Back

PRESS RELEASE: 27 February 2022

First and third for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s flying Finns on snow

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is celebrating the first win for its new GR YARIS Rally1 car after Kalle Rovanperä secured victory on Rally Sweden, round two of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship. Rovanperä’s fellow Finnish driver Esapekka Lappi finished third to complete a double podium finish for the team on his first start for TGR since 2018.

For most of the rally, all three of the team’s drivers were part of a close fight for victory on the unfamiliar, high-speed, snow-covered roads around the event’s new base in Umeå. Rovanperä was disadvantaged on Friday by having to run first on the road as the highest-placed driver in the championship, but concluded Satuday leading team-mate Elfyn Evans by 8.3 seconds.

Evans was penalised 10s overnight after an incident at the end of Saturday’s final stage, but his hopes of victory were ended in Sunday’s opener. Having started with the centrally-supplied hybrid system deactivated due to an issue, Evans then had a spin in the stage and damaged the front of the car. After stopping to make repairs he reached the end of the stage but, with the hybrid unit not showing the green light as required, was forced to retire in accordance with FIA safety procedures.

Rovanperä won the first of Sunday’s four stages as he added to his lead, even though he was also carrying a hybrid issue, and finished 22s clear as he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen secured the third win of their WRC career. By winning Rally Sweden, Rovanperä emulates his father Harri who achieved victory on the event in 2001. He has also moved into the drivers’ championship lead by 14 points.

Lappi was in a close fight for second position throughout Sunday, ultimately finishing just 8.6s away as he and co-driver Janne Ferm completed a fantastic comeback weekend with the team.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has also taken the lead of the manufacturers’ championship with an advantage of 24 points.

Three GR YARIS Rally1 cars finished in the top four places overall, with Takamoto Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston finishing in a fine fourth position and scoring good points for TGR WRT Next Generation.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“Kalle, Jonne, congratulations on your victory! For the championship’s only snow event, they were third two years ago, second last year, and they won this year. They did it the Toyota way, making improvements every year and I’m happy to see them becoming more and more Toyota-like in this way. Also, I would like to thank them for bringing the first WRC victory to the GR YARIS Rally1. They had to open the road on day one, and it must have been tough to sweep the snow, but Kalle drove reliably using all of his experience driving on snow-covered roads since he was a little boy.

For Esapekka and Janne, it was their first time with us, Toyota, in three years. Welcome back and congratulations on the podium finish with third! I think you two look best in TGR overalls. Since they were last with us they have experienced how other teams work and I hope they can see ways in which we can make the team even better together.

Snowy roads are a kind of home roads for TGR WRT given the team is based in Finland, but we were unable to win the Arctic Rally last year which was very frustrating. In order to make up for the frustration, the team started working immediately after Monte Carlo, testing on snow to prepare for this rally. Our victory is thanks to that and I appreciate everybody’s effort.

That said, rally is a tough sport and we experienced some trouble with the hybrid system on Kalle and Elfyn’s cars. I really feel sorry for them. But we were able to gain precious data on how to improve the hybrid system in the harsh cold environment. I hope we use this experience effectively not only to win next year but also to provide data to suppliers so that we can continue competing in motorsport while working towards carbon neutrality.

There are still 11 events left this year. I hope the team can take some rest before the next round in Croatia. Let’s not forget that our health is the most important. For the fans, I appreciate your continued support throughout the season until the last round, Rally Japan.

P.S. to Jari-Matti,
I heard you were surrounded by many fans and were happy to take pictures with them at the special stages. I can easily imagine you smiling and interacting with fans even in the cold and snowy weather. You are our sixth star driver who is always super friendly to fans. Please continue this polite and friendly attitude which definitely contributes to the team’s good atmosphere.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“Kalle did an incredible job to win this rally. At the start of the weekend I was a bit nervous how he would manage being the first car on the road, but he handled it very well and later in the rally the speed he had was really impressive. Thanks to him for delivering our first victory with the GR YARIS Rally1 and to the whole team for their hard work to make it happen. What happened to Elfyn this morning was very unfortunate for him. But having Esapekka also on the podium in his first rally back helped us score some very important points, while Takamoto also did a great rally too.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY SWEDEN
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h10m44.9s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +22.0s
3 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +30.6s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m19.4s
5 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m20.4s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +5m39.4s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +7m11.1s
8 Ole Christian Veiby/Stig Rune Skjærmoen (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +7m34.3s
9 Jari Huttunen/Mikko Lukka (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +8m14.2s
10 Egon Kaur/Silver Simm (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +8m24.8s
Ret Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)

