The fourth and final day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak held on to take the rally win.
SS13, Las Pataguas 1
Thierry Neuville started the final day of Rally Chile BioBio with a stage win. Posting a time 4.8 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to win the stage. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Suninen. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.8 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS14, El Poñen 1
Thierry Neuville also took the stage win on SS14. With Neuville setting a time 2.4 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to take his second consecutive stage win. Ott Tänak finished with the third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Suninen. Elfyn Evans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.0 seconds slower than Tänak. Kalle Rovanperä once again rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3 seconds slower than Evans.
SS15, Las Pataguas 2
Thierry Neuville also took the stage win on the 15th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Neuville posting a time 6.7 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to take his third consecutive stage win. Takamoto Katsuta finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.4 seconds slower than Katsuta. Kalle Rovanperä once again rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 11.5 seconds slower than Tänak.
SS16, El Poñen 2, Powerstage
Kalle Rovanperä took home the stage win on the final stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Rovanperä would set a time 3 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Evans. Ott Tänak posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than Tänak.
Teemu Suninen has crashed out of Rally Chile BioBio. Find out more about his crash and what it means for Suninen below.
Oh No
Teemu Suninen was on pace to finish second overall at Rally Chile BioBio. It was also set to be his best event in a Rally1 car. Unfortunately, just 7 km into SS15 Suninen went off the road. His rally was ended as a result of the crash. Suninen joins teammate Esapekka Lappi and M-Sport driver Pierre-Louis Loubet as the only drivers to crash out of Rally Chile BioBio in the Rally1 class. Suninen’s crash out didn’t involve as many rolls as Lappi or Loubet’s outs, however.
What Suninen Being Out Means
With Teemu Suninen out it promotes Thierry Neuville to second place, 44.6 seconds behind Ott Tänak heading into the Powerstage. It was suspected Neuville wouldn’t get a team order for Suninen to move over so Neuville could take the much-needed championship points. However, even if that order was issued it has no effect now as Suninen is out and Neuville is in second. With nearly 45 seconds separating Neuville from Elfyn Evans who sits third, second is Neuville’s spot to lose at this point.
There is also an upside for Kalle Rovanperä in all of this. As now the reigning drivers champion sits fourth overall heading into the final stage. Meaning now Rovanperä will take home fourth place points as opposed to fifth from the event. This still isn’t the result Rovanperä was hoping for however, as he had an outside chance of winning his second drivers championship on his birthday (today).
Gearing Up For The Powerstage
The final stage of Rally Chile BioBio is set to get underway shortly. The Powerstage will start up in just under an hour’s time from this article being posted. Will Ott Tänak hold on to take his second win of the season? Who will win the coveted 5 bonus Powerstage points? All of that will be answered soon enough.
Tire issues on day three of Rally Chile BioBio changed the rally completely, but how? Find out below.
For Context
Day three of Rally Chile BioBio saw drivers face 154 km of stages, with each loop being 77 km. The Pirelli tires used by drivers couldn’t hold up to the sheer heat and length of the loops. With most drivers ending each of the morning stages with completely worn tires. By the end of the morning loop over half the field of WRC1 drivers had grinded their wheels down to the rim. Changing all tires between the stages wasn’t an option. At most you could change two of your tires, but that still left two worn-out tires on the car. The soft compound tires stood no chance to the conditions, but what about the hard compound? They didn’t fare much better. Sure nobody ended the stage completely on a rim unless they got a puncture, which in any case was changed mid-stage. Drivers in the afternoon loop were completely on tire-preserving duty. Nobody was really pushing, but more on that in a second.
How Tires Changed Rally Chile BioBio
Normally during a rally event drivers aren’t completely focused on tire preservation. Besides on the final day in which most drivers try to save tires for the Powerstage. Sure tire preservation is a part of rallying on any weekend. However, in most cases, you don’t see drivers pretty much just drive through the stage with no push. That’s basically what happened on day three of Rally Chile BioBio. I mean when Kalle Rovanperä isn’t pushing it at all you know there’s an issue. Normally drivers aren’t losing a handful of seconds due to tires unless they get a puncture. That’s also what happened on day three. As nobody was safe. Everyone from Ott Tänak to Oliver Solberg in WRC2 had tire issues. But why is this? Is it the length of the loops? Is it just conditions? Was it another factor? The short answer is, it’s the length and the conditions. A lot of times on the stages the drivers were overheating their tires. Causing the tires to lose tread faster as a result. This was merely a result of the conditions, seeing as the stages took place on warm gravel on a generally warm spring day. Add that to the 20+ km on each stage and you have achieved a great way to destroy any tire in sight.
