Метка: Toyota Racing

Pajari to replace Katsuta in Chile as Toyota hands protege another Rally1 drive

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota has elected to replace Takamoto Katsuta with protege Sami Pajari for the next round of the World Rally Championship in Chile later this month.

This is part of a decision to hand Finnish duo Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen a further two WRC Rally1 outings in Chile and at the following Central European Rally after impressing to finish fourth on their top-flight debut in Finland last month.

Pajari will now join Kalle Rovanpera, Sebastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans in Chile from 26-29 September.

As a result, full-time driver Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston are set to rejoin the Toyota squad for the Central European Rally and the season finale in Japan.

The decision arrives after a difficult run of rallies that has included carries in Finland and last week’s Acropolis Rally where he was sitting in second before a mistake on stage three.

When speaking to Motorsport.com at the end of the Acropolis Rally, Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala stated that there was a 50/50 chance Pajari, who finished fourth overall in Greece while winning the WRC2 class, would receive another Rally1 outing this year.

Sami Pajari, Enni Mälkönen, Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2

Sami Pajari, Enni Mälkönen, Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“After the great performance that Sami Pajari showed at Rally Finland, we wanted to see more of what he can do in a Rally1 car,» said Latvala.

“The main goal in Finland was to gain experience, but he already demonstrated his high potential. In Greece too, he again showed the high level he’s been driving at with the GR Yaris Rally2 car.

«As we look to invest further in talented young drivers for the future, it’s important to learn more about Sami’s abilities, firstly on some different gravel roads on the other side of the world in Chile, and then on asphalt in Central Europe.

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“He will be driving a fourth car, so there is no pressure upon him to contribute towards the championship. For us it’s more about investing in the future and gaining that experience.

“For Taka, it has been a tough season, but he has the full support of the team and everybody knows that he has the speed.

“With this break, he has a chance to reset and recharge ready for the last two events which will be important – especially Rally Japan of course, where we hope he can be fighting for the podium places again.”

Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Takamoto Katsuta, Aaron Johnston, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Pajari added: “It is amazing to have this chance to drive the GR Yaris Rally1 hybrid on two more events this season.

“It feels really nice to know that TGR-WRT is putting this trust in me. Rally Finland was like a dream come true for me, and after that of course I just wanted to drive a Rally1 car more and more, but I could not have expected that the opportunity would come again so soon.

“I’m really looking forward to Rally Chile, with some nice gravel roads that are mostly flowing and high-speed, so a bit similar to Finland. Central Europe can be even more demanding given how wet and muddy we saw it can be last year.

“For my first time in a Rally1 car on asphalt on such a rally, it could be quite a challenge but it’s one that I’m really happy to face, of course.”

Katsuta has since posted on social media reacting to the news that he will sit out the Chile event. 

«I and Aaron will not drive Rally Chile. We will have a short break from competition after an intense summer that maybe didn’t go as planned, can help me reset and come back stronger for CER and Rally Japan,» read a post from Katsuta.

«Of course it is tough and I am really disappointed with myself, but the team is supporting me to find again the good feeling. Sami and Enni are really great and I wish them all the best for the rally. Good luck for Sami and Enni.» 



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Toyota’s WRC title chances “pretty much gone”

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota’s chances of winning the World Rally Championship manufacturers’ crown are “pretty much gone” after Hyundai scored a 1-2-3 at the Acropolis Rally, reckons team boss Jari-Matti Latvala.

The reigning manufacturers’ champions endured a weekend to forget, leaving Greece 35 points behind Hyundai in the championship standings with only three rounds of the season remaining.

Toyota’s rally unravelled on Friday when all three of its drivers, Sebastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta encountered problems.

Evans suffered a puncture and turbo failure on the opening stage which cost the Welshman almost 10 minutes, before retiring on Saturday following a slow speed roll. Katsuta crashed out on stage three while occupying second, having won the previous stage.

Eight-time world champion Ogier led the rally until stage five when he suffered a similar turbo failure to Evans, conceding more than two-and-a-half minutes.

