Category: Rally

The final day then and once again Ott would be opening the road over the remaining 61km’s and four stages. The start list looked like this – Tänak, Katsuta, Loubet, Suninen, Evans, Lappi,

Neuville, Rovanperä. What could the local favourite do, particularly with the power stage?

First up then was SS18 Karaski 1 – 12.04 km and Kalle continued his run winning the stage from Esapekka and Elfyn. The Finn in his i20 edged away a little more from Elfyn, the gap now 9.6 seconds between the pair. In WRC2 Sami was setting the pace with the fastest time in the stage and reducing the gap to Andreas by 2.7 seconds.

Into SS19 Kambja 1 – 18.50 km and again Kalle was setting the pace and making the most of his road position. Elfyn was second fastest and Thierry third. The Welshman’s pace brought him a little closer to EP. In WRC2 Oliver was fastest from Sami and Andreas, whilst the Norwegian remained in the lead of the category, albite with an again reduced lead of 12.6 over Sami.

The penultimate stage then SS20 Karaski 2 – 12.04 km and the top three again was Kalle from Esapekka and Thierry. There as a change in the fight between Takamoto and Pierre-Louis with the Japanese driver passing the Puma driver and moving into sixth overall. Sami was again fastest from Andreas and brought the gap to the WRC2 leader below ten seconds.

The final stage then, SS21 Kambja 2[Power Stage] – 18.50 km and Ott set the early pace before Elfyn came through and beat the time. Then all eyes were on the top three as too if they would beat the Welshman’s time. EP was first to come through and was just off the pace that Elfyn set but his third-place finish was confirmed. Then Thierry was next but was not able to beat Ott’s time. Finally, Kalle came through and set the fastest time, beating Elfyn’s best by two seconds. The top five in the stage looked like this, Kalle, Elfyn, Esapekka, Ott and Thierry. There was one final change of positions though with Pierre-Louis passing Takamoto for sixth overall, the gap at the end? Just three tenths of a second! In WRC2 Andreas took the category win, whilst Sami made it his best result in the category with second place and Emil third in his first start in the i20Rally2.

Let’s take a look at the top ten.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Estonia

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It is an amazing feeling to achieve our 10th WRC win here in Estonia and to win this rally for the third time in a row. For me it’s a really nice rally and one I have always enjoyed. This weekend was something special, winning all the stages from Saturday morning onwards. I think we showed our speed and what the car can do quite well, so I’m really happy. We did a good job with Jonne, driving at this speed without really having any moments, and pushing all the time but still enjoying the driving, which is not always the case in rallying. I felt happy in the car and I was enjoying the nice stages and the great support we had here. It was also amazing to celebrate with Sato-san just after the stage and on the podium afterwards – he was so happy.”

Elfyn Evans

“We were in a pretty intense fight throughout the weekend for the podium places and naturally it’s disappointing not to have made it in the end. We weren’t a million miles away but unfortunately, we just fell a bit short. On Friday it took some time to feel comfortable and I think that’s when the majority of the damage was done in terms of our road position for the rest of the rally. Well done to Kalle who was dominant this weekend. It’s hard to be satisfied with our result but we come away with some good points from the Power Stage and from the rally. It’s also a good warm-up for Rally Finland and we’ll work hard over the next week to try and do better there.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“There have been some positives and some negatives for me this weekend. It has been good to finish the rally without any mistakes or moments, so it has been quite a clean weekend. But I was lacking speed in many places and that is what I need to improve for the next event. I was struggling a lot in the beginning, and after that the feeling was improving but I still wanted to show more speed and I can’t be happy with my performance. I will try to take the positives, to analyse what we did here and try to improve for Rally Finland. Congratulations to Kalle, Jonne and the whole team for the win.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I am very happy to finish on the podium; this is a good boost of motivation for both the team and myself. I have never been so fast at rallies like this. Looking forward to Finland, this is a great sign as we can clearly see we have improved our car on high-speed gravel. Of course, we had hoped that we could finish in front of Kalle, who had another incredible weekend and there was nothing we could do to fight him. On our side it was a very strong performance, and I am very satisfied. We made no mistakes, and we were able to push, as well as keep cars behind us. Hopefully we can do a little bit more for Rally Finland and be fighting again for podium positions.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It has been a strong weekend for our team. I think we were closer to Toyota than we all expected to be, but still a bit too far behind, which we need to keep working on. This is the first time I have been flat out for three days in a row fighting with someone – Elfyn was really fast here last year so it was fantastic to win this battle. Thank you to the team; we didn’t have any problems this weekend except from the hybrid, which was my fault. We have done a good job on the testing and development of the car, so we just need to continue that. There is still work to do but as we can see from these results, we are heading in the right direction.”

Teemu Suninen

“It is a really special feeling to finish fifth. I’m sure Craig has been following my weekend. It would have been nice to have finished on the podium for him, but we didn’t manage it here. I have done all I can to try and work as he had been working, and it’s been an emotional rally for me. I would like to say a big thanks to Hyundai Motorsport and everyone in the team; it is a super environment to work in. We were able to make good progress with our driving and experience of the car, and we were improving our times stage by stage. I enjoyed every one of them and I am grateful for the support of the team to help me become an even better driver.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I think in general we can be happy about our pace, especially when you compare to last year. We made some good steps, and some stages we were very close to Ott, and I know Ott is using the full potential of the car. For me it’s a very good comparison, he’s the best kind of driver on these rallies.”

Ott Tӓnak

“Reaching the top eight was the target, and we achieved that. I would say our strength came from the small rally we did in Estonia last week, we were already in a high speed rhythm compared to everyone else. It was clear to see how our one-day rally experience before made our speed better. But it was a fun weekend and we’ve had a nice experience with the fans.

“I would say we are at maximum capacity at the minute. For sure, Finland is very specific so we will do a one-day test to do a bit of fine-tuning, but there aren’t any plans for big changes.”

