Croatia Rally 2023

Final ranking Croatia Rally 2023:

General classification Drivers:

General classification Manufacturers:

  • He had not won a rally again WRC for almost two years and the 2021 Rally Finland! Elfyn Evans (Toyota) put an end to this drought by winning the 2023 Croatia Rally without fail. The Welshman, associated with Scott Martin, was imperial, easily defending the return of Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja (M-Sport Ford, 2nd).
  • In the Drivers' championship, the fight is relaunched.
  • Victims of punctures on Friday, Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) were able to move up the rankings to finish just off the podium.
  • Driving a Hyundai i20 in Irish colors to pay tribute to the late Craig Breen (died the previous week in an accidentt), Esapekka Lappi saves the furniture with the last step of the podium. The South Korean manufacturer could have counted on Thierry Neuville, but the Belgian made a mistake on Saturday morning while comfortably leading the Croatia Rally.
  • Never sharp, but without making any mistakes, Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) reached the finish line in 7th place. The Frenchman did not want to fight against the Toyotas who overtook him on Saturday.
  • In WRC2, the favorite was the outgoing winner Yohan Rossel (Citroën). The Frenchman, associated with Arnaud Dunand, did not fail in his role and led the category from start to finish! He also takes the lead in the championship thanks to the points scored in the Power Stage, an excellent operation for the 3 WRC2021 champion.
  • In the Junior WRC, the French Laurent Pellier and Marine Pelamourgues had won the race, until their Ford Fiesta Rally3 was struck by mechanical damage. Forced to retire before the Power Stage, they still scored a few points during the rally.
  • Find out in the next issue of AUTOhebdo, on sale Monday evening digitally and Wednesday on newsstands, analysis of the Croatia Rally by our special correspondent.

Elfyn Evans did not beat the clock, the Welshman finishing in 6th place in the Power Stage. That's not the main thing: he is the winner of the 2023 Croatia Rally! This is his 6th WRC victory.

Ott Tänak signs his 44th WRC podium, but he will not win. The Estonian finished 2nd, and scored no points in this Power Stage (6th).

Esapekka Lappi remained cautious this stage and the Finn finished the event in 3rd place in the Croatia Rally.

Kalle Rovanperä finished 4th in the Rally, just ahead of Sébastien Ogier. The Finn sets the 2nd time, 1 second behind Neuville.

Ogier: “I had crazy understeer, the car was undriveable! This is one of the hardest Power Stages! »

Sébastien Ogier finished with the 2nd time, 4″4 behind Neuville. Let us point out that the Belgian drove without a spare wheel, which amounts to a significant weight gain!

Loubet finishes the rally: “We have to work on regularity in our racing pace. It was a difficult week after what happened with Craig (Breen, who died in an accident. Editor's note). »

Oliver Solberg took 3rd place in Rally2, even though he was not entered in the WRC2 championship this weekend:

Neuville: “I'm sorry to the team, we really wanted to win. When you are at the limit, you must avoid such mistakes. But I hope that my Power Stage will allow me to score 5 points. »

Thierry Neuville logically took the best time by being the first Rally1 to cross the line. “It's not possible to do better” smiles the Belgian in the passenger compartment.

Yohan Rossel (Citroën) wins the Croatia Rally in the WRC2 category, as was the case in 2022! The Frenchman also takes the lead in the championship in this category following his success in Monte-Carlo last January.

Nikolay Gryazin attacks to catch Yohan Rossel at the head of WRC2!

Bad news in Junior WRC. The French Laurent Pellier and Marine Pelamourgues gave up before the Power Stage! They had been comfortably leading the category since Saturday morning, but their Ford Fiesta Rally3 died with an engine problem.

Here is the starting order for this PS:

Time for the Power Stage, the final special stage of the Croatia Rally! The drivers with the 5 best times will score bonus points in the Drivers' World Championship.

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