Plans to recover the lost ground via Super Sunday points were thwarted when Ogier suffered a puncture and rolled while heading the Sunday classification. Ogier did however finish the event to claim 13 Saturday points, while Evans added 18 points to the pot with eight of those from Sunday’s action.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

After witnessing the points deficit to Hyundai increase, Toyota’s Latvala believes the team should put title thoughts aside and focus on winning the remaining events in Chile, central Europe and Japan.

“It’s good that he [Sebastien Ogier] can get the [Saturday] points, but the reality is that we lose the Sunday points, we lose the Power Stage points for both championships, which are basically gone,» Latvala told Motorsport.com.

“Hyundai start to be in a position, that with current [points] system, they will defend it [the lead] now for the last three remaining events, so they won’t take such risk to lose those [titles].

“For us, the Toyota’s WRC title chances “pretty much gone” chances are pretty much gone and we need to change the target to try, from now on, to start winning events.

“We need to forget about both championships for a little bit. We have been in a situation where we have been trying to force it and we can’t force it anymore.

«We can only do it by driving well by winning the events without pressure for the drivers. That is the only way and if something goes wrong with Hyundai, then it can be a massive bonus.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“But at the end of the day, we need to forget the targets and just try to relax the drivers. And if something great happens, then it would be a Cinderella story. But at the moment, we need to forget thinking about the championship points.”

Latvala described the opening day of the rally as ‘Black Friday’ and when reflecting on how the event unfolded, he added: “It started to go wrong from the beginning, and it kept going in the wrong direction, but that’s the way it is when it goes.

“In life you have good times and you have bad times, you can’t have everything perfect every year. We have had three amazing seasons, so for sure, at some point comes the bad moments, and now we are having it.”

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He added: “There’s nothing else we could do, for me Sebastien had to go out in the stage and he had to try to go flat out because we needed Sunday points and we needed Power Stage points. With those points, we would have been able to keep ourselves attached in the championship.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. We had to pay the penalty.”



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Ogier commits to remaining WRC rounds to boost Toyota’s title hopes

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Ogier has confirmed plans to contest the remaining rounds of the World Rally Championship to help Toyota challenge for both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns.

The eight-time world champion was set to contest a half-season campaign in his role as part-time driver, but his impressive run of three wins and three second-place finishes have proved crucial for Toyota’s manufacturers’ title push.

Ogier’s success has also left the Frenchman as Toyota’s highest-placed driver in the championship and firmly in the fight for a ninth crown, only 27 points adrift of championship leader  and Hyundai rival Thierry Neuville.

Earlier this week, Rally Chile, which follows this weekend’s round in Greece, released its entry list that featured Ogier and his part-time Toyota team-mate and reigning two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera.

Watch: EKO Acropolis Rally Greece Shakedown highlights

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala had already asked Ogier to compete in the remaining rounds earlier this year. Despite initially appearing to downplay the prospect after Rally Finland, Ogier will now add Chile and the Central European Rally to his programme that already included November’s Japan season finale. 

“I think now it’s clear. It’s four rounds remaining and the position we are in the championship we had to give it a try, being also now the leading driver for Toyota,” Ogier told Motorsport.com. 

“Of course, there was a bigger wish from the team for me to be there and on my side two out of this four [rallies] were planned already, and we just had to add Chile and Central Europe. 

“Even if I’m not looking so much for the travel to Chile [because of the distance to Europe], I cannot complain to be in this situation. 

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Sébastien Ogier, Vincent Landais, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“It’s still always tempting to have a chance to fight for a championship, even though right now it’s still a long shot. It’s still with the current point system, not so easy to catch this kind of gap, but the best we can do is try to put pressure as late as we can in the season. 

“As long as there is a mathematical chance, anything can happen.”

Toyota boss Latvala says the outcome is both “good for Sebastien personally and for the team”, while admitting securing the manufacturers’ title is the primary goal. Toyota sits 20 points adrift of Hyundai heading into this weekend despite winning six of the nine rallies to date.

“We discussed that if he does Latvia and it goes well why not do the rest of the championship because he’s been a very strong asset for us this year,” said Latvala. 

“We want to keep the championship fight alive.” 