PRESS RELEASE: 23 January 2022

Strong debut for the GR YARIS Rally1 with second place for Ogier

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has completed a strong debut event for the new GR YARIS Rally1 with Sébastien Ogier claiming second overall and Kalle Rovanperä finishing fourth at Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Ogier had been on course to claim a record-extending ninth win on the famous event before a cruel late twist in the thrilling weekend-long battle for the victory, suffering a flat front-left tyre on the penultimate stage of the rally. The time lost turned his lead of 24.6 seconds into a deficit of 9.5s. Along with new co-driver Benjamin Veillas, Ogier gave his all in the final stage and, having been handed a 10-second penalty for a jump start, finished just 10.5s from the win.

Fourth was an impressive result for Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, who made huge strides forward in pace and confidence in their new car from Saturday onwards. In all they claimed three stage wins, including on the rally-ending Power Stage. The five bonus points put Rovanperä third in the championship as the leading full-season contender, with Ogier to contest selected events this year after stepping away from full-time competition.

Elfyn Evans was a

lso in the battle for the lead until he went off the road on Saturday’s SS11 and lost 20 minutes. On the final day he set his sights on scoring bonus points in the Power Stage and completed a one-two in the stage for the GR YARIS Rally1.

All three of the team’s drivers claimed stage wins over the weekend and the car was fastest on nine of the 17 stages. It demonstrated both impressive performance and reliability despite the challenges of the new Rally1 regulations, which included the introduction of hybrid power to rallying’s top level for the first time. In Monaco to join the team and witness the GR YARIS Rally1’s successful debut was Kazuki Nakajima, the recently-appointed Vice Chairman of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe.

TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta recorded his third consecutive Rallye Monte-Carlo finish in the top category and claimed eighth place overall, setting a pair of top-three stage times on the final day and scoring the first points for the newly-established TGR WRT Next Generation.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“It was so close for Seb to achieve his ninth victory in Rallye Monte-Carlo, but I was happy to see that the cooperation with his new co-driver, Benjamin, seemed to be working well. His driving feeling with our new partner, the GR YARIS Rally1, also seemed to be fairly good. This new partner is an electrified car following the new regulations to make this sport more sustainable. I assume it required delicate handling despite its strong power, but Seb quickly made friends with despite it being slightly difficult. I respect him for being able to make friends right away. Also, I would like to express my respect to the leadership of the FIA, WRC Promoter, and all others involved in the preparations as they have helped this historic and traditional World Rally Championship move toward the realisation of carbon-neutrality with electrified cars and new fuel.

Our other crews seemed to be struggling a bit with our new partner, but it was great that a TGR driver set the best time in all stages on Day 3. How well our crew and GR YARIS Rally1 cars are going to get along event by event is something new to look forward to this season, although I still feel something is missing when I see the rally cars leaving the service park quietly.

The base car of our rally car was Yaris until last year, and it changed to GR Yaris from this year. GR Yaris is a production sports car that we, Toyota, made by ourselves to win in motorsports. The car has finally started the real competition stage now. I’m so glad, and I would like to thank everyone who has worked together with me to build GR Yaris. I know that the members who built GR YARIS Rally1 from the GR Yaris also went through a lot of troubles and worked very hard. I have to sincerely thank all members in Finland led by Jari-Matti, and all members in Cologne. The season has just begun and I believe we can continue the good work together.

To the fans, I appreciate your continued support for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team this season. Thank you very much.

