Mexico, SS3: Already the end of hopes for Tänak and Loubet

The first “real” special of the Rally of Mexico 2023, the terrible El Chocolate (29 km), damaged all the chances of the clan M-Sport Ford. Starting in the opening position due to his first place in the world rally championship, Ott Tänak lost more than 7 minutes due to a broken turbo. “The turbo is dead”, simply said the Estonian, who should stop there for this stage.

Not how we wanted to start today.

We'll see what Ott and Martin can do on the road section and go from there. pic.twitter.com/gUtFLW7K7J

- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) March 17, 2023

His teammate Pierre-Louis Loubet, for his part, made a driving error by hitting a rock on the side of the road. The Frenchman is unhurt but cannot leave as the mechanics are damaged. Finally, the third man Jourdan Serderidis also made a mistake, forcing the Race Direction to stop the special. The WRC2s cannot in fact get around the Ford Puma hybrid, which is blocking passage in the opposite direction.

The best time was set by Esapekka Lappi (Hyundai), advantaged by a good starting position. He is ahead of the French Sébastien Ogier (Toyota) by only 6 tenths and Dani Sordo (Hyundai) by 6″1.

Rally Mexico, SS3 classification:

General classification after SS3: