Motorsport championship
The 2023 FIA World Rally Championship-2 was the eleventh season of the World Rally Championship-2 , an auto racing championship for rally cars that is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the second-highest tier of international rallying. The category was open to cars entered by teams and complying with Group Rally2 .[1] The championship began in January 2023 with the Rallye Monte-Carlo and concluded in November with Rally Japan , and ran in support of the 2023 World Rally Championship .
Emil Lindholm and Reeta Hämäläinen entered as the defending drivers' and co-drivers' champions, while Toksport WRT entered as the defending teams' champions.[2]
Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen became the 2023 WRC-2 champions, their second victory in the championship.[3] Toksport WRT 3 took victory in the teams' championship.
Calendar
A map showing the locations of the rallies in the 2023 championship. Event headquarters are marked with black dots.
The 2023 season is scheduled to be contested over thirteen rounds crossing Europe, Africa, North and South America, and Asia.
Round
Start date
Finish date
Rally
Rally headquarters
Surface
Stages
Distance
Ref.
1
19 January
22 January
Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo , Monaco
Mixed[a]
18
325.02 km
[4]
2
9 February
12 February
Rally Sweden
Umeå, Västerbotten County , Sweden
Snow
18
301.18 km
[5]
3
16 March
19 March
Rally Guanajuato México
León, Guanajuato , Mexico
Gravel
23
315.69 km
[6]
4
20 April
23 April
Croatia Rally
Zagreb , Croatia
Tarmac
20
301.26 km
[7]
5
11 May
14 May
Rally de Portugal
Matosinhos, Porto , Portugal
Gravel
19
329.06 km
[8]
6
1 June
4 June
Rally Italia Sardegna
Olbia, Sardinia , Italy
Gravel
19
322.88 km
[9]
7
22 June
25 June
Safari Rally Kenya
Naivasha, Nakuru County , Kenya
Gravel
19
355.92 km
[10]
8
20 July
23 July
Rally Estonia
Tartu , Estonia
Gravel
21
300.41 km
[11]
9
3 August
6 August
Rally Finland
Jyväskylä, Central Finland , Finland
Gravel
22
320.56 km
[12]
10
7 September
10 September
Acropolis Rally Greece
Lamia, Central Greece , Greece
Gravel
15
270.89 km
[13]
11
28 September
1 October
Rally Chile
Concepción, Biobío , Chile
Gravel
16
321.06 km
[14]
12
26 October
29 October
Central European Rally
Passau, Bavaria , Germany
Tarmac
18
310.01 km
[15]
13
16 November
19 November
Rally Japan
Toyota, Aichi , Japan
Tarmac
22
304.66 km
[16]
Sources: [17] [18]
Calendar changes
The championship was expected to be expanded to fourteen rounds, with eight Europe-based rallies and six fly-away events covering the season.[19] However, the number of the events was reduced to thirteen following a lengthy delay of the calendar.[20] The anticipated rally based in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia was absent from the calendar.[21]
Rally Mexico returned to the calendar.Rally Mexico returned to championship after missing the 2021 and 2022 championships.[22] The organizers of the rally had previously held a national event in 2022 in the bid of a 2023 return.[23]
Rally Chile rejoined the calendar after the Chilean protests and COVID-19 pandemic respectively ruled out the event in 2020 and 2021 .[24] [25]
The Central European Rally , a tri-nation event running a day each in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic , was introduced into the championship, replacing the Catalonian Rally .[26] The rally was based out of southeast Germany, in the city of Passau in Bavaria , and ran on tarmac .[27]
Rally New Zealand , a round of the 2022 season , was not included on the calendar, but the organizers were seeking an opportunity for a 2024 return as a part of the rotation program with Rally Australia .[28]
Ypres Rally Belgium , which was a part of the championship for the prior two seasons, dropped off the calendar and instead formed part of the 2023 British Rally Championship .[29] Several rally organizers also expressed their interests to return to the championship, including Rally Argentina , Rally Australia, the German Rally , and an event in Northern Ireland .[30] [31] [32] [33] The Argentine and Northern Irish bids ultimately failed.[34] [35] In addition to the candidate events, the WRC Promoter GmbH was also working on the calendar expansion to the Middle East and United States.[36]
Location changes
Entries
The following teams and crews are under contract to contest the 2023 World Rally Championship-2. Teams entering two crews are eligible for Teams' Championship points.
