The 2023 Rally Mexico (also known as the Rally Guanajuato México 2023) was a motor racing event for rally cars held over four days between 16 and 19 March 2023. It marked the nineteenth running of the Rally Mexico, and was the third round of the 2023 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2023 event was based in the city of León in Guanajuato and was consisted of twenty-three special stages, covering a total competitive distance of .
Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were the defending rally winners. However, Ingrassia did not defend his title as he retired from the sport at the end of 2021 season. Pontus Tidemand and Patrick Barth were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category. Marco Bulacia Wilkinson and Giovanni Bernacchini were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category.
Ogier and Vincent Landais won their second victory of the season. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the manufacturers' winners. Gus Greensmith and Jonas Andersson and Patrick Barth were the winners in the WRC-2 category, while Diego Dominguez Jr. and Rogelio Peñate were the winners in the WRC-3 category.
Background Entry list The following crews were entered 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 and privateer entries that were not registered to score points in any championship. Ten were entered under Rally1 regulations, as were ten Rally2 crews in the World Rally Championship-2 and one Rally3 crew in the World Rally Championship-3.
+ 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 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Nicolas Gilsoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 9 Jourdan Serderidis Frédéric Miclotte M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 Driver, Co-driver 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 20 Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson Gus Greensmith Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 21 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Oliver Solberg Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 22 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 23 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Team 24 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Driver, Co-driver, Team 25 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 26 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 27 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 28 Eduardo Castro Fernando Mussano Eduardo Castro Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 29 Jorge Martínez Fontena Alberto Alvarez Nicholson Jorge Martínez Fontena Škoda Fabia R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Tyre 30 Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Dominguez Jr. Ford Fiesta Rally3 37 Jason Bailey Shayne Peterson Jason Bailey Ford Fiesta Rally3
Itinerary All dates and times are CST (UTC-6). Date No. Time span Stage name Distance 16 March After 10:01 Llano Grande [Shakedown] 5.52 km After 17:40 Opening ceremony, León SS1 After 20:05 Street Stage GTO 1 1.12 km SS2 After 20:28 Street Stage GTO 2 1.12 km 17 March 7:30 – 7:45 Service A, León SS3 After 8:43 El Chocolate 1 29.07 km SS4 After 9:46 Ortega 1 15.71 km SS5 After 10:39 Las Minas 1 13.79 km 12:49 – 13:19 Flexi service B, León SS6 After 14:17 El Chocolate 2 29.07 km SS7 After 15:20 Ortega 2 15.71 km SS8 After 16:13 Las Minas 2 13.79 km SS9 After 17:16 Las Dunas Superspecial 1 3.70 km SS10 After 18:16 Distrito León Mx SSS 2.73 km 21:00 – 21:45 Flexi service C, León 18 March SS11 After 8:13 Ibarrilla 1 14.82 km SS12 After 9:04 El Mosquito 1 22.56 km SS13 After 10:05 Derramadero 1 21.70 km SS14 After 11:13 Las Dunas Superspecial 2 3.70 km 12:33 – 13:03 Flexi service D, León SS15 After 14:06 Ibarrilla 2 14.82 km SS16 After 14:59 El Mosquito 2 22.56 km SS17 After 16:05 Derramadero 2 21.70 km SS18 After 17:18 Las Dunas Superspecial 3 3.70 km SS19 After 18:08 Rock & Rally SSS 2.73 km 21:00 – 21:45 Flexi service E, León 19 March SS20 After 8:05 Las Dunas Superspecial 4 3.70 km SS21 After 9:16 Otates 35.63 km SS22 After 10:24 San Diego 12.61 km SS23 After 12:18 El Brinco [Power Stage] 9.59 km 13:33 – 13:43 Flexi service F, León After 14:30 Podium ceremony, León Source:
Report WRC Rally1 Rally Mexico opened with 2 runs around a superspecial stage in Guanajuato City, and it was Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja who was fastest on both runs, taking a 1.7 second lead over Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen into Friday. However, on the first stage of the day, the 29-kilometer El Chocolate stage, the Estonian crew's turbo failed, causing them to drop to twenty-ninth place and almost 8 minutes behind the leaders, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm. Lappi and Ferm would lead the rally at the end of Friday by 5.3 seconds, ahead of 8-time World Champion Sébastien Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais.
