Mexico - 16-19 Mar 23

Tänak faces tough gravel challenge at Guanajuato Rally México

Posted: March 16, 2023 3:07 PM

Championship leader opens the road on the WRC's return to North America.

It’s hot, it’s dusty, it’s the highest round of the season and it’s the first time we get to view the WRC’s class of 2023 in action on pure gravel roads.

We’re leaving behind the European winter for the sizzling heat of Guanajuato Rally México (16 - 19 March), back on the calendar for the first time since 2020 and home to the FIA World Rally Championship’s third round.

M-Sport Ford’s table-topping star Ott Tänak, who grabbed the championship lead with victory in Sweden last time out, knows his standing will come at a cost at this week’s fixture, the season’s first outside of Europe.

The Puma driver must pay his dues in the mountains around León when he opens the road for Friday’s opening leg on stages coated in dry and slippery gravel. Those tracks become cleaner and faster with each car that passes as the loose dirt is swept aside.

While the two-time Mexico runner-up is praying for rain to bind the loose gravel together, his wish may be in vain as the event is forecasted to have sunny skies with temperatures nudging 30°C.

“I'm not sure I’m that good a [rain] dancer to get the rain in a place where it almost never rains!” joked Tänak, who is joined in the team by Pierre-Louis Loubet and privateer Jourdan Serderidis.

“During testing it was my very first time on gravel in the Puma Rally1 and it was very important to discover as much as possible. The team is working hard to keep improving, but to really understand where we are now, we need to do a gravel rally first,” he added.

Neither Kalle Rovanperä nor Thierry Neuville will benefit that much from second and third in the order. But one man who does is Rovanperä’s Toyota GR Yaris team-mate Sébastien Ogier, a six-time Mexico winner, who starts fifth.

The eight-time champion drives part-time for the Japanese marque and returns to action for the first time since his Monte-Carlo win in January.

“When I knew that Mexico was coming back, I had to mark it in my calendar as an event that would be nice to do again. It’s where everything started for me in the WRC, as it’s actually where I made my debut in 2008," said the Frenchman.

Dani Sordo joins Neuville and Esapekka Lappi in a three-strong Hyundai i20 N line-up and will be the last of the frontrunners onto the road. He will be keen to make the most of the extra grip to put himself in a strong position for the last two legs, when competitors start in reverse order of classification.

"If we get it right, we believe we can be in the battle for victory, but we want to be on the podium as a minimum," said Sordo, who alternates drives with Craig Breen.

Elfyn Evans, fourth in the standings, also drives a GR Yaris, as does Takamoto Katsuta - although the Japanese driver will not score manufacturers’ championship points with Ogier in attendance this week.

The route climbs to more than 2,700 metres above sea level, where engines traditionally struggle to 'breathe' in the thinner air and lose 20 per cent of their power. However, the Rally1 cars’ hybrid specification brings a battery-powered boost less impacted by the thinner air, which could make this one of the fastest editions Guanajuato Rally México has ever seen.

The rally starts on Thursday night with two iconic street tests through Guanajuato's former mining tunnels. Three more days of action follow in the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains before Sunday afternoon's finish in León after 23 stages covering 320.23km.

Hyundai Motorsport Preview: Round 3 – Rally México

Posted: March 13, 2023 3:49 PM

After its double podium finish in the snow of Rally Sweden, Hyundai Motorsport heads to the complete contrast of Rally México next weekend (March 16-19) ready to tackle the gruelling mountainous stages in a bid to ascend to the top step.

WRC makes a much-anticipated return to Mexico after a two-year absence for the third round of the season; it will be the first time the hybrid challengers will face the event’s uniquely challenging conditions. The picturesque Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains will set the scene once again, which will see cars compete at up to 2,700m above sea level.

The effect of the high altitude, combined with scorching temperatures, puts enormous strain on the engines, with some losing up to 20% of their power. This is where the hybrid units of the Rally1 cars can play an even more significant role, with the correct strategy and use of the hybrid boost helping the crews to mitigate the issue.

Mexico memories
The event holds a special place in Hyundai Motorsport’s history, as the location of the team’s first WRC podium in 2014 in only its third event. However, Thierry Neuville’s third place was not completely set in stone; during the final stage, the Belgian picked up damage to his car, causing his radiator to leak. In a bid to safely reach the service park, Neuville skilfully repurposed his celebratory bottle of Corona beer as coolant – allowing him to make it back to León and confirm the podium finish.

