The 2022 World Rally Championship season is reaching its final stages, but the desire to win among the world’s best drivers remains as strong as ever.
Rally Spain offers something of a comfort blanket for the WRC’s finest as an event that’s been on the calendar for years, and often gone unchanged.
Some of course have fared better than others on this asphalt spectacular in years gone by, but as always past form doesn’t always guarantee a result.
But here’s how things are shaping up for each of the 12 Rally1 runners this week:
#1 Sébastien Ogier/Benjamin Veillas (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 2nd-4th-51st
Best WRC Spain result: 1st (2013, 2014, 2016)
For all the talk of Elfyn Evans not winning a round of the WRC in over 12 months now, Sébastien Ogier’s record is almost as bleak – his last victory coming 11 months ago at last year’s Monza Rally finale.
But there’s genuine reason to believe that Rally Spain could offer the eight-time champion one of his best shots yet at a win in 2022.
Although he hasn’t won it since the Volkswagen juggernaut ended in 2016, Ogier has always excelled on the Spanish roads and for the first time in the Rally1 hybrid era he’s starting an event back-to-back – eliminating any of the readjustment that’s pegged him back previously.
Of course given it’s a Tarmac rally, his lower championship position won’t really help him on Friday, but if Ogier finds early comfort with the Yaris on pure asphalt (his only Tarmac start was the Monte back in January) then he won’t need any such aid.
#6 Dani Sordo/Candido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 3rd-3rd-3rd
Best WRC Spain result: 2nd (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016)
Mr Consistent is back behind the wheel of a Hyundai arguably in the form of his life, hot off the back of five third place finishes in a row.
But Dani Sordo, eight times a podium finisher on his home rally, will only be interested in one particular step of the rostrum in Salou: first.
For years Sordo has been a real contender on his home stages but hasn’t quite been able to translate that promise into victory. With the years running out to make that dream a reality, Sordo will be more determined than ever to finally get the job done.
It won’t be easy though. Sordo hasn’t ever driven the i20 N Rally1 competitively on Tarmac, so that could prove his biggest stumbling block.
#7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Vincent Landais (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 4th-DNF-DNF
Best WRC spain result: 11th/4th WRC2 (2017)
It’s hard to know what to expect from Pierre-Louis Loubet given his only asphalt start in a Puma Rally1, Croatia, was offset by punctures on the first day. While his pace was impressive thereafter, he was helped by running at the front of the field which was undoubtedly the best place to be.
But Loubet’s self confidence has now been restored following that brutal 2021 season, so there’s no reason to believe he can’t succeed in Spain.
One of five M-Sport cars on the entry, being the first Puma home must be a realistic target.
#8 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 3rd-2nd-1st
Best WRC Spain result: 2nd (2019)
Even though he’s just lost out in a world championship battle he actually never felt like he was truly in, nobody has scored more WRC points of late than Ott Tänak. But he’s been the first one to admit that past form counts for nothing this weekend on a rally that’s expected to offer a different test for the new-for-2022 Rally1 machines.
Tänak has mixed form on Rally Spain. Last year’s event was a disaster as he got it all wrong and thwacked his i20 Coupe WRC into a tree in what turned out to be his last rally in that car as he skipped the following round at Monza.
But on what also proved to be his final rally in a Toyota in 2019, Tänak clinched his first world title with a stunning powerstage effort that saw him rise from third to second on the final stage at now team-mate Dani Sordo’s expense.
Pre-event, Tänak can never, ever be ruled out of the fight for victory, but he’s perhaps not the favorite of the three Hyundais for victory this weekend.
#9 Jourdan Serderidis/Frédéric Miclotte (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-7th-20th
Best WRC Spain result: 33rd
Jourdan Serderidis isn’t in the WRC to make a career or be the next world champion. He’s here to have fun, and he’s picked the perfect rally to do just that given how hard the stages enable a driver to push and explore the limits.
But by staying out of trouble, Serderidis is more than capable of swooping in and collecting some world championship points when others inevitably falter.
#11 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 4th-1st-20th
Best WRC Spain result: 1st (2019, 2021)
Quick in both Croatia and Ypres and of course the winner of the last two editions of Rally Spain, Thierry Neuville has to be the favorite for success in Salou. But as always, that does come with the caveat of how quick his Hyundai package proves to be.
The i20 N Rally1 has tended to be at its best when the grip is changeable, not when things are smooth. And unfortunately for the boys and girls in orange and blue, the Spanish stages are anything but inconsistent.