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“For sure there is some disappointment in this moment because we were so close to winning, but this is motorsport sometimes and we have to accept it. The most important thing is that we know we have a car that is capable of winning and a car which is reliable and this gives us the strength to look to the future and the rest of the season. Seb did a really good job and unfortunately he just didn’t have luck on his side today. Kalle has improved so much from the beginning of the rally and he did a really great Power Stage today. Elfyn also showed great performance here, just with a small mistake yesterday, but he also did a good drive in the Power Stage which helps us in the championship. I want to say congratulations to M-Sport and Ford, because it is nice to be competing at the front with them again, and also to Sébastien Loeb for an amazing achievement; it was an incredible battle this weekend that I know the fans really enjoyed.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLYE MONTE-CARLO
1 Sébastien Loeb/Isabelle Galmiche (Ford Puma Rally1) 3h00m32.8s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Benjamin Veillas (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +10.5s
3 Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m39.8s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m16.2s
5 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Ford Puma Rally1) +6m33.4s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7m42.6s
7 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +11m33.8s
8 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +12m24.7s
9 Erik Cais/Petr Tešínský (Ford Fiesta Rally2) +12m29.2s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +13m41.3s
21 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +23m10.5s
(Results as of 15:00 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next?
Rally Sweden (February 24-27) is the only full winter event of the season taking place on snow and ice. This year the event moves further north to a new base in Umeå meaning all of the stages will be new to the drivers. Metal studs inserted into the tyres bite into the ice to provide grip and allow for some of the highest speeds of the year.

PRESS RELEASE: 21 November 2021

Ogier, Ingrassia and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crowned 2021 champions

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has acheived a magnificent championship treble* at the iconic Monza circuit, clinching the manufacturers’ title with a one-two finish at the final round as Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their eighth drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns in style with victory.

Ogier and Ingrassia went up against their team-mates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in the final-round showdown at Monza and the two crews engaged in an epic battle for victory throughout the weekend, swapping the lead between them six times. They came into the final day of three tricky stages around Monza separated by just half a second – and then set identical times on the morning’s opening test. A stall for Evans in the penultimate stage ultimately decided the rally victory in the favour of Ogier, who knew a podium finish would be enough to secure the title.

The win was the fifth of the season for Ogier and Ingrassia after victories in Monte Carlo, Croatia, Sardinia and Kenya. It was their 54th WRC win together in what was the final event of their full-time careers: Ogier will contest a part-time schedule with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in 2022 while Ingrassia steps out of the co-driver’s seat after a highly-successful career.

Evans and Martin secured the fifth Toyota one-two of the season, and finish runner-up in the championship for the second year in a row after victories in Portugal and Finland.

Alongside their team-mates, Kalle Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were key to the manufacturers’ championship success after claiming their first career victories in Estonia and Greece this year. At the final round they were exemplary team players, focusing on a clean finish in ninth overall to ensure the manufacturers’ title was secured.

This is the fifth time Toyota has won the manufacturers’ championship – putting it joint third on the all-time list of titles – and the second since it returned to the sport in 2017 with the Yaris WRC. This was the 26th and final victory achieved by the car in the final event of the World Rally Car era before hybrid-powered Rally1 cars are introduced in 2022.

TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta finished seventh overall with co-driver Aaron Johnston, overcoming contact in the penultimate test to set the second-fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage after a superb job by the team’s mechanics to repair his car in just a 15-minute service.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“Throughout the season, there was always at least one of our crews on the podium – including Takamoto. Thanks to them, I was able to watch all the events being thrilled expecting that somebody from our team would win. Then in this final event, Seb and Julien, who were targeting their eighth title, and Elfyn and Scott, who still had a chance to win their first, had the ultimate battle until the very end. As a big rally fan, I felt so excited watching them. ‘Our Yaris WRCs are running in such an exciting situation at the highest level of competition...’ It was like a dream for us at Toyota. I would like to thank both crews from the heart for making us feel like that.

Seb and Julien, congratulations! I truly respect you for driving to the maximum until the end. To be eight-time champions is a great record, and we are all proud that two out of those eight were with Toyota. Thank you so much. To secure the manufacturers’ title and have Seb and Elfyn freely fight at the same time: all team members tackled this final event together to achieve both. Kalle’s driving throughout the event showed it well. Kalle, Jonne, thank you very much for what you have done for the team.

It’s thanks to Jari-Matti that the team was able to smile. Jari-Matti, who was also a driver, is a leader who always puts drivers first. I think all the drivers were able to finish the season with smiles because all the judgements were made from a driver’s point of view. He hates to lose. He does as much as I do, or maybe more than I do. I believe his judgements based on this ‘hate-to-lose’ mindset made the team strong.