Summary

Well, what can I say about the winner? Kalle showed again why he’s our world champion and took his second win of this year. Elfyn had a great rally although he was not particularly happy but battled well for the final step on the podium with EP. Takamoto drove well and avoided any mistakes.

At Hyundai it was a surprise to see Thierry run so well at the front and ultimately take a very good second place to boost his championship run. Any attempt to challenge for victory came to an end with the tyre off the rim and then he got his head down and pulled away again from his teammate, EP and Elfyn. Esapekka showed well again taking another very good third place and yet another podium. Finally, Teemu’s drive to fifth overall again showed his class and quality in his debut in the Rally1 i20. No mistakes all weekend.

Finally at M-Sport it was a case of what might have been for the fan favourite! Ott would have certainly battled with Kalle at the front were it not for the five-minute penalty after an engine change following shakedown. His French teammate, Pierre-Louis again had a great event, with consistently good pace and even though he had the extra boost in stage seven giving him extra pace, his third best time in that stage showed that he really is starting to show his quality.

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 8

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 8

Next round is Rally Finland, the ninth round of the championship from the 3^rd to the 6^th of August.

The second full day of action had 106km’s over nine stages. Ott Tanak would open the road throughout the second day.

Into the first stage then, SS9 Mäeküla 1 – 10.27 km and Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Elfyn. The Welshman closed the gap to EP who was holding third. Ott was now in eleventh overall and just 6.2 seconds from the points paying positions. Andreas remained in charge of WRC2 holding a 9.3 second lead over Gus whilst Sami held third.

Kalle made it two in a row winning SS10 Otepää 1 – 11.15 km also with Thierry and Elfyn second and third fastest. Elfyn’s morning pace was bringing him close to Esapekka, the gap now just seven tenths of a second! Meanwhile Ott jumped up two places and into ninth overall and was just eight seconds from WRC2 leader Andreas.

After the regroup and tyre fitting zone there was the second run of SS11 Mäeküla 2 – 10.27 km. Kalle was fastest again but this time EP was second fastest from Elfyn, whilst Thierry was fourth. The gap between Elfyn and Esapekka rose very slightly to 1.2 seconds. Ott moved into eighth place, pushing WRC2 leader Andreas down to ninth, whilst Sami passed Gus for second place in the category.

Kalle was really on a roll now, winning SS12 Otepää 2 – 11.15 km from Esapekka and Elfyn. Thierry fell away from the battle for the lead as he suffered from a tyre coming away from the wheel rim. In WRC2 Andreas remained in the lead, but Sami edged a little closer by a few tenths of a second.

After the service break, we had a whole new set of stages for the crews to tackle, starting with SS13 Elva 1 – 11.73 km. This stage included a visit to a rally cross circuit. The top three was Kalle, Thierry and EP. The Finns lead over the Belgian was now 23.9 seconds and EP was also gapping Elfyn, there being a gap now of two and a half seconds. There was no change in the WRC2 category with Andreas still leading, but the gap did come down a little to 16.3 seconds to Sami who was faster in the stage.

Into SS14 Kanepi 1 – 16.48 km and again Kalle was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka. The Finn in his i20 was opening a gap to Elfyn and now was ahead by 3.7 seconds. There was no change either with the top three in the WRC2 category.

Kalle again was fastest in SS15 Elva 2 – 11.73 km but this time from his teammate Elfyn who was one second faster than EP, thus reducing the gap again, whilst Thierry was third fastest.

In the next one, SS16 Kanepi 2 – 16.48 km Kalle again was fastest from Thierry and Esapekka and Elfyn was fourth, losing more time to EP. The gap was now 5.6 seconds. In WRC2 Sami edged a little closer to Andreas, bringing the gap down to 15.1 seconds. The young Finn was eyeing up a category win.

Onto the final stage, run near the service park and a bit of a mickey mouse stage really, SS17 Tartu vald 2 – 3.35 km. Last run-on Thursday evening and as the opening stage of the event. Kalle made it a clean sweep of all nine stages, winning this one as well from EP and Thierry. WRC2 category leader was sixth fastest in the stage.

Let’s take a look at the top positions.

Classification after Day Two

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been an amazing day. It doesn’t happen so often that you can win all the stages in one day. We had a clear plan this morning to push hard and get a bit of a gap if we can, and to make use of our better starting place. It was a bit easier to match the speed, we had a clean morning and gained a lot of time. This afternoon I really enjoyed the stages, and it went well, the feeling was great in the car. Tomorrow is still a tricky day, with a new stage that is quite technical, so we need to stay sharp, do a good job and then hopefully we can have a final push on the Power Stage.”

Elfyn Evans

“It has been a pretty close battle with Esapekka: there has been a fair bit of back and forth between us during the day and we’ve both enjoyed the fight. It was particularly tight this morning: I took a bit in the first couple of stages, and then he took exactly the same amount back. The gap went a bit more in his favour towards the end of the day, so it’s a bit bigger now than we would like. The longer stage this afternoon maybe didn’t suit us so well and we conceded a bit too much time there. But it’s still relatively close and all to play for tomorrow. We’re going to give it everything we have and see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“Together with the team we changed a few things on the car last night and we made a good step forward with the setup, so I felt much better than yesterday. Of course, I was struggling a bit with the grip because of our starting position, which we knew would be the case. But other than that, it was going well this morning. I was trying to improve my driving more this afternoon, but then many things happened. We had a few issues with the car and the intercom, and it was a bit difficult to work out what was going on, but we got through all the stages OK and that’s the main thing.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I enjoyed today; we were driving the car to its maximum most of the time and having a lot of fun while still feeling comfortable, which was key. We made no mistakes and had no moments, but we got unlucky with a puncture, which cost us a few seconds. The goal tomorrow is to bring home the result, but Esapekka and Elfyn are pushing hard behind us. Esapekka has had an incredible day – I felt I was driving really well, and we were nearly matching times in the stages, which shows that our car is giving us what we need to go fast. We have been strong in the past here and the car feels good, but we are clearly missing something that would get us closer to Kalle.”

