ENGLISH
|
JAPANESE
|
CONNECT WITH US:
Home
About
Contact
Log in
*
Home
Press release
May 24, 2021 10:33 JST
Source:
Toyota Motor Corporation
Evans wins, Ogier on the podium for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
Toyota City, Japan, May 24, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is celebrating its third win and double podium finish from four events so far in 2021 after Elfyn Evans claimed victory at the Rally de Portugal. Sebastien Ogier finished third and continues to lead the drivers' championship - two points in front of Evans - while the team has extended its lead in the manufacturers' standings.
Car 33 (Elfyn Evans, Scott Martin)
Along with co-driver Scott Martin, Evans drove a consistent and intelligent rally and was rewarded with the lead on Saturday afternoon. His advantage coming into the final day's five stages was a narrow 10.7 seconds, but he stormed through the opening test 8.9s quicker than anyone else to almost double his margin. He claimed two further stage wins later during the morning - bringing his tally for the weekend to six - and ultimately sealed victory by 28.3s. It's the fourth win of his WRC career, and his third since joining Toyota at the start of 2020.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia recovered well from the disadvantage of running first on the road on Friday and sweeping the loose gravel stages. Securing third overall, he saved his tyres for the rally-ending Power Stage to try and secure as many points as possible. He set the third-best time, giving him three bonus points and his two-point advantage in the standings over Evans, who was fifth-fastest in the same test as he sealed the overall win.
Finishing a superb fourth place after a fast and consistent weekend, Takamoto Katsuta claimed the best result of his career to-date, driving a Yaris WRC as part of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program.
After retiring due to technical reasons on Saturday afternoon, Kalle Rovanpera restarted this morning, taking the opportunity to gain further knowledge and also setting the fourth-best time in the Power Stage.
Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
"We are very, very happy with this result. At the beginning of the rally it wasn't looking like we would finish on the highest step of the podium. But in rallying you have to complete every corner until the end of the very last stage, and in the end we won the rally, which is always a fantastic feeling. Elfyn has been the most consistent driver over the weekend and the performance has been at a high level as well. And generally the team has been doing really good work over the weekend with a lot of positive things to take away: Seb scoring the third place, bringing great points for the championship, and also Takamoto taking his best ever result in fourth. Unfortunately it was a more disappointing rally for Kalle, but I'm sure he will be very motivated to come back strongly."
Sebastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
"Today we were focused on securing the third place overall and securing some bonus points in the Power Stage. We couldn't get the maximum there but three points is certainly better than nothing, and 18 points overall from the weekend is a positive result. I don't like when I'm not able to fight for the very top positions, but that was kind of expected coming here leading the championship and running first on the road, so we did what we could. We need to keep working and improve the pace for the next rally in Sardinia and see what we can do there, even though I expect it will again be challenging. Every time we score good points is a step towards the championship."
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
"Obviously it's a fantastic way to finish by clinching the win. It wasn't all plain sailing all the way through the weekend, and we maybe weren't the absolute fastest crew, but we still had really good pace and the performance was generally quite consistent. This morning we knew that there wasn't such a big gap to second place, so we had to go out and give it our all. That's what we did, and we managed to set a few good times just to build up a bit of an advantage. In Croatia it was quite painful to miss out so it feels good to get this one sealed with relatively little drama."
Kalle Rovanpera (Driver car 69)
"From my side the weekend has been a disappointment. We had many issues and lost some good points from this, but that's rallying sometimes and we just have to continue onto the next one. Today we had the chance to test some different setups for the car in the first loop to help prepare for the next rallies. After that, we didn't have such good tyres for the Power Stage compared to some other drivers. I really tried to push to the maximum that I could, and it was good that we got at least two points - it was just not really possible to get a better time with the tyres that we had."
For the latest results please visit www.wrc.com
What's next?
Rally Italia Sardegna (June 3-6) features fast and narrow stages coated with fine and sandy gravel, which is swept away by each passing car to leave rockier and rutted roads. Exposed rocks, as well as trees at the side of the road, can catch out the unwary. Temperatures can often be high, increasing the stress on the cars and the tyres.
