Метка: Toyota Racing

New points system offered “zero reward” from “mega” WRC battle

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Toyota driver has been among the most critical of the new points system and again brought the subject back into question after finishing second behind team-mate Sebastien Ogier.

Evans scooped 19 points from the weekend, picking up 15 for finishing second on Saturday before claiming three from the Super Sunday classification and one from the Power Stage.

His tally matched title rival Thierry Neuville, who finished third, to ensure Evans continues to trail the Hyundai driver by six points in the championship standings. 

Another quirk of the points structure saw Ott Tanak claim 20 points, one less than rally winner Ogier after finishing fourth. Tanak picked up 10 points after ending Saturday fourth but earned six points from finishing second in the Sunday standings, and four points from the Power Stage.

After being involved in a “mega” battle for the win with Neuville and Ogier throughout the rally before a mistake on stage 18, Evans felt his efforts were not sufficiently rewarded.

“Of course, there was a lot of joy from it [the close fight with Neuville] but at the end of it all even though we have had a mega weekend, it feels like there is zero reward for it given the new points structure,” Evans told Autosport when asked about his tense battle for the win.

“Adrien [Fourmaux] spent 15 minutes changing his steering arm and he has got 13 points and we have come away with 19 points and Ott has got 20 points. It is difficult to feel joy and you can clearly see that on the podium, everybody is in the same boat.”

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Adrien Fourmaux, Alexandre Coria, M-Sport Ford World Rally Team Ford Puma Rally1

Photo by: M-Sport

The new points system is being monitored by the FIA, but the intention is for the system to see out the season according to the governing body’s road sport director Andrew Wheatley.

“The rules are set year by year and if you want to change the points system in the year you have to have unanimous agreement of every registered competitor and that is incredibly difficult to do,” said Wheatley on the Friday of the event.

“The intention of the points system is to let it run for the year and we are constantly monitoring it to understand what the implications are and what the opportunities are. We have had a couple of ends of the spectrum. I don’t think we have had anybody reporting at the end of a Sunday stage saying that they are just driving round.

“What it has done so far is it has achieved its target [to improve the action on Sundays] however we have both ends of the spectrum and we have to see if we are still achieving the target at the middle or the end of the season.”

In addition to frustrations over the points system, Evans rued a “big error” in taking more hard tyres than his rivals, which he felt contributed to his costly spin in stage 18 that ended his victory hopes.

“I am just so disappointed with my tyre choice this morning it was quite a big error to go so brave,” added Evans.

“The conditions were worse than what we expected, and we knew there would be pollution [on the road] and we didn’t quite expect it to be as bad as it was.

“Of course, the spin happened as a result of the hard tyre on the rear, so it was definitely a mistake to go with that choice today.”

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Ogier takes shock lead as Neuville, Evans crash

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ogier started the morning 11.6 seconds adrift of Neuville but similar accidents for both Neuville and Evans have pushed the eight-time world champion into a 9.1s lead over Evans.

Evans and Neuville both reached the end of stage 18 with damaged cars — with the latter, who started the day leading by 4.9s, now dropping to third, 10.2s in arrears.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak survived a moment in stage 18 to maintain fourth [+1m02.3s] while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux handed fifth overall to Takamoto Katsuta [+1m57.1s]. Katsuta also leads the Super Sunday classification by 3.9s from Tanak.

Sunday morning began with a blast through the wide and open roads of stage 17 [Trakoscan-Vrbno, 13.15km] with the lead trio all opting for different tyre strategies to add extra intrigue to the victory battle. Rally leader Neuville selected one hard and four softs, while Evans chose three hards and two softs and Ogier opted for two hards and three softs.

Evans’ decision appeared to help the Welshman on the increasingly dirty road as the early runners dragged gravel onto the surface. The Toyota driver managed to take 2.3s out of leader Neuville to chop the deficit down to 2.6s with three stages remaining.

“I’m pretty surprised already, lots of pollution and quite slippery especially at the end of stage — overall quite good,” said Evans.