Esapekka Lappi

“I think this is the first time in my career where I have had this kind of fight for position over two days. We struggled to build a bigger gap in the forest, but it is impressive that on the super special we managed to stretch the gap a fair bit. It has been up and down against Elfyn, but it has been a nice battle. I took more risks in the afternoon and drove on the limit more It has been enjoyable, but I thought I gave everything on SS15 – maybe even a little bit more – and so for the time to not be impressive was quite frustrating. We will do everything we can to stay ahead tomorrow; while we all know the Power Stage, there is also a brand new one which can always throw up some surprises.”

Teemu Suninen

“Step by step, we have been able to improve and increase our pace today. I am thankful to Dani; he has been like a big brother to me, helping with my first steps in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid. There were two stages where we lost just over a second, so we are not far away however, I still need a bit more rhythm to maintain a consistently good pace. Now there is a risk that we make a mistake; we haven’t had a single moment so far, which might mean there is a bit of margin to go faster, but to be honest I need the kilometres. As I’m in the third car, I need to be in a good position to bring home points in case anything happens tomorrow.”

Sunday

The final day sees the crews tackle 61km’s over four stages with a service break in the middle. Can Kalle continue in the same form and win all the final stages, or will we see another stage winner?

The first full day of action would see the crews tackle 136km’s over seven stages. Following the opening stage, the previous evening, Ott was leading from Thierry and Kalle. The start list looked like this – Rovanperä, Evans, Tänak, Neuville, Lappi, Katsuta, Loubet, Suninen, Solberg (WRC2), Greensmith (WRC2).

First up was SS2 Peipsiääre 1 – 24.35 km and Ott was fastest from Thierry and Kalle. There were a few changes in the leader board, with Thierry moving into the lead, Kalle moving into second, whilst Esapekka and Elfyn dropped a place each to third and fourth. In WRC2 Oliver moved into the lead and Andreas into second, whilst Egon held third. At this stage, Ott was holding 46^th overall.

Into SS3 Mustvee 1 – 17.09 km and Ott was fastest through this one from Thierry and Kalle. The Belgian now held a 3.9 second lead over the Finn. There was a change for third, with Elfyn moving ahead of EP who suffered a boost problem with his hybrid system. The stage winner gained nine places on the leader board, moving into 37^th place. In WRC2, Oliver continued to lead, but was not altogether happy with the way his Skoda was handling. Andreas remained second with Gus moving into third place.

The final morning stage SS4 Raanitsa 1 – 21.45 km saw Ott once again set the pace from Thierry again and Kalle. The Estonian gained another six positions as well. His expected march up the leader board was going well. There was a change in WRC2 for third place behind the two leaders with Gus dropping two places and Georg and Egon passing the Brit.

After the service break, Kalle swooped, winning SS5 Peipsiääre 2 – 24.35 km from Esapekka and Elfyn. Overall leader, Thierry could only manage the fourth best time, seeing his lead cut to 2.1 seconds. Meanwhile, Pierre-Louis moved ahead of Takamoto and into sixth overall. Teemu was going really well in his debut event with the i20 Rally1 holding fifth overall and matching Thierry’s pace as well. There was drama in WRC2 with erstwhile leader Oliver hitting the scenery and damaging his suspension. With the young Swede’s demise for the day, Andreas moved into the lead of the category Sami was now second and Egon third. Ott gained another ten places and was now in twenty-first place.

We had a lead change in SS6 Mustvee 2 – 17.09 km with Kalle going fastest from Ott and Esapekka. Former leader Thierry could only manage the fifth best time and fell to second, albeit with a 2.3 gap to the Finn. In WRC2 Andreas remained in the lead from Egon who’d passed Sami for second. The rise of the local favourite continued with Ott gaining a further four positions and moving into seventeenth overall.

Ott was again fastest in SS7 Raanitsa 2 – 21.45 km and gained a further five places to move into twelfth place. EP was second and Pierre-Louis third. Sadly, Elfyn dropped behind EP, who now held third overall. There were some changes in WRC2 behind Andreas. Egon who was holding second in the category prior to the stage dropped seven positions, with Gus, Sami and Emil benefitting.

The final stage of the day, SS8 Neeruti – 7.60 km saw Ott fastest again from Elfyn and Kalle. There were no changes in the top three, meaning Kalle is the overall leader heading into Saturday’s stages and Andreas is holding the WRC2 lead. Ott gained one last position moving into eleventh overall, just twenty-two seconds from tenth place, currently held by Sami.

Let’s look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

Classification after Day One

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It was a really big challenge this morning opening the road, as it was much looser than I was expecting. It seems the roads had been drying quite a bit since the recce. I think we did a good job, we pushed really hard without making mistakes and there was not much more that we could do. This afternoon was a bit better, as we could at least have similar grip levels to the guys behind. We needed to open the ruts a bit in places but at least we could push and at the end of the day it’s not looking so bad. It’s still close with Thierry so let’s see how it is tomorrow when we both have better starting places. I hope at least that our pace will come easier than today.”

Elfyn Evans

“Our day started not too bad this morning considering our road position, but I didn’t have the best feeling with the car. I was struggling with the balance a little bit and it wasn’t as easy as I’d like. So, there were definitely some improvements to be made with the setup during service, and things were quite a bit better this afternoon. Unfortunately, we just had one stage – the third one of the loop – where we seemed to drop a lot of time but other than that I’ve had an improved feeling behind the wheel and that puts us in a better place looking ahead to tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“It has been quite a long and tough day for me. In the morning, I was struggling a bit and didn’t feel so good with the car. Then, this afternoon, the conditions on the second pass were much rougher. The team did a good job to improve the car a lot, but on my side, I was still finding it difficult. The high-speed sections are OK for me, but when it’s very technical or when it’s rutted and the risk is getting higher, I’m hesitating too much. Tomorrow we will drive four stages twice and I will try step-by-step to find some confidence and hopefully start to use the potential of the car more.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I’m definitely satisfied to finish the day in second place. We would like to have kept our first position, but we expected Kalle Rovanperä to be very fast this afternoon. I kept trying but in some sections I was losing a little bit here and there. We may have lost the position, but at the end of the day we are only three seconds behind. Compared to last year, my feeling in the car is much better and I was quite confident, as well as having a lot of fun out there. Tomorrow will be tough, Kalle has the better road position if there is no rain, so let’s see what we can do.”

