Jari-Matti LATVALA

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has scored a superb victory and double podium finish on the return of Rally México, as Sébastien Ogier became the undisputed master of the demanding gravel event with a record seventh win. In what was the FIA World Rally Championship’s first trip to the high-altitude stages in the mountains above León since 2020, and therefore the first of the Rally1 era, the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID performed strongly to lock out three of the top four positions in a thrilling conclusion, with Elfyn Evans finishing third and Kalle Rovanperä fourth. Having led from the first stage of Saturday morning, Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais came into Sunday’s finale with a lead of 35.8 seconds, a cushion that allowed them to take a safe approach to the morning’s stages – which included the longest of the weekend, the 35.63 kilometre-long Otates. Ogier then delivered an incredible performance to seal the victory with the fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage, securing a maximum score that puts him top of the championship standings by three points – even though he has only contested two of the three events held so far. This latest record broken by Ogier (who had claimed TGR-WRT’s first Mexico win three years ago) comes after he also set a new benchmark for the number of wins on Rallye Monte-Carlo with his ninth triumph in January. It also continues the great start to his collaboration with Landais, who was competing in Mexico for the first time. The team came agonisingly close to securing a one-two finish, with Evans missing out on second place by just 0.4 seconds on the final stage to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). Evans and co-driver Scott Martin began the day well, beating their rivals to the fastest time in Otates to strengthen their grip on second. After sustaining suspension damage they carried out roadside repairs that allowed them to keep up the fight, but they would ultimately have to settle for the third step of the podium after a battling drive. Rovanperä and Halttunen took away more strong points for their championship defence in fourth place, having ended Friday already a minute off the lead after having to effectively clean a path through the loose gravel stages. Rovanperä pushed hard in the Power Stage in search of bonus points, and set the fourth-fastest time after a wide moment damaged the rear wing of his car. He is now third in the standings, four points behind Ogier. Takamoto Katsuta reached the finish of his first ever Rally Mexico, driving a fourth GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID with the support of the TGR WRC Challenge Program. He and co-driver Aaron Johnston returned to action under restart rules on Saturday after a spin had taken them off the road on Friday. Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)“This is an amazing result for us. Last year we were quite far from the pace on hot and rough gravel rallies like this one, and everybody had some doubts

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings after round two of the FIA World Rally Championship season at Rally Sweden, despite narrowly missing out on a podium finish following a closely-fought weekend on snow and ice. Kalle Rovanperä finished in fourth position, just 5.1 seconds from third, after fighting hard until the very last stage. Warmer conditions meant that last year’s Rally Sweden winner was at a greater disadvantage this time running first on the road on Friday, but he fought back well to begin the final day only 3.8s away from a podium position. That gap was further reduced to 1.1s thanks to a stage win in Sunday’s opening test, but rival Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) responded on the next stage and managed to hold on to the place. With an extra three bonus points for the third-fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage, Rovanperä remains second in the drivers’ championship, only three points behind leader Ott Tänak (M-Sport Ford). Elfyn Evans finished one position behind Rovanperä in fifth overall, after working during the rally to improve his feeling with the car in the tricky conditions. This culminated in the second-best time in the Power Stage, just 0.6 seconds from the fastest time and 0.015s quicker than Rovanperä, which keeps him fourth in the championship. The extra points from the Power Stage mean that TGR-WRT remains in the lead of the manufacturers’ championship by 14 points. Rally Sweden was the debut for Takamoto Katsuta as part of the team’s three-car manufacturer line-up and the Japanese driver performed impressively on Friday morning when he was involved in the lead fight and won a stage. Having been caught out in the afternoon by the snowbanks that line the stages and rolling his car, Katsuta restarted on Saturday and gained valuable new experience opening the road on snow. No longer in contention for a points finish, his car was retired prior to Sunday’s final stage after he had reported an issue in the previous test. There was another first for TGR-WRT this weekend with Lorenzo Bertelli becoming the first customer driver to compete behind the wheel of the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID. The Italian, always a popular and enthusiastic presence during his occasional WRC appearances, enjoyed the experience of driving the car on one of his favourite rallies, completing every stage and reaching the finish in 14th place. Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)“This was certainly a rally that we were hoping to get something more from, given that it has usually been a strong event for us in the past. We suffered a bit on the first day when the conditions were not ideal for our road positions and those starting further back were able to attack and build a gap. We tried to fight back and speed-wise I think we saw some positive signs but things just didn’t quite click for us in the end. We have seen a great fight here between all of the teams and