Neuville wasn’t overly concerned by Evans’ attack and felt confident his tyre decision would come back to him as the loop progressed.

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: McKlein / Motorsport Images

“We have different tyre choices, this one will be really dirty on the second pass,” said Neuville. “For the next one I think we have better tyres.

“It’s OK, it’s a dirty road in the morning and we lose a bit of time, but we’re going to push hard.”

Ogier struggled to find the feeling behind the wheel of his GR Yaris but was able to match Neuville’s time to remain 11.6s adrift of the leader.

The stage was won by Katsuta, who took an early lead in the Super Sunday classification. The Toyota driver was 1.8s faster than Fourmaux with Evans third fastest. Tanak was fourth quickest despite battling a stage he claimed was “full of gravel”.

But the rally was turned on its head in stage 18 [Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec, 14.24km] as Neuville, Evans and Fourmaux all hit trouble.

Fourmaux was the first to make an error as he clipped an anti-cut device, which damaged his front right. The M-Sport driver pulled off the road to fix the car and eventually reached the stage end after losing more than 16 minutes.

“After a corner I snapped the steering arm, sometimes it bends, sometimes it breaks,” said Fourmaux. “This time it breaks. We need to score some points today, so we need to regroup and look forward to the Power Stage.”

Tanak also had what he called “more than a moment” running off the road, on his way to winning the stage, but he fared much better than lead duo Evans and Neuville.

Evans clipped a bank with the left rear of his GR Yaris, which pitched the car into a spin, costing the Welshman a vital 19.6s.

“It was just a slippery place, hit the rear hard on the left and it just took off and spun the car unfortunately,” said Evans.

Minutes later, rally leader Neuville ran into a bank, this time with the right rear of his i20 N, resulting in damage to the front and rear wing. The Belgian, who dropped 23.3s to third overall, blamed the incident on a late pacenote.

“There was a lot of corners, when I got the pacenote it was far too late,” said Neuville. “We lost 20 seconds to Ogier so it’s a shame because everything was going well.”

Ogier was third fastest in the stage but inherited the lead ahead of a repeat of the morning stages, which will conclude the rally.



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Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead «something special»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Neuville and Toyota driver Evans incredibly clocked identical overall times to sit tied for the lead on Friday night after 119.74 competitive stage kilometres.

Neuville claimed three of the four morning stages on the way to opening up a 10.1-second lead over Evans until a puncture on stage six cost the Belgian valuable time.

Evans moved into a 1.6s lead before Neuville responded on the final test to match Evans at the top of the leaderboard.

While the top two couldn’t be separated on times, only 6.6s covered the top three following Sebastien Ogier’s stunning victory on stage eight.

The hard-fought battle has arrived while the championship’s future is firmly in the spotlight as discussions continue among the teams and the FIA to resolve next year’s Rally1 technical regulations.

The FIA wishes to remove hybrid power and decrease the performance of the cars through a reduction in aero and the air restrictor, although these proposed changes have been strongly opposed by the teams.

Asked about the battle for the rally victory, Latvala told Autosport: “It is exciting. In the morning it was looking like it was going to be a tough day for us because Thierry was so strong on the first stage, and I thought our chances were not going to be so great.

“But the drivers improved over the day and eventually having exactly the same time with Thierry and Elfyn is something special.”

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Hyundai’s WRC programme manager Christian Loriaux added: “It shows the World Rally Championship is exciting and it is close, and it is worth existing, that is for sure. It [Thierry and Elfyn sharing the lead] is quite amazing.”

Evans is among a group of drivers keen for the current Rally1 regulations to remain in place next year and believes the close battle is proof the technical formula works.

“It is good. We know that the technical formula has worked for many years now and the cars and the battles are always close — like I’ve always said, that side works,” Evans told Autosport.

Reflecting on his own performance across the eight stages, Evans felt he left some time on the table, particularly in the final stage, but ultimately was satisfied with his Friday showing.

“There were quite a few things [we could have done better], but overall, it was still quite a good day,” he said.