There was one more way in which Jari-Matti surprised me. That was his thorough communication with the team members. Through a video taken by the team, I saw him giving morning greetings one-by-one at the early morning service park. All 200 members across Finland, Estonia, Germany and Japan were closely united because we had him. I really appreciate him for realising the ‘driver-driven team’ and ‘family-like yet professional team’ which we had been aiming for.

This team kept making the Yaris WRC stronger since 2017. What I asked for at the first rally in 2017 was to make the Yaris WRC the strongest at the end of the season. The Yaris WRC has run 59 events in these five years, and we learned a lot from the events we won and we lost. The team did make the last Yaris WRC the strongest ever. I’m really happy for that.

Our car will be totally new under new regulations next year and the development is reaching its climax. The team is extremely busy and I’m grateful to everybody and their families who support them. We will prepare an ever-stronger Yaris and make our fans even more excited from next season onward. I hope the fans will look forward to our new car and new challenges and I appreciate your continuous support for TGR WRT.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“We have been working so hard to claim the manufacturers’ championship and the drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships all at the same time. I am so grateful for the team: We have such a fantastic team with great people and the best drivers in the championship. I’m really proud of all the team members and the crews. What Seb and Julien have achieved in their careers is incredible. Elfyn and Scott did fantastically well to make it an exciting battle, and a huge thank you to Kalle and Jonne for the role they played as well. In 2018 I won the manufacturers’ title as a driver, and to do it again now as a team principal is a unique moment. This is also a brilliant way to finish this era with these cars, and to have won nine rallies this year is amazing.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
“It’s so hard to describe these kind of emotions. Somehow you feel empty because it’s been such an exhausting season like always, where you need to put so much into it to win the championship. But we do it for moments like this. A big thanks to all the team members: Without them we are nothing and today we are all world champions, so let’s celebrate this. It’s pretty remarkable what Toyota has achieved, and the team deserves it because they’ve put a lot of effort into it. The emotion is even stronger knowing it’s the end of my journey with Julien. We could never have dreamed of a better way for it to end it. We knew we still had a lot to do this weekend and that it was not over yet. We didn’t have to beat Elfyn, but we couldn’t afford to relax and then drop positions, and to win in the end is just perfect.”

FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY MONZA
1 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2h39m08.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +7.3s
3 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +21.3s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +32.0s
5 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1m32.0s
6 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +2m22.6s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2m34.5s
8 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +2m50.2s
9 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +4m49.6s
10 Andrea Crugnola/Pietro Ometto (Hyundai i20 N Rally2) +9m06.9s

PRESS RELEASE: 17 October 2021

Evans and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing seal second in Spain

Elfyn Evans finished second overall at the Rally de España to set up a final-round FIA World Rally Championship title decider with his TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who finished fourth.

Evans and co-driver Scott Martin had led the rally after winning the first three stages on Friday, but despite battling hard didn’t quite have the level of performance over the rest of the weekend to maintain the fight for the victory. Still, the second-place finish ensures that Evans remains in with a shot of a maiden drivers’ championship going into the final round in Italy.

Ogier was in contention for a podium position all the way to the end of the rally, but just missed out on third position in a closely-fought battle through the final day’s four stages – missing out by 6.8 seconds. Nevertheless he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia continue to the lead the standings with a 17-point advantage over their team-mates as they look to claim an eighth world title.

In the manufacturers’ championship, the points scored by Evans and Ogier – including those achieved by setting the third and fourth fastest times in a tricky rally-ending Power Stage – have added to the team’s tally and brought it a step closer to sealing the title. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing leads by 47 points with a maximum of 52 available from the final round.

All three of the team’s cars finished inside the top five places, with Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen securing fifth in the overall classification and in the Power Stage on their first time competing in Spain in the top category of the WRC.

TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta also continued his learning alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston as they reached the finish after restarting the event on Saturday morning.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“Just before this rally, I received a message from Jari-Matti. He told me that regaining the manufacturers’ championship as a team principal and celebrating together with me was one of his dreams. Three years ago, as a driver, he was having a very tough season. His first win that year was at the final event in Australia and his victory brought the team’s manufacturers’ title in 2018. I clearly remember how happy and excited I was. I, as a driver, was participating in a rally in Japan on that day. When I got the news, I shouted with joy and sent him a congratulatory message right away. I am sure that his dream will come true in Monza, and am looking forward to celebrating together with him.

