The 2023 WRC2 championship has been crowned. Andreas Mikkelsen secured the championship this past weekend.
Champions Again
Andreas Mikkelsen is now a 2 time WRC2 champion. Winning the WRC2 championship in 2021 and nearly winning it last season. Mikkelsen has been one of the top drivers in the WRC2 class for the past couple of seasons. Winning the WRC2 championship this season is a bit of a shock for Mikkelsen. As the Norwegian not only started his season at the fifth round of the season at Vodafone Rally De Portugal. There were also many questions about funding for Mikkelsen this season. There was also the possibility of Mikkelsen returning to the sports top level this season. As Mikkelsen was apparently the one chosen to replace Craig Breen after Breen passed away in April. However, the contract never came for Mikkelsen and Teemu Suninen got the spot instead.
The First Of Many
Andreas Mikkelsen’s WRC2 Championship this season just wasn’t for him. It was also for Sköda. As the manufacturer debuted a new Sköda Fabia R5 this season. Mikkelsen will go down in history as the first driver to win a championship in the car. Mikkelsen will likely be the first of many to win a championship in the car.
Mikkelsen’s 2023 WRC2 Season
Andreas Mikkelsen has only competed in 6 events so far this season. Despite starting late Mikkelsen got off to a hot start. Placing third at Vodafone Rally De Portugal, his first event of the season. Mikkelsen took the win on his second event of the season at Rally Italia Sardegna. Skipping Safari Rally Kenya, Mikkelsen returned at Rally Estonia. Winning the event for his second consecutive win at an event he attended. Things changed at Secto Rally Finland however. As the Norwegian finished 4th after some struggles at the event. However, everything was back on track at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece. As Mikkelsen put on a monster drive to win the event after getting three punctures on the first day.
Mikkelsen skipped Rally Chile BioBio, which allowed his championship rivals Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith to take the championship lead. Neither driver capitalized on that opportunity. Mikkelsen went into the Central European Rally with a 4-point lead over Rossel and 8 over Greensmith. With Rossel crashing out on the second day his season was over. Leaving only Greensmith in Mikkelsen’s way. However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Mikkelsen. As he struggled throughout the event. Ending the second day 20th in class. His chances looked bleak. However, with a Powerstage win Mikkelsen secured the championship.
The fourth and final day of the Central European Rally has come to an end. Nicolas Ciamin took the lead to claim the class win.
SS15, Bohmerwald 1
Nicolas Ciaamin kicked off the fourth and final day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. With Ciamin posting a time 0.9 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to take the stage win. Alejandro Cachòn finished third fastest on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Gryazin. Simon Wagner set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.8 seconds slower than Cachòn. Josh McErlean rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than Wagner.
SS16, Passauer Land 1
Andreas Mikkelsen claimed the stage win on the sixteenth stage of the Central European Rally. Setting a time 0.9 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to win the stage. Nicolas Ciamin finished third fastest on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Gryazin. Alejandro Cachòn posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 8.6 seconds slower than Ciamin. Erik Cais rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than Cachòn.
SS17, Bohmerwald 2
Nikolay Gryazin took home the stage win on SS17. Posting a time 2.7 seconds faster than Alejandro Cachòn on the stage. Sami Pajari finished third fastest on the stage, 3.6 seconds slower than Cachòn. Nicolas Ciamin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Pajari. Miko Marczyk and Erik Cais rounded out the top five on the stage. With each finishing 1.3 seconds slower than Ciamin.
SS18, Passauer Land 2
Andreas Mikkelsen took home the stage win on the eighteenth and final stage of the Central European Rally. With Mikkelsen setting a time 1.6 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to win the stage. Nicolas Ciamin finished third fastest on the stage, 3 seconds slower than Gryazin. Alejandro Cachòn posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 6.1 seconds slower than Ciamin. Erik Cais rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.1 seconds slower than Cachòn.
Lindholm Retires
Emil Lindholm had all but won the class to start the final day of the Central European Rally. However, his rally would come to an abrupt end before the start of the first stage of the day. As an alternator failure on the road section between SS15 and service. This promoted Nicolas Ciamin to the class lead. Ciamin held onto the lead to take his first-ever WRC2 victory.
