Elfyn Evans’ challenge for the WRC Championship all but evaporated this morning after crashing into a barn door in stage 11.

Rovanpera spun in stage 10 and lost half his lead to third placed Thierry Neuville which became second after Evans’ exit. In the final stage before the mid-day service, Rovanpera eased up on his relentless pace, which allowed the Belgian crew into the lead with an 11.1 second lead.

Ott Tanak is in a lonely third, followed by Sebastian Ogier

To all the team members of TGR-WRT, congratulations on winning the manufacturers’ title!

This year Elfyn was the driving force behind the manufacturers’ title with six podiums including two wins out of 11 events so far. Elfyn and Scott, thank you for getting the third place, which became the deciding factor to conclude the title today. And Kalle and Jonne’s three victories were of course a big help as well. I hope both Elfyn and Kalle will drive without regrets for the remaining two rallies, in Central Europe and Japan. I am confident that the team will prepare the best cars, so I expect you two will give it your all. 

As a team, we secured the title in the 11th round, which is one round earlier than last year. I think it says that the team has become even stronger. I would like to thank Jari-Matti from the bottom of my heart for continuing to work with everybody to make the team stronger after already winning the manufacturers’ title in his first year as the Team Principal. I am really looking forward to seeing everybody in Japan! 

Akio Toyoda
Chairman, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team
P.S. 
Kalle, happy birthday! As a drifting fan, Morizo is looking forward to seeing your driving in Okayama next week! 

Elfyn Evans secured victory in the Croatia Rally after a day in which most crews focused on bringing their cars home. Ott Tanak finished in second, 27s behind after taking no risks after the issues he suffered on Saturday. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi brought home his Hyundai in third 58.6s back.

The finale of the rally consists of four stages north of Zagreb. Trakoscan – Vrbno takes in a 13^th-century lakeside castle and is then followed by Zagorska Sela – Kumrovec. The two stages are then repeated with the latter being used as the Wolf Power Stage.

The opening stage went well for Evans as the Welshman extended his lead over Tanak to 30s after setting the third-fastest time. Whilst Evans was confident, he set a good time in relation to the stage winner, Kalle Rovanpera, it was still enough to extend the gap.

It was a gap that would be pegged back slightly by Tanak as the M-Sport Ford driver finished 1.3s ahead of the Toyota. The field however were battling for confidence on the test with drivers coming away with the feeling that there was time still on the table. The second pass of Trakoscan – Vrbno saw Tanak make a very small dent in Evans’s lead once again but on completion of the stage Tanak said his main focus was bringing the car home in second.

“I am thinking about taking the car home, nothing else,” said Tanak. “It’s challenging so let’s see. I was fooled with the start of this one – the clock froze.”

Tanak stuck to his word as Elfyn Evans grabbed his first win of the season and his first since Finland in 2021. However, Evans was more reflective on the loss of Craig Breen rather than the final result.

“It feels so insignificant now again really, that’s the bottom line,” said Evans. “We’ve been working towards this for a long time but it’s surprising how little it means just at the moment. We’re back to missing our friend after the real focus of the weekend and straight away after crossing the finish line that’s all we think about.”

Upon claiming second place, Tanak was still ruing the performance and consistency of his car: “Result-wise, it’s a lot for sure. For sure we are missing a lot of consistency and also performance as well. We got some good points and hopefully, the speed will follow.”

Behind the leading two, Lappi was comfortably running in third as the Hyundai driver geared up for the Wolf Power Stage. The Finn had just been making sure to not take any risks and close out the rally in a good position which he well and truly did to grab a podium for Hyundai after a tough couple of weeks.

“I don’t know where to start to be honest,” said Lappi at the end of the stage. “I am sure it was not easy to come here for most of us. It’s been really tough, but we kept our heads together and with a smart drive we managed to be on the podium which is very important for me and the team.”

Behind Lappi, Rovanpera and Ogier had been going blow for blow over the first three stages of the day. The reigning champion started by finishing SS17 3.7s ahead of Ogier and jumping into fourth place. A further 5.4s gain in SS18 gave Rovanpera a 6.2s second gap to the Frenchman with SS19 only providing a further 0.1s addition.

Rovanpera went on to claim fourth after distancing himself further from Ogier with a final gap of 9.3s. Ogier’s team-mate Takamoto Katsuta finished sixth and Pierre-Louis Loubet claimed seventh and was the final Rally1 car in the top ten.

Thierry Neuville took full Wolf Power Stage points from Kalle Rovanpera by 0.9s. Ogier followed in third.

In WRC2, Yohan Rossel secured victory over Nikolay Gryazin and Emil Lindholm. Oliver Solberg finished third in the category but is not scoring points in this round.

Final Standings

1. Evans 2hr 50min 54.3s
2. Tanak +27s
3. Lappi +58.6s
4. Rovanpera +1 min 18.3s
5. Ogier +1min 28s
6. Katsuta +2min 22.5s

Elfyn Evans leads Ott Tanak by 25.4s heading into the final day of running. The Welshman inherited the lead after Thierry Neuville crashed out of the rally during the third stage of the day. Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi sits in third but 55.4s behind the leading Toyota.

