Rally Chile – Day One
After a gripping opening day at Rally Chile, round 11 of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai Motorsport is firmly in the fight for victory after a strong performance from Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula.
The Finns were on the pace from the very first of Friday’s stages and finish the day in a well-earned second place. Their team-mates Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe are fourth after a solid recovery drive from a difficult morning loop, while Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm retired from the rally on the morning’s opening stage.
Rally Chile made a triumphant return to the WRC with six stages on Friday, totalling 112.86km in competitive distance. Each run twice, Pulperia (SS1/4, 19.77km), Rere (SS2/5, 13.34km) and Rio Claro (SS3/6, 23.32km) provided plentiful action as well as numerous twists and turns throughout the day.
Suninen/Markkula opened their third event of the season with the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team in blistering form, setting the second fastest stage time on SS1 Pulperia 1. Solid runs through the following stages of the morning saw them cement themselves in a three-way battle for first place. On the repeat of SS4 Pulperia 2, the Finns went one better to claim their first stage win in the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid, which moved them into the lead of the rally. Although the momentum swung to Ott Tänak on SS5 Rere 2, Suninen/Markkula end the day with a gap of just 4.2 seconds to the top of the classification.
Belgians Neuville/Wydaeghe struggled to find a consistent rhythm on the morning loop. They came back fighting in the second leg, setting a hat-trick of top-three times, which saw them progress to fourth overall on the final stage. Just 15 seconds off the provisional podium places, the #11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid crew is determined to continue this upward trajectory on Saturday.
Sadly, Hyundai Motorsport’s second Finnish crew, Lappi/Ferm, will not return for the remainder of Rally Chile after an incident in the closing metres of SS1 Pulperia 1. The Finns turned into the last corner too early, which caused their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid to roll. The damage to their car is too great to continue, resulting in their retirement from the event.
Crew Notes: Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (#3 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Claimed first stage win in Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on SS4 Pulperia 2
- Finns end the day in touching distance of provisional first place
Suninen said: “What a day! I think we did a good job, we were driving very well and pretty much on the limit the entire time, with a few moments here and there, but we are still here and in a really good position with just a few seconds between us and the lead. The car was really enjoyable to drive. I am happy with my performance, I think we managed some small issues well and didn’t lose too much time. I want to go for the win, but tomorrow is like a whole new rally. It is very different profile and I am still learning the car in different conditions, how to manage the tyres - which will be really important tomorrow. There is a lot of new things but I will try to keep pushing.”
Crew Notes: Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (#11 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Belgians struggled with rhythm and confidence in morning loop
- Determined afternoon run saw them move up to fourth overall
Neuville said: “Today has been a bit of a struggle. This morning whenever I tried to attack, I was almost going off, which is not the situation you want on such a challenging event. It was a bit better this afternoon, but road position is making a huge difference here. We are struggling on the loose gravel, the car just can’t get grip and slides around, but in the afternoon loop we were able to find some grip and it was much more drivable. It is good to have made a place and to have got ahead of Kalle, which was our target for a good road position for tomorrow, however there are still four cars behind us who are in a better place.”
Crew Notes: Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (#4 Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid)
- Finns uninjured after rolling their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid on SS1 Pulperia 1
- Crew will not return to contest remainder of Rally Chile
Lappi said: “Both Janne and I are ok, which is the main thing, but unfortunately our roll cage is damaged and we are unable to continue in Chile. I braked too late on the last corner of SS1 Pulperia 1 and to try and save the situation, I turned in a bit earlier. There was a gravel bank just in front of the concrete, and I think the front tyre dug into the gravel which caused us to roll. It had been a very challenging stage and I felt I was too safe, braking too early throughout; I just didn’t have the normal rhythm.”
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “After a few difficult rallies, coming to Chile, one of the targets was to try and reboot the process with Esapekka for the final stint of the season, as this is a rally that should have suited him well. It looked like he had good pace until he went off, so the morale in the team was quite low this morning, however we need to regroup and move on. The stages have been very tricky today and everyone has been struggling; Thierry was one of the few who didn’t make any mistakes. He knows very well that a rally like Chile can end very quickly, as we have seen today, so, as he lacked confidence, he’s been playing the long game. When you lose a car you feel very exposed, but Teemu has done extremely well, despite some small alerts on the car to deal with. Now he has a good road position for tomorrow; he was already very strong on Friday in Estonia and Finland, and it will be interesting to see if he can keep up the pace with those around him on Saturday.”
Saturday at a glance
- Saturday’s six stages are set to be abrasive, meaning tyre management will be crucial across 154km of competitive distance
- Crews will complete two runs of Chivilingo (SS7/10, 27.19km), Rio Lia (SS8/11, 21.09km) and Maria de las Cruces (SS9/12, 28.72km), split by mid-day service
Classification after Day One
| 1 | O. Tänak | M. Järveoja | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | 58:43.7 |
| 2 | T. Suninen | M. Markkula | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +4.2 |
| 3 | E. Evans | S. Martin | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +12.7 |
| 4 | T. Neuville | M. Wydaeghe | Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid | +27.7 |
| 5 | K. Rovanperä | J. Halttunen | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +38.7 |
| 6 | T. Katsuta | A. Johnston | Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid | +45.6 |
| 7 | G. Munster | L. Louka | Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid | +1:38.4 |