Championship leader Neuville, who announced a one-year extension with Hyundai for 2025 before today’s Acropolis Rally Greece shakedown, expects Ogier to be his strongest rival for the rest of the season.

“It will be someone else to fight for the championship and if you’re going to win then it is even better,” said Neuville.  

“He will always have an excuse because he didn’t do all the other rounds, but he chose very well which ones he didn’t do. 

“He has done very well benefiting from his road position but now it will be a bit different, but he is the man to fight. It is no secret he is the one who will be the strongest until the end of the year in the fight for the championship, and we need to resist.” 

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Ogier, Rovanpera selected to help Toyota WRC title bid in Chile

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


World champions Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanpera will feature for Toyota to help the Japanese marque’s World Rally Championship title bid at Rally Chile.

Toyota will therefore field four GR Yaris Rally1 cars for the final gravel round of the season held in the South American nation from 26-29 September.

Ogier and Rovanpera have both been contesting partial campaigns this season although it appears the former is likely to start 10 of the 13 rounds this year. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala asked Ogier to commit to the remainder of the season last month.

Ogier is currently Toyota’s best hope at securing the drivers’ title, with the eight-time world champion sitting 27 points adrift of Hyundai’s standings leader Thierry Neuville heading into this weekend’s Acropolis Rally Greece.

The Frenchman has scored three wins (Croatia, Portugal, Finland) and three second place finishes (Monte Carlo, Sardinia, Latvia) from his six starts to date.

Rovanpera’s outing in Chile will be his seventh start of a campaign that has included victories in Kenya, Poland and Latvia. The Finn was on course to take a fourth win in Finland last time out before rolling out of a commanding lead on the penultimate stage.

The decision to add Ogier and Rovanpera to a Chile line-up that includes its full-time drivers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta should help Toyota as it seeks to close the gap to rivals Hyundai in the manufacturers title battle.

Toyota heads to Greece sitting 20 points adrift of Hyundai, despite winning six of the nine rallies so far.

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Confirmation of the Rally Chile entry list sees Esapekka Lappi rejoin Hyundai to pilot the third i20 N Rally1 car.

Lappi kicked off the season with a victory in Sweden, but has failed to finish inside the top 10 in his last three outings in Kenya, Latvia and Finland.

It has already been confirmed that M-Sport-Ford will expand its line-up for the event to three cars, with Martins Sesks returning to the championship to pilot a non-hybrid version of the Ford Puma.

The Latvian, who finished fifth in Poland and seventh at his home event, will join regulars Adrien Fourmaux and Gregoire Munster.

WRC2 championship leader Oliver Solberg will make the trip alongside one of his title rivals Yohan Rossel as part of Rally Chile’s 45-car entry list.



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Ferrari AF Corse sneaks past Toyota for win

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


In a thrilling finish to Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans six-hour race on the Circuit of The Americas, a customer AF Corse-run 499P driven by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, and Robert Shwartzman at Austin took the win after a battle with Toyota. All mere hours after Charles Leclerc’s Italian Grand Prix victory at Monza earlier in the day.

Shwartzman inherited the lead from the No. 7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMH with 40 minutes of the race to run when Kamui Kobayashi took a drive-through penalty for a yellow-flag infringement. The Japanese driver, teamed with Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries, came out of the pits nine seconds behind the Ferrari but quickly made up ground. Kobayashi was still closing at the end, but ran out of time, ending up just 1.7 seconds behind at the checkered flag.

That closeness emphasized a pulse-pounding late stage of the race. Toyota appeared to have a win in the bag as the race entered its final stages, having managed to get the undercut on the yellow Ferrari, which had led the majority of the first two thirds of the Lone Star Le Mans. 

Kobayashi took the wheel for the final two hours and pulled way from Shwartzman, building up a lead of 10 seconds only to lose it as penance for ignoring yellow flags at Turn 11.

