Rally of Catalonia 2022
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The exceptional talent of Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) gave his 2022 Rally of Catalonia the impression of a walk in the park. However, the eight-time world rally champion (WRC) avoided the pitfalls of the 19 special stages contested on abrasive and fast asphalt, reaching peaks of nearly 190 km/h. It is precisely this apparent ease and relaxation that we recognize a champion.
The Frenchman, who until Sunday October 23 had not won a victory this year, finally succeeded after five attempts. It didn't go far in Monte-Carlo last winter (only beaten by another legend, Sébastien Loeb), nor in New Zealand (2nd to allow Kalle Rovanperä to be crowned). In Catalonia, the Gapençais took the lead from the fifth SS, Friday afternoon, never to leave it again.
Sébastien Ogier has made Catalonia one of his favorite gardens, with this fourth success (after 2013, 14 and 16 on Volkswagen), as many as in Sardinia. This is his 55th success in WRC, his eighth for Toyota Gazoo Racing. In total, the semi-retired rally driver recorded a World Cup victory in a seventh different vehicle, in this case the Toyota Yaris Rally1 Hybrid! It is also the first victory for Benjamin Veillas as co-driver of Sébastien Ogier in the WRC.
The podium is completed by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who had a more convincing second half of the rally than the newly crowned Kalle Rovanperä, ultimately third. The latter was certainly not helped by a puncture in SS17.
Final classification Rally de Catalunya 2022:
Thanks to this result, as well as the points scored during the Power Stage, Toyota won the Manufacturers' title. The Japanese firm now has six (1993, 94, 99, 2018, 21, 22).
MANUFACTURERS' WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONS 2022! 🙌
Thank you to all of our partners and fans for the support to make this season possible! 🙏#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GRYaris #WRC #RallyRACC #PushingTheLimitsForBetter pic.twitter.com/qbzgkFTc7a
- TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT (@TGR_WRC) October 23, 2022
M-Sport Ford transparent
In a no man's land, Ott Tänak (Hyundai) finished just off the podium, ahead of Dani Sordo (Hyundai), who got back on track well despite a timid start to the rally. Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta (Toyota) had an uneventful rally apart from two punctures each.
As a clear presentation of the forces involved, the M-Sport Ford clan places its Ford Puma behind all the Hyundais and Toyotas. No driver weighed in on the progress of the race. Gus Greensmith crashed on Saturday, Craig Breen suffered a puncture as did Pierre-Louis Loubet. Adrien Fourmaux remained wise for his return to the World Cup, two months after his accident in Ypres (Belgium).
In WRC2, Teemu Suninen (Hyundai) won ahead of Frenchman Yohan Rossel (Citroën). This is guaranteed to remain in the WRC antechamber thanks to the support of Citroën Racing in 2023. For the title, nothing has been decided. Absent in Catalonia and Japan for the final, Andreas Mikkelsen (Skoda) remains in contention since Emil Lindholm (Skoda) and Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda) do not reach the podium. However, the Finn and the Pole remain mathematically in contention for the crown in the Land of the Rising Sun in November, as they will take part in the Rally Japan.
Finally, in the RGT, Manu Guigou brings Alpine class victory. The brand with the arrowed A even signs a double thanks to the second position of gentleman driver Philippe Baffoun.
Find out in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, available Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, analysis of the WRC in Catalonia by our special correspondent.
ALSO READ > Yoann Bonato’s first ERC victory
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Sébastien Ogier and Benjamin Veillas win the 2022 Catalonia Rally!
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It's Thierry Neuville's turn to take the provisional best time! The Belgian will finish 2nd in the Rally.
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Kalle Rovanperä takes the best time by 7 tenths. He should finish 3rd in the rally. This result allows Toyota to secure the 2022 Manufacturers' title!
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Ott Tänak steals the provisional best time from his companion in the Hyundai clan. “I'm a little disappointed in myself, I'm not able to understand the car and what I need to do to make it work. »
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Dani Sordo launches a big attack and takes the lead of the Power Stage by 9 tenths! “Puta madre” the Spaniard says to his co-pilot, in polished language. “I gave it my all, I oversteered at the end of the stage, the tires were overheating. »
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Elfyn Evans sets the exact same time as Takamoto Katsuta!
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Takamoto Katsuta sets the provisional best time by 3 tenths. “I had bad feelings in this SS, I made too many mistakes. »
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Adrien Fourmaux finished the Rally in 8th place. “Our pace was interesting bearing in mind all the pressure I had at the start. »
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Paul Nagle is on the verge of tears. Craig Breen's co-driver crossed the finish line of his last WRC rally and the Irishman is congratulated by those close to him at the stop point.
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Pierre-Louis Loubet signs the best provisional time with a margin of 4″9 over Gus Greensmith. “The result will not be remarkable but we suffered a puncture which cost us a minute. It's part of the game but I remember the fact of having set similar times to my teammates, even though it was my first start with a Rally1 here. »
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Here is the starting order of this SS:
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Here is the final special, which also serves as a Power Stage: Riudecanyes 2 (15,9 km)!