Why Did Tire Preservation Change The Event?
Simply put, tire preservation took away drivers’ chances at gaining time and being able to push. Ott Tänak was the only one to benefit from the tire chaos on the day. By extending his lead to some 58 seconds ahead of Suninen. Without the tire troubles, Tänak would likely only lead by about a dozen seconds. With nobody pushing it opened up a lot of time for Tänak to take. Mind you Tänak wasn’t exempt from the tire problem, but he didn’t get hit hard by it either. He did just enough to preserve the tires whilst gaining time. The tire issue changed drivers’ mindsets from winning to just wanting to finish. Sure both of those things are on drivers’ minds during any event, but when nature is against you, you turn to survival. Hopefully, the tires don’t prove to be as big of an issue on the fourth and final day of Rally Chile BioBio.
The third day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak retained the rally lead amid tire issues for all drivers.
SS7, Chivilingo 1
Kalle Rovanperä opened up the day with a stage win. With Rovanperä posting a time 1.6 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take his first stage win of the weekend. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Tänak. Teemu Suninen set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 9.3 seconds slower than Evans. Thierry Neuville rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.7 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS8, Rio Lia 1
Ott Tänak took home his first stage win of the day on the eighth stage of Rally Chile BioBio. With Tänak setting a time 6.8 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 6.8 seconds slower than Evans. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.9 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS9, Maria De Las Cruces 1
Ott Tänak also took the stage win on SS9. Posting a time 7.6 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to win the stage. Teemu Suninen finished third fastest on the stage, 8.1 seconds slower than Neuville. WRC2 driver Nikolay Gryazin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 25.9 seconds slower than Suninen. WRC2 driver Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS10, Chivilingo 2
Kalle Rovanperä took home the stage win on the 10th stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Setting a time 2.4 seconds faster than Elfyn Evans to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third quickest on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Suninen.
SS11, Rio Lia 2
Ott Tänak took home the stage win on SS11. Posting a time 2.8 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Suninen. Thierry Neuville set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 5.6 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 1.5 seconds slower than Neuville.
*SS12, Maria De Las Cruces 2
Ott Tänak ended day three of Rally Chile BioBio with a stage win. With Tänak setting a time 7.8 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the stage win. Elfyn Evans finished third fastest on the stage, 5 seconds slower than Neuville. Teemu Suninen posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, finishing 1 second slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, 27.5 seconds slower than Suninen. *Rovanperä may be awarded time due to getting stuck behind Grégoire Munster for part of the stage.
Tire Trouble For Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers normally don’t face many reliability issues. However, day three of Rally Chile BioBio was a weird one. Sure the reliability issue wasn’t to do with the Toyota’s it was to do with the tires. The tire issue would cause both Rovanperä and Evans to lose time. Evans was hit harder by tires, however. Having a double puncture on SS9. Takamoto Katsuta wasn’t exempt from the tire issue. The Toyota drivers just haven’t seemed to preserve the tires well enough. The tire issue for Toyota seems to have stemmed from the drivers using all soft tires. Due to the amount of kilometres driven on the morning loop the soft tire compound wasn’t able to hold up through all three stages. Rovanperä had to take a safe approach to SS9, Evans and Takamoto Katsuta grinded their tires down to the rim.
Not Only A Toyota Issue
The issue with tires doesn’t seem to be just an issue for Toyota. As Thierry Neuville and Teemu Suninen have also reported issues with their tires. Neuville would say at the end of SS9 “It was the first good stage for me since the beginning of the weekend. There is lots of cleaning and the tires are quite hot, but I think I did quite well in there. Without the puncture this morning, we could have had a perfect loop.” Even the M-Sport drivers have been having issues, Heller ended SS9 with just a rim and rubber shrapnel. Munster had issues, as did Tänak. Tänak would say on SS7, “Extremely demanding. I was not sure if my tyre choice was correct, but now I think it’s okay. The road is so hard, it’s tough.” Tänak would switch to all hands for SS9. Regardless of tire issues for everyone else, it seemed as if the Toyota drivers got the harder end of the stick.
Day two of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Ott Tänak leads the WRC1 class after the day.
SS1, Pulperia 1
Ott Tänak picked up where he left off in Chile, taking the first stage win of the event. Tänak posted a time 2.1 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to win the stage. Elfyn Evans finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Suninen. Pierre-Louis Loubet set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.5 seconds slower than Evans. Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 2.6 seconds slower than Loubet.