The drivers’ and co-drivers’ champions were not yet decided either. I simply hope that Seb & Julien and Elfyn & Scott will compete without regrets until the very end, and I’m sure the team will prepare the best cars for them to do that.

The next rally will be the last event we compete in with the current Yaris WRC. Since we came back to WRC in 2017, we have been always saying “let’s keep making the Yaris WRC stronger”. I hope we can have a solid

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“In the end this weekend was not as strong for us as it could have been. It’s important that we learn for the future about why we were struggling at times and how we can react better. But there are still positives: Firstly, that all three cars finished in the top five without any problems. Also, second place for Elfyn is another good result for him and it keeps the fight for the drivers’ title alive until the final round, which is obviously exciting for the championship as a whole. The manufacturers’ championship wasn’t quite decided in our favour this weekend, but our target now is to secure both titles in style at Monza.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY DE ESPAÑA
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) 2h34m11.8s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +24.1s
3 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +35.3s
4 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) +42.1s
5 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1m31.8s
6 Gus Greensmith/Chris Patterson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +4m17.3s
7 Oliver Solberg/Craig Drew (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +4m26.7s
8 Nil Solans/Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +4m34.9s
9 Eric Camilli/Maxime Vilmot (Citroën C3 Rally2) +9m49.4s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +10m05.9s
(Results as of 15:00 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next?
Italy’s famous Monza racing circuit will host the final round for the second year in a row on November 19-21. This year’s event features a greater number of stages on mountainous asphalt roads near Bergamo.

PRESS RELEASE: 3 October 2021

Flying Evans delivers another home win for the Toyota Yaris WRC

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is celebrating a fourth home victory on Rally Finland thanks to an outstanding weekend from Elfyn Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin. The British duo are now the only crew who can catch team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia – who finished fifth in Finland – from winning the championship with two rounds remaining, meaning a Toyota driver is now guaranteed to win the title for a third year in a row. The team has also taken a step closer to clinching the manufacturers’ championship.

In the first Rally Finland to be held for over two years, the team faced strengthened competition on the high-speed gravel roads. Evans was its best-placed driver at the end of the opening day on Friday in third overall, having produced a strong performance despite running second on the road. On Saturday morning he surged into the lead with four stage wins out of four, and he took an advantage of 9.1 seconds into the final day.

He was only 0.4s off the fastest time in the first of Sunday’s tests before delivering fastest times in both SS17 and SS18 to increase his margin. He sealed the win in style with the fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage, claiming the maximum five bonus points.

The result means that the Toyota Yaris WRC – built in the rally’s home city of Jyväskylä – maintains its unbeaten record on its home roads since its debut in 2017. It is the car’s 25th WRC victory in total, on what was its final gravel event before new technical regulations are introduced for 2022. It’s also the 200th WRC podium for Toyota, which becomes only the third manufacturer to reach the figure.

With his second win of the season, Evans reduces the gap to championship leader Ogier to 24 points with a maximum of 60 available. In the manfuacturers’ championship, Toyota’s lead is increased to 61 points.

Ogier succeeded in his main aim this weekend of reaching the finish and banking more points towards the championship, and became increasingly confident with the car after making setup changes on Saturday.

Finishing one place ahead of Ogier in fourth overall was Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in a privately-entered Toyota Yaris WRC – a strong return to the car with which they claimed a home victory four years ago.

After being caught out during Saturday, both Kalle Rovanperä and TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta were able to restart on Sunday and gain further experience from their maiden Rally Finland starts in the top category of the WRC.

Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
“In this 2021 season, we were supposed to have four home rallies: in Japan where the Yaris is developed and produced, in Estonia where the team has a factory, and twice in Finland where the team is based. We got second place in the first one, the Arctic Rally, and Kalle and Jonne won the second one in Estonia. This Rally Finland takes place in Jyväskylä, where the team is located, so it’s the ‘real’ home event. Since Rally Japan has been cancelled, we definitely wanted to win this rally.

I imagine not only the crews and Jari-Matti but everybody in the team had more pressure than usual. Elfyn and Scott did a great job under the circumstances and brought lots of smiles to the fans in our hometown. I feel we were able to give back to the place where the Yaris WRC was born and to the roads which made it strong.