The third day of the Central European Rally has come to an end. Emil Lindholm retains the WRC2 class lead on the day.
SS9, Schärdinger Innviertel 1
Nicolas Ciamin kicked off the third day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. Posting a time 4.9 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to take the stage win. Erik Cais finished third fastest on the stage, 1.7 seconds slower than Gryazin. Sami Pajari set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Cais. Josh McErlean rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.5 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS10, Mühltal 1
Emil Lindholm topped the 10th stage of the weekend. With the Fin setting a time 3.2 seconds faster than Nicolas Ciamin. Nikolay Gryazin finished third on the stage, 2.6 seconds slower than Ciamin. Erik Cais posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Gryazin. Kajetan Kajetanoiwcz rounded out the top five on the stage, 10.7 seconds slower than Cais.
SS11, Knaus Tabbert Bayerischer Wald 1
Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the morning loop of the third day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. Posting a time 0.3 seconds faster than Emil Lindholm to take the stage win. Erik Cais finished third fastest on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Lindholm. Nikolay Gryazin set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.9 seconds slower than Cais. Miko Marczyk rounded out the top five on the stage, 7.7 seconds slower than Gryazin.
SS12, Schärdinger Innviertel 2
Gus Greensmith took the stage win on the twelfth stage of the weekend. Setting a time 1 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to take the stage win. Nicolas Ciamin finished third fastest on the stage, 0.3 seconds slower than Gryazin. Sami Pajari posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Ciamin. Emil Lindholm rounded out the top five on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Pajari.
SS13, Mühltal 2
Emil Lindholm topped the thirteenth stage of the weekend. Posting a time 1.2 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to win the stage. Nicolas Ciamin finished third fastest on the stage, 2.4 seconds slower than Gryazin. Erik Cais set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Ciamin. Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 9 seconds slower than Cais.
SS14, Knaus Tabbert Bayerischer Wald 2
Emil Lindholm capped off the third day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. Setting a time 1.2 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith. Erik Cais finished third fastest on the stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nicolas Ciamin posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.8 seconds slower than Cais. Kajetan Kajetanowicz and Sami Pajari rounded out the top five on the stage. With both drivers finishing 5.6 seconds slower than Ciamin.
The second day of the Central European has come to an end. Emil Lindholm took the WRC2 class lead on the day.
SS3, Vlachovo Brezi 1
Emil Lindholm kicked off the second day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. With Lindholm posting a time 1.6 seconds faster than Andreas Mikkelsen. Nicolas Ciamin finished third fastest on the stage, 4.9 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Erik Cais set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 4.7 seconds slower than Ciamin. Georg Linnamäe rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 6.1 seconds slower than Cais.
SS4, Zvotoky 1
Nikolay Gryazin took his first stage win of the weekend on SS4. Setting a time 11.7 seconds faster than Emil Lindholm and Alejandro Cachòn on the stage. Miko Marczyk finished with the third fastest time on the stage, 4.5 seconds slower than Lindholm and Cachòn. Erik Cais posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 2.2 seconds slower than Marczyk. Kajetan Kajetanowicz rounded out the top five fastest times on the stage, finishing 1.6 seconds slower than Cais.
SS5, Sumavske Hostice 1
Nikolay Gryazin also took the stage win on the fifth stage of the Central European Rally. Posting a time 16.2 seconds faster than Gus Greensmith to take the stage win. Emil Lindholm finished third fastest on the stage, 3.2 seconds slower than Greensmith. Kajetan Kajetanowicz set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Lindholm. Sami Pajari rounded out the top five on the stage, 2.3 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz.
SS6, Vlachovo Brezi 2
Cancelled due to spectator issues.
SS7, Zvotoky 2
Nicolas Ciamin took his first WRC2 stage win on SS7. Setting a time 1.7 seconds faster than Nikolay Gryazin to win the stage. Erik Cais finished third fastest on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Gryazin. Kajetan Kajetanoiwcz posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.5 seconds slower than Cais. Gus Greensmtih rounded the top five on the stage, 1.7 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz.