SS2, Rere 1
Elfyn Evans took the stage win of the second stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Posting a time 1.5 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä to take the stage win. Pierre-Louis Loubet finished third fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Thierry Neuville set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Loubet. Teemu Suninen rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.4 seconds slower than Neuville.
SS3, Rio Claro 1
Eflyn Evans also took the stage win on SS3. Posting a time 0.9 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to win the stage. Teemu Suninen finished third fastest on the stage, 1.6 seconds slower than Tänak. Kalle Rovanperä set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Suninen. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 3.5 seconds slower than Rovanperä.
SS4, Pulperia 2
Teemu Suninen took home the stage win on the fourth stage of Rally Chile BioBio. Setting a time 3.7 seconds faster than Ott Tänak to take the rally lead. Thierry Neuville finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Tänak. Takamoto Katsuta posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Neuville. Elfyn Evans rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Katsuta.
SS5, Rere 2
2019 winner Ott Tänak took the stage win on SS5. Posting a time 2.5 seconds faster than Thierry Neuville to take the rally lead. Teemu Suninen finished third fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Neuville. Elfyn Evans set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Suninen. Championship leader Kalle Rovanperä rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Evans.
SS6, Rio Claro 2
Ott Tänak took home the stage win on the final day of Rally Chile BioBio day two. With Tänak setting a time 3.1 seconds faster than Teemu Suninen to win the stage. Thierry Neuville finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Suninen. Elfyn Evans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.7 seconds slower than Neuville. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.3 seconds slower than Evans.
Lappi Out
The first stage of an event normally doesn’t have much drama. However, this weekend it did. As Esapekka Lappi would roll out during SS1. Due to the roll, Lappi’s car suffered a lot of damage and is unable to be repaired, thus forcing him to retire from the event as a result.
Loubet Out
Pierre-Louis Loubet crashed out on stage 3 of Rally Chile BioBio. Loubet put up strong times on SS1&2. It’s unknown if Loubet will return for day three tomorrow.
Suninen’s First
Teemu Suninen took his first stage win of the season in a Rally1 car. Winning SS4 of Rally Chile BioBio. This would also promote Suninen into the rally lead. Making it the first time he’s led a rally in a rally1 car. Unfortunately for Suninen, “normal things” forced him out of the rally lead. He now sits second 4.2 seconds behind Tänak at the end of the day.
Not Rovanperä’s Day
Kalle Rovanperä has had a tough start to Rally Chile BioBio. The championship leader currently sits 5th overall, 11 seconds behind Thierry Neuville. This is unfortunate for Rovanperä who had a chance to win his second drivers championship this weekend. However, there are still 10 stages to go and lots of time for Rovanperä to find his pace. It’ll also help that Rovanperä won’t be on road sweeping duty tomorrow.
Hybrid Issue For Hyundai
Thierry Neuville reported he had no power from his Hybrid engine on SS6. This didn’t affect Neuville much, however, as the stage didn’t require much power from the Hybrid engine. Luckily the issue only arose for Neuville on the final stage of the day. It’s also suspected Suninen has had issues with the hybrid engine, however, he is being tight-lipped about the issue.
The game modes list for EA Sports WRC has been revealed. Find out everything you need to know below.
Career
Unlike the career mode in the Nadcon WRC games, you won’t be able to join manufacturer teams. Instead, you will build your own rally team. You can choose to start in WRC3/Junior, or WRC2 or jump straight into WRC1. You will get to choose your own team name, colors and other team identity items before meeting the team engineer and benefactor. Throughout the season you will work with the benefactor who funds your team. They will set goals and objectives for you to complete throughout the season. The more rallies you do, the more budget you get. With a larger budget, you will be able to bring in other drivers for the team, buy new cars among other things.
Builder Mode
Builder mode is probably the most interesting mode in EA Sports WRC. As a result of the mode giving you the opportunity to build your own rally car. Much like Colin McRae built his own rally car in the early 2000s. You can choose to build a WRC3, WRC2 or WRC1 car. You will get to customize all components of the car to fit your likes. Everything from engine position to the body pins. Every component will have pros and cons. You can also opt to buy used parts to save money, however, the quality of the parts will vary. Some parts depending on the value will be able to be tuned, whilst others won’t be.
