WRC Chile: Local Hero

Chile may not have produced as many world-famous motorsport heroes as some of its South American neighbours, but Eliseo Salazar made sure that he put the nation on the map in as many different disciplines as possible. He remains the only driver from his nation to have competed in Formula 1, starting 24 races between 1981 and 1983. More impressively, he became one of the only drivers in the world to have ever taken part in the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Dakar Rally, when the epic cross-country race first went to South America and Chile in 2009.

Fernando Alonso would go on to complete the same set a few years later, but by then Salazar had already added another category to his diverse resume: making his World Rally Championship debut in 2012 when he took part in Rally Argentina in a Mini World Rally Car, finishing 12th overall.

By the time the WRC first arrived in Chile in 2019, Salazar had retired from competition, but the country already had a new generation of rally heroes, led by brothers Pedro and Alberto Heller. Both have been winners in the WRC2 category, and for the championship's 2023 return to Chile, the younger Alberto was given the chance of a lifetime: a drive in a Ford Puma Rally1 car. Pedro was one of eight Chilean drivers entered into WRC2: a sign of the country's growing enthusiasm for rallying.