Crews entered by or via teams
Entrant
Car
Driver
Co-driver
Rounds
Driver name
Category
Co-driver name
Category
Hyundai Motorsport N
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
Emil Lindholm
Reeta Hämäläinen
8–9, 11–12
Teemu Suninen
Mikko Markkula
2, 5–6
Fabrizio Zaldivar
Challenger
Marcelo Der Ohannesian
Challenger
2, 5–6, 8–9, 11–12
M-Sport Ford WRT
Ford Fiesta Rally2
Adrien Fourmaux
Alexandre Coria
1, 3–6, 9–10
Grégoire Munster
Challenger
Louis Louka
Challenger
1, 4–7, 9–10
George Vassilakis
Challenger
Tom Krawszik
Challenger
7
Robert Virves
Challenger
Hugo Magalhães
Challenger
2, 5–6, 10
Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
William Creighton
Challenger
Liam Regan
Challenger
1
Eamonn Kelly
Challenger
Conor Mohan
Challenger
5, 9
Josh McErlean
Challenger
John Rowan
Challenger
1, 4–6
James Fulton
8–9, 12
Patrick O'Brien
Challenger
Stephen O'Brien
Challenger
4, 6
PH Sport
Citroën C3 Rally2
Yohan Rossel
Arnaud Dunand
1, 4–6, 10–12
Toksport WRT
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Marco Bulacia
Challenger
Diego Vallejo
Challenger
8–11
Gus Greensmith
Jonas Andersson
11
Emil Lindholm
Reeta Hämäläinen
2, 4
Sami Pajari
Challenger
Enni Mälkönen
Challenger
2, 4, 6, 8
Toksport WRT 2
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Marco Bulacia
Challenger
Axel Coronado
Challenger
1
Diego Vallejo
Challenger
2, 5
Nikolay Gryazin [b]
Challenger
Konstantin Aleksandrov[c]
Challenger
1, 4, 6, 9–12
Gus Greensmith
Jonas Andersson
4
Sami Pajari
Challenger
Enni Mälkönen
Challenger
9–12
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Nikolay Gryazin [b]
Challenger
Konstantin Aleksandrov[c]
Challenger
3
Emil Lindholm
Reeta Hämäläinen
3
Toksport WRT 3
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Gus Greensmith
Jonas Andersson
5, 8–10, 12
Andreas Mikkelsen
Torstein Eriksen
5–6, 8–10, 12–13
Nikolay Gryazin [b]
Challenger
Konstantin Aleksandrov[c]
Challenger
13
Sources: [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
Private entries
Car
Driver
Co-driver
Rounds
Driver name
Category
Co-driver name
Category
Citroën C3 Rally2
Daniel Alonso
Adrián Pérez
1–2
Eamonn Boland
Michael Joseph Morrissey
1
Challenger
Challenger
4, 12–13
Alejandro Cachón
Challenger
Alejandro López
Challenger
1, 4–6, 10, 12
Paulo Caldeira
Challenger
Ana Gonçalves
Challenger
5
José Pedro Fontes
Challenger
Inês Ponte
Challenger
5
Alberto Heller
Challenger
Luis Ernesto Allende
Challenger
5
Pedro Heller
Challenger
Pablo Olmos
Challenger
11
Satoshi Imai
Challenger
Jason Farmer
Challenger
13
Benjamin Israel
Challenger
Matias Ramos
Challenger
11
Sean Johnston
Challenger
Alex Kihurani
Challenger
1
Chrisostomos Karellis
Challenger
Elias Panagiotounis
Challenger
10
Stéphane Lefebvre
Andy Malfoy
1
Germán Lyon
Challenger
Sebastian Vera
Challenger
11
Nuno Pinto
Challenger
João Jardim Pereira
Challenger
5
Emilio Rosselot
Challenger
Tomas Cañete
Challenger
11
Gerardo V. Rosselot
Challenger
Marcelo Brizio
Challenger
11
Bernardo Sousa
Challenger
Inês Veiga
Challenger
5
Ford Fiesta R5
Karan Patel
Challenger
Tauseef Khan
Challenger
7
Henk Vossen
Challenger
Annemieke Hulzebos
Challenger
1
George Vassilakis
Challenger
Nikos Intzoglou
Challenger
10
Ford Fiesta Rally2
Nasser Khalifa Al-Attiyah
Challenger
Giovanni Bernacchini
Challenger
5–6
Martin Prokop
Challenger
Michal Ernst
Challenger
3, 6, 10
Zdeněk Jůrka
Challenger
7
Lucas Simões
Challenger
Nuno Almeida
Challenger
5
Francesco Tali
Challenger
Chiara Corso
Challenger
6
Robert Virves
Challenger
Hugo Magalhães
Challenger
6
Craig Drew
Challenger
8–10
Henk Vossen
Challenger
Radboud van Hoek
Challenger
12
Hyundai i20 N Rally2
Lambros Athanassoulas
Challenger
Nikolaos Zakheos
Challenger
10
Olivier Burri
Anderson Levratti
1
Gregor Jeets
Challenger
Timo Taniel
Challenger
5–6
Georg Linnamäe
Challenger
James Morgan
Challenger
2, 4–5, 8–10, 12
Pepe López
Challenger
Borja Rozada
Challenger
1
Kris Meeke
James Fulton
5
Pedro Meireles
Challenger
Pedro Alves
Challenger
5
Frédéric Rosati
Philippe Marchetto
1
Jan Skála
Challenger
Jiří Skořepa
Challenger
12
Riku Tahko
Challenger
Markus Soininen
Challenger
9
Ricardo Teodósio
Challenger
José Teixeira
Challenger
5
Miguel Zaldivar Sr.