Championship
In Championship you will get to hop into a WRC1, WRC2 or WRC3 championship as your favorite driver. Want to drive a season as Ott Tänak? You can do that, how about Junior WRC champion William Creighton, you can also do that. Players will be able to customize the length of the championship. You could choose to do the full 13-round WRC season or do select events.
Moments
In the 50 years the WRC has run there have been many moments. From the Mini Cooper podium sweep at Rallye Monte-Carlo in the 1960s to Kalle Rovanperä’s record-setting 2022 Championship win. Each moment will give the player a specific car to use at a memorable point in rally history. Drivers will have to complete goals and hit targets. Medals will be earned based on performance, whilst results can be shared to a global leaderboard. Moments can be replayed at any time. Throughout the year more moments will be added.
Regularity Rally
In regularity rally, you won’t compete on a special stage to set the fastest times. Instead, you will drive through select routes at an average speed. With scoring being based on who is closer to the average speed. Co-drivers will detail the road ahead with a special set of notes. While also telling the driver if they are above or below the performance target. This is a good way for players new and old to challenge themselves and learn a thing or two about driving a stage.
Rally School
A feature that crosses over from every other dirt game into EA Sports WRC is the rally school. At the rally school drivers will be given specific challenges and objectives to complete. This will help new drivers learn the basics of rallying and give older players a chance to freshen up their skills as well. Each lesson can be run on different surfaces (e.g. Snow, Gravel and Tarmac).
Quick Play Solo
In quick play solo, you will be able to create your very own championship. Using whatever car you want, in whatever season you want, with whatever car you want. The choice is yours. You can select the stages you want to use, how many stages you want to use, you can even mix regular stage rally events with regularity rally events. Alternatively, you can select for a randomly generated championship to be created.
Quick Play Multiplayer
Quick Play Multiplayer takes all the components from Quick Play Solo and turns them multiplayer. You can have a crossplay lobby with up to 32 other players at once. With all players competing in real-time.
Clubs
Another feature that comes to EA Sports WRC from Dirt Rally 2.0 is the clubs feature. In clubs, you will be able to create your own championship for you and your friends. The difference between clubs and Quick Play multiplayer is that it’s not real-time. Instead, everyone can drive the event at different times. Using similar features as Quick Play, players will be able to create a championship that is as long or short as they want. You can make it a day-long championship, week-long championship, month-long championship or longer, and anything in between. All of this will be available via the racenet clubs system.
Time Trial
Another mode that comes over from every other dirt game is the time trial mode. In this players will be able to compete on any stage they want with any car they want. The only thing you’re competing against on said stage is the clock. Set the fastest time you can for a chance to be one of the fastest in the world.
The first day of Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Elfyn Evans topped the shakedown stage on the day.
Shakedown: WRC1
Elfyn Evans posted the fastest time on the shakedown stage. Posting a time 0.5 than Kalle Rovanperä. Pierre-Louis Loubet finished with the third fastest time on the shakedown, 0.4 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Teemu Suninen set the fourth fastest time, 0.4 seconds slower than Loubet. Takamoto Katsuta rounded out the top five on the shakedown, finishing 0.2 seconds slower than Suninen.
Shakedown: WRC2
Emil Lindholm topped the Rally Chile BioBio shakedown for the WRC2 class. Posting a time 1.9 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith. Oliver Solberg finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Greensmith. Fabrizio Zaldivar set the fourth fastest time on the shakedown, 0.1 seconds slower than Solberg. Yohan Rossel rounded out the top five for WRC2 in the shakedown, finishing 0.6 seconds slower than Zaldivar.
*All comments taken from WRC.com
SD: Heller “The best feeling in the world! Amazing. I am at home, I am the most happy man in the world, I think!”
SD: Munster “It’s incredible. The corners arrive so fast, the braking and the pace notes. So much fun, it’s great. We enjoyed so much this 5km and we have 300km left!”
SD: Loubet “It looks very nice. The stages are very enjoyable so I hope we will enjoy this rally.”
SD: Rovanperä “It was quite okay. Quite slippy and damp in the morning because it’s so cold and humid during the night. It’s nice to be back, the stages look quite nice. Definitely a lot of cleaning for us, but that’s quite normal.”
SD: Evans “Quite okay. There’s quite a difference in conditions, especially from Friday to Saturday, so it will be quite difficult to make a call in terms of set-up.”
SD: Neuville “I don’t know how good the car will be, but I hope it will be very good – that’s for sure! It was quite humid now but the grip was quite okay. The stages here are very nice but very challenging for the drivers and for the cars as well.”