Hyundai Motorsport has scored a total four podiums from previous visits to Rally México. Neuville was third in 2014 and 2017, Dani Sordo powered to second a year later in 2018, while Ott Tänak finished within touching distance of the winner in 2020.

Looking ahead
Taking on the 320.71km gravel rally next weekend behind the wheel of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid will be Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm, and Sordo with Cándido Carrera.

The Belgian crew will be looking to maintain their 100% top-three record in 2023. The team’s newest recruits, Lappi and Ferm, aim translate their learnings from the first two rounds of the season into a rewarding podium finish. Sordo and Carrera return for their second event of the year determined to return to their strong form on gravel.

Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “After one mainly tarmac event and another on snow and ice, we now take on gravel for the first time this season. The team performed very well on this surface last season, so we are on a mission to continue that in 2023. All three drivers have experience of Rally México and the effects of the heat and high altitude on both themselves and their cars. This year will offer a different challenge, as this is the first time the new hybrid power units will run during the event, so we have an opportunity to find a competitive edge with our set-up. The crews are feeling confident, as am I, so we should be able to target our first victory in Mexico.”

Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Belgians have claimed third in both the opening two rounds
Neuville has scored three previous podiums in Mexico

Neuville said: “Rally México is a lovely event and is always one of my highlights of the season. It is a beautiful country with fantastic roads, and there is always a lot of support there. However, it will be challenging for a number of reasons: it is the first gravel rally of the season, it will be hot, and the high altitude is tough on the cars. This year it will be important to get the hybrid mapping correct and take advantage of that extra power. Setting up the car to have good traction and then driving precisely will be also very important to us performing well. Our target for the weekend is to be amongst the fastest crews and fight for another podium.”

Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Finnish crew on the hunt for first podium with Hyundai Motorsport
Duo showed massive improvement at previous round in Sweden

Lappi said: “Mexico is always a special rally. Engine performance usually drops due to the high altitude and hot temperatures, so it will be interesting to see how that will feel with the new hybrid systems. The stages are almost the opposite to Sweden; they are a lot slower and very technical. It can also be quite slippery because of the small layer of loose gravel, meaning rear grip is particularly important. Our road position of sixth should be an advantage, as there should be some cleaner lines after the first cars have cleared the way. We want to have a consistent and strong weekend, as I feel we deserve it after the first two events. With that in mind, we should be firmly in the fight for the podium.”

Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Sordo took hard-fought second place at Rally Mexico 2018
Spaniards targeting sixth podium finish as a partnership

Sordo said: “Rally México is an amazing event with really nice roads. The fans and spectators there have a lot of energy and passion which creates a great atmosphere for rallying. It is also unique as the high altitude causes the cars to have less power, making them feel a little bit different. Physically you have to be ready as the lack of oxygen and heat makes it very demanding on the body; it definitely makes you more tired. Our target for the rally is to finish as high as possible and we hope that is near the top. If we get it right, we believe we can be in the battle for victory, but we want to be on the podium as a minimum.”

Weekend at a Glance
Following a 5.52km shakedown, two passes of Street Stage GTO (1.12km) kick-starts Rally México on Thursday evening
Friday’s is the longest day of the rally with an itinerary of eight stages, including the infamous 29.07km El Chocolate, totalling a competitive distance of 123.60km
The schedule on Saturday is no less gruelling, boasting a further nine stages and a combined distance of 128.32km
The event concludes on Sunday with five stages, including a single pass of the rally’s longest test – the 35.63km Otates ­– and the El Brinco Power Stage.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing targets new heights with GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID

Posted: March 13, 2023 3:47 PM

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will take on new challenges with its GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID contender when Rally México makes a much-anticipated return for round three of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship season.

This will be the championship’s first visit to Mexico and to the American continent since 2020. As well as being the first gravel round of the season, with ambient temperatures as high as 30°C providing a stark contrast to the winter conditions of Rallye Monte-Carlo and Rally Sweden, the event is set to provide a major new test for the latest generation of Rally1 cars that were introduced last year.

In the mountains of the Guanajuato region around the city of León, the stages climb to the highest point of the season at more than 2700 metres above sea level. At such high altitude, the thinner air can reduce the power of internal combustion engines by as much as 20 per cent. The additional 100kW boost of electric power provided by the Rally1 cars’ hybrid units could therefore prove particularly valuable, but the reduced air available for cooling combined with the rough gravel roads will pose a tough test for reliability as always. An added complication is that testing outside of Europe is prohibited, with TGR-WRT recently heading to southern Spain to try and simulate the likely conditions as best as possible.

