The World Rally Championship (WRC) is the premier racing series for rally cars, and it is held on all continents. KW automotive is proud to announce that two of the three manufacturers in the WRC use rally suspension from our Reiger Suspension brand.
After the WRC Central Europe End of October 2023, Kalle Rovanperä (#69) and his Co-Pilot Jonne Halttunen were the new World Rally Champions. Both fast Finns successfully defended their World Championship title of 2022.
The 23-year-old Finn excels across all terrains, whether sand, mud, gravel, snow, or tarmac.
In the 13 rallies, Kalle Rovanperä and his co-pilot Jonne Halttunen finished first in the WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal, WRC Rally Estonia, and WRC EKO Acropolis Rally Greece with their Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.
They finished second at the Rally Monte-Carlo, WRC Safari Rally Kenya (Kenya), and the WRC Central European Rally (Czech Republic). The fast Finns finished third twice – at the WRC Rally Italia Sardegna (Italy) and at the season finale of the WRC FORUM8 Rally Japan.
In Sweden (WRC Rally Sweden), Mexico (WRC Guanajuato Rally México), Croatia (WRC Croatia Rally), and Chile (WRC Rally Chile Bio Bio), the defending champions finished fourth. At their home rally in Finland, the local heroes remained scoreless.
The 2023 World Rally Championship was an unparalleled triumph for long-standing Reiger suspension customer Toyota Gazoo Racing. The Japanese team, in a display of unmatched dominance, conquered nine out of 13 rallies, cementing their position as the undisputed champions of the motorsport world.
In Japan, at the WRC FORUM8 Rally Japan, British driver Elfyn Evans and his co-pilot Scott Martin (#33) secured the top spot, crossing the finish line first in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid.
He was closely trailed by Sébastien Ogier, the 2023 “part-time rally driver,” with co-driver Vincent Landais, finishing second in the number 17 Toyota.
Having already secured the 2023 World Rally Championship title in October, Kalle Rovanperä clinched third place overall in the Japan Rally on November 19, 2023.
Propelled by their numerous top finishes and the impressive performance of the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid vehicles, the Japanese automaker emerged victorious in the WRC manufacturers’ championship, amassing 504 points. Hyundai clinched second place with 399 points, followed by Ford with 271 points.
Besides outfitting the Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, our colleagues at Reiger Suspension also provided custom-made rally suspensions for all Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrids, along with the Ford Rally2, Ford Rally3, and Ford Rally4 vehicles, continuing the tradition from previous years. The Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid and Ford Puma Rally1 Hybrid absolutely tore up the WRC 2023 season, winning an insane eleven times and grabbing an amazing 24 podiums. They were unstoppable on the special stages, conquering a whopping 182 of them and claiming ten power stages.
Toyota also claims the title in the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC)
Toyota also defended its title win in the T1 category of the Rally Raid World Championship (W2RC). Second and third place also went to Toyota crews from Overdrive Racing.
Nasser Al-Attiyah in the Toyota Gazoo Racing DKR Hilux T1+ was once again crowned “Rally Raid King” with his victories in the Dakar Rally, Sonora Rally, and Desafio Ruta 40 as well as in the Rally Du Maroc (Rally Morocco), as he did in 2022.
However, the leaders in the T3, T4, T5, and quad categories secured victories using the custom off-road motorsport dampers from our Dutch Reiger Suspension factory in Hengelo.
Photos: Toyota Motorsports
