Метка: Toyota Racing

The big challenge facing Rovanpera after going from jet ski to WRC Rally Poland

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Kalle Rovanpera expects to face a “big challenge” to prepare for Rally Poland after receiving a last-minute call up to replace Sebastien Ogier while he was repairing his jet ski.

Toyota has drafted in Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to pilot the team’s third GR Yaris in Poland, which returns to the World Rally Championship calendar for the first time since 2017 this week, after Ogier and Vincent Landais were involved in a road traffic accident while preparing pacenotes and withdrew from the event.

Double world champion Rovanpera, contesting a partial schedule of events this year, was preparing to go out on the lake on his jet ski when he was asked by the team to come to Poland after Toyota sought permission from the FIA to field the Finnish pair.

It has since been confirmed that all involved in the accident have undergone scans which showed no signs of serious injury. Landais was discharged from hospital yesterday, while Ogier remained under medical observation overnight before being released today.

“It was strange day yesterday, but first of all it was good to hear by midday that Seb and Vincent were fine which is the main thing,” said Rovanpera.

“Then I got the call from Kaj [Lindstrom, Toyota sporting director] while I was changing some spark plugs on my jet ski before going on the lake, then he called, and I knew what it was about.

“The team made the call for us to come here and of course myself and Jonne were not prepared at all, so it was not an easy decision to come here.

“But of course we want to help the team as much as we can with the team points; they are crucial this year, so hopefully we can do that.”

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: Red Bull Content Pool

Rovanpera jumped on plane to Poland last night to be able take part in today’s recce, which will see him navigate through all of the rally’s stages in little over 24 hours before the event begins on Thursday night.

When asked about the enormity of the challenge to prepare for a rally in such a short space of time, he added: “It is quite a big challenge.

“We basically need to do a whole rally almost in one day and, of course, not watching any videos before will be quite a tough evening and tomorrow trying to learn what we can. It will not be easy with this schedule.

“It is really difficult to know what can be possible [this weekend], as we haven’t had a test in the car before this rally.

“We need to see at the shakedown if we are in a correct way.

“It depends how good we can do the recce and stuff.

“Normally in a rally like this I would like to fight for the win, but maybe this weekend it is not so easy to do.

“Of course we will try to do our best and bring some good points for the team.”

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Ogier released from hospital following WRC Poland accident

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Ogier has been released from hospital having escaped serious injury after being involved in a road traffic accident that put him out of this weekend’s World Rally Championship event.

Eight-time world champion Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais were driving a GR Yaris reconnaissance car that collided with another vehicle on Tuesday morning.

The driver and passenger of the other car involved, and two members of the public, were taken to hospital for medical checks.

It has since been confirmed that all those involved in the accident have undergone scans that showed no signs of serious injury.

Landais was discharged from hospital on Tuesday, but Ogier remained under medical observation overnight.

The Frenchman has now been released from hospital and was pictured on a flight heading back to his home wearing a neck brace.

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

Toyota has since called up its other part-time pairing, two-time world champions Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen to take over its third GR Yaris Rally1 entry this weekend.

FIA stewards granted the team permission to field the Finnish pair as a replacement and they will now undertake a recce of the stages over the next two days.

“As you may know, Vincent and I had a road traffic collision yesterday during recce at Rally Poland,” read a post on Ogier’s social media.

“I had to spend the night in hospital, but I’m already feeling much better. I’m glad that medical checks showed no serious injuries as well for Vincent and the occupants of the other car.

“We’re not able to take part in this rally, which is a shame, but the most important is that everyone involved is safe.

“Thank you everyone for all the messages I have received. I’m now on my way back home to take some rest and make sure to be back in full strength soon.

“Good luck to Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen and the whole Toyota WRC team, I’ll be cheering you on.”

The 19-stage Rally Poland kicks off on Thursday evening.

 



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Pajari to make WRC Rally1 debut in Finland as Toyota rejigs Latvia line-up

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Rising World Rally Championship star Sami Pajari will now make his Rally1 debut in Finland instead of Latvia following a change to Toyota’s driver line-up.

Toyota announced last month that Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen will step up from driving a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car in WRC2 to pilot a fourth GR Yaris Rally1 at the gravel rally that will make its WRC debut from 18-21 July.

