WRC
Rally1 Rewind: Loeb's Monte-Carlo win or Breen's Brattby joy?
A victory which launched a new generation of WRC cars meets an interview which captured the joy of driving them. Choose the first Rally1 Rewind quarter-finalist.
Sébastien Loeb's record-breaking Rallye Monte-Carlo victory and Craig Breen's “Mayor of Brattby” moment open Rally1 Rewind as voting begins to find fans' greatest memory of 2022–2026.
The first of eight opening-round matchups brings together an extraordinary result and a stage-end reaction that became a favourite far beyond the snowy roads of Sweden. Revisit both below, then choose which should advance.
Was the greatest moment on the very-first rally of the Rally1 generation?
© At World
LOEB WINS MONTE CARLO 2022
The new Rally1 cars had barely arrived when Loeb and Sébastien Ogier renewed one of rallying's great rivalries in the French Alps.
Driving M-Sport Ford's Puma Rally1 alongside Isabelle Galmiche, Loeb won four consecutive stages on Friday before Ogier fought back to lead in his Toyota. The contest turned again when Ogier suffered a puncture on the penultimate stage, leaving Loeb to complete the job.
At 47, Loeb became the oldest winner of a WRC round, beating Ogier by 10.5sec for his eighth Monte-Carlo success. Galmiche, making her first start at the sport's highest level, became the first female co-driver to win an outright WRC round since 1997.
The Puma's winning debut ended with Loeb and Galmiche celebrating on the top step and M-Sport Ford leading the manufacturers' standings.
The mayor of Brattby
© At World
BREEN BECOMES THE MAYOR OF BRATTBY 2023
Breen's return to Hyundai Motorsport at Rally Sweden brought the Irishman and co-driver James Fulton straight into the fight at the front. On Brattby, his enjoyment was impossible to miss.
He had already won the stage's first pass when he attacked again on Friday afternoon. This time, he beat his nearest rival by 7.8sec. The performance moved him into the rally lead, but his response at the finish gave the stage an even more enduring place in WRC memories.
“I could probably be the mayor of Brattby at this stage!” he laughed.
Breen and Fulton went on to finish second overall. For fans watching that interview, the appeal was immediate: a driver enjoying a car and a stretch of road so much that he could barely contain it. The timesheet explained the speed; Breen's reaction showed exactly what it meant to him.
Which moment gets your vote? Use the poll below before 08:00 CET on 4 November. The winner advances to the quarter-finals. Tomorrow, Oliver Solberg's Estonia breakthrough faces Esapekka Lappi's Finland podium escape.
