WHAT’S NEW FOR THE 2023 WRC SHOWDOWN
Graham Lister explains same of the main changes that have been made ahead of the new chapter of the global contest
Although the big changes happened in 2022 with the advent of the Rally1 hybrid era, there have still been a few rule tweaks ahead of the new campaign. Most notably, WRC2 Junior becomes WRC2 Challenger as the criteria switches focus on competitor experience rather than age. It’s part of an attempt to prevent factory-supported drivers from going for both the Junior and overall titles, which was the case last season with for double winner Lindholm.
Previous WRC2 champions or drivers that have been nominated to score manufacturer points in the overall championship can’t take part, which means the likes of Brit Chris Ingram and Ireland’s Josh McErlean are eligible for the separate award.
WRC2 Masters, introduced in 2022 for drivers aged 50 or over in Rally2 cars, is now WRC Masters after the rules were adjusted to allow drivers in Rally3, Rally4, Rally5 and RGT cars to take part. There’s still only one overall title rather than separate awards for each class.
But with the RGT Cup disbanded, WRC Masters gives a home for GT-derived machinery as well as two-wheel-drive cars that would otherwise not be eligible for an FIA title in the WRC.
While plans for a 14th round were ditched due to the hoped-for Saudi Arabia event not being ready to roll in 2023, the addition of the Central European Rally maintains a 13-round schedule in place of Rally Spain, much to the frustration of the bosses of the Catalan event, who had the funds and desire to continue.
The Central European Rally is a joint initiative from the ASNs in Austria, Czech Republic and Germany with Tarmac-only stages taking place in all three countries. The event will start in Prague and finish in Passau, lower Bavaria and forms the penultimate round of the year. Although it’s essentially a new event, it includes elements of ADAC’s long-standing 3-Stadte Rallye and was passed fit for its WRC elevation following an inspection by the FIA’s WRC safety boss Michele Mouton last October.
Having staged the last WRC event before the world went into Covid-19enforced lockdown in March 2020, Mexico is back on the World championship schedule, while there’s also an event in South America once again with Chile returning for the first time since 2019.
Testing by manufacturer teams away from their nominated test venues has been cut from 28 to 21 days as part of governing body the FIA’s sustainability drive.
To help volunteers, the number of hours they’re needed on duty on gravel events has been cut with the removal of morning service. It will mean teams having to make tyre choices for the leg ahead the night before and could lead to some interesting strategic calls...
Away from the regulations, there have been several changes to driver line-ups with Ott Tanak’s switch from Hyundai to M-Sport the most significant off-season transfer.
Tanak, who scored his first WRC win with Malcolm Wilson’s team in 2017 and claimed the World title two years later, albeit driving for Toyota, will partner Corsican Pierre-Louis Loubet at the Cockermouth outfit.
Loubet impressed on selected outings for M-Sport in 2022, most notably in Greece where he led for a time. His performances last year and his access to external sponsorship made him an attractive proposition for M-Sport, which remains well behind Hyundai and Toyota in the funding stakes and had to invest heavily to secure Tanak’s services.
As well as ending its agreement with Craig Breen one year early, M-Sport has demoted Adrien Fourmaux, another one
of its underperforming 2022 drivers, to WRC2. It has also parted company with Gus Greensmith amid reports there wasn’t the cash for the Briton to continue in the sport’s top tier. However, both parties maintain the split was amicable.
Despite talk of a semi-works Toyota Yaris Rally1 ride, the Manchester driver will drop back to WRC2 to pilot an all-new Skoda Fabia for Germanybased Turkish outfit Toksport.
His myriad team-mates include
Briton Chris Ingram, defending WRC2 champion Emil Lindholm and Oliver Solberg, who wasn’t kept on as Hyundai’s fourth Rally1 driver after two years in a development role.
Solberg’s departure essentially freed up a seat for Breen with the Irishman returning to Hyundai after a troubled season away at M-Sport. He’ll carshare with Dani Sordo and is set to begin his campaign on Rally Sweden next month.
Esapekka Lappi replaces Tanak at Hyundai for what will be the one-time event winner’s fourth full season in the WRC after he impressed on his partial return with Toyota last year following a limited programme in 2021.
The Finn will still be lacking i20 N Rally1 seat time when the Monte Carlo Rally begins but Lappi won’t be using that as an excuse as he bids for a top-four overall finish.
Cyril Abiteboul is Hyundai’s other new recruit, the ex-Renault F1 boss taking over from Andrea Adamo, who was replaced by Julien Moncet on the eve of the 2022 season on a temporary basis.
Defending champion team Toyota hasn’t brought in any new drivers but it has given what is essentially a promotion to its Japanese star Takamoto Katsuta. Co-driven by Irishman Aaron Johnston, Katsuta will chase manufacturers’ championship points on the events Sebastien Ogier isn’t contesting, which includes next month’s Rally Sweden.
Plans remain in place for a fourth Yaris to appear on all non-Ogier events, but only for the right price. For Sweden, the amply funded son of Prada fashion boss Miuccia Prada Lorenzo Bertelli has answered the call for what will be his first top-flight outing in a non-Ford car.
Kalle Rovanpera will defend his World title for Toyota, taking the start in Monaco’s Casino Square today (Thursday) aged just 22 years, three months and 18 days. But rather than take the number 1, which he’s entitled to do as World champion, the Finn will stick to his trusted 69 with Ogier, the 2021 title winner, selecting 17.
Welshman Elfyn Evans is Toyota’s only other full-season factory driver as he bids to fight for the WRC’s biggest prize once again following a winless 2022.
The number 43 won’t be used on any event in 2023 following its withdrawal by the FIA as a tribute to the late Ken Block, who made 25 WRC appearances mainly with M-Sport. ■