Sébastien Ogier Wins WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023

MEXICO: The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 driver, Sébastien Ogier, and his co-driver Vincent Landais defeated the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Workforce driver, Thierry Neuville, and his co-driver, M. Wydaeghe, to realize his seventh victory on the WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023, held from March 16–19, 2023, in Leon, Mexico. 

Ogier completed with a successful margin of 27.5 seconds forward of Thierry Neuville to win the identical rally the place he made his FIA World Rally Championship debut as a junior driver means again in 2008. The successful pair of drivers was introduced with a pair of cowboy boots.

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With this 12 months’s win, Sébastien Ogier broke the report of six consecutive wins by Sebastien Loeb between 2006 and 2012. Ogier gained the rally from 2013 to 2015 and from 2018 to 2020. He devoted his seventh Guanajuato Rally Mexico win to his late good friend and coach, Tim Lobinger, who handed away in February this 12 months.

Sébastien Ogier, basking in his 57th WRC success, has notched up a three-point lead now within the driver’s championship whereas his co-driver V Landais secured his second WRC win. Thierry Neuville secured the runner-up spot within the Wolf Energy Stage, overtaking Evans by a fraction of a second. 

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Earlier within the race, on the finish of the second day of the rally, Esapekka Lappi was 5.3 seconds forward of Ogier, however his car crashed onto the financial institution, spun uncontrolled, and subsequently hit an electrical energy pole 10.1 kilometres into the primary stage on the early third day of the rally.

Ogier took benefit of this unlucky flip of occasions and elevated the hole to half a minute forward of his teammate, Elfyn Evans.

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The spectators and followers had been mesmerised on the third day to look at Elfyn Evans and Thierry Neuville give their best possible to safe second place. 

They had been separated by a fraction of a second on a number of events through the day and ended with Evans taking a 4.3-second lead by night time.

Curiously, World Champion Kalle Rovanperä disenchanted his followers as he couldn’t match the trio’s highway power and eventually ended up in fourth place. Hyundai’s Dani Sordo and his co-driver Candido Carrera completed fifth.

Conclusion

Toyota leads by 27 factors within the producers’ title race in comparison with Hyundai forward of subsequent month’s WRC Rally, Rally Croatia, scheduled from April 20–23, 2023, in Croatia’s capital metropolis Zagreb.

WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023 – Race Consequence

1. S. Ogier & V Landais (Toyota Gazoo Racing) Time: 3:16:09.4, Place: 1^st 
2. T. Neuville & M. Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid),
   Time: 3:16:36.9, Place: 2^nd 
3. E. Evans &  S. Martin (Tayota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid), Time: 3:16:37.3,
   Place: 3^rd 

Drivers Championship standings after WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023

1. Sebastien Ogier, Factors: 56
2. Thierry Neuville, Factors: 53
3. Kalle Rovanperä, Factors: 52

Producers’ standings after WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023

1. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Factors: 127
2. Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Workforce, Factors: 100
3. M-Sport Ford World Rally Workforce, Factors: 73

About WRC Guanajuato Rally México 2023

Guanajuato Rally Mexico was first held as a WRC spherical in 2004 after the rally moved to Leon in 1998. The rally was organised in Leon this 12 months after a niche of two years.

The levels of the rally climb to an altitude of 2700 m above sea degree and journey by way of dusty and sandy roads amidst gorgeous surroundings of the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains.

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