SD: Tänak “Great roads, I guess some of the best you can find in the championship. It seems like most of them are new for this year as well, so they seem to have a good choice of roads.”
Rally USA has confirmed a second World Rally Championship proof of concept event. Find out everything you need to know below.
Another Proof Of Concept Event
Rally USA is hosting another WRC proof of concept event in Chattanooga Tennessee. The first event was held shortly after Rally Mexico earlier this year. The event posted the following on their social media pages about the event.
“We are pleased to announce the second proof of concept event on November 11, 2023, in our series leading us towards the first World Rally in the US in 36 years. Our list of events building to the World Rally including rallies, conferences and training has grown a bit longer since our first demonstration event in April of this year!
Nevertheless, we are on our way.
Polk County, Tennessee will host the Copperhill Veterans Day Rally, a 50-mile one-day Rally on the hills of the area’s former copper mine. We plan to honor our country’s veterans and reintroduce stage rally to the area as we march towards our ultimate goal…a World Rally event in Southeast Tennessee.
Stages will vary from very tight and technical to flowing with moderate elevation change. The RallyUSA team will use the event to test the roads, conduct World Rally-specific training and to develop high-capacity spectator viewing sites needed for the volume of WRC spectators later anticipated. The stages used here WILL appear in later test events and the World Rally lineup as well!
This private site will accommodate the HQ, service area, scrutineering, spectator parking and viewing, and all stages and transits. It has mountain vistas, rolling hills and former industrial backdrops. The town of Copperhill, a lovely mountain getaway, is only a few hundred yards away from the event site and will provide a perfect setting.”
When Could The WRC Return To The United States?
There hasn’t been a WRC round in the United States since 1986. This was also the last time Group B-era cars were allowed to race in the WRC. 36 years later there is work being done to have a round in the USA return to the WRC. The first proof of concept event went rather well, well enough for a second one to take place. So when could the WRC return to the states? From the sounds of it, 2025 will be the year it returns. There were rumours that it would return during the 2024 season. However, due to how much has to go into making a WRC event happen that won’t be the case. As if it were easy to put on an event for the WRC everyone would be doing it or trying to do it. Especially with a brand-new rally, there’s a lot to be proven.
A Long-Awaited Return
Rally fans in the USA have waited a while for the WRC to return. Something that looked like it wasn’t going to ever happen, or at least not for a while. However, that changed after the success of F1 in the USA, proving motorsports outside of NASCAR and IndyCar can work in the USA. Obviously, there’s no guarantee the WRC will work out in the USA but even a couple seasons of being in the USA could be good for the championship.
The 2024 WRC season continues this weekend with the 11th round, Rally Chile BioBio, find out everything you need to know below.
Drivers’ Championship Rundown Heading Into Rally Chile BioBio
Kalle Rovanperä expanded his Drivers’ Championship lead with a win at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. Rovanperä now leads Elfyn Evans by 33 points heading into Chile. Thierry Neuville looked like he was going to shrink the gap between himself and Evans in Greece. That was before his suspension broke on the third day ending his rally. Neuville now sits 33 points behind Evans heading into Rally Chile BioBio. Ott Tänak also remained in the same position, with Tänak staying fourth after Greece. Tänak pulled off a spectacular comeback to take home 4th place in Greece. After a mechanical issue forced Tänak to receive 1 minute and 40 seconds worth of late penalties. Tänak sits 15 points behind Neuville heading into this weekend. Sebastien Ogier remains in fifth after Greece. Much like Neuville, Ogier took home limited points after his suspension also broke on the same day. Ogier sits 20 points behind Tänak heading into Chile. Ogier however will not be driving this weekend.
In A Prime Position
With Sebastien Ogier skipping Rally Chile BioBio. Esapekka Lappi sits in a perfect position to move into fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. Lappi sits just 1 point behind Ogier heading into this weekend. Fifth isn’t the highest Lappi can move up to this weekend, however. As he sits just 21 points behind Ott Tänak for fourth. This means that if Tänak’s misfortune keeps up in Chile, Lappi could sit fourth in the championship by the end of the event.
Teams Breakdown
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota comes into Chile on top of the rallying world. The team currently hosts both championship contenders, in Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans, and will probably win the Manufacturers’ championship this weekend. Rovanperä has a slim chance to seal the Drivers’ championship this weekend. That likely won’t be on the top of Toyota’s mind this weekend, however. As all Toyota needs to do is finish first and second or have one of Neuville or Lappi struggle during the event to win the manufacturers’ championship. If Toyota does clinch the manufacturers’ championship this weekend, it’ll be their 4th consecutive manufacturers’ championship. Making them one of the most successful teams in WRC history, in case they haven’t already proved that. The normal Toyota crew will be at the event this weekend. With Rovanperä, Evans and Takamoto Katsuta competing for the team.