“I was disappointed with the last stage as I think there was time left in there.

“I think the third stage I was a bit too careful in a few places, but you have to try and find that balance in those conditions to get to the end and go quickly.”

Although the pacesetter for much of Friday, assisted by a road position advantage, Neuville admitted that he had “to give everything” to recover the lost ground after the puncture, and tame his i20 N.

“I mean it was definitely a good fight out there,” said Neuville. “We had to give everything in every stage.

“We are in the lead equal with Elfyn but we lost important seconds this afternoon with our puncture and I was just generally struggling a bit with the balance of the car.

“It got a bit better toward the end of the day, but the last stage was massive dust, so there was lots of cleaning and there was not much more we could have done.”

The rally continues on Saturday although rain showers are expected to add to the challenge for the crews.

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Neuville, Evans tied for the lead after eight stages

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Hyundai’s Neuville and Toyota’s Evans couldn’t be split after 119.74 competitive stage kilometres, ending the day with identical overall times.

Neuville had been in control of the rally, winning three of the four morning stages that contributed to a 10.1-second lead over Evans, before knocking a tyre off the rim in stage six.

This strife helped Evans close to within 0.1s before the Welshman moved 1.6s in front. However, Neuville fought back on the day’s final stage to claim a share of the lead.

Sebastien Ogier also hauled himself into the victory fight with a stunning final stage effort to close to within 6.6s of the lead pair.

Hyundai’s Ott Tanak, who steadily found improvements after a slow start to the rally held fourth, 41.1s in arrears, while M-Sport’s Adrien Fourmaux rounded out the top five [+52.7s].

Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta [+1m37.8s], Hyundai’s Andreas Mikkelsen [+2m37.8s] and M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster [+3m07.3s] completed the Rally1 field.

The weather threw a curveball to crews at the start of the afternoon as light snow began to fall at the start of stage five [Platak, 16.63km].

Neuville was first to tackle the conditions that became increasingly wet with every pass, particularly for the Rally1 crews. The Hyundai driver admitted that the surprise weather change made the stage “dangerous” but his run was good enough to claim a fourth stage win.

“It is very dangerous to be honest as we had now information from the route note crew and, at that speed we are going, there are plenty of surprises,” said Neuville.

“You have to trust your feeling and keep you eyes wide open. Nobody told us it was going to snow in there.”

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

Evans posted the second-fastest time, 1.5s slower than Neuville as the deficit to the rally leader increased to 10.1s.

Starting sixth on the road, Ogier faced the dampest conditions but was still able to post the third-fastest time, 5.4s slower than Neuville.

Fourmaux managed to close the gap to fourth to 3.9s after edging Tanak by 0.4s, despite having a moment in the stage.

In contrast, Tanak’s struggles behind the wheel of his i20 N from the morning continued into the afternoon. The Hyundai driver reported an issue with his rear tyres.

“It snowed so much and I had some issues with the rear tyre,” said Tanak. “Some set-up changes are necessary. I think the tyres don’t really matter at the moment.”

All Rally1 crews made it through the stage unscathed as Mikkelsen, Katsuta and Munster rounded out the top eight.

Dry conditions returned for stage six [Ravna Gora – Skrad, 10.13km], which proved to be the most dramatic of the day.

Rally leader Neuville clipped a rock after the second split, knocking his front-right tyre off the rim, resulting in a 10s time loss to nearest rival Evans.

“There was a stone in the road, which I tried to avoid, but I was so close and it immediately punctured the tyre,” said Neuville.

Evans took the stage win by 1.1s from Ogier, who survived running wide onto the grass at a tight left-hander.

There were signs of a Tanak recovery as the Estonian benefitted from some “small improvements” on the car to clock the third-fastest time, 2.0s slower than Evans. The Hyundai driver was 3.8s faster than Fourmaux to extend his gap over the Frenchman in the fight for fourth to 7.7s.

The battle at the front then took a twist on the penultimate stage of the day as Evans overhauled Neuville.

