Jan 23, 2023 11:23 JST

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation

Ogier claims ninth Monte win in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two

TOKYO, Jan 23, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has started the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with a one-two finish on Rallye Monte-Carlo as Sebastien Ogier claimed a record ninth victory on the legendary event ahead of team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.

Car 17 (Sebastien Ogier, Vincent Landais)
 


Mostly dry weather made this year's rally more a test of outright performance than usual, and Ogier set the pace from the start with five straight stage wins as he opened up a lead of half a minute by Friday lunchtime.

The GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID was fastest in the first 11 stages of the season, its streak only ended on Saturday afternoon - by which point Ogier was focused on managing his lead. He carried an advantage of 16 seconds over Rovanpera into the final day, when he proceeded to claim his eighth and ninth stage wins of the weekend and finished up with a winning margin of 18.8s.

Ogier's 56th WRC win is also the first for his co-driver Vincent Landais, in only the second event since he began working with the up-and-coming French navigator at the end of last season. It is also Toyota's fifth Monte win with a fifth different model of car: the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID winning all but two of the 18 stages across the weekend.

With Ogier once more only contesting selected events this season, second place plus victory in the rally-ending Power Stage represents an ideal start to Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen's defence of their first championship titles. Rovanpera grew in confidence and speed during the rally, taking six stage wins in total on his way to a first Rallye Monte-Carlo podium.

Elfyn Evans displayed similarly strong pace to his team-mates throughout the weekend and was second to Ogier before losing around 40s with a damaged tyre in SS5 on Friday morning. He and co-driver Scott Martin fought back to finish fourth, 27.8s from the podium despite a brief spin on Sunday morning. He was also third in the Power Stage to claim three additional bonus points.

The strong start to the season for TGR was completed by Takamoto Katsuta in his WRC Challenge Program-supported entry. He produced his strongest Rallye Monte-Carlo performance to-date alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston, frequently joining his team-mates in the top-four on stage times and finishing sixth overall.

For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2023/rd01-day4/.

Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Sectors: Automotive

Copyright ©2025 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.

Related Press Release


New Land Cruiser "FJ" Makes World Premiere
October 21 2025 20:29 JST
 
Sumitomo Metal Mining and Toyota Collaborate on Mass Production of Cathode Materials for All-Solid-State Batteries
October 09 2025 19:40 JST
 
Toyota Launches Strategic Investment Subsidiary and Woven Capital Fund II to Accelerate Transformation into a Mobility Company
September 30 2025 18:34 JST
 
Toyota Announces Sales, Production, and Export Results for August 2025
September 29 2025 14:11 JST
 
Isuzu and Toyota to Jointly Develop Next-Generation Fuel Cell Route Bus
September 29 2025 13:42 JST
 
Toyota Woven City Officially Launches as a Test Course for the Future of Mobility
September 26 2025 18:18 JST
 
Upgraded GR Corolla Set for Japan Launch
September 18 2025 23:48 JST
 
Toyota Launches Next-Generation New Mobility e-Palette
September 15 2025 14:33 JST
 
GR Yaris "Aero performance package" Set for Japan Launch
September 12 2025 13:40 JST
 
TGR Plans to Reproduce Engine Parts for Corolla Levin / Sprinter Trueno (AE86)
September 10 2025 17:11 JST
 
More Press release >>

Latest Press Release


More Latest Release >>