The No. 83 AF CORSE Ferrari 499P Hypercar

The No. 83 AF CORSE Ferrari 499P Hypercar

Photo by: JEP

Third place at COTA went to the Le Mans-winning factory Ferrari crew of Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, and Antonio Fuoco. They lacked the pace of the sister works 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessasndro Pier Guidi — but the second 499P posted a rare retirement for the factory team. Driveline issues (that followed a collision with an LMGT3 runner that had damaged a wheel rim) and then a spin while Giovinazzi was lapping one of the Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMHs conspired against the team.

Cadillac took fourth — its best result of the season — with the Ganassi-run V-Series.R shared by Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn.

Alpine followed in fifth in the A424 LMDh shared by Ferdinand Habsburg, Paul-Loup Chatin and Charles Milesi. They fought back from an early penalty after Habsburg locked up on the first lap and was penalized for the contact with Bamber at Turn 12 at the end of the long back straight.

The Signatech-run Alpine benefitted from a late penalty for Kevin Estre in the championship-leading Porsche 963 LMDh for a yellow-flag infringement, which left the Penske-run car co-driven by Laurens Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer sixth at the flag.

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar of Earl Bamber, and Alex Lynn

The No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar of Earl Bamber, and Alex Lynn

Photo by: JEP

Vanthoor, Lotterer, and Estre fought through the field from 14th on the grid — with Estre surviving a clash with Sebastien Buemi in the second Toyota in the race’s fifth hour. Buemi, on an outlap, made contact with the Porsche as he moved over on the back straight to protect his position. He continued to move to the left, resulting in a second contact. The Toyota sustained a rear puncture and bodywork damage, before being given a 30-second stop-go penalty for causing a collision that left the car 15th and last of the classified finishers in Hypercar.

The best of the WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDhs — the No. 20 car driven by Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde — was also hit with a late penalty of 100s for an energy in infringement. It lost a top-six position as a result, ending up in 13th at the finish.

The LMGT3 class was dominated by the American-flagged Heart of Racing Aston Martin squad. Its Vantage GT3 crewed by Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli, and Alex Riberas crossed the line with almost half a minute in hand over its nearest competitor to take the victory. Bronze-rated James, who’s also Heart of Racing’s team principal, laid the foundation for the squad’s first WEC victory since joining the series last year. The Briton converted pole position in the race lead and raced away from Sarah Bovy in the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan EVO2.

The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P failed to finish

The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P failed to finish

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Heart of Racing’s run to victory was made easier when a clash between the Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini (which Bovy shared with Rahel Frey and Michelle Gatting) and the best of the TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R (the No. 81 entry driven by Tom van Rompuy, Rui Andrade, and Charlie Eastwood) took both cars from contention.

That allowed the two Manthey-run Porsche 911 GT3-Rs — running 1-2 in the class points coming into the Austin race — to come through to claim second and third positions. All in spite of receiving a Balance of Performance hit and carrying significant success balance.

Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm, and Klaus Bachler took second with 30 kg of success ballast, while the sister car of Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring, and Richard Lietz took third with 25 kg after the Shahin received a drive-through for a track limits violation.

Vanthoor, Lotterer, and Estre still lead the championship on 125 points; Molina, Nielsen, Fuoco and de Vries and Kobayashi tied on 113 points.



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Toyota seeking WEC damage limitation at COTA

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota is aiming for damage limitation in this weekend’s Austin round of the World Endurance Championship as it aims to keep its title chances alive.

The Japanese manufacturer doesn’t expect a repeat of its victory last time out in the WEC at Interlagos in July and is bracing itself for a “challenging weekend” on the Circuit of The Americas, according to Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director David Floury.

Floury suggested the circuit characteristics of the 3.43-mile home of the US Grand Prix and the change in the Balance of Performance since Brazil will blunt the competitiveness of the two Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars for round five of the 2024 WEC.

“It is not the best [circuit] for us and with what I cannot talk about [the BoP] it is going to be a challenging weekend,” he said.

Floury was unable to specifically mention the BoP by regulation: manufacturers, teams and drivers are forbidden from talking publicly under the sporting rules.

Toyota became the first manufacturer to be penalised under the regulation introduced for last year.

It was hit with a suspended €10,000 fine after comments made in the media by TGR race director Rob Leupen.

