2023 Croatia Rally
47th edition of Croatia Rally
The 2023 Croatia Rally (also known as the Rally Croatia 2023 ) was a motor racing event for rally cars that was held over four days between 20 and 23 April 2023.[ 2] It marked the 47th running of the Croatia Rally , and was the fourth round of the 2023 World Rally Championship , World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3 . The event was also the second round of the 2023 Junior World Rally Championship .[ 3] The 2023 event was based in Zagreb in Central Croatia and was contested over twenty special stages , covering a total competitive distance of 301.26 km (187.19 mi).[ 1]
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT , were the defending manufacturer's winners.[ 4] Yohan Rossel and Valentin Sarreaud were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category.[ 5] Zoltán László and Tamás Kürti were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category.[ 6] Lauri Joona and Mikael Korhonen were the defending rally winners in the junior category.[ 7]
Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin won the rally, ending their victory drought since the 2021 Rally Finland . Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT successfully defended their manufacturer's title.[ 8] Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand successfully defended their titles in the World Rally Championship-2 category.[ 9] Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan won the World Rally Championship-3 category,[ 10] as well as the junior championship.[ 11]
Following an accident in the pre-event test, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT driver Craig Breen died at the age of 33.[ 12]
Background
Entry list
The following crews were set to enter into the rally. The event was open to crews competing in the World Rally Championship, its support categories , the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3, Junior World Rally Championship and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Nine were entered under Rally1 regulations, as were nineteen Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and eight Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3. A total of eight crews were registered to participate in the Junior World Rally Championship.[ 13] [ 14]
Rally1 entries competing in the World Rally Championship
No.
Driver
Co-Driver
Entrant
Car
Championship eligibility
Tyre
4
Esapekka Lappi
Janne Ferm
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
7
Pierre-Louis Loubet
Nicolas Gilsoul
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ford Puma Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
8
Ott Tänak
Martin Järveoja
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ford Puma Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
11
Thierry Neuville
Martijn Wydaeghe
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
17
Sébastien Ogier
Vincent Landais
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
18
Takamoto Katsuta
Aaron Johnston
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Driver, Co-driver
P
33
Elfyn Evans
Scott Martin
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer[ a]
P
42
Craig Breen
James Fulton
Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT
Hyundai i20 N Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
—
69
Kalle Rovanperä
Jonne Halttunen
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
P
Rally2 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-2
No.
Driver
Co-Driver
Entrant
Car
Championship eligibility
Tyre
21
Yohan Rossel
Arnaud Dunand
PH Sport
Citroën C3 Rally2
Driver, Co-driver
P
22
Emil Lindholm
Reeta Hämäläinen
Toksport WRT
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Driver, Co-driver, Team
P
23
Gus Greensmith
Jonas Andersson
Toksport WRT 2
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Driver, Co-driver
P
24
Nikolay Gryazin [ b]
Konstantin Aleksandrov [ c]
Toksport WRT 2
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
25
Adrien Fourmaux
Alexandre Coria
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ford Fiesta Rally2
Driver, Co-driver, Team
P
26
Sami Pajari
Enni Mälkönen
Toksport WRT
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team
P
27
Erik Cais
Petr Těšínský
Erik Cais
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
28
Grégoire Munster
Louis Louka
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ford Fiesta Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team
P
29
Georg Linnamäe
James Morgan
Georg Linnamäe
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
30
Nicolas Ciamin
Yannick Roche
Nicolas Ciamin
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
31
Josh McErlean
John Rowan
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team
P
32
Armin Kremer
Ella Kremer
Armin Kremer
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
34
Mauro Miele
Luca Beltrame
Mauro Miele
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
35
Johannes Keferböck
Ilka Minor
Johannes Keferböck
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver
P
36
Alejandro Cachón
Alejandro López Fernández
Alejandro Cachón
Citroën C3 Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
P
37
Norbert Herczig
Ramón Ferencz
Norbert Herczig
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver
P
38
Patrick O'Brien
Stephen O'Brien
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team
P
39
Henk Vossen
Radboud van Hoek
Henk Vossen
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver
P
40
Eamonn Boland
Michael Joseph Morrissey
Eamonn Boland
Citroën C3 Rally2
Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver
P
Itinerary
All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2 ).
Date
No.
Time span
Stage name
Distance
20 April
—
After 9:00
Okić [Shakedown ]
3.65 km
After 18:30
Opening ceremony , Zagreb
—
21 April
SS1
After 8:03
Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 1
19.20 km
SS2
After 8:56
Stojdraga – Hartje 1
25.67 km
SS3
After 9:59
Krašić – Vrškovac 1
11.11 km
SS4
After 11:12
Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 1
9.11 km
13:02 – 13:42
Service A , Zagreb
—
SS5
After 14:45
Mali Lipovec – Grdanjci 2
19.20 km
SS6
After 15:38
Stojdraga – Hartje 2
25.67 km
SS7
After 16:41
Krašić – Vrškovac 2
11.11 km
SS8
After 17:54
Pećurkovo Brdo – Mrežnički Novaki 2
9.11 km
19:24 – 20:09
Flexi service B , Zagreb
—
22 April
6:31 – 6:46
Service C , Zagreb
—
SS9
After 7:54
Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 1
23.76 km
SS10
After 9:05
Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 1
8.78 km
SS11
After 10:23
Ravna Gora – Skrad 1
10.13 km
SS12
After 11:26
Platak 1
15.63 km
14:06 – 14:46
Service D , Zagreb
—
SS13
After 15:54
Kostanjevac – Petruš Vrh 2
23.76 km
SS14
After 17:05
Vinski Vrh – Duga Resa 2
8.78 km
SS15
After 18:23
Ravna Gora – Skrad 2
10.13 km
SS16
After 19:26
Platak 2
15.63 km
21:46 – 22:31
Flexi service E , Zagreb
—
23 April
5:30 – 5:45
Service F , Zagreb
—
SS17
After 7:08
Trakošćan – Vrbno 1
13.15 km
SS18
After 8:38
Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 1
14.09 km
SS19
After 10:26
Trakošćan – Vrbno 2
13.15 km
12:01 – 12:58
Regroup , Kumrovec
—
SS20
After 13:15
Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec 2 [Power Stage ]
14.09 km
After 15:30
Podium ceremony , Kumrovec
—
Source: [ 1]
Report
WRC Rally1
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
WRC-2 Rally2
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
WRC-3 Rally3
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
J-WRC Rally3
Classification
Special stages
Championship standings
Death of Craig Breen
Craig Breen died in the pre-event test.
The event was overshadowed by the death of Hyundai works driver Craig Breen , who was killed in the pre-event test after the front-left of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 collided with a pole on a road.[ 17] This was the first competitor-involved fatal accident since Jörg Bastuck at the 2006 Rally Catalunya .[ 18] His co-driver James Fulton was uninjured.[ 19] Breen's funeral took place on 18 April 2023 at The Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank .[ 20] Several members from the WRC family attended the funeral, including Fulton, Breen's former co-driver, Paul Nagle and Breen's teammate at Hyundai, Dani Sordo .[ 21]
In tribute to Breen, Moonraker Forestry Rally, the second round of the Irish Forestry Championship, was postponed.[ 22] The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile announced his car number 42 would be retired from the rest of the season .[ 23] Hyundai also decided to participate the event with a special livery on two cars, with the third car withdrawn from the event in honor of Breen.[ 24]
Notes
References
External links
Categories within the World Rally Championship
Teams and drivers that are eligible to score manufacturer points