SS8, Sumavske Hostice 2
Nikolay Gryazin capped off the second day of the Central European Rally with a stage win. Posting a time 5.7 seconds faster than Emil Lindholm to win the stage. Erik Cais finished third fastest on the stage, 3.1 seconds slower than Lindholm. Gus Greensmith set the fourth fastest time on the stage, 3.3 seconds slower than Cais. Georg Linnamäe rounded out the top five on the stage, 1.1 seconds slower than Greensmith.
Rossel Out
Yohan Rossel’s event and championship hopes ended on SS3. Rossel would go into a corner slightly too fast and go off the road. Normally this would be insignificant. However, on tarmac tires driving on grass is like driving on ice. There’s no grip to be had so the car just slides. Unfortunately for Rossel that sliding ended up with him knocking a few trees over.
Trouble For Mikkelsen
The second day of the Central European Rally wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Andrea’s Mikkelsen. Besides the fact that there was very little sun at all during the day. Mikkelsen suffered a puncture during the morning loop and spent the afternoon loop nursing the car. With no service between the loops, day two was effectively a drive to survive for all drivers. Mikkelsen likely won’t be scoring any championship points this weekend now. As he sits over 11 minutes behind the rally leader and over 9 behind the final points-scoring position.
The first day of the Central European Rally has come to an end. Yohan Rossel leads the WRC2 class at the end of the day.
SSS1, Velka Chuchle
WRC2 Championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen started the Central European Rally with a stage win. Mikkelsen would set a time 0.2 seconds faster than Miko Marczyk to take the stage win. Yohan Rossel finished third fastest on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Mikkelsen. Simon Wagner posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Rossel. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five on the stage, finishing 0.8 seconds slower than Wagner.
SSS2, Circuit Of Klatovy
Yohan Rossel took the win on the second stage of the weekend. Posting a time 2.9 seconds faster than Kajetan Kajetanowicz to take the stage win. Gus Greensmith finished third fastest on the stage, 0.5 seconds slower than Kajetanowicz. Nikolay Gryazin and Andreas Mikkelsen tied for the fourth fastest time on the stage. With both drivers posting a time 0.1 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nicolas Ciamin rounded out the top five times on the stage, finishing 1.1 seconds slower than Gryazin and Mikkelsen.
What To Expect From Day Two Of The Central European Rally
The first full day of the Central European Rally will see drivers face two loops of three stages totalling 60.90 km each loop and 121.80 km total. Andreas Mikkelsen will be first on the road for the WRC2 class. Road sweeping won’t be an issue for Mikkelsen as with any event the Rally1 cars will run beforehand. However, Mikkelsen is in the best WRC2 position as overtime more mud and dirt will get swept out onto the stage via drivers cutting. Yohan Rossel will be second on the road with Gus Greensmith third.
Much like the WRC1 Championship the WRC2 Championship can also be won this weekend. Find out how below.
Who Can Win?
Andreas Mikkelsen, Gus Greensmith and Yohan Rossel are the only drivers who have a chance to win the WRC2 championship. However, only Andreas Mikkelsen can win this weekend at the Central European Rally. Find out how below and how Rossel and Greensmith can stop him.
Andreas Mikkelsen
Andreas Mikkelsen leads the WRC2 championship heading into the Central European Rally. Mikkelsen actively has a 4-point lead over Rossel and an 8-point lead over Greensmith. Meaning Mikkelsen can win the championship in the following ways.
-Score more points than Rossel and Greensmith.
-Score the same amount of points as Rossel and Greensmith.
-Score within 4 points less than Rossel.
-Score within 8 points less than Greensmith.
Yohan Rossel
Yohan Rossel can prevent Mikkelsen from claiming the championship this weekend by scoring 5 or more points than Mikkelsen. However, even if Rossel outscores Mikkelsen it will likely only delay the inevitable. As this weekend at the Central European Rally is Rossel’s final event of the WRC2 season. For Rossel to have a chance at winning the WRC2 championship he will have to score at as possible over Mikkelsen. The maximum Rossel can score over Mikkelsen this weekend is 24. As the highest a driver can earn with a victory in WRC2 is 28 which also includes a Powerstage win.