The team will hope to repeat the breakthrough first Rally México victory it achieved on its last visit three years ago with Sébastien Ogier. The Frenchman has six previous wins in total in Mexico – a joint record – including in each of the WRC’s last three visits and will return to the team’s line-up to make his second start of 2023, following his victory on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January. He joins the team’s full-season drivers Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans in being nominated to score manufacturers’ points, with Takamoto Katsuta making his Mexican debut in a fourth car with the support of the TGR WRC Challenge Program.

The rally takes place around 400 kilometres northwest of the capital Mexico City, and the always-enthusiastic local fans are sure to be out in force for the popular opening stage in the historic city of Guanajuato on Thursday night, when each driver will do two runs through the cobbled streets and old mining tunnels.

A repeated loop of three stages in the hills above Guanajuato on Friday begins with the familiar El Chocolate test. The day concludes with two super special stages on the way back to the service park in León, including the new Las Dunas test that will be driven four times across the weekend. Saturday focuses on the Sierra de Lobos mountains when another loop of three full-length stages will be run twice. Sunday’s finale features four different stages, with Las Dunas followed by the longest test of the weekend: the 35.39 kilometres of Otates. The last two stages feature sections already driven twice in Saturday’s Derramadero test, with the rally-ending Power Stage to finish over El Brinco’s eponymous jump.

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We are really excited to going back to Mexico after a couple of years away. There is usually a great atmosphere there and the rally has always been a difficult challenge for the teams and drivers. You have to be able to manage many things with the heat and the altitude, and this will be our first time going to Mexico with this car, and therefore the first time running the hybrid technology in those conditions. Reliability will be key and our team has been working hard to prepare as well as we can. Road position is usually a big factor too but I think our drivers should be in a good place at the start with strong possibilities to fight. We’re looking forward to it and to hopefully be competing for victory again.”

Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s nice to be going back onto gravel after quite a long time, and it’s been especially long since we were last in Mexico. I’m sure it’s going to be a tricky event like always; with the high altitude it’s one of the most specialised gravel rallies on the calendar. But it’s really exciting to go back there. As a team we have been doing a lot of work to improve the car and the pace for rough gravel conditions, and it was nice to see already in our recent test in Spain that we’re definitely moving in the right direction. I’m quite happy not to be starting first on the road in Mexico – just one position can make a big difference. It might still be tough compared to those starting behind us, but we will of course do our best.”

Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It is good to have Mexico back on the calendar this year. It’s an event that always provides a bit of a culture shock in terms of the climate compared to the first two rounds, and it’s always a big challenge. This will be our first time back at that really high altitude for a few years, and we can always expect a lot of heat and dry gravel. It’s very difficult to replicate those conditions when testing in Europe at this time of year, but we tried to simulate it as much as possible. When the roads are dry and loose then traction is key, and we’ve worked on all areas of the car to try and optimise every aspect and be as ready as we can be.”

Sébastien Ogier / Vincent Landais
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“When I knew that Rally México was coming back, I straightaway had to mark it in my calendar as an event that would be nice to do again. It’s where everything started for me in the WRC, as it’s actually where I made my debut in 2008, and since then there have been many good memories and a lot of success there. The atmosphere is always nice, with beautiful stages too. I hadn’t really driven on this type of gravel since Portugal last year, so the recent test in Spain was important for me to find the best possible feeling. It will be interesting to see how the hybrid can help against the usual loss of power we feel at high altitude. More than ever it could be important to use it as efficiently as possible because it could make a big difference to the performance.”

M-SPORT BRACED FOR HIGH DRAMA IN THE MEXICAN HEAT

Posted: March 13, 2023 3:41 PM

M-Sport Ford World Rally Team set for return to the challenging gravel roads of Rally of México, round three of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship.

This year's event will see the North American debut of the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 as it tackles the unique challenges of Rally México in the capable hands of Ott Tänak and Pierre-Louis Loubet.

Not run since 2020, Rally México is known for its high altitudes and scorching temperatures, which make for a technical and physical challenge for both the crews and the Puma Hybrid Rally1. Mexico marks the first gravel event of the 2023 season, the most common WRC surface type, and having a competitive gravel car from the outset has been a key objective for the team during testing.

The team is heading to Mexico reenergised from victory on Rally Sweden with Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja, catapulting themselves to the top of the championship standings on their second WRC outing in a Puma. Tänak's impressive performance and determination have positioned him as a top contender for the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with his Sweden victory giving him further motivation for the title.