Esapekka Lappi

“We have had a very consistent day from the first stage to the last. In the morning we faced a hybrid issue, which we later discovered was caused by me, but doing a whole loop without the boost was definitely a disadvantage. I really tried to push hard to minimise the time loss before we reset the issue in service. The second loop was easier, but the conditions were quite tricky. It was especially so on the first two afternoon stages where there were deep ruts and some holes, which caught me out under braking. Overall, it’s been a very fun day. The car is behaving so well, and I am able to do exactly what I want – I can push to the limit, and sometimes even go over it.”

Teemu Suninen

“The feeling today has been amazing. I really enjoyed it and focused on learning the car as quickly as possible. I think we have shown good pace and I loved every single stage. It has been so nice to be back working in the top class and with the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, especially Dani Sordo who has been a big support to me so far. I knew it is impossible to drive conservatively here, because then you are nowhere, so I tried to avoid bigger risks and was careful in really high-speed places. I think there is still more to come, and while we want to bring the car home safely without mistakes, I hope I can make a few small steps forward.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tanak

“On the first one we were struggling quite a bit and the second one we improved a bit, but had some technical problem with the set-up, and the last two were much smoother and two good stages. First on the road tomorrow and it appears dry, so definitely not helping, anyhow we catch quite a bit of time and the rally2’s are not far and that’s been the target”

Saturday

The second full day of action will see the crews tackle 106km’s over nine stages. Can Kalle remain in front, or will Thierry turn up the speed like always appears to do on Saturday’s and take the lead back? The battle between the fan favourites Elfyn and Esapekka for third is even closer at just 1.9 seconds!

Ott’s continued rise will surely continue as he targets the forty second gap between himself and WRC2 leader Andreas who currently holds eighth overall.

After last month’s epic Safari Rally Kenya, the championship arrives back in Europe with the reigning champions leading the way. Of course, the exclusion of Thierry Neuville from the results of that rally puts Elfyn into send in the championship and also second on the road and he will surely be a threat to his teammates who lead the way. Takamoto again steps up to drive a car nominated for manufacturer points with Seb Ogier enjoying a longer holiday and missing this event.

At M-Sport, Ott will certainly be targeting a big result to get himself back into the championship battle, and will have a good road position as well, whilst his teammate Pierre-Louis will look to get more useful experience for the future.

Finally at Hyundai Thierry has not helped his championship challenge with his mistakes at the last round, and it has to be said that he’s not really felt at home on these fast type of roads over the years. Will he be able to find some pace both in Estonia and Finland which is at the start in August? Esapekka has shown great pace throughout this year and could again star at the front, perhaps even lead with a great road position throughout Friday.

Here’s a look at the stages.

Twenty-one in total and 300km’s spread across the weekend make this rally a big challenge. Friday sees the longest day with 136km’s, then 102km’s on Saturday and finally 61km’s on Sunday.

Let’s hear from the drivers.

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“Rally Estonia is definitely one of my favourite events on the calendar. I have spent a lot of time in Estonia and the fast and flowing roads suit my driving style really well. I have good memories from the rally, and it has always been an enjoyable one for me. Even in 2020 when I didn’t have much experience we could fight for the podium, and then 2021 was very special as it was our first win. Last year the weather was making a difference and I hope we can have some rain this year too, because we will be opening the road again on Friday. Like on any rally, the plan will be to aim for the win, and especially as this is one, we have been so strong on before.”

Elfyn Evans

“Estonia brings a complete change of territory and with it a change of mentality. We’re coming off the back of some rough and relatively low-speed rallies and moving onto extremely high-speed and smooth gravel, and these next events are all about confidence and commitment behind the wheel. As a driver, you need to have trust in your pacenotes and also have a good feeling with the car, so we were working hard during our pre-event test last week to try and get everything right. Hopefully we can go into it feeling good from the beginning and really enjoy the driving, which is really key to performing well on a rally like this one.”

Takamoto Katsuta

“I really like the kind of high-speed stages we have in Estonia and Finland. It’s going to be a big challenge but I’m really looking forward to these rallies. In Estonia, the stages are very fast but there are also some really narrow and twisty sections. The surface can be quite soft sometimes, so the ruts can make the second pass of stages even more difficult: as a driver you still need to really commit but you also have to be able to manage the ruts well. I will try to do my best and I hope that I can perform well and get a good result for the team.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Rally Estonia is a challenging event for me every year. Fast and wide roads mean the average speed is very high, so you need to really to commit to it and feel comfortable in the car. Most of the time you are running a low car, at least on the first pass. On the second pass you might have to rise the ride height because of the ruts. Generally, you need to find the balance between a stiff car to get the precision and the directivity, but also keep enough traction. It’s hard to find the right balance but those are the main challenges.”

Esapekka Lappi

“As everyone knows, in terms of speed this event is similar to Finland and Chile. The driving style is you are either full throttle or braking – there is no in-between. Normally in central European rallies, you need to drive a different way, but in Estonia and Finland you are full throttle and that is the biggest difference. One of the main challenges in my point of view is that road usage is not so clear; you can cut from the bushes and use the exits if there is a field. To be able to comfortably go outside of the road you have to have perfect pace notes at that speed, that is the trickiest thing to get right.”