Gus Greensmith
Gus Greensmith can prevent Mikkelsen from winning the championship this weekend by scoring 9 more points than him. However much like Rossel this doesn’t mean Greensmith will have a chance at the championship. It will once again only delay the inevitable. The maximum amount of points Greensmith can score over Mikkelsen is 20. There’s a slim margin of error for Greensmith if he wants to win the WRC2 championship. The Central European Rally is also Greensmith’s final event of the season.
The Shakedown stage for the Central European Rally has come to an end. Thierry Neuville set the fastest time on the stage.
Shakedown WRC1
Thierry Neuville topped the shakedown stage for the WRC1 class. Neuville would set a time 1.4 seconds faster than Kalle Rovanperä. Rally Chile BioBio winner Ott Tänak finished third fastest on the shakedown stage, 0.1 seconds slower than Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans posted the fourth fastest time on the stage, 0.7 seconds slower than Tänak. Esapekka Lappi rounded out the top five on the shakedown stage, 0.6 seconds slower than Evans.
Shakedown WRC2
Yohan Rossel topped the shakedown stage in the WRC2 class. Rossel would post a time 0.8 seconds faster than Adrien Fourmuax. Gus Greensmith finished with the third fastest time on the shakedown stage, 0.4 seconds slower than Fourmaux. WRC2 Championship leader Andreas Mikkelsen set the fourth fastest time on the shakedown stage, 0.8 seconds slower than Greensmith. Nikolay Gryazin rounded out the top five in WRC2 on the stage, 0.2 seconds slower than Mikkelsen.
Stage Interrupted
The shakedown stage was brought to a stop. It was stopped due to emergency traffic needing to get through to a non-rally related emergency. Luckily this didn’t interfere with anyone’s run on the stage or prevent drivers from running the stage.
What To Expect From Day One Of The Central European Rally
Tomorrow (October 26th) marks the start of the first-ever Central European Rally. The event will kick off with two SuperSpecial stages. The first SuperSpecial is 2.55 km long and the second is 8.92km long. Not much will be decided tomorrow. As normally gaps on a SuperSpecial stage are tenths of a second between the top runners. However, with a near 9km stage, it’s possible there will be a couple seconds between the top drivers to end the day. Seconds that could help a driver win the event.
The 2023 World Rally Championship season continues this weekend with the twelfth round, the Central European Rally.
Championship Rundown
Andreas Mikkelsen maintained the championship lead after Rally Chile BioBio despite not attending the event. There was a strong chance for Yohan Rossel or Gus Greensmith to take the class lead at the event. However, neither of them did. Both closed the gap between themselves and Mikkelsen however. As Rossel now sits just 4 points behind Mikkelsen and Greensmith sits 5 behind Rossel. The Central European Rally will be Rossel and Greensmith’s final event of the season. Meaning it’s their final chance to win the championship. Oliver Solberg moved back into the championship top five after taking home the win in Chile. However, Solberg has no more points-scoring rounds and will not be attending the event this weekend. Sami Pajari rounds out the championship top five, however, Pajari also doesn’t have any points-scoring rounds remaining. Pajari will be attending the event this weekend for experience. With Pajari not scoring points, it leaves the door open for Nikolay Gryazin to move into fifth this weekend. As just 21 points separate the two Toksport drivers.
A Newish Experience
This weekend will mark the first-ever Central European Rally. With the event taking place in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Some drivers have past experience on German tarmac, however, nobody has experience on it in a current Rally2 car. Outside of Pre-event testing of course. Which is something all teams did before the event. As this is the first time tarmac has been seen in the WRC since April for the Croatia Rally. A new rally means it’s hard to know what to expect from every driver. This means the ones who are willing to take the risks could be rewarded big time, or have their chances at a win ended abruptly.
Adrien Fourmaux seems like a lock to get a Rally1 drive again next season, but has he done enough to earn another chance?