However, the reigning world champion team has now decided to make an alteration to its plan. Pajari and Malkonen will now contest their home round Rally Finland from 1-4 August, with Toyota planning to field Sebastien Ogier in a fourth GR Yaris Rally1 for Latvia, alongside regulars Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and part-time and two-time world champion driver Kalle Rovanpera.

Rovanpera was originally set to drive in Latvia and is also expected to contest his home round in Finland. 

“The decision for Pajari to compete in Finland has been taken in consultation with the driver while considering the best possible conditions for his debut. Before the event he will have the opportunity to test in the team’s local area near its base in Central Finland, on roads that are similar in character to those used in Rally Finland: an event Pajari is naturally familiar with,” read a statement from the team.

“The change in schedule also opens up the possibility for the team to enter Rally Latvia with the strongest available line-up of regular crews across its four entries, with full-season drivers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta to be joined by world champions Kalle Rovanpera and Sebastien Ogier.”

Winner WRC2 Sami Pajari, Enni Mälkönen, Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2

Winner WRC2 Sami Pajari, Enni Mälkönen, Printsport Toyota GR Yaris Rally2

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

Eight-time world champion Ogier says he is happy to add Latvia to his plans to help the team in its quest to retain its manufacturers’ title, after scoring two wins and a pair of second place finishes from his four events to date.

“It was not the original plan for me to be in Latvia, but the opportunity came up after analysing together with the team the situation in both the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships,” said Ogier.

“There was a desire from the team for me to do some more events and that’s something that I‘ve gladly accepted. I want to give back to the team and thank them for allowing me the opportunity to continue driving with them in the way that I have done the last three years. I’m enjoying the season so far and the strong performances we’ve had.”

Pajari is also looking forward to making his first Rally1 foray on more familiar roads compared to those of Latvia which will make its WRC debut.

“It is even more special to be making my Rally1 debut at home. Latvia would have been a new rally for everyone and an equal start for me in a way, but in Finland of course I know the stages generally very well and our testing will be in Finland, so to have that chance to prepare the car on roads that are very similar to the rally will be a good help for me,” said Pajari.

“And in terms of the emotions, it’s even nicer to have this chance in Finland and I’m extremely looking forward to the event.

“To drive this car on those stages will be something really cool and also really demanding: they’re very high-speed roads and I will need to learn how the aerodynamics are working.

“But this is all about trying to learn as much as we can. Of course, I will try to enjoy it too because it’s like a dream come true, but the main target is just to gain the experience. I’m really excited for it.”

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Toyota back on top in FP2 after qualifying disaster

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Sebastien Buemi went quickest in the two-hour FP2 night session on Wednesday in the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar with a time half a second up on his nearest rival.

He emulated team-mate Brendon Hartley, who topped the times in FP1 in #8 before both cars ended up outside the top eight fastest cars in first qualifying for the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship.

Kamui Kobayashi had been fourth at the end of the one-hour timed session early in the evening, but lost all his times when he went off at Virage Corvette (formerly known as Virage Karting) and caused a session-stopping red flag.

Buemi posted a 3m27.474s on his fourth lap in FP2, which compared with the 3m27.998s set by Robert Kubica in the AF Corse-run customer Ferrari 499P LMH.

Laurens Vanthoor was less than a tenth in arrears in third place courtesy of a 3m28.065s in the #6 factory Porsche 963 LMDh.

Callum Ilott jumped to fourth in the best of Jota customer Porsches with just over half an hour of the session remaining.

The Briton, following up on a performance that won him the final place in Hyperpole for the fastest eight cars in each class, demoted Sebastien Bourdais in the #3 Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh with a 3m28.352s.

Ilott subsequently went off at exit in the Esses, hitting the barriers and precipitating a red flag with little more than a minute of the session left.

Alpine and Cadillac battled over the minor top six placings through the session.

Ferdinand Habsburg was initially fourth in the French manufacturer’s #35 A424 LMDh before Sebastien Bourdais improved on team-mate Scott Dixon’s time with a 3m28.485s to move ahead.

In the closing minutes of the session Nicolas Lapierre got down to a 3m28.458s in the sister car to move Alpine back ahead and seal fifth position. 