I’m grateful to Elfyn, Scott, and the whole team. Elfyn and Scott have never retired so far this season and have always driven through to the Power Stage. The Yaris WRC has certainly become stronger thanks to that and I really appreciate it.

Seb and Julien secured important points with their consistent driving despite the difficult road order. I hope Seb will show us his strong drive in the last two events to finish the season in the best way.

Kalle and Takamoto were really looking forward to drive on their familiar Finnish roads, but it turned out to be a regrettable event for them. However, they both learned from the experience and they will bring smiles to the local fans there in the future.

There are only two events left in the season. The team will come together led by Jari-Matti and make it through to the end. I really hope our fans and the whole team will all be smiling at the end of the season!

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLY FINLAND
1 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2h19m13.7s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +14.1s
3 Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +42.2s
4 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) +58.8s
5 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) +2m54.4s
6 Gus Greensmith/Chris Patterson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +5m02.3s
7 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Ford Fiesta WRC) +6m22.9s
8 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +9m52.1s
9 Mads Østberg/Torstein Eriksen (Citroën C3 Rally2) +10m07.8s
10 Emil Lindholm/Reeta Hämäläinen (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +10m52.8s
34 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1h02m51.7s

What's next?
Rally de España will be the penultimate round of the season on October 14-17. Based in Salou to the south of Barcelona, the event is returning to the calendar after a year away and will be held on fast and smooth asphalt roads – similar to a racing circuit in their characteristics – after several years as a mixed-surface challenge.

PRESS RELEASE: 15 August 2021

Rovanperä on the podium at Spa for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

Kalle Rovanperä claimed a podium finish for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team at Ypres Rally Belgium following a final-day battle with his team-mates Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier as the event came to a close at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

In the first Ypres Rally to be held as part of the FIA World Rally Championship, all three of the team’s drivers were very closely matched throughout their debut appearances on the tricky Belgian roads. They ended Saturday covered by just 4.3 seconds in an in-house fight for third overall, with Evans leading Rovanperä and Ogier as they headed to Spa for the final four stages.

The final day’s stages were considerably different in character to what had come before, combining twisty public roads in the Ardennes region with access roads around the Spa circuit as well as sections of the racetrack itself. Rovanperä stole a march on the competition in the day’s first stage, where he posted the fastest time to move ahead of Evans and into third. Ogier meanwhile dropped back from his team-mates after sustaining tyre damage.Rovanperä went on to seal third place by 6.5s over Evans and claim an impressive result for himself and co-driver Jonne Halttunen as the leading Ypres debutants. Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin took fourth while Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finished fifth. Ogier was second-fastest on the rally-ending Power Stage (with Rovanperä fourth and Evans fifth) to gain additional points and strengthen his championship lead, which now stands at 38 points over Evans, who is tied on points with the driver in third. Toyota continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings by 41 points.

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“It was a really close fight between our drivers today and in the end it was Kalle who had great pace and could finish on the podium. He did a strong rally, and that is really nice to see in his first rally back on asphalt after the accident in Croatia. I think all the drivers did a good job this weekend, we just couldn’t fight for the victory because we didn’t have the experience here. On Friday our guys had to learn about the surface and the grip levels and once they had that experience they could match the top times for the rest of the rally, but by then it was a little too late. But we know that we can’t win every rally and still we got important points for the championship this weekend.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
“I was looking forward to an exciting final day with a nice battle for the podium with our team-mates, but after three or four kilometres of the first stage this morning we picked up a puncture. I know why this time: I hit a small rock that I didn’t notice out of the line, and that was the end of the fight for us. After that moment we focused on the Power Stage. We didn’t manage to win it but still we got second place, with four extra points. Thanks to that we come out of this weekend leading the championship by one point more than before, so it’s not that negative.”

CLASSIFICATION, YPRES RALLY BELGIUM

1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) 2h30m24.2s
2 Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +30.7s
3 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +43.1s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +49.6s
5 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) +55.8s
6 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +3m46.5s
7 Yohan Rossel/Alexandre Coria (Citroën C3 Rally2) +12m14.9s
8 Pieter Jan Michiel Cracco/Jasper Vermeulen (Škoda Fabia Rally2 evo) +13m05.9s
9 Fabian Kreim/Frank Christian (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +13m13.8s
10 Vincent Verschueren/Filip Cuvelier (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +13m31.1s