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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing: Strong Debut for the GR YARIS Rally1 with Second Place for Ogier
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Ogier had been on course to claim a record-extending ninth win on the famous event before a cruel late twist in the thrilling weekend-long battle for the victory, suffering a flat front-left tyre on the penultimate stage of the rally. The time lost turned his lead of 24.6 seconds into a deficit of 9.5s. Along with new co-driver Benjamin Veillas, Ogier gave his all in the final stage and, having been handed a 10-second penalty for a jump start, finished just 10.5s from the win.
Fourth was an impressive result for Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, who made huge strides forward in pace and confidence in their new car from Saturday onwards. In all they claimed three stage wins, including on the rally-ending Power Stage. The five bonus points put Rovanpera third in the championship as the leading full-season contender, with Ogier to contest selected events this year after stepping away from full-time competition.
Elfyn Evans was also in the battle for the lead until he went off the road on Saturday's SS11 and lost 20 minutes. On the final day he set his sights on scoring bonus points in the Power Stage and completed a one-two in the stage for the GR YARIS Rally1.
All three of the team's drivers claimed stage wins over the weekend and the car was fastest on nine of the 17 stages. It demonstrated both impressive performance and reliability despite the challenges of the new Rally1 regulations, which included the introduction of hybrid power to rallying's top level for the first time. In Monaco to join the team and witness the GR YARIS Rally1's successful debut was Kazuki Nakajima, the recently-appointed Vice Chairman of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta recorded his third consecutive Rallye Monte-Carlo finish in the top category and claimed eighth place overall, setting a pair of top-three stage times on the final day and scoring the first points for the newly-established TGR WRT Next Generation.
Quotes:
Akio Toyoda (Team Founder)
"It was so close for Seb to achieve his ninth victory in Rallye Monte-Carlo, but I was happy to see that the cooperation with his new co-driver, Benjamin, seemed to be working well. His driving feeling with our new partner, the GR YARIS Rally1, also seemed to be fairly good. This new partner is an electrified car following the new regulations to make this sport more sustainable. I assume it required delicate handling despite its strong power, but Seb quickly made friends with despite it being slightly difficult. I respect him for being able to make friends right away. Also, I would like to express my respect to the leadership of the FIA, WRC Promoter, and all others involved in the preparations as they have helped this historic and traditional World Rally Championship move toward the realisation of carbon-neutrality with electrified cars and new fuel.
Our other crews seemed to be struggling a bit with our new partner, but it was great that a TGR driver set the best time in all stages on Day 3. How well our crew and GR YARIS Rally1 cars are going to get along event by event is something new to look forward to this season, although I still feel something is missing when I see the rally cars leaving the service park quietly.
The base car of our rally car was Yaris until last year, and it changed to GR Yaris from this year. GR Yaris is a production sports car that we, Toyota, made by ourselves to win in motorsports. The car has finally started the real competition stage now. I'm so glad, and I would like to thank everyone who has worked together with me to build GR Yaris. I know that the members who built GR YARIS Rally1 from the GR Yaris also went through a lot of troubles and worked very hard. I have to sincerely thank all members in Finland led by Jari-Matti, and all members in Cologne. The season has just begun and I believe we can continue the good work together.
To the fans, I appreciate your continued support for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team this season. Thank you very much.
P.S.
To the fans and spectators who helped Elfyn and Takamoto on the stages. I watched the videos on social media. Thanks to your big help, two cars were able to continue the rally. Thank you so much!
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
"For sure there is some disappointment in this moment because we were so close to winning, but this is motorsport sometimes and we have to accept it. The most important thing is that we know we have a car that is capable of winning and a car which is reliable and this gives us the strength to look to the future and the rest of the season. Seb did a really good job and unfortunately he just didn't have luck on his side today. Kalle has improved so much from the beginning of the rally and he did a really great Power Stage today. Elfyn also showed great performance here, just with a small mistake yesterday, but he also did a good drive in the Power Stage which helps us in the championship. I want to say congratulations to M-Sport and Ford, because it is nice to be competing at the front with them again, and also to Sebastien Loeb for an amazing achievement; it was an incredible battle this weekend that I know the fans really enjoyed."
Sebastien Ogier (Driver car 1)
"It has been a huge joy to compete in this special rally again and to be in this incredible fight. This weekend we don't come out as the winner but we can definitely keep our head up. Together with Benjamin and the team we did the job. We have done a great performance over the weekend and there were no issues on the car, which is a fantastic achievement. Fate decided differently today but I'm still smiling and I still enjoyed this fight very much. Honestly I feel there was nothing I could do about what happened on the penultimate stage. It was a cut I avoided on the first pass but on the second pass it was impossible to avoid, it was very dirty and I had to follow the line of the others. But well done to Sebastien and Isabelle for the victory, they have done a remarkable performance and it was a very tough fight. It's been a good weekend for the sport."
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
"It's been an encouraging weekend in some ways but it's massively frustrating to make the error that was so costly yesterday. I had a good feeling in the car but that doesn't count for much because we finish the rally with very few points, which is a disappointment. I had a pretty good run in the Power Stage but maybe towards the end I didn't make the most of the hybrid system in the tricky conditions. Overall the team has done a really good job. We didn't have a lot of testing but I found a much happier place with the car during the event. I think it performed really well without any issues, so a big thank you to the team."
