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories, the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3 and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ten were entered under Rally1 regulations, as were ten Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and one Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3.[9][10]
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Championship eligibility | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Gus Greensmith | Jonas Andersson | Gus Greensmith | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Driver, Co-driver | P |
| 21 | Oliver Solberg | Elliott Edmondson | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | Driver, Co-driver | P |
| 22 | Adrien Fourmaux | Alexandre Coria | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | Driver, Co-driver | P |
| 23 |  Nikolay Gryazin[a] | Konstantin Aleksandrov[b] |  Toksport WRT 2 | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Team | P |
| 24 |  Emil Lindholm | Reeta Hämäläinen | Toksport WRT 2 | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Driver, Co-driver, Team | P |
| 25 |  Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Maciej Szczepaniak | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 26 |  Martin Prokop | Michal Ernst | Martin Prokop | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 27 | Daniel Chwist | Kamil Heller | Daniel Chwist | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 28 |  Eduardo Castro |  Fernando Mussano | Eduardo Castro | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| 29 |  Jorge Martínez Fontena | Alberto Alvarez Nicholson | Jorge Martínez Fontena | Škoda Fabia R5 | Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver | P |
| No. | Driver | Co-Driver | Entrant | Car | Tyre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Diego Dominguez Jr. | Rogelio Peñate | Diego Dominguez Jr. | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
| 37 |  Jason Bailey | Shayne Peterson | Jason Bailey | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | P |
Itinerary
All dates and times are CST (UTC-6).
| Date | No. | Time span | Stage name | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 March | — | After 10:01 | Llano Grande [Shakedown] | 5.52 km | |
 | After 17:40 | Opening ceremony, León | — | ||
| SS1 | After 20:05 | Street Stage GTO 1 | 1.12 km | ||
| SS2 | After 20:28 | Street Stage GTO 2 | 1.12 km | ||
| 17 March |  | 7:30 – 7:45 | Service A, León | — | |
| SS3 | After 8:43 | El Chocolate 1 | 29.07 km | ||
| SS4 | After 9:46 | Ortega 1 | 15.71 km | ||
| SS5 | After 10:39 | Las Minas 1 | 13.79 km | ||
| | 12:49 – 13:19 | Flexi service B, León | — | ||
| SS6 | After 14:17 | El Chocolate 2 | 29.07 km | ||
| SS7 | After 15:20 | Ortega 2 | 15.71 km | ||
| SS8 | After 16:13 | Las Minas 2 | 13.79 km | ||
| SS9 | After 17:16 | Las Dunas Superspecial 1 | 3.70 km | ||
| SS10 | After 18:16 | Distrito León Mx SSS | 2.73 km | ||
| | 21:00 – 21:45 | Flexi service C, León | — | ||
| 18 March | SS11 | After 8:13 | Ibarrilla 1 | 14.82 km | |
| SS12 | After 9:04 | El Mosquito 1 | 22.56 km | ||
| SS13 | After 10:05 | Derramadero 1 | 21.70 km | ||
| SS14 | After 11:13 | Las Dunas Superspecial 2 | 3.70 km | ||
| | 12:33 – 13:03 | Flexi service D, León | — | ||
| SS15 | After 14:06 | Ibarrilla 2 | 14.82 km | ||
| SS16 | After 14:59 | El Mosquito 2 | 22.56 km | ||
| SS17 | After 16:05 | Derramadero 2 | 21.70 km | ||
| SS18 | After 17:18 | Las Dunas Superspecial 3 | 3.70 km | ||
| SS19 | After 18:08 | Rock & Rally SSS | 2.73 km | ||
| | 21:00 – 21:45 | Flexi service E, León | — | ||
| 19 March | SS20 | After 8:05 | Las Dunas Superspecial 4 | 3.70 km | |
| SS21 | After 9:16 | Otates | 35.63 km | ||
| SS22 | After 10:24 | San Diego | 12.61 km | ||
| SS23 | After 12:18 | El Brinco [Power Stage] | 9.59 km | ||
| | 13:33 – 13:43 | Flexi service F, León | — | ||
 | After 14:30 | Podium ceremony, León | — | ||
| Source:[1] | |||||
Report
WRC Rally1
Rally Mexico opened with 2 runs around a superspecial stage in Guanajuato City, and it was Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja who was fastest on both runs, taking a 1.7 second lead over Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen into Friday. However, on the first stage of the day, the 29-kilometer El Chocolate stage, the Estonian crew's turbo failed,[12] causing them to drop to twenty-ninth place and almost 8 minutes behind the leaders, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. Lappi and Ferm would lead the rally at the end of Friday by 5.3 seconds, ahead of 8-time World Champion Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais.[13]
