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2023 Croatia Rally Croatia Rally 2023
Round 4 of 13 in the 2023 World Rally Championship ← Previous event Next event →
The Croatia Rally was the first tarmac rally on the calendar.
Host country	Croatia
Rally base	Zagreb
Dates run	20 – 23 April 2023
Start location	Samobor, Zagreb County
Finish location	Kumrovec, Krapina-Zagorje
Stages	20 (301.26 km; 187.19 miles)
Stage surface	Tarmac
Transport distance	1,348.42 km (837.87 miles)
Overall distance	1,649.68 km (1,025.06 miles)
Statistics
Crews registered	57
Crews	54 at start, 48 at finish
Overall results
Overall winner	Elfyn Evans Scott Martin Toyota Gazoo Racing 2:50:54.3
Power Stage winner	Thierry Neuville Martijn Wydaeghe Hyundai Shell Mobil WRT 8:06.4
Support category results
WRC-2 winner	Yohan Rossel Arnaud Dunand PH Sport 2:58:45.6
WRC-3 winner	Eamonn Kelly Conor Mohan Motorsport Ireland Academy 3:20:15.7
J-WRC winner	Eamonn Kelly Conor Mohan Motorsport Ireland Academy 3:20:15.7

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 301.26 km (187.19 mi).

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.

Rally1 entries competing in the 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	P
7	Pierre-Louis Loubet	Nicolas Gilsoul	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
8	Ott Tänak	Martin Järveoja	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Puma Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
11	Thierry Neuville	Martijn Wydaeghe	Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT	Hyundai i20 N Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
17	Sébastien Ogier	Vincent Landais	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
18	Takamoto Katsuta	Aaron Johnston	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver	P
33	Elfyn Evans	Scott Martin	Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT	Toyota GR Yaris Rally1	Driver, Co-driver, Manufacturer	P
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	P

Rally2 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-2

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Championship eligibility	Tyre
21	Yohan Rossel	Arnaud Dunand	PH Sport	Citroën C3 Rally2	Driver, Co-driver	P
22	Emil Lindholm	Reeta Hämäläinen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
23	Gus Greensmith	Jonas Andersson	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Driver, Co-driver	P
24	Nikolay Gryazin	Konstantin Aleksandrov	Toksport WRT 2	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
25	Adrien Fourmaux	Alexandre Coria	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Driver, Co-driver, Team	P
26	Sami Pajari	Enni Mälkönen	Toksport WRT	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
27	Erik Cais	Petr Těšínský	Erik Cais	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
28	Grégoire Munster	Louis Louka	M-Sport Ford WRT	Ford Fiesta Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
29	Georg Linnamäe	James Morgan	Georg Linnamäe	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
30	Nicolas Ciamin	Yannick Roche	Nicolas Ciamin	Volkswagen Polo GTI R5	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
31	Josh McErlean	John Rowan	Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
32	Armin Kremer	Ella Kremer	Armin Kremer	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
34	Mauro Miele	Luca Beltrame	Mauro Miele	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
35	Johannes Keferböck	Ilka Minor	Johannes Keferböck	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver	P
36	Alejandro Cachón	Alejandro López Fernández	Alejandro Cachón	Citroën C3 Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver	P
37	Norbert Herczig	Ramón Ferencz	Norbert Herczig	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger/Masters Driver, Co-driver	P
38	Patrick O'Brien	Stephen O'Brien	Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy	Hyundai i20 N Rally2	Challenger Driver, Challenger Co-driver, Team	P
39	Henk Vossen	Radboud van Hoek	Henk Vossen	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver	P
40	Eamonn Boland	Michael Joseph Morrissey	Eamonn Boland	Citroën C3 Rally2	Challenger/Masters Driver, Challenger/Masters Co-driver	P

Rally3 entries competing in the World Rally Championship-3 and/or the Junior World Rally Championship

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	P
44	Laurent Pellier	Marine Pelamourgues	Laurent Pellier	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3, Junior WRC	P
45	Diego Dominguez Jr.	Rogelio Peñate	Diego Dominguez Jr.	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Junior WRC	P
46	Raúl Hernández	Rodrigo Sanjuan de Eusebio	Raúl Hernández	Ford Fiesta Rally3	Junior WRC	P
47	Roberto Blach Núñez	Mauro Barreiro	Roberto Blach Núñez	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3, Junior WRC	P
48	Tom Rensonnet	Loïc Dumont	Tom Rensonnet	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3, Junior WRC	P
49	Hamza Anwar	Martin Brady	Hamza Anwar	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3, Junior WRC	P
50	Eamonn Kelly	Conor Mohan	Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3, Junior WRC	P
51	Filip Kohn	Tomáš Střeska	Filip Kohn	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3	P
52	Martin Ravenščak	Dora Ravenščak	Martin Ravenščak	Ford Fiesta Rally3	WRC-3	P

Other major entries

No.	Driver	Co-Driver	Entrant	Car	Championship eligibility	Tyre
20	Oliver Solberg	Elliott Edmondson	Oliver Solberg	Škoda Fabia RS Rally2	—	P
56	Zoltán László	Gábor Zsiros	Zoltán László	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Masters Driver	P
57	Aleš Zrinski	Rok Vidmar	Aleš Zrinski	Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo	Masters Driver	P

Itinerary

All dates and times are CEST (UTC+2).

