Twists and turns of 2023 WRC start at Monte Carlo
Rally’s season opener played out in the mountains of southern France, where part-timer Ogier rolled back the years
Pierre-Louis Loubet in the M-Sport Puma went out of the Monte on stage 17, but took in some spectacular sections before then
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Sébastien Ogier took a record ninth victory at the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally for the 2023 WRC curtain-raiser in January, but it was an event which highlighted the championship’s shortcomings as much as it was a showcase of driving brilliance.
Returning for one of several Toyota cameos this year, the eight-time champion navigated both gearbox and hybrid issues on the treacherous mountain roads, but still never really looked troubled by reigning WRC king Kalle Rovanperä, title rival Elfyn Evans, nor 2020 Monte winner Thierry Neuville in a top-class entry list which contains just eight full-time Rally1 entries this season.
Imperious form from the part-timer saw him clock up an impressive 10 stage wins out of 18 on the championship’s blue riband rally to win by more than 18sec, but the thinning front-end field generated just as many headlines.
FIA president and former rally driver Mohammed Ben Sulayem was present to cast an eye over proceedings, and told Dirtfish that he believed the governing body could “fix the WRC”.
Ben Sulayem’s deputy is the late Richard Burns’ 2001 champion co-driver Robert Reid. Twenty years ago, during the pair’s heyday, there were 26 top-tier entries in Monte – this year saw just nine.
“We have a lot to do,” the president said. “Because if we say we are happy, it is only a matter of time [before the championship folds].”
In case you were in any doubt, Sébastien Ogier has notched up nine Monte wins
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M-Sport team principal Richard Millener concurs that action is needed to improve the WRC’s popularity with manufacturers, but stressed to Motor Sport that in the new Rally1 technical regulations the championship has a good base from which to build.
The new regulations stipulate that manufacturers must produce a spaceframe chassis, meaning customer teams could potentially enter the championship after purchasing one before then putting on its own bodyshell.
With encouragement from the WRC, Millener says that he can envisage a future where the field is the same size as the 20-car F1 grid.
“Let’s get 10 to 12 teams, like F1 – half manufacturers, half private entries buying services off them,” he says. “You then build value into it, more manufacturers want to buy the private teams, the series grows.
“We need to commercialise the series more, show how exciting it is. F1 is working because of marketing, not necessarily because of the sport.”