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-SeriesR: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Alex Palou

#2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-SeriesR: Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, Alex Palou

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Bourdais ended up as the meat in an Alpine sandwich between Lapierre and Habsburg.

Habsburg’s 3m28.644s stood as the seventh fastest time of the session just ahead of Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 factory Ferrari on 3m28.853s

The second Toyota took ninth in the hands of Nyck de Vries while the second full-season WEC entry from the Porsche Penske Motorsport team rounded out the top 10 in Matt Campbell’s hands.

The WRT-run BMW M Hybrid V8 in which Dries Vanthoor went fastest in first qualifying ended up 13th in Marco Wittmann’s hands, while the top Peugeot 9X8 2024 LMH ended up 18th with Paul di Resta at the wheel.

Lamborghini took 20th with the best of its Iron Lynx-run SC63s LMDh in which Mirko Bortolotti set the time.

Malthe Jakobsen again led the way in LMP2 after taking top spot in the opening qualifying session in his Cool Racing ORECA-Gibson 07.

The Dane’s 3m35.386s pushed United Autosports driver Oliver Jarvis, who led the times initially with a 3m36.551s, down to second by a margin of over a second.

Scott Huffaker was third for the TDS-run Panis Racing.

#88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Giorgio Roda, Mikkel Pedersen, Dennis Olsen

#88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Giorgio Roda, Mikkel Pedersen, Dennis Olsen

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

The Proton Competition Ford squad again topped the times in the new-for-2024 LMGT3 class after Ben Barker had led the way in the hour of qualifying.

Dennis Olsen ended up fastest in the German team’s #88 Ford Mustang GT3 with a time of 3m58.689s, which was just three hundredths up on Marco Sorensen’s 3m58.716s in the D’station Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

Maxime Martin was bumped down to third after going fastest at the start of the session in the best of WRT’s BMW M4 GT3s.

FP3 starts at 15:00 local time on Thursday with the half-hour Hyperpole session beginning at 20:00.



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Lopez’s Toyota return at Le Mans «like I had never left»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical boss David Floury revealed that the Argentinian was «up to speed immediately» on his return to the cockpit of the Le Mans Hypercar at last weekend’s Le Mans Test Day for the first time since the 2023 World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain.

«By the look of the lap times it was like he drove the car yesterday,» said Floury. «No big issues and clearly motivated like hell — he has worked very hard to get up to speed with all the car systems.

«We can already see that he is on top of things; we are quite confident that there will be no issues in the race.»

Lopez’s comments after ending up 10th in the second of the three-hour Test Day sessions on Sunday ahead of race week for the blue riband WEC round echoed those of Floury.

«It came back like I’d never left,» said Lopez, who switched over from the Auto Sport Promotion Lexus LMGT3 after Conway had to withdraw with the injuries sustained in a cycling accident last Thursday.

«I was thinking because I was coming from a slower car… but it’s in the brain, as soon as you jump in, it’s like ‘bang’. Lap two I was already very good.»

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Lopez revealed that he was training together with Conway at the time of the accident and that he wasn’t expecting to get the call to return to the line-up of the #7 Toyota, which he drove in the WEC with Conway and Kamui Kobayashi from 2017 until his replacement by Nyck de Vries for this season.

Toyota chose to bring him back into the Hypercar line-up rather than promoting reserve and test driver Ritomo Miyata because of his experience.

Miyata will make his first Le Mans start this year with the Cool Racing LMP2 squad.

Lopez wouldn’t be drawn on whether his return to the #7 Toyota could be extended to cover the Interlagos 6 Hours WEC round in July.

«I hope for Mike it is only a one-off; Mike is like a brother to me,» he said.

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Toyota hands Rally1 debut to rising WRC star in Latvia

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Pajari and co-driver Enni Malkonen will step up from driving Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car in WRC2 to pilot a fourth GR Yaris Rally1 at the gravel rally that will make its WRC debut from 18-21 July.

The news comes just days after the pair claimed their second career WRC2 win after finishing sixth overall at last weekend’s round in Sardinia.

