A recap of the 2023 WRC Season as the “Flying Finn” Kalle Rovanperä sucessfully defended his crown.
The Beginning
At the season opener Ogier took his ninth Monte Carlo Rally win, surpassing Sébastien Loeb to become the driver with the most victories at the event. His navigator Landais took his first overall victory in a World Rally Championship round.
The second round, Rally Sweden, saw Tänak and Järveoja take an early lead, before being surpassed by Breen and Fulton on Friday evening.However, Tänak and Järveoja fought back on Saturday evening, and eventually won the event.
After being absent from Sweden, Ogier and Landais came back at the Rally Mexico, where they took another victory after capitalizing their relative late road position. Despite only competing two rounds, they still led the championships.
Tragedy
There was a tragedy before the Croatia Rally, where Hyundai driver Breen died in the pre-event test after the front-left of his i20 collided with a pole. His co-driver Fulton was unharmed. Evans and Martin eventually won the rally, their first since the 2021 Rally Finland. They dedicated the win to Breen.
Mid-Season
The Portuguese Rally marked the start of a sequence of seven consecutive gravel events. Rovanperä and Halttunen dominated the rally, taking their first victory the season as well as winning the Power Stage to add full thirty points to their championship defends.
The Sardinian Rally saw a rainy rally weekend. Ogier and Landais were fighting for the lead until they went off the road on Saturday evening. This left the Hyundai of Neuville and Wydaeghe and of Lappi and Ferm out in front before eventually scoring a 1–2 finish for the team.
Toyota though responded with a 1–2–3–4 finish (their third at the Kenyan event and fourth in the WRC), with Ogier and Landais claiming their third win of the season. Meanwhile, Neuville and Wydaeghe were disqualified from eighth place at the next event, the Safari Rally, due to a reconnaissance breach, despite having retired from two of Friday afternoon’s stages with suspension damage.
Rovanperä Takes Control
Heading into the second half of the season, Rovanperä and Halttunen did a Rally Estonia hat-trick, winning the rally as well as the Power Stage to extend their championship leads beyond fifty points. However, they retired from their home rally on Friday after they rolled their Yaris out of contention when leading the event.
Evans and Martin capitalized on the opportunity by winning the event and the Power Stage to cut the championship leads down to twenty-five points.The retirement did not stop Rovanperä and Halttunen though as they won the following event and respective Power Stage to score maximum points for the third time in 2023.
On the other hand, the crew of Neuville and Wydaeghe retired from the rally with suspension damage, whilst the Finnish crew’s other main championship rivals in Evans and Martin finished second, further solidifying Rovanperä and Halttunen’s chances of securing a second consecutive world title.
The final gravel event of the season (Rally Chile) saw Toyota outscore Hyundai by more than thirteen points after Suninen and Markkula retired from second, which meant Toyota sealed a third consecutive manufacturer’s title. The rally was won by Tänak and Järveoja, their second of the season.
The Closing Rounds
At the calendar newcomer, the Central European Rally, Rovanperä and Halttunen finished second after title rival and teammates Evans and Martin crashed out on Saturday, which meant Rovanperä and Halttunen successfully defended their world titles.
Meanwhile, Neuville and Wydaeghe won the rally, closing the gap to the runners-up Evans and Martin in the championships. However, the battle for the runner-up spot was over when Neuville and Wydaeghe crashed out at the Rally Japan, meaning Evans and Martin became the crew who came out in front.
They ended the season with a victory as a part of Toyota 1–2–3 finish.