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
With Hyundai, there isn’t much to talk about. The team hasn’t been great but they haven’t been bad either. They’re pretty much right in the middle. Sure you could talk about the poor reliability of the i20 but that’s been beaten to the point that it’s boring to talk about. Thierry Neuville, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen will compete for the team this weekend. The Korean manufacturer needs a decent result, also known as a first and second-place finish. If they want to keep their slim chances at winning the manufacturers’ championship alive past Chile. Neuville’s drivers’ championship hopes ended in Greece. Unless by some streak of misfortune, both Rovanperä and Evans retire from the event or take home 0 points and Neuville takes home 30. Considering that Rovanperä rarely messes up there’s like a 10% chance this actually happens.
M-Sport Ford WRT
Where do I start with M-Sport? I mean seriously they seem to have no luck. Loubet hasn’t finished a rally without an issue since Estonia. Tänak hasn’t finished one without an issue since Italy. M-Sport has to put up a good result this weekend. Especially Tänak, mind you mechanical issues are out of his control. It’s just been a lacklustre season for the British team. The Puma hasn’t been reliable, and having a two-car team hasn’t worked in their favour. Tänak comes into Rally Chile BioBio as the defending winner. Winning the event back in 2019 with Toyota. Can Tänak bounce back in Chile? That’ll be found out this weekend, but it’ll depend on a lot more than just his driving. Tänak and Loubet will both drive for the team this weekend. They will be joined by two new Rally1 drivers in Grégoire Munster and Alberto Heller joining the team for the weekend.
Two Rally1 Debuts At Rally Chile BioBio
WRC2 driver Grégoire Munster will make his Rally1 debut this weekend. Munster will become the first driver in WRC history to drive a Rally3, Rally2 and Rally1 car in the same season. As Munster drove a Rally3 car in Estonia, a rally2 car at select events for the WRC2 championship and now a Rally1 car. Munster will pilot Jourdan Serderidis’s Puma Rally1. Alberto Heller will also be making his Rally1 debut this weekend. The Chilean driver will pilot a Puma Rally1 provided by M-Sport.
Esapekka Lappi joined the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team last season. Should the team keep Lappi for next season?
The Facts
Esapekka Lappi joined Hyundai last offseason to replace Ott Tänak. On paper, this was a bit of a downgrade for Hyundai. As Tänak is a former world rally champion and one of the best drivers in the WRC currently. On the flip side, Lappi has been floating from team to team for the past couple of seasons. Driving for M-Sport, Citroen and Toyota in the process. Lappi was a part-time driver for Toyota last season and put up decent results. Finishing third three times in the season. Lappi moved into a full-time role for Hyundai this season. Making this his first full season since 2020 with M-Sport. Lappi only has one rally win under his belt, that sole win came at the 2017 running of Rally Finland. He is the most recent Finnish driver to win the event.
Why Hyundai Should Keep Lappi
Esapekka Lappi has been good for Hyundai this season. Finishing on the podium four times so far this season, Lappi has shown he and Thierry Neuville make a good team. Lappi was on pace to win Rally Mexico for his second rally win of his career. However, an accident forced Lappi out of the lead and rally. The biggest thing Hyundai has to consider is how well Neuville and Lappi work together. Lappi has been willing to put Neuville over this season when he’s had to. He’s also a driver who can step up when Neuville makes an issue.
Who Could Replace Lappi?
If Hyundai chooses to not retain Esapekka Lappi for next season, who could replace him? The likeliest option for Hyundai would be Teemu Suninen or Emil Lindholm. Suninen likely has a spot with Hyundai next season. It’s just unknown if that’s part-time or full-time. Suninen going full-time doesn’t necessarily mean Lappi is out of Hyundai however. As it’s believed Hyundai is getting a fourth i20 Rally1 for next season, or Dani Sordo could retire from driving. Both of which are an option. It’s also believed that if the fourth car does end up happening for Hyundai reigning WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm will get a drive in the car. Ott Tänak has also been rumoured to be involved in talks to rejoin Hyundai. However, that seems unlikely. Lappi is probably Hyundai’s best option for having a second driver that can finish on the podium or top five consistently.