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Sectors: Automotive
Copyright ©2024 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.
Latest Release
First-ever Mazda CX-80 Crossover SUV Unveiled in Europe
Apr 19, 2024 13:50 JST
Fujitsu develops technology to convert corporate digital identity credentials, enabling participation of non-European companies in European data spaces
Apr 19, 2024 10:17 JST
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NGK to Jointly Develop Hydrogen Purification System from Ammonia Cracking Gas
Apr 18, 2024 17:01 JST
Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan
Apr 18, 2024 13:39 JST
Fujitsu and Oracle collaborate to deliver sovereign cloud and AI capabilities in Japan
Apr 18, 2024 11:14 JST
Eisai: Research on Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease Based on Its Pathological Mechanisms Recieves Award for Science and Technology (Research Category)
Apr 18, 2024 10:53 JST
All-New Triton Confirmed as First Double-Cab Pickup Truck to Achieve 2024 Five-Star ANCAP Safety Rating
Apr 18, 2024 09:22 JST
Eisai's Antiepileptic Drug Fycompa Injection Formulation Launched In Japan
Apr 17, 2024 16:17 JST
Honda Unveils Next-generation EV Series for China
Apr 17, 2024 12:15 JST
Lexus presents Time at the 2024 Milan Design Week
Apr 16, 2024 18:49 JST
Mitsubishi Corporation Announces Participation in a DAC Project in Louisiana, USA
Apr 16, 2024 14:36 JST
New circuit challenge for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
Apr 15, 2024 17:21 JST
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing back on asphalt for Croatian challenge
Apr 12, 2024 19:36 JST
Heidelberg Materials North America Announces Latest Milestone in Edmonton CCUS Project
Apr 12, 2024 14:39 JST
MHIAEL Completes Expansion of the its Nagasaki Plant for Manufacture of Aero Engine Combustors
Apr 11, 2024 18:08 JST
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Acquires Approval in Principle (AiP) from Classification Society ClassNK for Ammonia Fuel Supply System (AFSS)
Apr 11, 2024 17:50 JST
DOCOMO, NTT, NEC and Fujitsu Develop Top-level Sub-terahertz 6G Device Capable of Ultra-high-speed 100 Gbps Transmission
Apr 11, 2024 15:10 JST
Mitsubishi Corporation Announces Completion of Capital Raise by Nexamp
Apr 11, 2024 13:07 JST
Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Receives Order for Ammonia Fuel Supply System for Ammonia-Powered Marine Engine
Apr 10, 2024 16:55 JST
Transgene and NEC Present First Clinical Benefits of Neoantigen Cancer Vaccine, TG4050, in Head & Neck Cancer at AACR 2024
Apr 10, 2024 13:36 JST
More Latest Release >>
Related Release
Toyota Launches All-New Land Cruiser "250" Series in Japan
4/18/2024 1:39:00 PM JST
Lexus presents Time at the 2024 Milan Design Week
4/16/2024 6:49:00 PM JST
New circuit challenge for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
4/15/2024 5:21:00 PM JST
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing back on asphalt for Croatian challenge
4/12/2024 7:36:00 PM JST
Daihatsu and Toyota to Reform Structures towards the Revitalization of Daihatsu
4/8/2024 1:37:00 PM JST
Toyota Completes Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama Research and Development Facility for Making Ever-better Cars
4/2/2024 11:28:00 AM JST
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing roars to fourth successive Safari triumph
4/1/2024 10:47:00 AM JST
Toyota Releases Sales, Production, and Export Results for February 2024
3/28/2024 1:35:00 PM JST
PEVE to change name to TOYOTA BATTERY Co., Ltd. and produce batteries for a wide range of electric vehicles
3/27/2024 3:13:00 PM JST
Toyota to Open New Tokyo Head Office in Shinagawa in FY2030
3/22/2024 4:15:00 PM JST
More Press release >>