Evans was able to complete stage seven [Jaskovo — Mali Modrus Potok, 9.48km] with a time 1.7s faster than his Hyundai rival that arrived amid concerns that his left-rear tyre had come off the rim.

“I know I can go faster but I don’t trust, I will make mistake so have to take it slow,” said Neuville.

Ogier claimed stage seven by 0.3s to edge closer to Evans and Neuville as the Frenchman continued to hold third overall. Tanak also pulled further clear of Fourmaux as the former beat the Ford driver, who was fighting his Puma in the stage, by 5.4s.

The final stage of the day belonged to Ogier, who delivered a head-turning effort, 9.2s faster than next best Fourmaux, the latter taking advantage of a set-up tweak.

Ogier was 9.4s faster than Neuville and 11s quicker than Evans to surge into the victory fight. But Evans’ deficit to Neuville in the stage meant the pair ended the day leading the rally on identical times.

Saturday’s leg of the rally features eight stages, comprising 108.7 kilometres.



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WRC teams pushing FIA to keep current Rally1 rules for 2025

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Multiple sources have confirmed to Motorsport.com that Toyota, Hyundai and M-Sport have collectively written a letter to the FIA expressing a need for the current Rally1 technical rules to see out the original window from 2022 to the end of 2026.

In February, the FIA’s working group revealed its vision for the future of top-level rallying, including a raft of proposals incorporating changes to technical and sporting regulations, and the promotion of the category. The proposals will be voted on in June’s World Motor Sport Council meeting.

While WRC Rally1 teams have shown their unanimous support for proposed changes to the sporting side of the championship, the FIA’s plans to change the technical regulations for next year have been strongly opposed by drivers and teams.

Under the FIA’s plan, it intends to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars and further reduce the car’s performance through a reduction in aerodynamics and air restrictor. The aim is to bring the performance more into line with Rally2 cars, which will be offered more aero and performance through an upgrade kit, to boost the overall entry lists of competitors.

Chief among the team’s concerns is the tight timeframe to enact these changes, with the proposed ratification of the regulations offering a six-month window to design, test and validate their revised cars.

Hyundai has been most vocal regarding its concerns, with team principal Cyril Abiteboul stating this week that it would not be possible for the Korean manufacturer to “do a good job” next year under this timeframe.

Abiteboul also shared frustrations that his team has had to scrap a significant investment made in upgrades to its i20 N completed in accordance with the current regulations, that would be rendered redundant next year.

Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal Hyundai World Rally Team

Cyril Abiteboul, Team principal Hyundai World Rally Team

Photo by: Romain Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

Asked by Motorsport.com if he had any hope the FIA would make changes to its plans for next year, before the letter was sent, he said: “We have expressed our opinion in December, in January and then February, verbally and in writing.

“At some point you have to simply deal with it and accept the governing body has made its mind and the one thing we need to understand is the aftermath of it from a competitiveness perspective.

“Hyundai is a very committed to rally and we want to be a serious competitor and we want to do what we need to do to have a competitive car against our competitors.

“We had good results in the opening rounds. We all agree that there were some favourable circumstances even if Thierry [Neuville] was remarkable in Monte Carlo.

“We know we still have a clear handicap against the Toyota and now we are facing a situation where this handicap has to remain for another two years.”

Speaking to Motorsport.com last month, Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala admitted he felt some aeras of the FIA’s vision was “too aggressive”, revealing that talks were already under way with the FIA to find a compromise.

“Ideally, taking hybrids out will make the cars slower anyway. But at the same time changing the restrictor and aerodynamics all of this at one time is a bit too much because it means you need to start optimising the engine performance for the different restrictors and you need to do testing for the aero,” he said last month.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“I hope we can find a solution where we don’t do that many things immediately for next year.

“For me just taking the hybrids out would have been enough and teams wouldn’t need to do so much testing. We are limited with the testing but these days you can do simulation and you try to optimise everything that is possible.

“We have started the communication with the FIA and there are now weekly meetings going on which is really good. All of the manufacturers are on board, so I feel our chances are really good to find a compromise.”