Pajari has emerged as one of the WRC’s bright young talents, becoming the youngest-ever Junior WRC champion in 2021, before progressing to the second tier WRC2 class. Malkonen first navigated for Pajari in 2021 and secured the WRC3 co-drivers’ title in 2022.

“This is something that I have been working towards for many years, but it is not so often that there is a seat available in a Rally1 car,” said the 22-year-old Finn.

“It will be a huge challenge because there are so many new things to learn, and the pace at the top level is also really high. But I will try to not focus on the result too much or feel any pressure on that side, and just aim to enjoy and gain all the experience I can for the future.

“At least in Latvia the stages are mostly fast and flowing, something that I’m quite used to from Finland, and it’s also basically a fresh event for everyone, so in this sense we are more or less starting from the same place as the top drivers.

“I hope that if we can do well, then maybe there can be a chance for something nice in the future, but that’s something I can only think about much later. For now, I’ll just focus on this one rally and enjoy it.”

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has closely followed Pajari’s and Malkonen’s rise up the rally pyramid.

Latvala offered Pajari guidance at the start of his career in 2020, while Malkonen has called notes for Latvala in Finnish national rallies.

While Latvala is keen to see how the pair cope in faster Rally1 machinery, he has stressed that an overall result in Latvia is not the most important target.

“Alongside our Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program, where since 2015 we have been training young Japanese drivers, we also keep an eye out for the most talented young drivers competing in the WRC support categories,” said Latvala.

“This year we’ve seen that Sami Pajari is driving really well with our GR Yaris Rally2 car and we would like to see his potential in our Rally1 car.

“We wish that they have a nice experience with the Rally1, and they learn about it and if they do well that is also positive.

“But the most important part is to see how they accommodate the Rally1, and it is about learning. This is not the place where they need to show something the idea is to see how is the step from Rally2 to Rally1.”

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Evans «thinking too much» about WRC title race

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Evans has cut a frustrated figure throughout this week’s Rally Sardinia, having been unable to find the confidence to extract the ultimate pace from his Toyota GR Yaris on the gravel stages.

After finishing sixth in Portugal last month, the Welshman’s struggles for speed have continued into Sardinia to leave Evans adrift of the victory fight.

A puncture on Friday cost Evans time, but he was already struggling to find a rhythm. The two-time championship runner-up also found the going tough in Saturday’s stages, but problems for others boosted him to fourth at the end of the day, albeit 2m43.3s behind team-mate and rally leader Sebastien Ogier.

Latvala believes that part of the struggles stem from the pressure of the title fight which is restricting Evans from driving naturally.

“Everyone knows he is capable of winning events; he has been so close to winning the championship [previously], I just feel maybe lately he has been taking a bit too much pressure of the championship,” said the Finn.

“I know from myself as a driver that when you start to think about it, you lose your natural ability to drive, and your mind starts to take over and you don’t drive naturally.

“He is thinking too much about the situation in the championship. We just need to find a way to relax him more and get the enjoyment for the driving back.

“I do however respect that when it doesn’t go well, he is still consistent. Personally, myself what I did was when it didn’t go well, I attacked more and then I ended up crashing.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“But of course, you cannot win the championship without victories.”

Reflecting on his day, Evans said: “It’s very frustrating at the moment, we’re not feeling at one with everything.

“We always knew this could happen going into the weekend, but we still want more.

“How things were in Portugal were a tell-tale sign of things to come, but also some other stuff.”

While Sardinia has been difficult for Evans, a retirement for championship leader Thierry Neuville from third on the final stage of the morning loop offered a positive. If Evans can finish the rally tomorrow, he stands to claim 10 points for finishing fourth on Saturday while Neuville, who holds a 24-point championship lead, would fail to score.

“There is no satisfaction in what we have done, but at the same time [the points] is something,” added Evans.

Rally Sardinia concludes following four stages on Sunday.

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Evans feels “new ideas” are required after WRC Portugal struggles

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Toyota driver felt that “everything he touched went wrong” last weekend as he witnessed his six-point deficit to championship leader Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville balloon to 24 points.

Evans’ difficulties began on Friday as he and his Toyota team-mates Sebastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanpera and Takamoto Katsuta struggled to find a balance with their GR Yaris Rally1 cars on the gravel stages.

