Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT bags double podium at Ypres Rally Belgium

MANILA: Elfyn Evans and Esapekka Lappi both completed on the podium for the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR WRT) at the Ypres Rally Belgium. Evans placed just five seconds away from first place with Lappi in third.

The agricultural roads of West Flanders, which were hosting a round of the FIA World Rally Championship for the second time, once again lived up to their historical reputation as one of asphalt rallying's most challenging tests with frequent surface changes and little room for error.

The second stage of the race on Friday morning saw many drivers caught off guard, including Kalle Rovanperä of TGR WRT. This was the young Finn's first serious setback after an impressive season thus far.

Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen were able to rejoin the following day under restart regulations and compete for points in the rally's final Power Stage over the renowned Kemmelberg cobblestone climb thanks to a thorough refurbishment of their car by the team's mechanics. With four rounds left, the TGR WRT team set the fastest time to depart Belgium with a comfortable 72-point lead in the championship.

With a fantastically consistent and flawless weekend on a rally where their only prior experience came eight years ago, Lappi and co-driver Janne Ferm earned their third podium from six starts and second in as many weeks. They also had a top-four pace from the get-go. The outcome guarantees that TGR WRT will maintain its commanding 88-point lead in the manufacturers' standings.

Takamoto Katsuta, who competed in his TGR WRT Next Generation car with co-driver Aaron Johnston, overcame a problem on Friday morning to finish fifth. He is currently the only driver to have finished every rally in the top 10 this season.

On the circuits of the Ypres Rally in Belgium, the ground-breaking Toyota GR Yaris H2 concept was unveiled to the public. Toyota rally hero Juha Kankkunen concluded the event by winning the Power Stage in the hydrogen-powered vehicle riding on Pirelli tires.

Team founder Akio Toyoda had the opportunity to ride alongside Kankkunen on the most diverse stage of the weekend before congratulating his drivers at the podium after racing the GR Yaris H2 personally on Saturday.

Toyota Gazoo Racing Founder Toyoda also shared his recollection of the TGR WRT run in Rally Belgium.

“First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to the mechanics. Before I joined the team on Saturday morning, the news about Kalle and Jonne came in. It was similar to what happened to Esapekka and Janne in Finland, but it seemed goggles wouldn’t help the situation this time. I was disappointed that I might not be able to see Kalle’s driving, but I got a message late at night that the repair was done and the team was waiting for my visit the next morning.

I really thank the mechanics for working very hard to fix the car for Kalle and Jonne. Thanks to them and all involved, I was able to see all four cars of TGR running up close.

Motorsport is really a sport. I believe people get excited because sports stimulate our five senses, and that’s why I want to keep the engine's vibration and exhaust sound in motorsports. While we are trying to achieve carbon neutrality, we still want to keep the excitement. It was great that we were able to share that feeling in Europe.”

Elfyn Evans also expressed his sentiments at the rally. “You can never be completely happy to finish second but it’s been a strong weekend overall. There were just a few unfortunate things that cost us some time here and there, but that’s rallying and it’s part of the game.

The car was good and it was nice to be in the fight from the beginning of the rally. We made some good steps for the final day with the setup and I feel really comfortable with where we ended up at the end of the rally. Today we tried to keep the pressure on Ott, and we knew it was a bit of a tall order with the limited kilometers we had left but we clawed back some time; as we expected it just wasn’t quite enough.”

Photos from Toyota Gazoo Racing

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