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Asked if Austin is going to be a case of damage limitation as a result of a revised BoP that has reduced the power and increased the weight of the GR010, he replied: “For sure — we need to stay in the fight.”

The best-placed Toyota crew, the #7 trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries, lie third in the Hypercar class championship table, 22 points behind Porsche Penske Motorsport drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterrer.

One of the key strengths of the Toyota at Interlagos was its ability to look after its Michelin tyres.

Floury pointed out this traditional strength of the GR010 is likely to be less of a factor in Austin than at Interlagos because “the tyre degradation is probably not as high in Brazil”.

Sebastien Buemi, who took the win at Interlagos with Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa after the quicker sister car lost time with a technical problem, echoed Floury’s comments.

He explained that the Toyota had not been among the pacesetters at a collective test at Austin at the end of July attended by all the Hypercar manufacturers bar Alpine.

“On one-lap pace, we weren’t too bad, but we didn’t look so good over a stint on the tyres,” said the Swiss.

“We are going into the weekend expecting to be too slow to fight for the win.

“I have the feeling that we are going to be a little bit behind the guys at the front, which I think will be Ferrari and Porsche.”

Floury revealed that the #7 Toyota needed to be rebuilt around a new monocoque after an incident at the three-day test in July.

The tub was damaged when the car spun over one of Austin’s infamous pyramid kerbs in the fast and sweeping Turn 4 to Turn 6 sequence.

Toyota opted to airfreight the car back to its Cologne headquarters in Germany for the rebuild.

Floury would not reveal which driver spun the car except that it “was a driver from #8”.



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Ogier set to tackle WRC Acropolis Rally Greece

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota has confirmed that Sebastien Ogier will be part of its World Rally Championship line-up for next month’s Acropolis Rally Greece.

The eight-time world champion had been tipped to start the rough gravel rally from 5-8 September to assist Toyota’s push to retain its WRC constructors’ title.

Toyota has now announced its line-up for the event, fielding three GR Yaris Rally1s, with part-time driver Ogier joining full-timers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.

The Acropolis Rally featured as part of Ogier’s partial season last year when he finished 10th after leading the event before a double rear puncture and left rear suspension failure forced the Frenchman to retire from Saturday’s action.

Ogier’s plans beyond Greece are yet to be confirmed although the Frenchman admitted in Finland that he was coming under pressure to contest the remaining four events in Greece, Chile, Central Europe and Japan now he is sitting second on the championship standings, 27 points behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.

Ogier has contested six events this year scoring three wins (Croatia, Portugal, Finland) and three second-place finishes (Monte Carlo, Sardinia, Latvia).

Speaking to Motorsport.com after winning Rally Finland earlier this month, Ogier said: “I think we’re going to have more and more pressure to do that [the rest of the year and going for the title] anyway, inside me, I don’t really have it yet, this wish, this feeling because I don’t value those things [titles] as much as people think maybe.”

Sébastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Sébastien Ogier, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala told Motorsport.com that he has asked Ogier to drive more events and expects a decision from his driver soon.

“With Seb, I have mentioned that I would like him to drive more events. I’m waiting for his answer, but I think the chance he is now in the championship as he is second, we should try to keep the fight on and let him drive all the events,” said Latvala.

“It’s a very difficult situation, but at least we need to keep trying. Without trying, we cannot win anything.”

Toyota will head to Greece sitting 20 points behind rivals Hyundai in the manufacturers’ championship.



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Pajari among Toyota’s driver options for WRC in 2025

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sami Pajari is a potential driver option for Toyota in the World Rally Championship next year following an impressive Rally1 debut in Finland, according to team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.

Toyota handed WRC2 title contenders Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen an opportunity to showcase their potential piloting a fifth GR Yaris Rally1 car in last weekend’s Rally Finland.

The duo turned heads by finishing fourth overall while claiming a maiden stage win by setting a fastest time on stage nine [Ruuhimaki].

The strong finish to the event came after Pajari was caught out by the tricky wet conditions on stage two, which resulted in a wild moment that damaged the rear of his car.

His performance across the 20 stages has impressed Latvala, who said that it showed Pajari had the potential to be a full-time Rally1 driver in the future.