Teemu Suninen

“I’m really excited to get in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, especially when it’s one of my favourite rallies. I’ve been dreaming of it for a long time, and I’ve been working hard to get back to the top class so it’s great to be here. Normally Rally Estonia is one of the fastest rallies on the whole calendar and it’s like a sprint, so we have to drive flat out from start to finish. The surface is normally quite soft so the grip level is really high, especially on the second loop with some big ruts. My main goal is to bring some good manufacturer points, but I also need to show good pace, and if the feeling is good, then we will push for a strong result.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“We’ve had some quite intense preparations; we did a pre-event test and then a small event, so it’s been a big effort to make it as good as possible for Estonia. Obviously, the next two events are purely about performance, so we’re putting everything into it and we’ll find out how close we get to the others.

“Now we are going into the second half of the season we’re definitely not letting the championship go, so we feel like we need to increase our game and put everything in. It’s going to be a short turnaround to Finland, so if something isn’t quite working in Estonia the week in between will be flat out, but hopefully in Estonia we will be on a good level already.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“There are a lot of changes to be made ahead of this kind of rally. It’s almost the complete opposite of what we saw in Kenya and some of the previous rallies which have been very rough! We can expect Estonia’s road to be very clean and very fast.

“We will be making a lot of changes to the car’s settings; the ride height, the dampers, everything really. I’m looking forward to it, it’s definitely one of the most enjoyable events of the season. Because of the high speeds on straights and on corners and everywhere, it’s really a great event for these Rally1 cars to showcase their power. We will try to enjoy it and hopefully achieve a good result!”

WRC2 Category

Hyundai

Emil Lindholm

“It’s exciting to go into my first event in the Hyundai i20 N Rally2. It’s a new team and a new car, and it’s already feeling impressive so I’m confident going into Estonia. The roads are soft so they get rutted but, of course, they’re super-fast – some unique road conditions. It reminds me of my home rally, so of course I like it. The target for the weekend is to enjoy the car, enjoy the roads and to do our best. I believe we have everything we need to achieve a podium in Estonia.”

Fabrizio Zaldivar

“I’m ready to get back into the Hyundai i20 N Rally2 and focus on going flat-out for the rest of our campaign. There is no better rally to apply this approach than Rally Estonia, which requires you to maintain a consistent rhythm. We were disappointed with our struggles in Sardinia, so we are keen to wipe our slate clean and demonstrate what we and the car are capable of doing. If everything goes to plan, we will complete the rally without any large mistakes and hopefully score a good result.”

Oliver Solberg

I really like this rally; Rally Estonia is one of the fastest rallies of the season and it’s somewhere I’ve really enjoyed myself in the past.”

“We are allowed to take one dropped score in the championship,” said Oliver. “The retirement in Italy was obviously not what we wanted and now we need to stay focused and keep a consistent speed. “

Summary

Well, we are all set for high-speed on the forest roads of Estonia! This rally will be spectacular and there will be close battles up and down the timesheets. Unfortunately, Ott and Martin will start with a five minute penalty due to needing an engine change following problems in shakedown.

Enjoy and pop back to check my daily reports.

The championship moves to the wilds of Kenya, and we are set for a challenging event. This year there are 355km’s over the twenty-two stages. Kalle and Jonne come to the event as championship leaders and of course that means they will open the road throughout Friday’s stages. Now of course they did that last year and still went onto win the rally. Can they repeat this? We shall see!

Let’s take a look at the stages ahead for the crews.

Safari Rally Kenya begins on Thursday 22 June with a super special stage in Nairobi.

Friday features six stages, with two runs of Loldia (19.17km), Geothermal (13.12km), and Kedong (30.62km) for crews to contend with.

The honour of the longest day goes to Saturday, in both time and competitive distance.

Teams have an early start to take on Soysambu (29.32km), Elmenteita (15.08km) and Sleeping Warrior (31.04km).

Three further stages are run on Sunday; Malewa (8.33km), Oserian (18.33km) and Hell’s Gate (10.53km) to bring the total competitive distance to 355.92km.

Let’s hear from the drivers!

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“I’m looking forward to going back to Kenya. I have really enjoyed the event both times we have been there. Already in 2021, we were going quite well until we got stuck in the sand. Then, last year, it was of course very special to win with a perfect result for the team. It’s a rally that can depend a lot on the weather, because the conditions can change completely from one year to another. That makes it a really big challenge, but it’s one that suits us quite well, I think. Let’s see what the conditions will be like this year and hopefully we can have another strong weekend and score more good points for the championship.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s always difficult to know what we can expect on the Safari Rally, which is what makes it such a challenge for the teams and the crews. Most of the route will be the same as last year, but we know that the conditions can vary massively: not only from one year to the next, but also from one section of stage to another. We’ve already experienced a lot of different conditions there over the past couple of years, so we have been looking back through those events to prepare as best as we can, but we also need to be ready to adapt to whatever we face during the week. As a team we had a fantastic rally last year and hopefully we can be strong again.”

Sébastien Ogier

“I have really enjoyed the experience of going to Kenya these past two years and this is the main reason why I wanted to return again. It’s something very different from what we are used to, and the country and its people are amazing. The rally is very tough, and we know that luck can be a big factor: in 2021 it was possible for me to come back from more than two minutes behind to win, as almost everybody had an issue at some point. Every rally I start, I try to win, and we will give it everything like always. I hope we got all our bad luck out of the way in Sardinia and that fortune will be on our side this time.”

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Kenya is an adventure. It is a tough event and very challenging because we are driving through the middle of the parks and the countryside, where there are some very rough sections with sand and fesh-fesh. Each stage has its own unique characteristics, but the changing conditions and different surfaces is what we enjoy so much about this rally. The goal is definitely to win, so we will keep fighting all the way through; as we know very well, the rally isn’t over until it’s over. We saw that two years ago when we were leading, and then unfortunately had an issue just before the end. Hopefully, we get the victory this year.”

