Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team aim to continue their recent winning run when they compete on home roads at Rally Finland this week with an expanded all-star driver line-up.
The high-speed gravel stages of central Finland from 1 to 4 August are the fastest and most spectacular in the FIA World Rally Championship and also home ground for TGR-WRT, who are based not far from the service park in Jyväskylä and have a tally of five wins from the last six editions of the event.
As well as defending that proud record, the team will look to carry on their recent positive momentum in the championship, having closed to within one point of the lead in the manufacturers’ standings with consecutive one-two finishes on rapid gravel rallies in Poland and Latvia. To maximise their chances and celebrate their home rally in style, the team have assembled their strongest and largest line-up yet of GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid crews, with five cars entered in the top class.
The drivers include both of the team’s multiple world champions, Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier; their cars will carry unique liveries inspired by the special edition GR Yaris models they helped to launch earlier this year. Jyväskylä’s own double world champions Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen have the opportunity to claim a first Rally Finland victory and complete a high-speed summer hat-trick following their Poland and Latvia wins. Ogier meanwhile returns to Finnish roads for the first time since winning his eighth WRC title in 2021, fresh from a strong second-place finish with co-driver Vincent Landais in Latvia.
Championship contenders Elfyn Evans (above) and Scott Martin are the most successful of TGR-WRT’s crews on Rally Finland after claiming victory in both 2021 and 2023, making them one of only three foreign crews to have won the event more than once. Last year they were joined on the podium by Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston, on what Katsuta considers a second home event having moved to Jyväskylä from Japan to pursue his rally career with the TGR WRC Challenge Program.
Rising Finnish stars Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen will be making their Rally1 debut on their home roads after impressing in the WRC2 class this year with the GR Yaris Rally2 car. Their car will also sport a special colour scheme, with a predominantly white livery that highlights TGR-WRT’s commitment to supporting young rally talent.
In another special draw for Finnish rally fans, Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala will drive in his home event for the second successive year together with Juho Hänninen as his co-driver – this time in a GR Yaris Rally2.
Elfyn Evans said, “Rally Finland is always a highlight on the calendar for me. It’s going to be an important week for the team and for the championship.
“We’ve been strong there in the past and should have a reasonable base to work from, and with the testing we’re doing this week, we should be in a pretty good place to start the rally.
“The road cleaning effect is normally not as significant as we found in Latvia, so it’s usually possible to fight at the front, but we will have to wait and see how the weather conditions are in the days leading up to Friday. Overall, I’m looking forward to it, as always: the roads are amazing to drive and the best approach will be to enjoy it and see what comes.”
The closest FIA World Rally Championship title fight in recent memory resumes on Finland’s iconic roller-coaster roads this week, with little more than a handful of points blanketing the leading trio of drivers.
Thierry Neuville, 2019 champion Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans are the big three as far as the 2024 title race is concerned. Neuville, runner-up in the series on five occasions, heads Hyundai colleague Tänak by eight points after eight rounds. Evans, who has narrowly missed out on the title twice, lies five points further back.
Based out of ther central City of Jyväskylä, Finland is the fastest event on the calendar and a jewel in the WRC’s crown. Smooth gravel roads with heart-stopping jumps and blind corners winding through forests and around lakes demand bravery and pin-point accuracy in the delivery of pace notes.
Neuville is eager to put the frustrations of Tet Rally Latvia behind him, when road-opening duties on the soft gravel roads deprived him of a chance to fight with the frontrunners.
“Being on the podium here previously provides a confidence boost, however the cars and roads develop year-to-year so the rally remains as challenging as ever,” he said. “The target is still to defend our lead in both championships but also to enjoy this fast rally and really be in the game.”
Estonia’s Tänak, who joins Neuville plus Esapekka Lappi in a three-strong i20 N Rally1 team, is one of the favourites to take victory with three previous Finland wins to his credit, but Evans has also proved his mettle on the fast-paced roads, taking glory here in 2021 and 2023.
The Japanese marque, which bases its rally activities from Jyväskylä, will also field GR Yaris Rally1 cars for Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari, the latter making his debut at rallying’s top level with co-driver Enni Mälkönen alongside.
At M-Sport Ford, Adrien Fourmaux will look to add a fourth podium to his 2024 tally while Grégoire Munster pilots the British team’s second Puma Rally1 car.
The rally opens with a spectacular street stage in Jyväskylä on Thursday night and drivers face 20 tests, including the legendary Ouninpohja, covering 305.69km before Sunday afternoon’s finish.