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. 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. The 2023 event was based in Zagreb in Central Croatia and was contested over twenty special stages, covering a total competitive distance of .
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen were the defending rally winners. Their team, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, were the defending manufacturer's winners. Yohan Rossel and Valentin Sarreaud were the defending rally winners in the WRC-2 category. Zoltán László and Tamás Kürti were the defending rally winners in the WRC-3 category. Lauri Joona and Mikael Korhonen were the defending rally winners in the junior category.
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. Yohan Rossel and Arnaud Dunand successfully defended their titles in the World Rally Championship-2 category. Eamonn Kelly and Conor Mohan won the World Rally Championship-3 category, as well as the junior championship.
Following an accident in the pre-event test, Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT driver Craig Breen died at the age of 33.
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.
+ 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 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 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 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
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 21 Yohan Rossel Arnaud Dunand PH Sport Citroën C3 Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 22 Emil Lindholm Reeta Hämäläinen Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Co-driver, Team 23 Gus Greensmith Jonas Andersson Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Driver, Co-driver 24 Nikolay Gryazin Konstantin Aleksandrov Toksport WRT 2 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 25 Adrien Fourmaux Alexandre Coria M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Driver, Co-driver, Team 26 Sami Pajari Enni Mälkönen Toksport WRT Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 27 Erik Cais Petr Těšínský Erik Cais Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 28 Grégoire Munster Louis Louka M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Fiesta Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 29 Georg Linnamäe James Morgan Georg Linnamäe Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 30 Nicolas Ciamin Yannick Roche Nicolas Ciamin Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 31 Josh McErlean John Rowan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 32 Armin Kremer Ella Kremer Armin Kremer Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 34 Mauro Miele Luca Beltrame Mauro Miele Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver 35 Johannes Keferböck Ilka Minor Johannes Keferböck Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver 36 Alejandro Cachón Alejandro López Fernández Alejandro Cachón Citroën C3 Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver 37 Norbert Herczig Ramón Ferencz Norbert Herczig Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver 38 Patrick O'Brien Stephen O'Brien Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Hyundai i20 N Rally2 Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team 39 Henk Vossen Radboud van Hoek Henk Vossen Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver 40 Eamonn Boland Michael Joseph Morrissey Eamonn Boland Citroën C3 Rally2 Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Class eligibility Tyre 41 William Creighton Liam Regan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 44 Laurent Pellier Marine Pelamourgues Laurent Pellier Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 45 Diego Dominguez Jr. Rogelio Peñate Diego Dominguez Jr. Ford Fiesta Rally3 Junior WRC 46 Raúl Hernández Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio Raúl Hernández Ford Fiesta Rally3 Junior WRC 47 Roberto Blach Núñez Mauro Barreiro Roberto Blach Núñez Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 48 Tom Rensonnet Loïc Dumont Tom Rensonnet Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 49 Hamza Anwar Martin Brady Hamza Anwar Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 50 Eamonn Kelly Conor Mohan Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3, Junior WRC 51 Filip Kohn Tomáš Střeska Filip Kohn Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3 52 Martin Ravenščak Dora Ravenščak Martin Ravenščak Ford Fiesta Rally3 WRC-3
+ No. Driver Co-Driver Entrant Car Championship eligibility Tyre 20 Oliver Solberg Elliott Edmondson Oliver Solberg Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 56 Zoltán László Gábor Zsiros Zoltán László Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Masters Driver 57 Aleš Zrinski Rok Vidmar Aleš Zrinski Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo Masters Driver
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:
Report WRC Rally1 Classification Position Driver Co-driver Entrant Car Time Points Event Class Event Stage 1 1 33 Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:50:54.3 0.0 25 0 2 2 8 Ott Tänak Martin Järveoja M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 2:51:21.3 +27.0 18 0 3 3 4 Esapekka Lappi Janne Ferm Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 2:51:52.9 +58.6 15 1 4 4 69 Kalle Rovanperä Jonne Halttunen Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:52:12.6 +1:18.3 12 4 5 5 17 Sébastien Ogier Vincent Landais Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:52:22.3 +1:28.0 10 3 6 6 18 Takamoto Katsuta Aaron Johnston Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 2:53:16.8 +2:22.5 8 2 7 7 7 Pierre-Louis Loubet Nicolas Gilsoul M-Sport Ford WRT Ford Puma Rally1 2:55:16.9 +4:22.6 6 0 33 8 11 Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 3:49:54.2 +58:59.9 0 5 Did not start 42 Craig Breen James Fulton Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Driver's fatal accident 0 0
Special stages Stage Winners Car Time Class leaders SD Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 1:52.8 SS1 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 11:57.7 Ogier / Landais SS2 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 15:18.1 Neuville / Wydaeghe SS3 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:30.8 SS4 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:48.2 SS5 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:06.8 SS6 Lappi / Ferm Hyundai i20 N Rally1 15:33.3 SS7 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 5:29.1 SS8 Evans / Martin Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:56.3 SS9 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:43.6 SS10 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 4:30.3 SS11 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:47.9 Evans / Martin SS12 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:22.9 SS13 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 12:55.0 SS14 Tänak / Järveoja Ford Puma Rally1 4:32.2 SS15 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 5:50.6 SS16 Ogier / Landais Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 8:28.0 SS17 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 6:56.5 SS18 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 8:08.2 SS19 Rovanperä / Halttunen Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 7:02.5 SS20 Neuville / Wydaeghe Hyundai i20 N Rally1 8:06.4
Championship standings Drivers' championships Co-drivers' championships Manufacturers' championshipsMoveDriverPointsMoveCo-driverPointsMoveManufacturerPoints 1 Sébastien Ogier 69 Vincent Landais 69 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT 161 2 3 Elfyn Evans 69 3 Scott Martin 69 Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT 132 3 Kalle Rovanperä 68 Jonne Halttunen 68 M-Sport Ford WRT 108 4 Ott Tänak 65 Martin Järveoja 65 5 3 Thierry Neuville 58 3 Martijn Wydaeghe 58
WRC-2 Rally2 Classification