This, on top of starting second on the road dropped Evans down the leaderboard before co-driver Scott Martin left his pacenote book at the stage 6 time control, which forced Evans to drive to notes being delivered from a digital copy on a mobile phone.

While the Welshman lost minimal time from the pacenotes, he conceded 52.6s to a puncture that left him in sixth at the end of Saturday. A broken radiator put his rally at risk on Sunday and subsequently ended any chances of scoring extra points, leaving him with six Saturday points, compared to Neuville’s total of 24.

With the rough gravel of Sardinia, the next destination on the WRC calendar (30 May- 2 June), Evans is hopeful his team can find a set-up solution to his Portugal struggles.

“The six points is the only positive. Of course, you want to forget the weekend, but we have to learn from it and be ready for the next one,” Evans told Motorsport.com.

“It will be difficult now with the current testing situation, but we definitely need to come up with some new ideas for Sardinia.

When asked if there was time to find a solution, he added: “Possibly, but it is obviously a risk to take something without trying it but maybe we need to look back to the past, we will see, we will discuss with the team.”

Toyota opted to conduct its pre-event Portugal test in Sardinia in order to prepare for the two gravel rallies, with test days limited under the FIA’s testing regulations.

Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala is however confident his cars will perform better in Sardinia. 

“I think on Saturday we could see we were improving with the performance of the car, so this was a good step forward,” Latvala told Motorsport.com.

“I’m not so worried about Sardinia but the biggest thing is we just need to stay on the road, because the current championship doesn’t allow you to do so many mistakes. The punishment is quite hard.”

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Surpassing Markku Alen’s WRC Portugal record “means a lot”

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Eight-time world champion Ogier added yet another record to his glittering resume by scoring a record sixth career Rally Portugal after beating Hyundai’s Ott Tanak by 7.9s. The triumph marked Ogier’s 60th WRC win and his second from three rallies during a part-time campaign for Toyota this year.

Rally Portugal, one of the founding members of the WRC in 1973, is a special place for Ogier having scored his first WRC win in 2010 for the Citroen Junior Team. Further wins followed in 2011 (Citroen), 2013-2014 (Volkswagen) and 2017 (M-Sport Ford) and until now, Ogier had been tied with 1978 world champion Alen for most wins in Portugal (1975,1977,1978,1981,1987).

Now standing on his own in the Rally Portugal record books, 40-year-old Ogier admitted his latest triumph was a special victory.

“It is [special] for sure. It looks like every weekend I get to enjoy nice new number, so I have to enjoy these moments and cherish them as you never know when it is going to end,” Ogier told Motorsport.com.

“But at the moment we are still having a good run and my age hasn’t hit us too bad yet, so we have to continue like this.

“It means a lot as he [Markku] is a legend. I have heard this comparison for years now and somehow it is nice to have this behind me, although I have enjoyed tying with him on this record.”

The passage to victory was not straightforward as Ogier initially struggled with the setup of his Toyota on Friday, before emerging from an intense fight with Tanak.

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier felt the secret to the success was “almost perfect race management” across the 22 stages. The only negative in Ogier’s eyes was the fact he left Portugal, scoring one point less than Tanak under the new points system that continues to split opinion.

“I think it is pretty clear that our race management was as close to perfect this weekend, and that is what brought us to where we are today,” he said.

“We pushed when we needed to and when I felt 100% in the car I pushed and managed to make some good times. Then when the situations were a bit more challenging and more tricky, I thought about it. The consistency was our biggest advantage and I still think we were the best performer.

“Three rallies, two wins and second place, it really isn’t that bad at all. The only not-so-bright side is the points as it is not reflecting at all what we have achieved. We don’t even need to discuss it anymore as it is clearly wrong.”

Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala believes the way Ogier secured victory highlighted why the Frenchman has won eight world titles.

“Seb was magnificent and once again he was so mature and the way he was able to drive, and the pressure was there from Ott, I have to say he is very clever,” said Latvala.

“He knows the situation, and he goes fast but if the conditions are bad, he doesn’t push the car too much to the limit. This is why he has won the championship so many times.”

Ogier will rejoin the Toyota for the next two WRC rounds in Sardinia and Poland.

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