The 2024 WRC has yet to begin and will do so next week, on January 25, with the Rallye Monte-Carlo. A few weeks later, however, it will be the turn of the Swedish Rally, the first and only event completely on snow.
Today the event organizers announced the starting list with the official entry list of the Swedish Rally. Toyota Gazoo Racing and Hyundai Motorsport have thus revealed their line ups for the second round of the season.
Photo by: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
Sebastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
The reigning world constructors' champion team will make their debuts with Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen. The 2022 and 2023 champion crew will take part in the first rally of the season in Sweden, because this year they will race part-time like Sébastien Ogier.
Rovanpera shares the third car with the 8-time world champion and while Ogier will race – inevitably – at the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Kalle will be there in Sweden to put his entire class to the test on the snow. The Finn will be accompanied by the two starting drivers, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta, who will race all the events of the season.
Photo by: Hyundai Motorsport
Esapekka Lappi, Janne Ferm, Hyundai World Rally Team
Hyundai Motorsport will continue the alternation of drivers that it brought back into vogue with the arrival of Andrea Adamo at the helm. If at the Rallye Monte-Carlo we will see Andreas Mikkelsen and Torstein Eriksen racing in the third i20 N Rally1, on the snow of Sweden it will be the turn of Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm.
The Finnish crew, who last year raced as starters for the entire 2023 season with the Alzenau team, will accompany the immovable starters Ott Tanak – Martin Jarveoja and Thierry Neuville – Martijn Wydaeghe.
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1
No choice, however, regarding M-Sport Ford. The team which fields two Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrids will race throughout the season with Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster.
Of note is Lorenzo Bertelli's return to the WRC. The Italian gentleman driver will race again at the wheel of a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1, but unlike what happened last year, he will do so in a car managed by the official team. It is no coincidence that he will race with the same livery that dresses the Yaris of Rovanpera, Ogier, Evans and Katsuta, with the slight difference that the Italian tricolor will appear on the roof to distinguish it from the others.
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Lorenzo Bertelli, Simone Scatttolin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
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