Rally México – Day Two
Hyundai Motorsport endured early frustration on the penultimate day of Rally México, as overnight leaders Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm crashed out on Saturday’s opening stage, Ibarrilla (SS11, 14.82km).
The Finns, who held a 5.3-second advantage at the head of a closely fought field, saw their hopes of a first WRC win with Hyundai Motorsport disappear following a split-second incident that resulted in them hitting a utility pylon. The crew was unharmed in the incident, but a fire broke out that added to car damage that ultimately saw them retire from the rally. They will not re-join on Sunday.
The third round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has continued to offer an enthralling combination of tantalisingly close rally action and high-octane drama. The margins of performance have been so close that even stage wins haven’t guaranteed significant in-roads on the leaders.
Following Lappi’s untimely retirement, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe took over the reins as the top Hyundai crew, in third place. Picking up on the podium potential, the Belgian pair found a strong rhythm. They took three stage wins in a row – on El Mosquito (SS12, 22.56km), Derramadero (SS13, 21.70km) and the Las Dunas Superspecial (SSS14, 3.53km) – to show their intentions.
The tiniest fractions have made all the difference; after almost 22km of rallying through Derramadero 1, just 0.5s separated the top-three. Even with Neuville’s impressive stage winning form, the crew only reduced the deficit by 0.3s heading into lunchtime service.
The repeat of Ibarrilla was cancelled due to the earlier incident. Instead, the second loop began with El Mosquito. The Belgians scored their fourth stage win of the day in the repeat of Derramadero, a tenacious performance that saw the gap to second place shrink to just 5.9 seconds. More strong runs through the third pass of Las Dumas Superspecial and the Rock & Rally test resulted in a further reduction to 4.3 seconds. It is game on for Sunday.
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Four stage wins on Saturday saw the crew stake its claim for the podium
- Belgians hold a 4.3s gap to second place, and will push hard to catch the position on Sunday
Neuville said: “I have continued with the same speed as we were driving yesterday, but we attacked a bit more this afternoon to try and close the gap to Elfyn. It worked out quite well. We won three stages this morning and moved up to third on the classification. I felt sorry to see EP and Janne going off first thing; they were doing a great job out there. We knew with a better road position we could be faster but obviously Elfyn also increased his speed. He has been driving well so the gaps have been small. On the last stage, unfortunately, we picked up a puncture after 1.5km, which lost us 1.5-2s, otherwise the gap would have been below three seconds. Still, it’s a small margin, so we are going to push for it on the final day; we’ve been trying all weekend and we are now firmly in the fight for second place.”
Crew Notes: Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (#6 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Spaniards enjoyed a trouble-free Saturday to move up to fifth overall
- The crew played its support role perfectly from fifth on the road
Sordo said: “With our road position today, it has been difficult to stay on the pace of the crews in front. The road cleaning effect is very high. Unfortunately, we lost Esapekka’s car early on, which from a team perspective has made things a bit harder. I have to say, though, that the roads here in this rally are nice to drive. I’ve enjoyed it a lot but sometimes we have just lacked grip; that tends to improve when more cars have been through each stage. Still, we’re here inside the top-five, so we will keep motivated, keep pushing and we will try to enjoy ourselves also on the final day. We’ll continue to give our maximum.”
Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Heartbreak for the Finns as they stopped on Saturday’s opening stage
- The crew had demonstrated impressive pace on Friday with five stage wins
Lappi said: “As we have often said, when you drive with more caution and safety, it becomes more difficult; I think this is exactly what happened on the opening stage this morning. I wasn’t attacking or pushing particularly hard. There was a long right-hand turn which you cut before the entry to the left-hander where we crashed. I felt that I got a bit stuck on the cut, and I couldn’t make the entry immediately. I missed the apex by about 40 centimetres, went wide by about half a metre and touched a bank. That alone would have been OK, but we then spun and hit the post. There was also a fire in the car, which we managed to put out. I am disappointed, of course. We need to take away the positives from yesterday, along with our pace from Sweden. We have the speed; we just haven’t been able yet to translate into the results we know we can deliver.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “Early this morning, the vibe in the team was particularly positive, leading the rally by 5.3-seconds. But the reality hit hard when Esapekka and Janne crashed out on the first stage. We all felt gutted and the crew was prompt to recover the car to try and get it back into one piece but it was too damaged. It was still refreshing for us and for the sport overall to have seen them perform in the way that they had up to that point. We had no choice but to swallow that bitter pill and move on. Thierry, meanwhile, put on another extremely strong team display to reduce the gap to Evans, a gap mainly caused by the loss of his hybrid in yesterday's morning. We expect a typical Thierry attack tomorrow; there are big points at stake and we’re not here to settle for third place. Dani has had a day of ups and downs but has generally been more positive about the car this afternoon, which should set him up nicely for the final four stages on Sunday.”
Sunday at a glance
- Four stages remain on the schedule for the final day of Rally México, starting with a fourth run of the Las Dunas Superspecial at 08.05 local time
- The longest stage of the entire rally follows immediately after, the mighty 35.63km Otates, which could throw up late surprises
- San Diego (SS22, 12.61km) will establish the order for the El Brinco Power Stage, with its famous jump providing a suitable fan-packed spectacle to complete the rally.
Classification after Day Two
| 1 | S. Ogier | V. Landais | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | 2:35:37.6 |
| 2 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +35.8 |
| 3 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +40.1 |
| 4 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 | +1:34.0 |
| 5 | D. Sordo | C. Carrera | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +2:21.2 |