M-Sport-Ford team principal Richard Millener also previously shared concerns over the timeframe to undertake the technical changes for next year.

“In reality, that is going to be quite tight to have new aero rules [for 2025]. Teams are going to want to test, develop and understand them. It is a lot to do in 10 months and realistically it is going to be six months by the time we get things sorted and understand what the reduction in aero means and develop, build, create parts and test,” he told Motorsport.com last month.

“There are quite high levels of sign-off for some of that required and that will be a challenge.”

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Rovanpera hails «clever» plan to seal faultless WRC Safari win

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen delivered a faultless performance to conquer the WRC’s most gruelling event in style.

The two-time world champions, competing in a partial season this year, won seven of the 19 demanding gravel stages but crucially were the only Rally1 pairing to avoid any punctures, accidents or mechanical issues. 

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Rovanpera was able to judge his pace in the tricky conditions that allowed the Finn to build a lead of more than two minutes before opting to back off on Sunday, eventually taking the win by 1m37.8s from Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.

“It is always special, this event is so tough and also it is a legendary event for Toyota, and we have always been good here and we are still continuing to do that,” said Rovanpera, who chalked up his 12th career WRC win. “Like they say here in Africa: ‘The car in front is always a Toyota’.

“I have to say a big thanks to the team, everyone made a big effort to make the car work so well. I think me and Jonne did a good job, I think you cannot do a better Safari Rally than what we did, we had no issues for the whole weekend, and it was clever driving. I think it was a good effort.

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

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

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“At this rally, if you finish like this, it is a big relief because you are not fighting with all the drivers all the weekend, you are fighting the conditions.

“We had zero issues on the car and the tyres so I don’t think you can drive more clever at this rally. We were fast, we had the speed, but it was not about that, we had the speed and we used it well.”

The victory was Rovanpera’s and Toyota’s first triumph of the 2024 campaign, maintaining the Japanese brand’s dominance in Kenya, which now stands at four consecutive wins since the event’s return to the WRC in 2021.

“This is our first win of the season, a couple of rounds before have been a bit tough and now we have got victory here in style,” said Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.

“I must say that Kalle dominated the rally from the beginning, and he had a very clever approach. He didn’t have any issue over the weekend, thanks to the team producing such a good car, but also because of the way he was able to drive.”  



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Why Rovanpera is able to tame WRC Safari Rally stages

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Rovanpera has proved to be the class of the field in Kenya, which is regarded as the most gruelling event on the WRC calendar.

The reigning two-time world champion is the only Rally1 driver to avoid punctures or any major delays across the 13 stages to date, which has resulted in a huge 2m08.9s lead over Toyota team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.

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Rovanpera, a previous Safari winner in 2022, has won seven of the 13 stages, including a clean sweep of Friday’s tests.

When asked about his impressive trouble-free run, the 23-year-old said he was simply following a pre-event plan.

“The plan for the weekend was to be fast when we know, let’s say, there is clear road ahead to do it, and be safe when it is needed. It has been paying off so far,” said Rovanpera.

Pressed on how much of his success in Kenya was down to genius or luck, he added: “That is difficult to know, really, but for sure I’m quite confident that I’m doing well also.

“We have good notes and I am taking quite good care, I don’t have any big hits and the tyres have been in quite good condition, so it has to be something at least.”

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 boss Latvala believes Rovanpera is particularly skilled in being able to assess the sections of stages and the risk level he should engage.

“You have to build up your own luck, and I think the difference is, Kalle is able to understand the sectors where he can push and where he should take it a bit easier,” said Latvala.

“He is able to understand which area is the worst for rocks and he is taking it a bit easier in those sectors, when I think maybe others push too much.”

Rovanpera will need to continue his plan for six more stages on Sunday to secure a second win in Kenya and his first of his 2024 partial campaign.

With a maximum of 12 points available for the fastest drivers on Sunday’s leg under the new Super Sunday rules, Latvala expects his driver to back off, offering his full-time team-mates an opportunity to maximise their points hauls tomorrow.