Esapekka Lappi

“It’s harder work than normal to prepare for Safari Rally Kenya. I’ve watched as many onboards as possible to understand how you should drive on each of the specific areas. It’s another gravel rally, and we know the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid performs well on this surface, but we may just need to go higher on the ride height. I’ve also heard there are a lot of zebras here and they might venture onto the road, so it will be a unique experience for me with the conditions and the animals as well! Every rally we need to set the target of the podium now: we know the speed is there, so that has to be our goal.”

Dani Sordo

“Safari Rally Kenya is a nice experience; I have only done it once before, but the stages are quite different – especially with the animals around and the fesh-fesh sand, which we know can be tricky. The weather can also play a big part, as the stages can become slippery if it rains. The goal for the weekend is to fight for the podium and hopefully for another team victory. Kenya will not just be about the speed, but also getting through the challenges that lie ahead.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“I wish we had more time to enjoy life around the rally in Kenya, but it’s of course the wildlife that is so special compared to our lives in Europe. We have more challenges to face in terms of keeping the car in one piece in Kenya! Sections in fesh fesh mean it’s easy to get stuck and difficult to understand where the track goes.

“I haven’t really succeeded there yet so that’s something to discover for myself. We need to make sure we won’t incur any mechanical setbacks with the tough conditions and then it’s up to us to give our best performance!”

Pierre-Louis Loubet

“I feel very lucky to be able to drive in Kenya, it’s a really magical event. I’m so happy to be able to drive there and I hope to enjoy this crazy adventure a lot! I hope we can do something good there, the car is fast in tricky conditions, so I hope we’ll be able to bring a good performance.”

WRC2 Category

Oliver Solberg

““I love the Safari Rally,” said Oliver. “For us, in our sport of rallying, this kind of adventure is really what we’re about. The Safari is part of the DNA of our sport and the world championship. You talk to people in the street about rallying and they talk about Monte Carlo and this one.

“Before I go further, I want to say a very big thank you to my friend Daniel Chwist for allowing me to use his car on this event. Without him, I wouldn’t be able to be here to compete.”

“We have done this rally both times it’s been back in the World Rally Championship [in 2021 and 2022] and I just love the event and the people here.

“We’re using the Škoda Fabia Evo Daniel used in Mexico and it will be run by Eurosol. We will push, make some strong times and have some fun.”

Grégoire Munster

“We’re really looking forward to Kenya, it’s a dream to be able to participate in this rally. We learned a lot in Portugal and Sardinia; there has definitely been a learning curve, but this is encouraging, and we set some good times on Sunday in Sardinia. We’re used to the car on gravel, but Kenya is always a really tricky rally. It’s hard to judge what speed you should be driving at to get to the finish and avoid any problems. With the weather forecast, which seems to be pretty rainy, it might become really interesting! The goal will be to complete the first stage and see where our pace is; be smart, be fast and be cautious as well.”

Summary

Shakedown is on Thursday morning and then the action gets underway with the first stage on Thursday evening. Who will win this year?

The final day then and with 46km’s over four stages, it would be a short day for the crews. We had three crews restarting after their problems on Saturday. Seb, Ott and Takamoto were all back with the Japanese driver opening the road followed by the Estonian and Frenchman. Rain was reported for later in the day, but for the first stages of the day it would be dry.

First up then SS16 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 1 – 15.22 km and Ott made a good start to the return winning the stage from Thierry and Elfyn. The Belgian and Welshman actually set the exact same time. In WRC2 Oliver won the category from Nikolay and class leader Adrien was third.

Into SS17 Sardegna 1 – 7.79 km, the first run of the power stage and with the front runners saving tyres for the later running of this stage the top three were Ott, Takamoto and Seb. Dani completed the stage, but his Hyundai was not sounding right. The fastest WRC2 was Nikolay this time from Sami and Oliver, whilst the top three remained Adrien, Andreas and Teemu.

More tyre saving followed in SS18 Arzachena – Braniatogghiu 2 – 15.22 km and meant that Takamoto took a good stage win from EP and Thierry Neuville. Sadly, Dani retired from the rally before the stage started. His car had a damaged exhaust and there was a risk that this would cause a fire. This was the right decision to take.

Time then for the final stage SS19 Sardegna 2[Power Stage] – 7.79 km and guess what!? The rain had returned and soaked the stage throughout, plus made the water splash a bit deeper. The WRC2 runners came through without any problems apart from Adrien who slid wide going off the road and ending a great run. Andreas had already finished and was told of the problems for the category leader and therefore that he had won now. Top five was Kalle, Ott, Takamoto, Seb and Elfyn.

Let’s take a look at the finishing positions and hear from the drivers.

Final Overall Classification –Rally Italia Sardegna

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“I’m really happy to be on the top step of the podium after such a challenging and incredible weekend. We came here with the belief that we could fight for victory but the first day was very challenging and we lost a bit of time. We brought it back but then we lost it again, but at the end of yesterday we managed a big turnaround and found ourselves in the lead. The weather has been up and down all weekend long, we faced every condition possible between from dry and warm to heavy rain. We had to manage the tyres throughout, and it was very tough on our cars but we had great reliability and it really paid off. It is a pleasure to take the first victory for the team this year, and the first 1-2 for our new Team Principal as well. Craig is also in our memory today as well; we wanted the victory in Croatia, but we got it now.”

Esapekka Lappi

“A very important result for our team. We really wanted to push for the victory as a team and to come away with a 1-2 is very good. Our tyre strategy on Friday was to save the softs, and then yesterday afternoon we went all in and sacrificed the softs to put pressure on Ogier. We also had a bit of a risky strategy on Friday afternoon, but everything paid off.”

