Time for the second of two rounds on the southern continent of America and the twelfth round of this season’s championship. The teams head to Chile for some of the most beautiful gravel roads in the world. Of course, Elfyn and Scott will open the road throughout Friday’s stages, whilst Sami and Marko who took their third victory in a row last time out will be second on the road due to now being second in the championship standings.

 

Elsewhere in the standings, the Hyundai team will look upon this event as an opportunity to take a strong result, maybe even victory. Of course, Adrien and Alex will want to take that win especially given the pace shown in Paraguay which saw them take the most amount of stage wins.

 

Meanwhile at M-Sport Josh and Eoin will be making their second start at this rally and will hope that what they learnt during that weekend to good use and hopefully get a great result. For their teammates Jon and Shane, they will have the same challenge as their fellow Irish teammates from twelve months ago. It will be interesting to see how they both get on.

 

This years rally has 311 kilometres over sixteen stages with six stages each on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is the longest day with 139 kilometres for the crews to complete.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Elfyn Evans 

“After Paraguay we know that we can look forward to a similarly warm welcome from the fans in Chile. The rally is generally quite a fast one with flowing stages that are usually good to drive, but the challenge depends a lot on the weather which can change quite dramatically during the weekend. When it’s dry, the surface can be very loose for the early cars and it can also get extremely abrasive to the point that you really have to consider tyre management carefully. When it’s wet, it can get pretty muddy, similar to what you might find in Wales, and the fog can also make things extremely difficult.”

Sami Pajari

“We have been on a really nice run lately and I hope Rally Chile can be good for us as well. It is a rally I know quite well now, as I’ve done it twice already in the Rally1 car, and it’s one of my favourites because of the profile of the stages. Some of them are pretty similar to Finland: really fast and flowing with some really nice camber that helps you take more speed through the corners. It can also be pretty challenging, with high tyre wear, and the weather can change really quickly. Like in Paraguay, the fans are very passionate and I’m looking forward to it.”

Oliver Solberg 

“Rally Chile should be another fantastic South American experience. The rally culture is really big there with a lot of passion, and there’s some great stages. They can seem pretty straightforward, but the character varies quite a lot: Friday has normally been quite narrow and cambered, a bit like New Zealand, and then the other days are a bit wider, more like Wales – and it can get pretty muddy when it rains. The road can also evolve a lot from first to second pass and become really abrasive for the tyres. I have good memories from Chile last year when we won both the rally and the title in WRC2, and we’ll try our best for another good result now in Rally1.”

 

Takamoto Katsuta 

“Like in Paraguay, the fans in Chile have always been really excited for the rally and supporting us as drivers. The stages can be quite tricky. Some of the roads – particularly those we’ve driven on Friday in recent years – are quite cambered and narrow and there’s not so much margin. If they stay dry, the roads can get abrasive so you need to manage the tyres, especially on the second pass, but the weather can also make things difficult if there’s low cloud or fog. I want to wish Aaron a speedy recovery and I’m grateful to James and to the team for their support and making it possible for us to drive together in Chile.”

Sébastien Ogier 

“Paraguay was a tough event, as it was for most, and now we just need to look forward to Chile. It’s a rally where the conditions can hopefully be more consistent and it can be a fair fight between everyone, even if we know that the weather can also change quite quickly there. It’s another event that we have great memories of winning last year, and we will of course be trying to repeat that this time. The roads are pretty good fun to drive, and the atmosphere is always nice, so it should be an enjoyable one.”

 

Hyundai Motorsport

Adrien Fourmaux

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Chile after showing very strong pace throughout the weekend in Paraguay – it gives us confidence and hopefully we can carry this performance into Chile. It’s a rally I really enjoy, last year we were fighting at the front and we finished on the podium. The stages are fast and flowing, but also quite technical, so you need a lot of precision and confidence in the car. We know we were competitive there last year, and after the performance we had in Paraguay, the target is to fight at the front again and push for the best possible result.”

Thierry Neuville

“Chile is very different from Paraguay. It starts with the surface, which is much more grippy and abrasive, while Paraguay is hard, very slippery and compact. Chile can also be a little bit rougher and more rutted. Tyre wear is always very high and tyre choice can be complicated depending on your starting position. It’s not the event I enjoy the most, but when you have a good feeling, it is an enjoyable drive, although still technically demanding. I have mixed experiences after a crash in 2019 and a podium in 2023. Our clear target is to fight for victory. Toyota will be very strong, but Paraguay showed that our car can be fast. The set-up will be slightly different, but the base and the choices we made between the two events are good, so I’m quite convinced the speed will be okay.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I’m very excited to drive in Chile again. I really like the roads, and it will be great to get back in a Rally1 car. I have enjoyed the stages there in the past, so I’m looking forward to returning. The weather has been challenging on several occasions, so that could be a factor again this year. The roads are also tricky because, on Friday, you normally drive between gravel banks with no room to run wide. You need to be precise and fully committed because even a small mistake can cost a lot. In terms of pace, the target is to be somewhere between Estonia and Finland, as well as having lots of fun. We want to keep improving throughout the weekend and support the team with a good result. Enjoyment is important because, without it, the results don’t come.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Josh McErlean

“After a solid run in Paraguay, we’ll head to Chile looking to push on and keep building from there. It’s a rally I really enjoy; the stages are always really nice to drive when you get into a rhythm.

“Friday will be a little different this year with the stages running in reverse, so that will bring a fresh challenge and make the recce really important. The team are doing a massive job across these two rallies, especially with such a short turnaround between Paraguay and Chile, so hopefully we can reward all their hard work with another strong weekend.”

Jon Armstrong

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Chile. It’s going to be quite different to what we experienced in Paraguay. The roads here are more traditional gravel, with a firmer and more compact base, so the feeling and the way you can attack the stages should be quite different.

“Road cleaning can also be quite significant in Chile, so hopefully we can make the most of our road position on Friday, find a good rhythm early on and carry that through the rest of the weekend.

“It’s nice to have another rally as part of this South American leg. Paraguay didn’t go to plan for us, so we’re motivated to bounce back strongly in Chile and see what we can achieve.”

 

WRC2 Rally competitors

Romet Jürgenson – M-Sport Ford

“Chile is going to be another very different event for us. There are some fast roads there, a bit more abrasive compared to Paraguay, but I think it should suit my style. It’s definitely an event that I’m looking forward to.

 

Yuki Yamamoto (Driver WRC Challenge Program GEN2)

“I’m looking forward to continuing this South American adventure in Chile. Paraguay was a very challenging rally, but it was nice to finish it with some good pace and a good feeling which we can carry forward to Chile. This will be another new rally for me, and I know that the character of the stages will be different again to Paraguay, but it looks like they can be quite nice and flowing to drive, and maybe a bit more like those in Finland that I’m familiar with. I’ll try to take what we learned from Paraguay and do my best.”

 

“After a very up and down Paraguay, I think it’s important to get into the rhythm again and finish our season on a positive note.”

 

Summary

This will be a very important weekend for Elfyn and Scott in their quest to win this seasons championship. If they can outscore their closest challengers Sami and Marko, then they will move one step closer to their goal.

Perhaps if one of the Hyundai crews can get into the mix at the front, this might make things interesting.