For Mexico's first rally since 2020 after two years off due to Covid-19, the eight-time French world champion, engaged in a partial program with Toyota, is back on the roads after choosing not to participate in Rally Sweden in February.

As on the legendary Monte-Carlo Rally, the first event on the calendar that he won for the 9th time in January - a record --, the 39-year-old driver will try to sign a seventh victory in Mexico also synonymous with the record of the event. For now, he and Sébastien Loeb have six each.

A victory that would please so much Toyota, the reigning manufacturers' champion and big loser of the last round in Sweden, where Tänak won for her first victory with M-Sport Ford.

In the far reaches of the Arctic, the 2019 world champion had beaten the Hyundai of Irishman Craig Breen and Belgian Thierry Neuville.

In the championship, Tänak currently has 41 points, ahead of defending Finnish champion Kalle Rovanperä (38 pts), who is looking for his first win of the season with Toyota.

The podium of the last Rally Sweden, in WRC World Championship, on February 12, 2023 in Umea © Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP / Archives

Altitude

The altitude at which the drivers and their machines operate in the Sierra de Lobos and Sierra de Guanajuato mountains, combined with temperatures around 30 degrees, generally make Rally Mexico a test of reliability for mechanics.

The stakes will be all the more important this year as the teams will test their hybrid cars up to 2,700 m altitude, a technology adopted last year in the premier category.

"At high altitudes, the power is reduced, which significantly changes the car's behaviour," said Tänak, who finished second in the event in 2020 behind Ogier. The slightest pilot error is therefore unforgiving since it takes longer to regain its maximum speed.

"It will be interesting to see how the hybrid can help against this usual loss of power at high altitudes," says Sébastien Ogier.

Estonian driver Ott Tanak during the last Rally Mexico, on March 14, 2020 in the state of Guanajuato © ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP/Archives

"More than ever, it could be important to use it (the hybrid system) as efficiently as possible because it could make a big difference in performance," he said.

Twenty-three special stages are on the programme this weekend, for a total of 320 km timed. The kick-off will be Thursday night with two short passages through the narrow streets and ancient mining tunnels of the city of Guanajuato.

© 2023 AFP