The rally leaders had a serious accident on the opening stage of Saturday, their Hyundai i20 going rear first into a telegraph pole. The car then caught fire, causing the stage to be red-flagged.[14] Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe won the following 3 stages, whilst Ogier and Landais had a 29 second lead over Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Ogier would extend his lead to 36 seconds, as his teammates Evans and Martin's gap to third place Neuville and Wydaeghe was reduced to 4.3 seconcds.[15]
Evans and Martin were locked in a battle with Neuville and Wydaeghe for second place, the Belgians closing the gap to 2.7 seconds as they began the Power Stage, a suspected bent suspension arm costing Evans and Martin on the penultimate stage.[16] In Power Stage, Neuville and Wydaeghe gained 3.1 seconds on Evans and Martin to claim second place by 4 tenths of a second. Ogier and Landais won the rally by 27.5 seconds and also won the Power Stage by 2.1 seconds, meaning they lead the championship by 3 points over Neuville and Wydaeghe.[17]
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | Manufacturers' championships | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | ||||
| 1 |  4 | Sébastien Ogier | 56 | 4 | Vincent Landais | 56 |  | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT | 127 | |||
| 2 | 1 | Thierry Neuville | 53 | 1 | Martijn Wydaeghe | 53 | | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT | 100 | |||
| 3 |  1 | Kalle Rovanperä | 52 | 1 | Jonne Halttunen | 52 | | M-Sport Ford WRT | 73 | |||
| 4 | 3 | Ott Tänak | 47 | 3 | Martin Järveoja | 47 | ||||||
| 5 | 1 | Elfyn Evans | 44 | 1 | Scott Martin | 44 | ||||||
WRC-2 Rally2
Classification
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | Class | Stage | Event | |||||||
| 6 | 1 | 20 | Gus Greensmith | Jonas Andersson | Gus Greensmith | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 3:28:40.9 | 0.0 | 25 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | 2 | 24 | Emil Lindholm | Reeta Hämäläinen | Toksport WRT 2 | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | 3:29:13.8 | +32.9 | 18 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | 3 | 21 | Oliver Solberg | Elliott Edmondson | Oliver Solberg | Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 | 3:29:47.1 | +1:06.2 | 15 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | 4 | 25 | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Maciej Szczepaniak | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | 3:32:06.0 | +3:25.1 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 5 | 26 | Martin Prokop | Michal Ernst | Martin Prokop | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | 3:35:05.5 | +6:24.6 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 6 | 29 | Jorge Martínez Fontena | Alberto Alvarez Nicholson | Jorge Martínez Fontena | Škoda Fabia R5 | 3:44:16.3 | +15:35.4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 7 | 22 | Adrien Fourmaux | Alexandre Coria | M-Sport Ford WRT | Ford Fiesta Rally2 | 3:47:02.5 | +18:21.6 | 6 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | 8 | 27 | Daniel Chwist | Kamil Heller | Daniel Chwist | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | 3:52:27.1 | +23:46.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 9 | 28 | Eduardo Castro | Fernando Mussano | Eduardo Castro | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | 4:09:38.9 | +40:58.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Retired SS4 | 24 | Nikolay Gryazin | Konstantin Aleksandrov | Toksport WRT 2 | Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo | Rolled | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Special stages
Championship standings
| Pos. | Open Drivers' championships | Open Co-drivers' championships | Teams' championships | Challenger Drivers' championships | Challenger Co-drivers' championships | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | Move | Manufacturer | Points | Move | Driver | Points | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Oliver Solberg | 43 | 1 | Elliott Edmondson | 43 | | Toksport WRT 2 | 65 | | Nikolay Gryazin | 25 | | Konstantin Aleksandrov | 25 | |||||
| 2 | 1 | Yohan Rossel | 28 | 1 | Arnaud Dunand | 28 | | Toksport WRT | 40 | | Kajetan Kajetanowicz | 25 | | Maciej Szczepaniak | 25 | |||||
| 3 | 10 | Emil Lindholm | 28 | 10 | Reeta Hämäläinen | 28 | | M-Sport Ford WRT | 30 |  | Sami Pajari | 25 | | Enni Mälkönen | 25 | |||||
| 4 | | Gus Greensmith | 26 | | Jonas Andersson | 26 | | Hyundai Motorsport N | 30 | 1 | Marco Bulacia | 25 | 1 | Borja Rozada | 18 | |||||
| 5 | 2 | Nikolay Gryazin | 20 | 2 | Konstantin Aleksandrov | 20 | | Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy | 18 | 1 | Pepe López | 18 | 1 | James Morgan | 18 | |||||
WRC-3 Rally3
Classification
| Position | No. | Driver | Co-driver | Entrant | Car | Time | Difference | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | Class | ||||||||
| 15 | 1 | 30 | Diego Dominguez Jr. | Rogelio Peñate | Diego Dominguez Jr. | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:46:34.2 | 0.0 | 25 |
