Here's the thing about rallying: it gives you moments you simply cannot script. Voting has officially opened for fans to choose their greatest memory from the 2022 to 2026 eras in the first of eight opening-round matchups for Rally1 Rewind. The bracket kicks off with a heavyweight clash between an extraordinary mechanical triumph in the French Alps and an unforgettable stage-end reaction from the snowy roads of Sweden.
Up first is Sébastien Loeb taking a record-breaking victory at the 2022 Rallye Monte-Carlo. The brand new Rally1 machines had barely touched the tarmac when Loeb and Sébastien Ogier renewed one of the sport's greatest rivalries. Driving an M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 alongside co-driver Isabelle Galmiche, Loeb took four consecutive stage wins on Friday before Ogier fought back to lead in his Toyota. The contest swung dramatically when Ogier suffered a puncture on the penultimate stage, handing the advantage right back to Loeb to finish the job.
At 47, Loeb cemented his legend by becoming the oldest winner of a WRC round, beating Ogier by 10.5sec to claim his eighth Monte-Carlo success. Meanwhile, Galmiche made history of her own, taking her first start at the highest level of the sport and becoming the first female co-driver to win an outright WRC round since 1997. The Puma's stunning winning debut ended with the pair on the top step, putting M-Sport Ford straight into the lead of the manufacturers' standings.
On the other side of the matchup, we head to Rally Sweden 2023 for Craig Breen's pure, unadulterated joy. Breen's return to Hyundai Motorsport alongside co-driver James Fulton put the Irish duo right into the fight at the front, and on the Brattby stage, his absolute thrill was impossible to miss. Having already won the first pass, he attacked again on Friday afternoon to beat his nearest rival by 7.8sec, a performance that launched him into the rally lead.
It was his response at the finish, though, that etched the stage into WRC folklore. "I could probably be the mayor of Brattby at this stage!" he laughed. Breen and Fulton ultimately finished second overall, but that interview captured a driver connecting so utterly with a car and a stretch of road that he could barely contain his delight. The timesheets proved his raw speed, but his reaction showed what it all truly meant.
Fans have until 08:00 CET on 5 November to cast their votes in the poll, with the winner advancing directly to the quarter-finals. The bracket continues on Thursday as Oliver Solberg's Estonia breakthrough goes head-to-head with Esapekka Lappi's Finland podium escape.
