In Thursday's shakedown at Rally Chile, Welshman Elfyn Evans (Toyota) set the pace, with a time of 3 minutes 59.6 seconds. He was closely followed by Finnish teammate and current WRC champion Kalle Rovanperä (4 minutes 00.1 seconds).

 Somewhat surprisingly, France's Pierre-Louis Loubet (M-Sport Ford) was third fastest, with 4 minutes 00.7 seconds.

Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford) was seventh in 4 minutes 01.6 seconds.

"Great roads. I guess one of the best you can find in the championship. Most of them are new as well this year so they seem to have a good choice of them," Tänak said.

Rally Chile was first held in 2018, as a candidate event, in a bid to be added to the World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule. With that event deem a success, WRC Chile became part of the calendar for the first time in 2019.

WRC Chile turned out to be a memorable occasion for Estonians, as Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja, who were then with Toyota, recorded a famous victory.

"The last time we came here we had a good rally," Tänak said. "The roads were good, a bit like in Wales. It's a very good stage, we've been here once and won once, so I'm looking forward to it."

Since then, no WRC rally has taken place in Chile. 2020's event was cancelled due to political unrest in the country, while in 2021, COVID-related restrictions put paid to hopes of a return.

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