Day 2 of the Croatia Rally saw the crews return to similar territory which opened with Kostanjevac – Petrus Vrh. Vinski – Duga Resa follows with a brand-new stage, Ravna Gora – Skrad, being tackled afterwards. Platak ended the loop which was repeated in the afternoon after service.

Heading into Saturday, Hyundai’s Neuville was leading Evans by 5.7s which he then duly stretched over the first two tests of the day. Drama would strike however on the all-new third stage of the day when his car had a moment coming through a right-hand corner. The rear left of the car ended up hitting a concrete block which caused terminal damage to the car and any hopes of the Belgian winning in Croatia.

Evans claimed the top spot as a result but there was mounting pressure from behind in the form of Ott Tanak. At the midday service, Tanak trailed the Welshman by 22.6s but the Estonian proceeded to pile on the pressure as he gained a rhythm in his Puma. In SS13 Tanak brought the gap down to 15.9s followed by another deficit decrease after SS14. Heading into SS15, Evans was slightly perplexed as he felt he was running quickly, but the time just wasn’t coming.

“I’m surprised to lose that much. I’ve got a better feeling in the car, but the time doesn’t feel so good!” said Evans after SS14.

But Evans increased the gap out to 16.9s in the penultimate stage of the day, in part owing to Tanak suffering from handbrake issues which meant he couldn’t use it. The final stage saw Tanak still struggling with the mechanical issue so Evans was able to capitalise further and stretch the gap to 25.4s at the end of the day.

“I can’t say I’m pleased. I wasn’t so happy with the way I drove in there and if Ott had problems, I wouldn’t wish that on him,” commented Evans. It’s not nice to exploit a gap like that but there’s a long way to go.”

Esapekka Lappi moved into third as a result of Neuville’s retirement but lacked confidence in his car all day. The upside, however, is that the Finn has a huge gap back to fourth place, meaning as long as Lappi keeps it consistent on the final day, he will be on for a podium.

Pierre-Louis Loubet jumped to fourth after the morning leg as the Frenchman had benefitted from not only Neuville’s crash but also Ogier’s time penalty. Ogier received a one-minute time penalty overnight due to not having his safety harness properly tightened then was also slapped with a further 10s penalty before running had restarted due to a technical issue meant he arrived late at the first stage of the day.

Ogier’s fighting nature though meant that he produced another comeback to pass Loubet and Takamoto Katsuta to battle reigning champion, Kalle Rovanpera, for fifth place. The final stage of the day saw Ogier and Rovanpera separated by 1.3s at the start but it was Ogier that came out on top but only with a 2s gap with one day to go.

Katsuta finished the day in sixth after struggling for pace all day with Loubet eventually dropping out of the top six with a similar problem.

Yohan Rossel continues to lead Nikolay Gryazin in WRC2 with Emil Lindholm, third in the category.

Standings after Saturday

1. Evans 2hrs 20min 5.7s
2. Tanak +25.4s
3. Lappi +55.4s
4. Ogier +1min 49.4s
5. Rovanpera +1min 51.4s
6. Katsuta +2min 25.9s

Takamoto Katsuta has been moved to the main Toyota Gazoo Racing team as part of an otherwise unchanged line-up for the 2023 World Rally Championship season.

Katsuta has been part of Toyota’s WRC Challenge program with the Japanese competing under the Toyota Gazoo Racing Next Generation banner in a factory Yaris. After a strong and consistent year which involved three podiums and a top-five championship finish, Katsuta will now be alternating drives with Sebastien Ogier as he undertakes another part-time campaign in 2023.

Ogier hasn’t confirmed the rounds at which he will appear, however at the rounds he does, Katsuta will be driving an identical Yaris outside of the team so won’t be eligible to score manufacturers’ points. Katsuta’s promotion also means that Esapekka Lappi will no longer be part of the Toyota squad despite scoring three podiums in seven events.

Elfyn Evans and 2022 Drivers’ Champion, Kalle Rovanpera return for 2023 with the team.  

Team Principal, Jari-Matti Latvala commented: “It’s very nice to welcome Takamoto into our main line-up to share a car with Sébastien while also still gaining the experience of a full season,” continuing: “We believe the time is right for him to make this step: In 2022 he was the WRC’s most consistent scorer so we are confident he can bring good points for the team.”

Talking about the targets for next season, he said: “As a team we have enjoyed an extremely good season in 2022. To win all three titles for the third year in a row will be a big challenge but that is certainly our target next season, and we need to keep working together to achieve it.”