Dani Sordo

“This has been a difficult weekend for me in general. I didn’t start it well, and I made a mistake on the first day that put us on the back foot for the rest of the event and unfortunately today we had an issue with the exhaust. Nevertheless, I am pleased that the team has finished 1-2. We know how difficult Safari Rally Kenya can be, but I hope to find the same pace we had in Portugal and come back fighting.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“We had a good tyre package left for the final day and it was really nice that we could therefore push on the Power Stage and finally take the fastest time and five extra points. It was definitely not easy, with a lot of rain just beforehand which was easing up a bit for the last cars, but it was a proper challenge in the mud. This has always been a tricky event for me personally, and this weekend our plan was to try and be fast when we can be and take it steady when needed and I think we did that. We had quite good pace overall and stayed out of trouble and at the start of the weekend I really didn’t expect that we could end it with this many points.”

Elfyn Evans

“Today it was just a case of getting the car through the first three stages and trying to look after the tyres we had ready for the Power Stage. The conditions really changed quite a lot for the Power Stage, it was raining very heavily so it was pretty slippery but thankfully we managed to get through it OK. We would have liked to take some more points from there, but a couple is still better than nothing. After everything that happened this weekend, I think we have to be grateful to take fourth overall and some decent points even if we’re not really happy with how everything went.”

Sébastien Ogier

“Today we could get back out there and it was all about the Power Stage and trying to take some points for the team if we could. Again, the weather made things quite tricky at the end of the rally, and the feeling was not really there to take too much risk in these conditions. We kind of finished with some decent speed but it was nothing crazy. So overall it’s probably not a weekend we will remember strongly but that’s the way it is sometimes in sport, and you have to accept it. There’s still a lot of positives we can take with the speed that we had this weekend, and let’s hope that on the next one the luck will be back on our side.”

M-Sport Ford WRT

Ott Tänak

“It’s true to say it has been a hard weekend. It’s not been great, the weather made it tricky, and I think a lack of performance from me also. I struggled to find the speed. The stage times aren’t what I should be delivering, at the moment I’m not close to what I should deliver. There is something lacking a bit. Hopefully with time we will find that extra speed.”

Pierre-Louis Loubet, retired Friday

“This is not what we had hoped for this weekend, we were looking forward to a good result. Things were working really nicely on Friday, even though the conditions weren’t perfect, we still did some good times and had a nice position. We’re all sorry to not see the results we were hoping for. We will take a bit of time to refocus and get ready for Kenya.”

Adrien Fourmaux (WRC2) – retired Sunday

“I’m really heartbroken for all the team who were hoping for this result. We were really close, and I’m very disappointed it ended like this. I have been so comfortable in the car all weekend and we were happy to be fighting at the front. I was happy with how we managed the car, but heavy rain in the power stage changed everything for us. The car feels really good, and we have everything working well. It’s a shame but we have to look forward now.”

Oliver Solberg (WRC2)

“What a week! I don’t really remember conditions like this in a rally for a long time – and especially not in Sardinia. Normally we come here and it’s going to be something like 30 degrees and no clouds in the sky. This time it was raining nearly all of the time.

“On Saturday in the afternoon and today, these were some of the toughest conditions I think we have competed in for a long time. But with this weather, you learn all of the time: it helps you to understand more for the car and how it’s working with the tyre and the road. You have to take positives. We don’t know what’s coming next time and maybe the weather can be the same and this experience can help us understand how the road changes.”

“Of course, this is not the result we wanted. We started well, we started with stage wins and things were looking good. It’s not the end of the world, but we know it makes the rest of the rallies more important.

“Trust me, nobody will be working harder than me and Elliott to get everything right next time. We had a lot of issues here. Hopefully that’s all of our issues gone now. It was a real shame the power stage was cancelled for us – this would have given us the chance to take some points away from what’s been a very frustrating week.

“Now, it’s time for Africa again and this is going to be a real adventure. At times, some of the roads looked and felt like Kenya this week – but there’s nothing like the real thing!”

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Drivers’ Standings
After round 6

2023 FIA World Rally Championship for Manufacturers’ Standings
After round 6

Summary

Well, what an amazing rally that we were treated to! Several lead changes throughout the first two days between EP and Seb and the first win for Hyundai this season.

Thierry brought himself close to the leaders and was in the right place to jump into the lead from third place in the stage that Seb went off. Starting ahead of the former champion in the stage meant that he did not know that the Toyota crew had gone off, and he clearly felt comfortable to push hard even with the challenging conditions. Esapekka was the driver who challenged Seb for the lead. The Finn played a huge role in the win taken by his teammate.

Kalle drove a very good rally and took a very good third place. He showed again that the pace he can set in wet stages is very high. Elfyn was getting back into the groove and showed good pace in some stages but did struggle in some as well. Seb showed his experience and used this plus his road position to build a lead.

Next rally is Safari Rally Kenya on the 22^nd to 25^th of June.

The second full day from the island of Sardegna had 133km over eight stages and the start list looked like this – Sordo, Tänak, Evans, Katsuta, Rovanperä, Neuville, Ogier, Lappi.

First up then and don’t forget EP had a tenth of a second lead over Seb heading into SS8 Coiluna – Loelle 1 – 16.28 km. Thierry took the stage win from Seb, with Kalle third. Esapekka was fourth and lost the lead to Seb, the gap now 1.7 seconds between the duo. There was huge drama though for Takamoto as he hit a water splash really hard, heavily damaging the front including the radiator. Sadly, he was out for the day as the damage was to much for the crew to repair and continue. Meanwhile in WRC2 Sami was still leading from Adrien and Andreas moved into third with Emil dropping one place.

Into SS9 Su Filigosu 1 – 19.57 km and it was a good stage for the two leading Hyundai crews with Thierry winning the stage from EP and Seb third. This meant that Esapekka moved back into the lead by just three tenths of a second and Thierry was just thirteen seconds from the new overall leader. Unfortunately, Ott who was setting a really good pace had a huge problem in a river crossing which stalled the engine and he could not get it working properly again. Two crews down then after two stages. Wow, there was huge drama already! In WRC2 there was a lead change as Sami fell to third and both Adrien and Andreas moved into the top two positions!