The rally leaders had a serious accident on the opening stage of Saturday, their Hyundai i20 going rear first into a telegraph pole. The car then caught fire, causing the stage to be red-flagged. Thierry Neuville and Martin Wydaeghe won the following 3 stages, whilst Ogier and Landais had a 29 second lead over Toyota teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Ogier would extend his lead to 36 seconds, as his teammates Evans and Martin's gap to third place Neuville and Wydaeghe was reduced to 4.3 seconcds.
Evans and Martin were locked in a battle with Neuville and Wydaeghe for second place, the Belgians closing the gap to 2.7 seconds as they began the Power Stage, a suspected bent suspension arm costing Evans and Martin on the penultimate stage. In Power Stage, Neuville and Wydaeghe gained 3.1 seconds on Evans and Martin to claim second place by 4 tenths of a second. Ogier and Landais won the rally by 27.5 seconds and also won the Power Stage by 2.1 seconds, meaning they led the championship by 3 points over Neuville and Wydaeghe.
Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:16:09.4 0.0 25 5 2 2 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:16:36.9 +27.5 18 3 3 3 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:16:37.3 +27.9 15 0 4 4 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 3:18:04.7 +1:55.3 12 2 5 5 6 Dani Sordo Cándido Carrera Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:19:08.2 +2:58.8 10 1 9 6 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 3:31:29.0 +15:19.6 2 4 23 7 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:20:43.9 +1:04:34.5 0 0 25 8 9 Jourdan Serderidis Frédéric Miclotte M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 4:51:05.0 +1:34:55.6 0 0 27 9 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Nicolas Gilsoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 5:10:11.4 +1:54:02.0 0 0 Retired SS11 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Accident 0 0
Special stages Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Rovanperä / HalttunenLappi / Ferm Toyota GR Yaris Rally1Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:44.4 SS1 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 58.0 Tänak / Järveoja SS2 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 56.2 SS3 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 22:00.2Lappi / Ferm SS4 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:27.8 SS5 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 8:55.6 SS6 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 21:54.1 SS7 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:20.8 SS8 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 8:47.7 SS9 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:15.0 SS10 Sordo / Carrera Hyundai i20 N Rally1 1:29.9 SS11 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:35.6 Ogier / Landais SS12 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 14:38.1 SS13 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 12:23.1 SS14 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:11.4 SS15 Stage cancelled SS16 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 14:24.8 Ogier / Landais SS17 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 12:16.0 SS18 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 3:13.6 SS19 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 1:29.6 SS20 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:10.9 SS21 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 24:37.7 SS22 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 7:11.8 SS23 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:14.8
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 4 Sébastien Ogier 56 4 Vincent Landais 56 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 127 2 1 Thierry Neuville 53 1 Martijn Wydaeghe 53 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 100 3 1 Kalle Rovanperä 52 1 Jonne Halttunen 52 M-Sport Ford WRT 73 4 3 Ott Tänak 47 3 Martin Järveoja 47 5 1 Elfyn Evans 44 1 Scott Martin 44
WRC-2 Rally2 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Class Stage Event 6 1 20 Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson Gus Greensmith Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:28:40.9 0.0 25 1 8 7 2 24 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:29:13.8 +32.9 18 2 6 8 3 21 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Oliver Solberg Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 3:29:47.1 +1:06.2 15 0 4 10 4 25 Kajetan Kajetanowicz Maciej Szczepaniak Kajetan Kajetanowicz Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:32:06.0 +3:25.1 12 0 1 11 5 26 Martin Prokop Michal Ernst Martin Prokop Ford Fiesta Rally2 3:35:05.5 +6:24.6 10 0 0 14 6 29 Jorge Martínez Fontena Alberto Alvarez Nicholson Jorge Martínez Fontena Škoda Fabia R5 3:44:16.3 +15:35.4 8 0 0 16 7 22 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 3:47:02.5 +18:21.6 6 3 0 18 8 27 Daniel Chwist Kamil Heller Daniel Chwist Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 3:52:27.1 +23:46.2 4 0 0 21 9 28 Eduardo Castro Fernando Mussano Eduardo Castro Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo 4:09:38.9 +40:58.0 2 0 0 Retired SS4 24 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Rolled 0 0 0
Special stages