Fourmaux’s 2023 Season
Adrien Fourmaux has had a decent season in WRC2 and a great one in the British Rally Championship. Fourmaux currently sits 6th in the WRC2 Championship. Having competed in all 7 point-scoring rounds he’s allowed, Fourmaux can only go lower. The French driver only claimed 1 podium this season, which was a 2nd at Secto Rally Finland. He was on pace to win the class at the Rally Italia Sardegna, however, an accident would stop that from happening. In the British Rally Championship Fourmaux won all 5 events he competed in to take home the championship. Becoming the first French driver to win the championship. Fourmaux will compete at the Central European Rally later this month to gain experience as he can no longer score WRC2 championship points.
Has Fourmaux Earned A Chance?
On the surface, Fourmaux seems like he still has a bit to go to get another chance in a Rally1 car. He wasn’t really competitive in WRC2. Sure he was around 5th place consistently at every event, but nothing has really stood out to say he should be the first in line to get another chance. Guys like Andreas Mikkelsen and Oliver Solberg should likely get a chance before Fourmaux does. However, Fourmaux seems like a lock to drive for M-Sport next season. As the team needs drivers, Pierre-Louis Loubet will likely stay with the British team. However, from there, it’s all open.
WRC2 Isn’t Rally1
Even if his WRC2 stats haven’t been something that screams he should get another chance, he will likely get a chance. Which isn’t a bad thing and nobody will hold it against Forumaux. As at the end of the day, nothing done in WRC2 really matters for Rally1. The gap between the cars is night and day, you could drive a perfect season in WRC2 and then go and not even finish top five in a Rally1 car the next season. The Rally1 cars are hybrid and have much more aerodynamics than the WRC2 cars. The only way Forumaux will become a good WRC driver is by driving a Rally1 car. WRC2 used to be a decent scale on whether or not a driver would do good in a top car. Now it really isn’t. Truthfully Fourmaux has the skill and ability to be a good top-level driver in the WRC. He just needs to get experience with the car and at the events.
Rally Chile BioBio has come to an end. Oliver Solberg held on to take home his second win of the season.
Day One, Solberg Vs. Pajari
The first day of Rally Chile BioBio was a battle between Oliver Solberg and Sami Pajari. Pajari would come out on top by day’s end, taking a 13.3-second lead over Solberg into the second day. For the rest of the class, it wasn’t the greatest day. Nikolay Gryazin ended the day third, 51.4 seconds behind Pajari.
Day Two, Solberg Takes Control
The second day of Rally Chile BioBio wasn’t as good as the first day. Sami Pajari lost his lead to Oliver Solberg on the first stage of the day. This came after Pajari got caught in the dust of a Rally1 car. Pajari was quick to regain the lead, taking it back on the fourth stage of the day. However, Pajari’s lead was short-lived, as Solberg regained the lead just two stages later. Solberg entered the final day of the event with a 25.3-second lead over Gus Greensmtih. Pajari fell to third, 43.9 seconds behind Solberg.
Day Three, Solberg Holds On
The third and final day went rather smoothly for Solberg. Despite attacks by both Greensmith and Pajari, Solberg maintained the lead. Solberg was able to finish the event with a 25.8-second lead over Greensmith. Sami Pajari maintained third. Local driver Jorge Martinez won the Powerstage, Solberg finished second and Greensmith third.
Championship Rundown
Shockingly Andreas Mikkelsen remains in the WRC2 championship lead after Rally Chile BioBio. Mikkelsen now only leads the championship by 4 points, however. With Yohan Rossel remaining second in the championship. Gus Greensmith also remains in the same position of third, now sitting just 5 points behind Rossel. Both Rossel and Greensmith have one round left to compete. Rally winner Oliver Solberg moves up to fourth in the championship. Solberg now sits 8 points behind Greensmith. Solberg’s season is over, however. Sami Pajari dropped to fifth in the championship, now sitting 5 points behind Solberg. Pajari’s season is also over.
Disappointing Event For Rossel, Greensmtih
Yohan Rossel and Gus Greensmith went into Rally Chile BioBio with a chance to take the championship lead. However, neither of them would move into the championship lead. As both drivers had a rough event. Greensmith managed to finish second overall, 25.8 seconds behind Solberg. Despite having a rough first day. Rossel also had a rough first day of the event. Ending the first day 7th in class. However, Rossel pushed back to finish the event 4th, 33.3 seconds behind Pajari. For the two drivers, it’s a disappointing event as their championship hopes are likely over.