“Generally speaking for Kalle, he doesn’t need to take risks tomorrow. I assume his approach will be that he will take it a bit easier as he wants to win the rally and then probably he will want to push on the Power Stage,” he added.

“But he is not going to try and go for all the stages as he knows those points don’t matter so much for him, the victory is more important.”

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Toyota to deploy suspension update at WRC Safari Rally Kenya

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The Japanese brand has proven to be the team to beat in Kenya winning the previous three editions of the Safari Rally, known to be the most gruelling event on the WRC calendar.

Toyota outlined the speed and bulletproof reliability of its cars by scoring a 1-2-3-4 lock out in 2022 and 2023 on its way to back-to-back Rally1 constructors’ titles.

The reigning champion squad is showing no signs of resting on its laurels by introducing a suspension update in Kenya that is designed to improve performance and reliability.

Following a change in the FIA regulations, the team is also likely to fit snorkel devices to its cars to combat anticipated wetter conditions now the event has moved from its June berth to a rainy season March date.

The upgrades arrive after Toyota suffered defeats to Hyundai in this year’s opening two rounds in Monte Carlo and Sweden.

“It’s difficult to make significant changes to the car for this one event, but we are introducing a general update for the suspension,” said Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala. “It’s also great that we can fit snorkels to the cars, which will not only look quite cool but also help if there is more water on the road.”

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team principal Toyota Gazoo Racing

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Given the change of date and desperately wet and muddy conditions crews have experienced in this week’s recce, Latvala believes the smartest and not necessarily the fastest driver will triumph.

Toyota will field three GR Yaris entries for Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and returning two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera.

“The Safari Rally is an event we always look forward to. This year, it could bring a different challenge with the change of date: now it’s the rainy season in Kenya so there’s more risk of difficult conditions,” he added.

“When it rains there, the stages can get extremely slippery and it can be quite a challenge for the drivers to tackle. Patience is always very important, and especially if the weather gets difficult.

“Being the smartest can be the key, rather than being the fastest. All of our drivers have shown what it takes to do well there, and we would really like to see another Toyota win.”

Rovanpera and Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville shared the spoils in Wednesday’s shakedown, posting identical times on the 5.40km Loldia stage.

Sweden winner Esapekka Lappi was 0.3s shy of the pair, but ahead of Evans and Hyundai’s Ott Tanak. Adrien Fourmaux was sixth fastest for M-Sport while Katsuta, who suffered a couple of issues that have now been rectified, was seventh.

The top 10 was completed by M-Sport’s Gregoire Munster and WRC2 runners Gus Greensmith and Oliver Solberg.      

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Toyota selects Ogier for WRC’s visit to Croatia

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota has announced that the eight-time world champion will pilot one of its three factory GR Yaris Rally 1 cars at the asphalt event, which hosts the fourth round of the WRC season, from 18-21 April.

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Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais will join Toyota’s full-time drivers Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta for the rally.

Following on from 2022 and 2023, the Frenchman is undertaking a part-time season that began in Monte Carlo in January, where he finished second behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville.

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: Red Bull Content Pool

Ogier sat out the trip to Sweden last month and will be absent from next week’s visit to Safari Rally Kenya, with the third GR Yaris set to be driven by reigning two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera, who is also contesting a partial WRC campaign this year.

Last year the pair went head to head for the Safari win, with Ogier coming out on top to claim his second victory one of the WRC’s most gruelling rallies. 

Ogier has previously started two of the three WRC rounds in Croatia, famously winning the event’s debut on the WRC calendar in 2021 by margin of 0.6s over Toyota team-mate Evans.

Last year, the 40-year-old finished fifth on the event after suffering a puncture on the Friday.       

Ogier’s 2024 schedule beyond Croatia is yet to be announced.

Toyota’s rival Hyundai is also yet to officially announce its driver roster for Croatia, although it is likely that Andreas Mikkelsen will take over the third i20 N from Sweden winner Esapekka Lappi, who will be in action in Kenya next week.



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