The World Rally Championship returns to Chile this week for the first time since before the global pandemic.
Indeed, only once before has Rally Chile ever been in the WRC, and this week’s edition is using mainly different stages than the 2019 event.
So nobody has a great deal of experience of what the crews will be facing this week.
With only two more rallies remaining after this, Chile represents Kalle Rovanperä’s first chance to clinch the 2023 world crown. Does his form suggest he will?
Here is DirtFish’s guide to who’s hot and who’s not ahead of the 2023 Rally Chile:
#69 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 1st-DNF-1st
Best Rally Chile result: 8th (2019)
A glance at Kalle Rovanperä’s recent WRC form suggests it’s been win or bust for the reigning world champion, with victories in Greece and Estonia sandwiching a crash from the lead of Rally Finland.
That doesn’t tell the full story of course, and Rovanperä bounced back from that faux pas in style by scoring maximum points on the Acropolis to take another step towards a second world title.
With a lead of 33 points over team-mate Elfyn Evans, and 60 left on the table after this week’s event, it is mathematically possible for Rovanperä to clinch the title in Chile. Will that change his mindset? We saw last year that mistakes crept in as the title came within sight.
Running first on the road is unlikely to hinder Rovanperä too much, who won WRC2 Pro on the last Rally Chile, especially if the stages remain wet from recent heavy rain.
#33 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 2nd-1st-4th
Best Rally Chile result: 4th (2019)
Rovanperä’s 30-point haul on the Acropolis was a blow to Elfyn Evans’s championship hopes. But the Welshman minimized his loss by finishing second on rally and the powerstage.
Realistically, Evans must beat Rovanperä’s in Chile if he is going to claim a maiden WRC title. But focusing on his own pace and not overreaching himself has served him well to date. Whether or not Rovanperä’s error in Finland was forced, it was Evans who was there to make the most of it and he is likely to target a similar approach this weekend.
Finishing first and second on the past two events means Evans is in fine form and in confident mood as he heads to Chile. It’s an event he didn’t find easy in 2019, but he drove sensibly to fourth place in his M-Sport Ford Fiesta.
With stages reminiscent of both Rally GB and Rally Finland, Rally Chile could suit Evans well.
#11 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 20th-2nd-2nd
Best Rally Chile result: DNF (2019)
Another year with Thierry Neuville as the nearly man? It looks that way after his non-score on Acropolis Rally Greece.
Until that steering-breaking impact, it had been going very well for Neuville who led the rally. Following two strong performances in Finland and Estonia, he arguably remains one of the championship’s most in-form drivers.
Neuville won’t have very fond memories of Chile though as he violently crashed out of the rally in 2019.
With his title hopes now all but over, a second win of the season would at least give Neuville and his Hyundai team something to smile about.
#8 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 4th-DNF-8th
Best Rally Chile result: 1st (2019)
It’s been a wretched run of form for Ott Tänak and M-Sport, without even a podium finish since Croatia Rally in April. There was some progress on the Acropolis but more mechanical woes restricted him to fourth.
Another whose title chances are now only mathematical, at least Tänak can head to Chile knowing it was an event he stamped his authority on in 2019. From the second stage, Tänak was never headed on the fast but technical stages as he went on to score maximum points.
It was his second of six wins with Toyota that year en route to what remains his only world title. This could represent Tänak’s best chance of a win over the last three rallies of 2023 as he and M-Sport seek to end the season on a high.
#4 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 5th-DNF-3rd
Best Rally Chile result: 6th (2019)
A fine first half of the season for Esapekka Lappi has given way to disappointing form on the past couple of events. He seemed to struggle in Greece and will not have enjoyed team-mate Neuville having the upper hand in Finland and Estonia.
Lappi had looked a good bet for winning at least one rally this year but now the target is simply to return to the podium, and there’s no reason why he can’t do that in Chile.
Lappi contested the event in the difficult Citroën C3 WRC four years ago so he does have experience of the terrain. He initially struggled but gradually picked up his pace, enjoying the fast, flowing stages on his way to a safe sixth. With a potentially advantageous road position, this could be exactly the kind of rally for Lappi to shine.
#18 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 6th-3rd-7th
Best Rally Chile result: 14th (2019)
Takamoto Katsuta’s form has been fluctuating of late. His pace in Estonia left him very downhearted, but he bounced back with a terrific performance in Finland before following that up with a so-so effort in Greece.
Katsuta is still working on finding that regular podium-challenging speed blended with consistency. On paper, Chile’s fast but technical stages may not be the easiest place to achieve that.
He enjoyed the 2019 event, winning WRC2 in a Ford Fiesta R5, albeit some distance behind the first three WRC2 Pro drivers.
Back as a nominated scorer for Toyota in the manufacturers’ championship this weekend, a steady drive to a top-six finish is perhaps more likely for Katsuta than a podium push.
#3 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 N Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 4th-5th-6th
Best Rally Chile result: 5th (2019)
Giving Teemu Suninen the nod over Dani Sordo for this event makes sense for Hyundai, especially as it evaluates him for next season. Unlike Sordo, Suninen contested the 2019 event, where he finished a creditable fifth in an M-Sport Fiesta WRC.
Suninen has impressed in his two Hyundai outings to date, but they were events where the Finn feels very much at home.
Chile could be trickier. Suninen knows he has a job to do for Hyundai in the manufacturers’ championship but will also be keen to display his pace with the aim of securing a drive next year. It’s a difficult balance to strike.
#7 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Nicolas Gilsoul (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-45th-6th
Best Rally Chile result: N/A
One of only two Rally1 drivers who didn’t contest Rally Chile in 2019, Pierre-Louis Loubet starts on the back foot in terms of experience of the event. But having limited experience is not an unfamiliar situation for M-Sport’s second driver, and the value of past experience could be limited by the number of new stages and the much later running of the event this year anyway.
It’s been a tough year for Loubet, especially in terms of results, and high hopes for Acropolis Rally Greece last time out were dashed immediately by a water-pump failure.
He and the team now desperately need to get a clean rally under their belts, with any thoughts of an elusive WRC podium pushed firmly to the back of their minds.
#13 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: 12th-15th-18th
Best Rally Chile result: N/A
M-Sport driver Grégoire Munster steps up to Rally1 machinery for the first time this week, thanks to the support of Jourdan Serderidis whose Puma he will be driving.
It’s been a curious season for Munster so far, split between the Rally2 and Rally3 versions of M-Sport’s Fiesta as he has contested two Junior WRC rounds alongside his main WRC2 program.
Munster himself views this Rally1 run as a chance to improve his overall ability with WRC2 in mind, rather than necessarily seeking to impress Rally1 teams.
With zero experience of Chile, he will be targeting a clean rally, making sure he beats all the WRC2 cars, with the aim of being the quicker of the two Rally1 debutants.
#28 Alberto Heller/Luis Ernesto Allende (Ford Puma Rally1)
Last 3 WRC results: DNF-DNF-23rd
Best Rally Chile result: DNF (2019)
The younger of the two brothers, local driver Alberto Heller is the second competitor making his Rally1 debut on Rally Chile as M-Sport expands to a four-car lineup.
Heller of course has the advantage of being more familiar with the terrain and stages than any other frontrunning driver. He already has two wins on home ground in the local championship this year.
But stepping up to the WRC is another challenge altogether. Heller has a WRC2 win to his name, on Rally Australia in 2018. But post-pandemic, he has contested only four WRC rounds, and just one this year when he had to retire on the final stage in Portugal through illness.
It would be unfair to expect too much of Heller, and realistically Munster is the only driver he can be compared with, but it is a big boost for the championship to have a local star competing in a front-line car.