For Pierre-Louis Loubet it will be his first time competing on Rally México. The team is excited to see Loubet in Mexico after his gravel performances in 2022 which saw him lead a rally for the first time in his career while also taking his maiden WRC stage win.

Tänak and Loubet recently completed a pre-event test in Spain at altitude in an attempt to simulate some of the conditions of Rally México. Both drivers enjoyed trouble free days while gaining crucial mileage, completing a lot of work on chassis and transmission set up.

Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria join the team on Rally México, making their second WRC2 appearance of the season in a Fiesta Rally2. Although it is the French crew’s first Rally México, they have important experience and road knowledge of the event after finishing second overall on Rally of Nations Guanajuato in 2022.

Richard Millener, M-Sport Ford Team Principal, said: “It’s great to be heading back to Mexico this year, the event has become a modern classic in the WRC and we have missed not going there for the past two years. From the drivers’ and test team’s feedback, we are confident in the Puma’s ability to tackle the tough conditions that are typical of Mexico. Ott's recent win in Sweden has given us momentum and we are ready to carry that into the upcoming round. We have done what we can to take on the unique challenge of Mexico, the team’s effort, and commitment in preparing the cars for Mexico has been second-to-none as we are determined to continue on from the success of Sweden."

Ott Tänak, M-Sport Ford World Rally Driver, said: “During testing it was my very first time on gravel in the Puma Rally1 and it was very important to discover as much as possible. As most of the rallies are on gravel, we decided to do two test days in Spain. The team is working hard to keep improving, but to really understand where we are now, we need to do a gravel rally first.

“The key challenge for Mexico is the altitude and temperature together. Because of high altitude, the power is reduced which makes the behaviour of the car quite different. The roads in Mexico are actually fun, there are stages which are very technical, and it feels like we are driving them forever in the high temperatures, but there are also faster sections with big compressions and jumps. As we are leading the championship, we need to start first on the road on Rally México, it could be a good place to start if it rains, but not sure I’m that good a (rain) dancer to get the rain in a place where it almost never rains!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, M-Sport Ford World Rally Driver, said: “It will be the first time I am competing on a rally outside of Europe, that will be a new experience again for me. It’s exciting to be going back on gravel as my pace on gravel is good so my aim is for a strong result in Mexico.

“I think my experience of Greece and Sardinia last year will help me; things change rally to rally but experience always helps massively. The preparation for this rally has been good as it has been running for such a long time and there is a lot of material out there to help me study the roads. The test was fine, I am really happy about it because I re-found the feeling that I had in Greece last year and the car felt really strong. I think we have everything we need to do some good things and have the pace so let’s see.”

Adrien Fourmaux, M-Sport Ford WRC2 World Rally Driver, said: “It will be my second time in Mexico, last year I competed there in the Rally of Nations and finished second, so I am happy to be back there in a rally car. After our Monte-Carlo result our expectation is to fight for the best result as possible as we need the points for the championship. We know it’s always a tough rally in Mexico because it is really rough for the cars so it will be a big challenge for everybody. I am really pleased to be driving the Fiesta Rally2 again and can’t wait to get back on gravel stages!”

John Coyne returns to WRC Mexico in 2023. Eoin Tracey to co-drive

Posted: February 23, 2023 11:48 AM

John finished 15th overall, with co-driver Stephen Joyce on the notes, in the last running of WRC Mexico in 2020. After an absence from active competition since the end of 2021, John has decided to make another run at this famously grueling event. A resident of Laguna Beach, California, John views Mexico as his local WRC rally. He will drive a Ford Fiesta Rally2 from the McKenna Motorsport / Dom Buckley RSC stable, who ran his successful 2020 and 2021 ARA National Championship campaigns in the USA and his previous outing in Mexico.

John, founder and patron of the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy, will give Academy co-driver, Eoin Treacy from Cork, Ireland, his first taste of WRC competition on the event as part of his 2023 training and development program.

James Fulton winner of the WRC2 Junior Codriver Championship last year with Josh McErlean in the Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Hyundai Motorsports i20N Rally2 has graduated to a works WRC1 Hyundai seat with Craig Breen for 2023. Fresh from a fabulous second overall in WRC Sweden, though not competing in Mexico, Craig and James will be doing the recce there, and will be on hand to advise Eoin as he steps up to WRC level for the first time.

Entry List

Posted: February 23, 2023 11:45 AM

Mexico - 16-19 Mar 23 - ENTRY LIST

Rally Guide / Details / Event Website

Posted: January 27, 2023 4:23 AM

Rally Mexico