Andreas Mikkelsen and Sébastien Ogier will begin their part-time 2024 World Rally Championship campaigns on this month’s Monte Carlo Rally.
Two-time WRC2 champion Mikkelsen is returning to the top flight with Hyundai after a four-year absence, sharing the team’s third car with Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo. He is expected to focus on the asphalt rounds of the championship, with his drive on the Monte confirmed on the event’s entry list which was published today.
Eight-time world champion Ogier is continuing in a part-time role for Toyota, with his program widely expected to begin at the traditional season-opener. Confirmation of his entry means that Ogier has the chance to claim a record-extending 10th win on the event.
It also means that reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä will be absent from the first round of the WRC season. Rovanperä is also running a part-season in 2024, but Toyota has previously indicated that it has the capacity to run both the Finn and Ogier alongside its two regular drivers, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, on some events.
Eight Rally1 cars will contest the season opener, starting on January 25. Thierry Neuville and the returning Ott Tänak complete the three-car Hyundai entry alongside Mikkelsen. M-Sport will field two Ford Puma Rally1 cars for Adrien Fourmaux and Grégoire Munster.
A sizeable WRC2 entry includes the competition debut of Toyota’s much-anticipated GR Yaris Rally2. Four examples will take the start; joining Sami Pajari and Jan Solans in the cars are Stéphane Lefebvre and one-time Monte winner Bryan Bouffier.