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team aims to begin the defence of its FIA World Rally Championship titles with a victory on the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, which opens the 2023 season on January 19-22. TGR-WRT has set its sights on a third successive WRC triple crown following a successful debut season in 2022 for its GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID car, which swept the drivers’, co-drivers’ and manufacturers’ world championships. The team continues to work hard to improve this winning package, and the most obvious change for 2023 is new rear fender bodywork featuring a revised cooling inlet for the car’s hybrid system. Other developments include a new specification of engine with a higher output. After becoming the youngest ever WRC drivers’ champion at the age of 22, Kalle Rovanperä returns to defend his crown together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen. They are joined again for the full season by twice championship runners-up, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier commences another partial schedule of rallies on his home roads in the French Alps – where he will target a record ninth Rallye Monte-Carlo victory – and continues to work with co-driver Vincent Landais after they joined forces at the end of last year. Takamoto Katsuta will step up to share the team’s third entry with Ogier during the season, while also continuing to gain experience on all the remaining rallies – beginning with Monte-Carlo – in an additional fourth entry alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston as part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program. Rallye Monte-Carlo is the oldest and most famous event on the WRC calendar, and often also one of the most demanding. Changeable weather conditions can mean drivers sometimes face dry asphalt and snow and ice in the same stage. As a result, tyre choice is crucial. As in 2022, the service park will again be located on the harbourfront in Monaco itself, with the rally to start from the iconic Casino Square before two Thursday night stages. The first of these climbs up to finish at the famed Col de Turini, while the second descends from La Cabanette on roads last used at the end of the 2020 edition and is the longest test of the rally at 24.9 kilometres. Friday consists of two loops of three stages to the north-west of Monaco around Puget-Théniers, which hosts a tyre-fitting zone in place of mid-day service. Saturday follows a similar format but is longer, with the action taking place further to the west and crews only due to return to Monaco almost 15 hours after they left. Sunday pairs two passes of the classic Luceram – Lantosque test with two more runs up the Col de Turini, where the rally will conclude at the end of the Power Stage. Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)“As a rally fan the start of the season is always a very exciting moment and this year is no different. Every team is able to win so we expect that this season is going to

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has completed an FIA World Rally Championship treble in style by clinching the 2022 manufacturers’ title* with a superb win for Sébastien Ogier at Rally de España. The manufacturers’ championship success follows the drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles that were won by Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen on the previous rally in New Zealand. It’s the second year in a row that the team has managed a clean sweep of the three available titles: An especially notable achievement given that it spans a major revolution in the technical regulations introduced at the start of this season when the all-new GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID succeeded the Yaris WRC. In total, this is the sixth occasion that Toyota has topped the WRC’s manufacturers’ classification, the third time since it returned to the series in 2017. The rally win in Spain is the team’s seventh of the season and a first for the outgoing eight-time champion Ogier in his part-time campaign. The 55th victory of his career is also a maiden triumph for co-driver Benjamin Veillas. In his first asphalt rally since January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, Ogier was among the pacesetters from the start, winning three stages on Friday to lead despite having to deal with dirtier roads than his rivals in mixed weather conditions. He took three more stage wins in a commanding performance on Saturday as he pulled away from the pack, and went on to win the last two stages of the rally on Sunday – including the final Power Stage – as he clinched victory by 16.4 seconds. Rovanperä was also in the battle for the lead on Friday when he was fastest in four stages, and eventually finished in third position overall. His hopes of second place faded after he was one of several to sustain tyre damage over a drain cover in Sunday’s second stage. Elfyn Evans was part of a close-fought top five at the beginning of the rally but was unable to find the perfect feeling to match the rapid pace at the front. A flat tyre on Friday afternoon and another at the same place as Rovanperä on SS17 contributed to him finishing sixth overall – still an important result to help the team towards its main goal. One place further behind in seventh was Takamoto Katsuta who recovered from a difficult start to show strong and consistent speed in his TGR WRT Next Generation entry.  Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal) “I am really proud of this team and what we have achieved this season winning these three championships. As Kalle said at the end of the final stage, we have such a talented group of people. That’s the first thing. Secondly, the people have the passion and the desire to win. Finally and most importantly, everybody is working together. When you have all these ingredients, the results will follow. Seb showed this weekend why he has won so many championships himself: He has this little bit extra that champions