José Luis Díaz
2, 5–6
Škoda Fabia R5
Giuseppe Dettori
Challenger
Carlo Pisano
Challenger
6
Michal Horák
Challenger
Ivan Horák
Challenger
12
Jari Huttunen
Antti Linnaketo
2
Tommi Jylhä
Challenger
Kimmo Nevanpää
Challenger
9
Kaspar Kasari
Challenger
Rainis Raidma
Challenger
8
Eduardo Kovacs
Challenger
Ruben Garcia
Challenger
11
Heikki Kovalainen
Challenger
Sae Kitagawa
Challenger
13
Filippo Marchino
Challenger
Pietro Elia Ometto
Challenger
1, 12
Jorge Martínez Fontena
Challenger
Alberto Alvarez Nicholson
Challenger
3
Maurizio Morato
Challenger
Andrea Dal Maso
Challenger
6
Joakim Roman
Challenger
Ida Lidebjer-Granberg
Challenger
2
Anssi Rytkönen
Challenger
Juho-Ville Koskela
Challenger
9
Diogo Salvi
Challenger
António Costa
Challenger
5
Carl Tundo
Challenger
Tim Jessop
Challenger
7
Aakif Virani
Challenger
Azhar Bhatti
Challenger
7
Štěpán Vojtěch
Challenger
Michal Ernst
Challenger
12
Marios Xanthakos
Challenger
Nikos Karathanassis
Challenger
10
Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo
Pedro Almeida
Challenger
Mário Castro
Challenger
5
Armindo Araújo
Challenger
Luís Ramalho
Challenger
5
Fabrizio Arengi
Challenger
Massimiliano Bosi
Challenger
1–2
Pablo Biolghini
Challenger
Stefano Pudda
Challenger
6
Lorenzo Bontempelli
Giovanni Pina
1
Adam Březík
Challenger
Ondřej Krajča
Challenger
12
Bruno Bulacia
Challenger
Axel Coronado
Challenger
2, 5–6, 8, 11
Eduardo Castro
Challenger
Fernando Mussano
Challenger
3, 5–6
Daniel Chwist
Challenger
Kamil Heller
Challenger
3, 6, 13
Luciano Cobbe
Roberto Mometti
2, 5, 8–9
Miguel Correia
Challenger
Jorge Eduardo Carvalho
Challenger
5
Carlo Covi
Challenger
Andrea Budoia
Challenger
6
Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz
Challenger
Rodolfo del Barrio
Challenger
2
Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio
Challenger
5, 7, 9
Diego Sanjaun de Eusebio
Challenger
10
Emilio Fernández
Challenger
Borja Rozada
Challenger
5, 8
Borja Odriozola
Challenger
9
Osamu Fukunaga
Challenger
Misako Saida
Challenger
13
Matteo Gamba
Challenger
Nicolò Gonella
Challenger
6, 12
Gaurav Gill
Challenger
Florian Barral
Challenger
10
Norbert Herczig
Challenger
Ramón Ferencz
Challenger
4–6
Chris Ingram
Challenger
Craig Drew
Challenger
1
Jörgen Jonasson
Nicklas Jonasson
2
Lauri Joona
Challenger
Tuukka Shemeikka
Challenger
2, 5–6
Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Challenger
Maciej Szczepaniak
Challenger
3, 7
Egon Kaur
Challenger
Jakko Viilo
Challenger
2
Johannes Keferböck
Ilka Minor
1, 6
Giorgos Kehagias
Challenger
Christos Kouzionis
Challenger
10
Priit Koik
Challenger
Kristo Tamm
Challenger
8
Roope Korhonen
Challenger
Anssi Viinikka
Challenger
12
Armin Kremer
Challenger
Timo Gottschalk
Challenger
7
Jorge Martínez Fontena
Challenger
Alberto Alvarez Nicholson
Challenger
8
Christian Merli
Challenger
Marco Zortea
Challenger
1
Mauro Miele
