Ogier returns to Croatia Mikkelsen also starts at Hyundai – WORLD RALLY

Once the dirt roads of the Safari are over, it’s time to head back to Europe for the World Rally Championship. The host of the fourth action of the WRC season will be the Rally of Croatia (organized from 18 to 21 April) which, along with the hard and technical asphalt, promises a close fight. As a specialist on asphalt surfaces, Sebastien Ogier certainly could not hold back and, for the occasion, he will return to the competition driving the Toyota Yaris Rally1.

Having missed out on his tenth Monte Carlo Rally, due to Thierry Neuville’s absence, the eight-time world champion will make his second appearance of the season in the WRC on the Croatian tarmac. Fifth last year, in Croatia Ogier will try to reach his fifty-eighth victory of his life. With reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä absent, Toyota will rely on owners Elfin Evans, second in the overall standings, and Takamoto Katsuta.

The defeat in Kenya is still hurting Hyundai. Fresh from a very good start, the Korean manufacturer will try to re-establish the bridges in Croatia after the poor stage of the Safari. The spotlight will be on world championship leader Neuville, considered a true specialist on asphalt roads. The Belgian will want to erase the mistakes he made last year that cost him victory. Such is the story of Ott Tänak struggling through an unpromising first part of the season. Andreas Mikkelsen will return to Croatia at the wheel of the i20N. Sixth place in Monte Carlo, the Norwegian will try to enter the fight at the top.

Ford M-Sport will be present at Rally Croatia with a two-sided design. Fresh from two podium finishes in Sweden and Kenya, Adrien Fourmaux will once again take on the role of first driver. Third in the general classification, the Frenchman will be able to express his opinion about the terrain that he really likes the most. After training with Puma Rally1, Gregoire Munster is called to Croatia for the biggest test.

The protagonists of a great debut in the Monte Carlo Rally, Roberto Daprà and Luca Guglielmetti will return to play in WRC2. The Italian crew on the streets of the Principality immediately showed good speed, so much so that they climbed to sixteenth overall and seventh in the Rally2 class. Then a technical problem encountered in the Skoda Fabia forced the pair to finish fourteenth in WRC2. The tricolor patrol will be present in Croatia along with four other Skoda Fabia Rally2s. At the start there will be: Mauro Miele, Enrico Brazzoli, Maurizio Chiarani and Filippo Marchino.