But we all know how tenacious Neuville is, particularly on stages he feels he can excel on, so first place will be the only satisfactory result this weekend. If he doesn’t achieve it, it won’t be for the want of trying.
#16 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-18th-7th
Best WRC Spain result: 16th
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Adrien Fourmaux in WRC action – two months in fact – so it remains to be seen how that affects his performance. But it’s very clear that anything other than a finish simply won’t do.
How high Fourmaux could potentially finish is another question. Spain hasn’t been too kind a rally to him in the past – he’s done it only twice and crashed both times. But a reset and renewed motivation after watching the action from home instead of through the windshield must have done Fourmaux the world of good.
A top five finish is unlikely to be achieved on speed alone – simply because Fourmaux will need to reign himself in – but if he keeps it clean and things go awry for others, it could pay off handsomely for the WRC returnee.
#18 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-6th-5th
Best WRC Spain result: 24th/12th WRC2 (2018)
On the surface it might not seem it, but Spain is actually a huge rally for Takamoto Katsuta. Firstly so that he can prove one accident won’t begin a torrid run like it did last year, but mostly so he can dial himself into asphalt driving ahead of next month’s Rally Japan.
Katsuta’s accident in New Zealand put a bit of a dampener on what’s currently been quietly impressive season to date, and he returns to the scene of one of his more embarrassing events last year where he nosed into the Armco barrier with force and retired on the first stage.
A repeat is unlikely. Katsuta is a good learner and knows he can’t afford to compromise any seat time. A result this weekend isn’t what will drive him, it’s a result in his home country in a few weeks, but there’s no better way to ensure a strong finish in Japan than by building up his confidence in Spain.
#33 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-DNF-2nd
Best WRC Spain result: 2nd (2021)
Elfyn Evans’ tricky WRC season had appeared to be on track in recent months, but has dramatically swung back against him on the past two events with zero points on the board.
In a sense, points are a bit meaningless now with the drivers’ title wrapped up, but Toyota heads into Spain with a manufacturers’ title to claim and Evans’ contribution there will be valuable.
Not that he won’t be aiming higher, of course. Evans was supremely quick in Spain last year before ultimately losing out to Neuville, and has long been considered an accomplished Tarmac driver – despite never winning a WRC event on the black stuff.
There would be no better time to settle that score than this weekend with some doubt beginning to creep in as to whether he will ever be able to find an answer to team-mate Kalle Rovanperä.
#42 Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 19th-5th-63rd
Best WRC Spain result: 9th
This weekend will be an emotional one for Craig Breen as his partnership with co-driver Paul Nagle comes to an end. The pair have been through a lot together, from when Nagle first jumped in with Breen in the wake of the accident that claimed the life of Breen’s best mate and co-driver Gareth Roberts, to the journey to earning the M-Sport drive that hasn’t quite worked out this year.
Breen and Nagle would love nothing more than to get out in style, and so a podium has to be what the duo will aim for in Salou. The snag is, Breen hasn’t been here since 2018 and has only started the rally twice in a top-line car.
That does put him at an experience deficit, but the racetrack-like stages aren’t so specific that it should cause him any major headaches.
#44 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-29th-19th
Best WRC Spain result: 6th (2021)
The higher profile mistakes of his team-mates has perhaps let Gus Greensmith off the hook, as his form has somewhat deserted him over recent months.
Greensmith is happy on asphalt though so could well be in the races this weekend if he keeps it clean.
Last year’s result was one of his best of the season on what was his final rally with Chris Patterson, but the big priority for Greensmith has to be to not add to M-Sport’s rather lengthy 2022 repair bill.
Do that and recapture some of the magic that we saw from him on Friday in New Zealand, then Greensmith could fly.
#69 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 1st-15th-62nd
Best WRC Spain result: 5th (2021)
The pressure is now off. No more talk about title permutations, no more chatter about the gravity of the situation getting to him. Kalle Rovanperä is now World Rally champion, and is therefore free of any burden. This weekend, he can simply enjoy himself.
That’s a worry for the rest, because driving without a care in the world can often lead to devastating form. And Rovanperä’s form has so often been devastating this year even when there was a title picture to think about.
Rovanperä still has a job to do in Spain though as Toyota chases down a third manufacturers’ title in five years, but it’ll be intriguing to see how he is affected (if at all) by no longer having to drive for the championship.
He wasn’t so spectacular in Spain last year at his first attempt, but believing that will lead to an off-par drive in 2022 would be rather foolish.
