Already after the first race of the World Rally Championship, the Monte-Carlo Rally, we can say that the 2023 season will be Toyota's season. The combination of the best car and top level drivers is the most important step towards the 2023 championship.
The top two places in Monte-Carlo went to Toyota and both drivers are WRC champions.
Sebastien Ogier's very strong performance earned him victory in the first race of 2023.
Ogier S. / Landais Vincent took the lead after the first stage and held the top spot throughout. This is a very strong claim for the championship title this season.
Ogier's team-mate Kalle Rovanpera was not as consistent during the race, but still stood at the front and managed to reach second place just 18.8 seconds behind Ogier.
The third place goes to the team of Hyundai and Neuville T. / Wydaeghe M.
Neuville continues to be unconvincing after exiting the track, thankfully with very little loss, as well as an overheated tire and spin problem. But overall the podium is a very good start to the season.
Actually, in the last two days of the competition, there were no changes in the forehead. The tracks remained mostly dry.
Among the other teams, Tänak Ott / Järveoja M. with Ford Puma finished first, as Tanak complained about problems with power steering. Tanak's gap of 2:34.8 is serious, with the other Toyota car crewed by Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott in front of him.
Katsuta T. / Johnston Aaron (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid) complete the six.
The Power Stage was won by Rovanperä K. / Halttunen Jonne (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid), with Ott Tanak just 0.6s behind. in the second position in the stage.
Sordo Dani / Carrera Cándido complained of multiple problems with the hybrid Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and were extremely unhappy with the 7th position.
Gryazin Nikolay / Aleksandrov K. (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) finished first in RC2, just 4.5 seconds ahead of Rossel Yohan / Dunand Arnaud (Citroën C3 Rally2).
The next race of the championship is Rally Sweden on 9-12 February 2023.

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An incredible ride to the very end for the crew Rovanperä K. / Halttunen Jonne (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) who win the Power Stage today, the victory in Rally New Zealand and the 2022 World Title.
The Finn took the triple victory by not returning the throttle until the very end of the race, winning two out of four stages today and finishing second in the remaining two stages.
Kalle Rovanperä at only 22 years and one day won the title and became the youngest driver to win the title.
Today, all competitors kept their places in the classification from Saturday, after Kalle Rovanperä, Ogier S. / Veillas B. (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) are second at +34.6 sec, third are Tänak Ott / Järveoja M. (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) at +48.5.
Paddon Hayden / Kennard John (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) finished 6th and first in RC2.
This is what the 2022 champion Kalle Rovanperä said: It's quite a big relief after such a good season and finally we are here! It was a small wait after a few difficult rallies, but the biggest thanks goes to the team - they made this rocket this year. Even after all the difficult rallies they were believing in us and giving us all the support.
In the general classification after Rally New Zealand, Kalle Rovanperä (champion) has 237 points, second is Ott Tanak with 173 points, third is Thierry Neuville with 144 points.
There are two rounds left until the end of the season, respectively Rally Catalunya (20-23 October) and Rally Japan (10-13 November).

Rovanperä K. / Halttunen Jonne (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) lead Rally New Zealand after the first two days of the race. Rovanpera has a comfortable lead of 29 seconds over Ogier S. / Veillas B. (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1). The third place goes to the crew Tänak Ott / Järveoja M. (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) with a lag of 46.4 seconds. If they have no technical issues or crashes these three crews are sure favorites for the podium ahead of the last 4 stages tomorrow.
Breen Craig / Nagle Paul (Ford Puma Rally1) led through the early stages of the race, but an accident in stage five put them out of the race.
Neuville T. / Wydaeghe M. (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) gradually lost time, having spins in two consecutive stages and losing around 15 seconds for each.
Ogier S. / Veillas B. (Toyota GR Yaris Rally1) took the lead when in the last stage of day 1 he dropped to third place, 6.7 seconds behind Tänak Ott / Järveoja M.
(Hyundai i20 N Rally1).
Rovanperä took the lead in special stage number 9, and in the same stage Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott went off the track and damaged the rear of the car.
In stage number 10 two crews that of Evans Elfyn / Martin Scott and Greensmith Gus / Andersson Jonas crashed and the stage had to be withdrawn.
The last stage today was also marked by heavy downpour.
First in RC2 are Paddon Hayden / Kennard John (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) and they are 6th overall.
Rovanperä, who has a birthday today, celebrates his 22nd birthday, can become the youngest world champion after only 4 stages.