Celebrating your 21^st birthday by threading a state-of-the art World Rally Car through the world’s fastest rally special stages chasing a win in front of your passionate home-town fans sounds rather like a comic-book story, or does it…

That’s the reality for Finland’s Kalle Rovanperä, currently the hottest property in the FIA World Rally Championship right now. And tomorrow Rovanperä will put the birthday presents to one side to chase a third straight gravel win, after becoming the WRC’s youngest-ever event winner in Estonia in July. The young Finn followed up that with a victory in Greece earlier this month.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver is the latest motorsport hero from Jyväskylä, the traditional home of the fastest round in the WRC calendar. Drivers born there have celebrated a remarkable 45 rally wins in the series’ 49-year history, including four-time world champion Tommi Mäkinen, Mikko Hirvonen, Henri Toivonen and Rovanperä’s father, Harri.

 “Driving Rally Finland in a World Rally Car is going to be one of the coolest things for me in my career so far,” he admitted. “A home rally is always different and Rally Finland is something special. You can really feel the atmosphere there.”

Cars frequently top 125mph on roads amid the forests and lakes of central Finland that can resemble a rollercoaster. The speed, big jumps and blind crests masking corners mean pace notes must be perfect and delivered with pinpoint accuracy by hard-working co-drivers.

This year’s event runs two months later than normal with autumn well and truly set in, resulting in cooler temperatures, wetter roads and less grip on slippery gravel are hazards that drivers must counter this time.

“Now that it’s later in the year, the conditions could be really difficult if it’s wet and muddy,” Rovanperä added. “That could change things a bit, but I’m really looking forward to it, and it’s going to be really nice to see the fans cheering for us on the stages.”

Toyota Yaris colleague Sébastien Ogier holds a 44-point lead over team-mate Elfyn Evans. If results go his way, the Frenchman could clinch his eighth WRC title here with two rounds still remaining.

For the Toyota team, based just outside Jyväskylä, their Yaris WRC is undefeated in Finland since the Japanese manufacturer returned to the sport in 2017. But Ogier is taking nothing for granted.

“The Yaris WRC was born on Finnish roads so it should perform well there but I’m expecting tough competition as well, including from my team-mates,” he explained. “Nothing is decided in the championship yet so let’s see what approach we will take on this rally.”

Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta and 2017 winner Esapekka Lappi also drive Yaris WRCs. Katsuta has stand-in co-driver Aaron Johnston alongside, while Lappi is back at the top level for the first time in 10 months.

Hyundai Motorsport currently trails Toyota by 57 points in defence of its manufacturers’ title and needs strong performances from i20 WRC trio of regulars Thierry Neuville and Ott Tänak with Irishman Craig Breen, taking on the role of the third driver for this event.

Young up and coming rally stars Gus Greensmith and Adrien Fourmaux complete the top-tier lie-up in M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRCs with Frenchman Fourmaux partnered by new co-driver Alexandre Coria for the first time.

The rally starts in Jyväskylä tomorrow afternoon (Friday) and returns for the finish on Sunday afternoon after 19 special stages covering 178.4 miles.

Rallye Monte-Carlo winner Thierry Neuville says Elfyn Evans’s performance on the season’s first event shows he will be in the fight for this year’s FIA World Rally Championship title.

Evans, who now drives for Toyota Gazoo Racing, posted four fastest times, led the Gap-based event for half its stage distance and ran in the top three all event long. He kept Hyundai’s Neuville and his Toyota team-mate and seven-time Monte winner Sébastien Ogier at bay to lead the Monte into the final day.

However, Neuville then passed Evans for the lead on the penultimate test. Ogier jumped Evans for second on the final power stage. Neuville said that Evans has “great talent” and that he will take victories in his maiden season with the Yaris WRC.

“The proof is there,” he said. “We have already been in this situation in Corsica last year when he came close to winning. He has a great talent and a great speed and he feels very comfortable straight away with this new car – that’s promising for him.

“Like I said, we have seen his speed on tarmac, so this performance wasn’t a surprise, but I think he’s going to be on the pace on a lot of rallies. Elfyn will have some of the victories this season. And, in general, the Toyota is strong and on sections like the Sunday we were able to continually set fastest times and control the race.”

Evans, who won Rally GB in 2017, wasn’t sure about being tipped as a title contender this year but was flattered by the praise from Neuville.

“There’s no point in pre-planning, is there,” said the Welshman. “It’s better to just keep your head down, go to every rally and do your best – it’s that simple. There’s no point trying to come up with some master plan, just go to the stages and let the rest take care of itself.

“I think we already showed we have pace on all surfaces, now the car feels very good. OK we’ve done very little on gravel and that’s now the critical part of the calendar – we have to wait to find out if we have the same confidence, but based on previous results then it doesn’t look so bad.”

Toyota team boss Tommi Mäkinen was not too downhearted about a one-two, going in on early Sunday morning before turning into a two-three finish.

“It has been an excellent weekend for us,” said the four-time WRC champion. “Of course, there is a small disappointment about today and missing out on the victory. We are always learning, and the drivers [just] didn’t have the perfect feeling with the car this morning.”