Seb won SS10 Erula – Tula 1 – 21.92 km from Dani and EP was third. The Toyota crew moved back into the lead, the gap now 12.7 seconds. Dani had now moved into seventh overall gaining four positions and now only Adrien was ahead of the Spanish driver. The Frenchman was still leading WRC2.

The last stage then of the morning, SS11 Tempio Pausania 1 – 9.04 km was won by Thierry from Seb and Kalle! Seb remained firmly in the lead, the gap growing over EP to over 18 seconds. The Frenchman was looking comfortable out in front. There was one change for position with Dani moving ahead of Adrien and into sixth overall. In WRC2 the Frenchman remained in charge with Andreas holding second and Kajetan moved ahead and into third place.

After the service break Esapekka won SS12 Coiluna – Loelle 2 – 16.28 km with his teammate second fastest and Seb third. He ended up losing about eight seconds of his lead, the gap now just 10.5 seconds between the top two. The top three in WRC2 remained Adrien, Andreas and Kajetan, whilst Teemu was climbing the leader board now into fifth in category.

Next up was SS13 Su Filigosu 2 – 19.57 km and the rain fell down moving from the stage start to the end making the conditions super tricky! Seb lost more time as he completed the stage going through the river crossing and almost stalling his Toyota. His lead was now just 4.3 seconds. Thierry won the stage from Kalle and EP. There was a change in the positions in WRC2 with Teemu moving past two drivers and into third place, with Kajetan and Emil falling to fourth and fifth respectively.

The drama continued in SS14 Erula – Tula 2 – 21.92 km with Seb sliding off the side of the road just a short distance into the stage. When EP came past him, he decided to back off and completed the stage, whilst Thierry continued to push on, having started the stage before Seb and EP. Of course, starting the stage first actually gave Dani the best conditions in the stage and he won the stage. We had a new leader though with Thierry jumping ahead of EP, the gap between the teammates now almost 24 seconds! What a turnaround! There was a change in the WRC2 positions as well with Emil passing Kajetan for fourth place.

The final stage then of the day, SS15 Tempio Pausania 2 – 9.04 km and Thierry finished his day with another stage win with Dani and Elfyn setting the second and third fastest times. Adrien remained quickest in WRC2 and at the end of the day held a 25 second lead over Andreas.

Let’s take a look at the top positions and hear from the drivers.

End of Day – Saturday

1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) 3h10m36.9s

2 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +36.4s

3 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m50.7s

4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +5m36.5s

5 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +6m27.9s

6 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +8m11.7s

7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m37.4s

8 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 Rally2) +10m46.4s

9 Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m08.3s

10 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +11m40.5s

18 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +19m46.9s

Hyundai Motorsport

Thierry Neuville

“Today has been a big battle with lots of ups and downs. We started very well this morning, until we took a big hit from Ogier on SS10 as he was pushing very hard. We felt we were doing well and step-by-step we closed the gap until we were only seven seconds behind going into the stage where everything changed. It is a fine line between pushing hard and keeping the car on the road, and we were able to stay just on that line. The job is not done, we have to get the car ready for tomorrow – it has suffered a lot in these conditions. The weather will still be tricky so we have to remain focused.”

Esapekka Lappi

“We had a consistent morning but our target in the afternoon was to keep Ogier under pressure. We were managing that very well, and while I would never hope that he would make a mistake like that, it is part of rallying. After that, our target changed; with the rain coming down, we focused on saving our tyres and not taking any risks. It would have been very easy to go off as well. The aquaplaning was crazy at some points, but thankfully we had no big moments. Tomorrow is definitely not going to be dry, and while we are 1-2 at the moment there is always a chance that can change, so we have to be careful.”

Dani Sordo

“Another difficult day today. It was tricky to find the right pace, particularly in the narrow forests. Being first on the road in the morning was a small advantage, as I had a little bit more grip than the others, but after that the stages became quite slippery and it would be very easy to make a mistake. We felt we were cleaning the road a little bit and that made it hard to fight. However, the job today was to bring the car home to service, and now we are in fifth place, so let’s see what else happens tomorrow. In the recce the stages were already really wet, so we’re expecting another demanding and unpredictable day.”

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Kalle Rovanperä

“It’s been a good day and a really smart one from us, I think. This morning we could show some pace when we needed to. We had a better road position than yesterday, and it was going quite well; then with some others dropping out we ended up having to do some road cleaning again. The afternoon was really tricky. We had some tyres that were already well-used so we just did the best that we could. We tried to stay out of trouble, have a clean afternoon and we could also gain one position – but it’s never nice to gain it when a team-mate has issues. Hopefully our tyre package will be better for tomorrow and let’s see what we can do.”

Elfyn Evans

“It’s been a long and challenging day. In the morning we were caught by surprise by a watersplash that was deeper than I was expecting. That did quite a lot of damage at the front end which we then had to try and manage to get back to service – where the team did a great job to fix the car. This afternoon we had some very difficult conditions and were just taking it easy to try and get the car through. We’re a bit lucky to be fourth tonight with the issues we’ve had but there’s still a decent way to go tomorrow, so we just have to try and stay clean and see what’s possible on the Power Stage.”

Sébastien Ogier

“We were missing a bit of pace in the first two stages this morning, but we managed to react in the longest and probably most difficult stage. I fought hard to make this time and it was nice to build a bit of a lead after that. Unfortunately, it was then an eventful afternoon for us. It started with the issue in a watersplash where we damaged the front of the car. It was a big fight to try and fix that and carry on. Then we had to change a tyre right at the last minute before the third stage, in the mud. And when I hit the brake pedal, my foot slipped, and we couldn’t make the corner. We have been quite unlucky today, but that’s rallying, and we need to put it behind us and look forward.”

Final Day – Sunday

One more day then with 46km’s over four stages. Will we see yet more drama over the final short day, or will things calm down? We shall see!