“They did a great job, I think. It was a difficult start on the first stage, and it was looking not so promising. But the way he was able to put himself together, he then became very strong and got a fastest stage time,” Latvala told Motorsport.com.

“He’s very strong on the mental side, which was really good to see. I think he really showed his potential to be, let’s say, a full-time Rally1 driver.

“At the moment his focus is on WRC2 because we want him to try to fight for the championship. He still has a chance, and we want him to concentrate on that. But of course, we are talking about what we would do with him for next year.”

Sami Pajari, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Sami Pajari, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

Toyota is yet to confirm its full driver line-up for next year, although Kalle Rovanpera signed a multi-year deal last year, which included a return to a full-time campaign next year.

«I think it normally start after Rally Finland so when you have to start looking at the contracts for the for the next year,» he added. «So of course, at the moment I think we are in quite a good position.

«We will try to keep the drivers for sure. But then there are a few question marks like what Seb wants to do, does he want to drive next year? And then of course with Sami and so on, so there are a few points which we need to start clearing.»

When asked if Pajari was among the team’s options to consider for next year, he added: “Yes. Of course, we need to look and think about it.”

Pajari declared himself happy with his Rally Finland performance but is conscious of the fact that there is room for improvement.

“There are so many emotions it’s not so easy to pick the one which is on top,” said Pajari.

“Of course, I’m really, really happy for the big performance that we had and this result is really acceptable on the first rally in Rally1, and also one stage win is, let’s say, a cherry on the top of the cake. But there are a lot of things that I would like to do much better. There is always room to improve.

“The emotions are a bit mixed. The result on paper is really nice, but if you look at the fact that Kalle retired [from the lead] on the second-to-last stage, I’m not so able to feel happy, as for the team it is a big loss – and for Kalle himself. But I think this shows how tricky this rally has been. Many, many drivers had some troubles on the way.”

Pajari admitted he would like to make a Rally1 return “very soon” but remains focused on fighting for the WRC2 title.

“I hope very soon [to be back in a Rally1 car] after driving one week with this car, it is so amazing, and it is something I would really like to do as soon as possible,” he added.

“The main goal for this season is we are doing the full WRC2 campaign, and the championship fight is still on a good level for us.”

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Evans’ WRC title hopes “difficult” after Finland crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Elfyn Evans admitted it is “looking difficult” to claim a maiden World Rally Championship title after leaving Rally Finland without scoring any points.

The Toyota driver has dropped to fourth in the standings, 36 points adrift of championship leader Thierry Neuville after crashing out on the penultimate stage.

Evans was firmly in the victory hunt after trailing then leader and team-mate Kalle Rovanpera by eight seconds at the end of Friday.

However, the Welshman’s rally began to unravel when his GR Yaris suffered a driveshaft failure on Saturday morning. Evans incurred a 2m40s penalty for being 16 minutes late out of the midday service following a lengthy repair that put him outside of the points-paying positions at the end of Saturday.

Evans attempted to salvage his weekend by challenging for Super Sunday points before being caught out by the first corner on stage 19 that resulted in a rally-ending accident.

“It was a corner we managed quite OK in the morning [loop]. But I had a bit of understeer in the ruts in the afternoon, and we were caught out from there really,” said Evans.

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“It feels like a bit of a clumsy accident looking back at it, but there wasn’t anything I could do to save it.

“We know that it’s a tricky corner anyway, but unfortunately it was more the way the car reacted in the rut more than the ultimate speed, it is one of those things.”

With Evans on the sidelines and rally leader Rovanpera crashing out, Neuville left the rally with a healthy haul of 23 points.

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While Evans conceded his title bid has been damaged, the Toyota driver is not giving up on the championship aspirations with four events in Greece, Chile, Central Europe and Japan remaining.

“For the championship, it is looking difficult now and we’ve definitely done a lot of damage this weekend. In the end we had to give it a shot, let’s say, but for the rest of the year, it still all open, and we’ll continue to give our best until the end,” Evans added.

“We know things can change quickly, but with four rounds to go the chances of clawing that deficit back is less and less, but we still have to give our all to the end.”



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