Date	No.	Time span	Stage name	Distance
20 April	—	After 9:00	Okić	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	14.09 km
		After 15:30	Podium ceremony, Kumrovec	—
Source:

Report

WRC Rally1

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships				Manufacturers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points
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

Special stages

Championship standings

Pos.		Open Drivers' championships				Open Co-drivers' championships				Teams' championships				Challenger Drivers' championships				Challenger Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Manufacturer	Points		Move	Driver	Points
1		1	Yohan Rossel	53		1	Arnaud Dunand	53		1	Toksport WRT	80			Nikolay Gryazin	50			Konstantin Aleksandrov	50
2		1	Emil Lindholm	44		1	Reeta Hämäläinen	44		1	Toksport WRT 2	65		1	Sami Pajari	43		1	Enni Mälkönen	43
3		2	Oliver Solberg	43		2	Elliott Edmondson	43			M-Sport Ford WRT	60		1	Kajetan Kajetanowicz	25		1	Maciej Szczepaniak	25
4		1	Nikolay Gryazin	38		1	Konstantin Aleksandrov	38			Hyundai Motorsport N	30			Marco Bulacia	25		1	James Morgan	20
5		1	Gus Greensmith	37		1	Jonas Andersson	37			Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy	18		1	Georg Linnamäe	18		1	Borja Rozada	18

WRC-3 Rally3

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points
1			Diego Dominguez Jr.	37			Rogelio Peñate	37
2		1	William Creighton	28		1	Liam Regan	28
3		3	Tom Rensonnet	28		3	Loïc Dumont	28
4		2	Roope Korhonen	25		2	Anssi Viinikka	25
5		7	Eamonn Kelly	25		7	Conor Mohan	25

J-WRC Rally3

Classification

Special stages

Championship standings

Pos.		Drivers' championships				Co-drivers' championships
		Move	Driver	Points		Move	Co-driver	Points
1			William Creighton	50			Liam Regan	50
2			Laurent Pellier	29			Marine Pelamourgues	29
3			Diego Dominguez Jr.	27			Rogelio Peñate	27
4		3	Tom Rensonnet	26		3	Loïc Dumont	26
5		1	Roberto Blach	26		1	Mauro Barreiro	26

Death of Craig Breen

The event was overshadowed by the death of Hyundai works driver Craig Breen, who was killed in the pre-event test after the front-left of his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 collided with a pole on a road. This was the first competitor-involved fatal accident since Jörg Bastuck at the 2006 Rally Catalunya. His co-driver James Fulton was uninjured. Breen's funeral took place on 18 April 2023 at The Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank. Several members from the WRC family attended the funeral, including Fulton, Breen's former co-driver, Paul Nagle and Breen's teammate at Hyundai, Dani Sordo.

In tribute to Breen, Moonraker Forestry Rally, the second round of the Irish Forestry Championship, was postponed. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile announced his car number 42 would be retired from the rest of the season. Hyundai also decided to participate the event with a special livery on two cars, with the third car withdrawn from the event in honor of Breen.

Notes

1. The Toyota crew of Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin was initially nominated to score manufacturer points at the weekend, but Toyota amended their championship eligibility to not score manufacturer points to match Hyundai and M-Sport following Breen's death ahead of the event as a mark of solidarity.
2. Nikolay Gryazin is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
3. Konstantin Aleksandrov is Russian, but he competes as a neutral competitor using the ANA flag as Russian national emblems were banned by the association due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

References

1. ^ "Itinerary Rally Croatia Rally 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
2. "WRC poewrs into 2023 with exciting new-look calendar". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
3. "FIA World Rally Championship calendar for 2023 gets green light". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
4. "Rovanperä grabs last-gasp Croatia victory". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
5. "Rossel secures dominant WRC2 win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
6. "László inherits WRC3 honours". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
7. "Joona claims shock junior WRC victory". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
8. "Evans powers to dominant Croatia Rally win". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
9. "Rossel doubles up with WRC2 triumph in Croatia". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
10. "Kelly profits from Pellier's late misfortune in WRC3". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
11. "Kelly ignites title bid with junior WRC triumph". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 23 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
12. "World Rally Champ Star Dead at 33... After Test Drive Crash". TMZ. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
13. "Entry List Croatia Rally 2023". eWRC-results.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
14. "Croatia Rally 2023 Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
15. Barry, Luke (19 April 2023). "Evans not scoring manufacturers' points in Croatia". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
16. ^ "FIA announces World Motor Sport Council decisions in relation to the situation in Ukraine". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
17. Howard, Tom (13 April 2023). "Hyundai WRC driver Craig Breen dies in testing crash". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
18. Anđelković, Katarina (13 April 2023). "Irish Rally Driver Craig Breen Dies in Accident in Croatia". total-croatia-news.com. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
19. Evans, David (13 April 2023). "Craig Breen passes away in testing accident". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
20. Evans, David (13 April 2023). "Breen's duneral to take place on Tuesday". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
21. Barry, Luke (18 April 2023). "How Croatia will pay tribute to Breen". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
22. Barry, Luke (13 April 2023). "Irish Rally Postponed in tribute to Breen". dirtfish.com. DirtFish. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
23. "Hyundai To pay tribute to Craig Breen with special livery for Croatia Rally". wrc.com. WRC Promoter GmbH. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
24. "Hyundai Motorsport to compete in Croatia Rally". Hyundai Motorsport. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

External links

• Official website (in English and Croatian)
• 2023 Croatia Rally at eWRC-results.com
• 2023 Croatia Rally at rally-maps.com (in English, German, and Polish)

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