As championship leader ahead of the FIA World Rally Championship’s third round, Tänak will open the road during Friday’s opening leg on gruelling gravel stages in the Guanajuato mountains.
Joining the Estonian in a three-strong M-Sport Ford Puma Rally1 line-up is young Frenchman Pierre-Louis Loubet as well as gentleman driver Jourdan Serderidis.
The biggest news, perhaps, is the return of Sébastien Ogier - who triumphed in Mexico’s last edition - to Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR Yaris line-up.
Rallye Monte-Carlo winner Ogier will mark start number two of his part-time 2023 campaign, supporting Kalle Rovanperä and Elfyn Evans in their quest for manufacturers’ championship points. Takamoto Katsuta steers a fourth Yaris, but will only compete for drivers’ honours.
Also making his first start since the season opener is Dani Sordo, who teams up with Thierry Neuville and Esapekka Lappi at Hyundai Motorsport.
Former WRC driver Gus Greensmith begins his WRC2 campaign in León. Armed with a brand-new Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, the Englishman will go head-to-head with ex-colleague Adrien Fourmaux, who fields a Fiesta Rally2 for M-Sport Ford. Oliver Solberg - another star with past top-flight experience - has also entered a Škoda.
Nikolay Gryazin and defending WRC2 champion Emil Lindhom will fly the flag for Toksport, however, the pair are reverting back to older-specification Fabia Rally2 Evos for the event.
“We are using the Rally2 Evo for Mexico since it was logistically the only option,” Lindholm explained. “The cars have travelled straight from Japan to Mexico by ship along with all the parts needed. This was simply the easiest way of doing it.”
Other WRC2 stars include Kajetan Kajetanowicz in a Škoda plus Martin Prokop in a Ford.
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