Entry list reveals 56-car field for Rally Chile Bio Bío

Here's the thing about the fast gravel roads of the Biobío region: they always demand respect, and the upcoming round is bringing a proper battle across every single class. A 56-car entry list is locked in for the 12th round of the season, and the top-tier Rally1 category alone features ten machines ready to tear up the stages.

Toyota Gazoo Racing is rolling out a massive five-car armada of GR Yaris Rally1s. Current championship leader Elfyn Evans leads the charge, heading into the upcoming Paraguay round 30 points clear of Sami Pajari. Alongside Evans and back-to-back Estonia and Finland winner Pajari are Takamoto Katsuta, Oliver Solberg, and none other than nine-time world champion Sébastien Ogier (yes, that Sébastien Ogier), with Katsuta and Solberg also firmly in the championship picture. They will have to contend with the Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team, which counters with its own three-car line-up consisting of Adrien Fourmaux, Thierry Neuville, and Esapekka Lappi. The Rally1 contingent is rounded out by the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team, fielding the Irish duo of Josh McErlean and Jon Armstrong.

Down in Rally2, the entry list explodes to 18 cars, with 17 registered to score WRC2 points. Robert Virves arrives as one of the absolute headline names after maintaining a perfect record of four WRC2 victories from four starts this season. The Estonian will face both Lancia Corse HF crews, featuring Nikolay Gryazin and Yohan Rossel in Ypsilon Rally2 HFs, alongside Toyota drivers Alejandro Cachón, Diego Domínguez, Gus Greensmith, and Yuki Yamamoto. Fau Zaldívar returns in his Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, Taylor Gill joins Virves under the Toksport WRT2 banner, and M-Sport Ford's Romet Jürgenson completes the Rally2 field. Local fans will have plenty to cheer for as Jorge Martínez, Alberto Heller, Pedro Heller, Emilio Rosselot, and Tadeo Rosselot all register for WRC2 honours.

Without a doubt, the biggest championship prize on offer in Chile comes in Junior WRC as the five-round season reaches its double-points finale. Calle Carlberg arrives at the head of the standings on 95 points, just three clear of Ali Türkkan, while Finland winner Gil Membrado remains firmly in contention on 71 points. All three are part of a seven-car Junior WRC entry that also includes Leevi Lassila, Kerem Kazaz, Craig Rahill, and home favourite Gerardo Rosselot, with every single crew competing in identical Ford Fiesta Rally3 machinery. They form part of a substantial 22-car Rally3 field, while six Rally4 crews—five of them Chilean—complete the grand total of 56 cars for the weekend.