Sébastien Ogier and Dani Sordo prepare for Monte-Carlo

Just one week before the launch of the season during the traditional Monte-Carlo (January 19-22), the teams from WRC are carrying out their first tests of the year.

In order to find conditions that should be close to those that the competitors will encounter during the event, they settled in the Grasse hinterland.

Le Toyota Gazoo Racing had chosen a section of road just above Entrevaux (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence) and it could hardly be closer to the Monte-Carlo special stages, the Col de Féline being an axis almost parallel to sectors that the rally will borrow.

Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais were therefore perfectly able to measure the state of the road and realize that there was practically no humidity and that there would be no question of snow. This allowed the Frenchman to have a blast, demonstrating once again that the Rally1 hybrids are very fast.

To start the championship, the teams are obliged to compete with cars equipped with all the approvals made during the year 2022, even those which had only previously been seen in testing. This is why the Yaris does not have the two large air intakes on the sides. The wing is also different with this new aero kit.

Dani Sordo was the first pilot Hyundai to be tested in 2023 (Nikos Katikis / DPPI)

Similar situation at Hyundai with a rear part receiving the 2023 definition including additional branches and small fins.

The retro is also in another place, as for the decoration, we must seriously look at the two versions to determine the changes, particularly where the acronyms supposed to represent the arrival of the hybrid have disappeared.

Dani Sordo was called to open the ball and the team, which has still not revealed the name of its director, settled on one of the highlights of Monte-Carlo, the Col de Bleine. As with Ogier, a few kilometers away as the crow flies, the Spaniard found very dry ground to carry out his session.

After this introduction, the permanent players in the championship will take over. Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi for Hyundai and Elfyn Evans, Kalle Rovanperä, and Takamoto Katsuta at Toyota.

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