| 20 | 2 | 37 | Jason Bailey | Shayne Peterson | Jason Bailey | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 4:05:59.9 | +19:25.7 | 18 |
Special stages
| Stage | Winners | Car | Time | Class leaders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SD | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 4:44.9 | — |
| SS1 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 1:06.7 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate |
| SS2 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 1:05.7 | |
| SS3 | Stage interrupted | |||
| SS4 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 10:15.4 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate |
| SS5 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 10:30.7 | |
| SS6 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 25:56.7 | |
| SS7 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 10:04.6 | |
| SS8 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 10:15.1 | |
| SS9 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:36.1 | |
| SS10 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 1:37.9 | |
| SS11 | Stage interrupted | |||
| SS12 | Stage interrupted | |||
| SS13 | Stage interrupted | |||
| SS14 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:30.6 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate |
| SS15 | Stage cancelled | |||
| SS16 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 17:06.2 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate |
| SS17 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 14:51.8 | |
| SS18 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:36.1 | |
| SS19 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 1:38.8 | |
| SS20 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 3:35.7 | |
| SS21 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 28:54.7 | |
| SS22 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 8:39.8 | |
| SS23 | Dominguez Jr. / Peñate | Ford Fiesta Rally3 | 6:27.7 | |
Championship standings
| Pos. | Drivers' championships | Co-drivers' championships | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Driver | Points | Move | Co-driver | Points | |||
| 1 | 3 | Diego Dominguez Jr. | 37 | 3 | Rogelio Peñate | 37 | ||
| 2 | 1 | Roope Korhonen | 25 | 1 | Anssi Viinikka | 25 | ||
| 3 | 1 | William Creighton | 18 | 1 | Liam Regan | 18 | ||
| 4 | | Jason Bailey | 18 | | Shayne Peterson | 18 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Laurent Pellier | 15 | 2 | Marine Pelamourgues | 15 | ||
Notes
- ^ Nikolay Gryazin is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11]
- ^ Konstantin Aleksandrov is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11]
References
- ^ a b c "Itinerary Rally Guanajuato México 2023". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Ogier clinches victory in Mexico". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Barry, Luke (7 October 2021). "Ogier and Ingrassia's partnership to end after 2021". dirtfish.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Saturday in Mexico: Dominant Tidemand claims WRC 2 win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Saturday in Mexico: Bulacia Bags maiden WRC 3 win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 15 March 2020. Archived from the original on 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ "Seventh heaven for triumphant Ogier in Mexico". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Greenasmith spearheads WRC2 Škoda sweep". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Entry List Rally Guanajuato México 2023". eWRC-results.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "Rally Mexico 2023 Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
- ^ a b "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions in relation to the situation in Ukraine". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ "Turbo-less Tänak crawls to end of El Chocolate". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Lappi heads Ogier in gripping Mexico opener". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Watch: Lappi's Mexico victory hopes go up in flames". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 18 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Lappi shunt gives Ogier control in Mexico". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 19 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Evans, David; Clark, Colin (19 March 2023). "What stopped Evans getting second in Mexico". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ Howard, Tom (20 March 2023). "WRC Mexico: Ogier delivers masterclass, Neuville snatches second". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
External links
- Official website (in Spanish and English)
- 2023 Rally Mexico at eWRC-results.com
- 2023 Rally Mexico at rally-maps.com (in English, German, and Polish)
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| Previous rally: 2020 Rally Mexico | 2023 Rally Mexico | Next rally: 2024 Rally Mexico |