Challenger
Luca Beltrame
Challenger
2
Simone Niboli
Challenger
Battista Brunetti
Challenger
1
Enrico Oldrati
Challenger
Elia De Guio
Challenger
5
Silvano Patera
Stefano Tiraboschi
1
Yorgo Philippedes
Challenger
Stuart Loudon
Challenger
10
Martin Roßgatterer
Challenger
Jürgen Heigl
Challenger
12
Samman Singh Vohra
Challenger
Alfir Khan
Challenger
7
Nicola Tali
Challenger
Massimiliano Frau
Challenger
6
Francisco Teixeira
Challenger
João Serôdio
Challenger
5
Vassileios Velanis
Challenger
Ioannis Velanis
Challenger
10
Alexander Villanueva
José Murado González
2, 5–6
Challenger
Challenger
13
Henk Vossen
Challenger
Radboud van Hoek
Challenger
4
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2
Rakan Al-Rashed
Challenger
Dale Moscatt
Challenger
2, 5
Bruno Bulacia
Challenger
Axel Coronado
Challenger
9
Erik Cais
Challenger
Petr Těšínský
Challenger
1, 4–6
Daniel Trunkát
Challenger
12
Nicolas Ciamin
Challenger
Yannick Roche
Challenger
12
Daniel Chwist
Challenger
Kamil Heller
Challenger
7
François Delecour
Sabrina De Castelli
1
Miguel Díaz-Aboitiz
Challenger
Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio
Challenger
12–13
Osamu Fukunaga
Challenger
Misako Saida
Challenger
12
Gus Greensmith
Jonas Andersson
3
Mikko Heikkilä
Challenger
Samu Vaaleri
Challenger
9
Jari Huttunen
Antti Haapala
9
Lauri Joona
Challenger
Tuukka Shemeikka
Challenger
9–10, 12
Kajetan Kajetanowicz
Challenger
Maciej Szczepaniak
Challenger
6, 10–13
Egon Kaur
Challenger
Jakko Viilo
Challenger
8
Johannes Keferböck
Challenger
Ilka Minor
Challenger
4, 12
Armin Kremer
Challenger
Ella Kremer
Challenger
4, 8, 12
Timo Gottschalk
Challenger
5–6
Mikołaj Marczyk
Challenger
Szymon Gospodarczyk
Challenger
5–6, 8–10
Daniel Dymurski
Challenger
12
Jorge Martínez Fontena
Challenger
Alberto Alvarez Nicholson
Challenger
11
Mauro Miele
Challenger
Luca Beltrame
Challenger
1, 4, 6, 8–9
Panagiotis Roustemis
Challenger
Nikolaos Petropoulos
Challenger
10
Martin Scuncio
Challenger
Javiera Roman
Challenger
11
Oliver Solberg
Elliott Edmondson
2–3, 5–6, 8, 10–11
Michał Sołowow
Maciej Baran
2
Alexander Villanueva
Challenger
José Murado González
Challenger
8–10
Albert von Thurn und Taxis
Challenger
Jara Hain
Challenger
12
Simon Wagner
Challenger
Gerald Winter
Challenger
12
Volkswagen Polo GTI R5
Ole Christian Veiby
Torstein Eriksen
2
Nicolas Ciamin
Challenger
Yannick Roche
Challenger
4, 6, 9
Roope Korhonen
Challenger
Anssi Viinikka
Challenger
9
Alexandros Tsouloftas
Challenger
Stelios Elia
Challenger
10
Sources: [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
Regulation changes
The junior championships of the class, WRC-2 Junior, is set to be renamed as WRC-2 Challenger to focus on the experience of the competitors instead of age, while the masters series are set to be opened to Rally2 , Rally3 , Rally4 , Rally5 and R-GT competitors.[52]