Kalle Rovanpera (Driver car 69)
"I am really happy to see the progress we made during the rally. I didn't really know what was happening at the beginning but we believed in ourselves, pushed hard and found a good pace in the car. We did everything we could and finally got the setup much better and I could start to learn the car myself. I have to say big thanks to my engineer for pushing with me and doing big changes to the car. So it was a really positive weekend in the end and we could do a good run in the Power Stage also. It's important to get all the points we can so it's nice to be in this position, even if it means we will be cleaning the road in Sweden. That's going to be a bit tricky but we will do our best to be ready for that."
For the latest results please visit www.wrc.com
What's next?
Rally Sweden (February 24-27) is the only full winter event of the season taking place on snow and ice. This year the event moves further north to a new base in Umea meaning all of the stages will be new to the drivers. Metal studs inserted into the tyres bite into the ice to provide grip and allow for some of the highest speeds of the year.
Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comThe TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has completed a strong debut event for the new GR YARIS Rally1 with Sebastien Ogier claiming second overall and Kalle Rovanpera finishing fourth at Rallye Monte-Carlo.
Dakar 2022: A showcase in the Desert
- 44th Edition of the Dakar Rally concludes in Saudi Arabia
- Record number of competitors took part in this year's event
- Motul plays important role in reliability and performance of competitors
Singapore, Jan 18, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - For motorsports fans, the start and end of the calendar year are always relatively quiet with little to no racing to watch. However, one competition that makes up for the lack of races is the Dakar Rally. The 2-week long event kicked off the year in classic rallying fashion on the 1st of Jan, ringing in the new year. Motul has been a long term technical partner of the Dakar, having stepped up in 2018 to become a Major Partner of the event. The 12-stage rally competition saw several Motul teams competing across various classes, along with Motul products being used to provide reliability and performance to the vehicles under extreme conditions.
The Dakar Rally is considered the world's most legendary off-road race and this year it was held in the heart of the middle east, in Saudi Arabia. For Motul, the Dakar presents the best living laboratory to test and develop its products under punishing conditions. In collaboration with some of the most successful factory teams like Monster Energy Honda Team, Sherco Racing Factory, Toyota Auto Body, Can-Am Factory South Racing and many more, Motul offers specially designed and highly adapted lubricants derived from its flagship 300V line to deliver optimal power and consistency. The products are carefully scrutineered before and after every stage of the event to derive invaluable insights on how performance is affected under varying conditions. This allows Motul to further enhance its winning formula and keep evolving to cater for the needs of modern engines.
The 44th edition of the Dakar Rally saw over 1,000 drivers from 65 different nationalities take part across 7 different classes (Bikes, Quads, Cars, Light Prototypes, SSVs, Trucks and Classics) with Motul teams in each category. The event witnessed 578 vehicles entered, out of which were 34 unassisted Original by Motul riders. Several competitors also relied on the advice and expertise of Motul's Motorsport Technical Team which works on global events such as the MotoGP and 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team of experts, available with the Motul Racing Laboratory at every Service Center assisted the competitors by providing daily oil analysis to ensure maximum performance under gruelling and unforgiving running conditions for engines.
For Motul, the Dakar Rally is an integral part of the development and innovation process for the year. The French lubricant manufacturer strives to improve and enhance its products at every step of the way. The process kicks off in the desert with vehicles covering more than 8,500 km over the course of 14 days, pushing the machines to the limit. Motul is also a big part of the competition with the return of the "Original by Motul" category which is open to drivers and riders from all categories who take part with no assistance or backup. Thanks to Motul, these courageous gladiators are given recognition and some basic comfort in the bivouacs between various stages in the event. Along with comfort, they are also welcome to employ products from Motul's vast range of offerings in engine oils, coolants, brake fluid, transmission fluid and other maintenance and care products that enhance chances to perform to the best of their abilities.
About Motul
Motul is a world-class French company specialised in the formulation, production and distribution of high-tech engine lubricants (two-wheelers, cars and other vehicles) as well as lubricants for industry via its Motul Tech activity. Motul offers a whole range of products for everyday car use, including the 8100, H-tech, RBF series, ATF, CVTF and DCTF among others. Motul products ensure all parts of the car are kept in pristine condition to extract maximum performance and reliability.
Unanimously recognised for more than 150 years for the quality of its products, innovation capacity and involvement in the field of competition, Motul is also recognised as a specialist in synthetic lubricants. As early as 1971, Motul was the first lubricant manufacturer to pioneer the formulation of a 100% synthetic lubricant, issued from the aeronautical industry, making use of esters technology: 300V lubricant. In 2021, Motul launched the newest iteration of the 300V with revolutionary technology, setting a new benchmark for high-performance lubricants.
Motul is a partner to many manufacturers and racing teams in order to further their technological development in motorsports. It has invested in many international competitions as an official supplier for several championship winning racing teams.
Motul is committed to its growing business presence in Asia Pacific. Over the years, the company has expanded operations significantly. Currently it has 3 major manufacturing facilities and 2 R&D centres across the region to cater to the ever-growing demand. These centres focus on refining the lubricant technology for Asian climate and driving conditions, which are vastly different from Europe.
MOTUL Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd
1A International Business Park, #06-03
Singapore 609933
www.motul.com
For more information, please contact Motul at [email protected]
Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.comFor motorsports fans, the start and end of the calendar year are always relatively quiet with little to no racing to watch. However, one competition that makes up for the lack of races is the Dakar Rally.
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