TOYOTA GAZOO Racing repeats perfect four-star finish on WRC’s toughest rally
Toyota Metropolis, Japan, Jun 26, 2023 – (JCN Newswire) – TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Crew has performed an fabulous trim sweep of the tip four positions on Safari Rally Kenya for the second year in succession: Sebastien Ogier winning the story African match before crew-mates Kalle Rovanpera, Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta.
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| Podium Ceremony |
TGR-WRT remains unbeaten on the toughest round of the FIA World Rally Championship because it returned to the calendar in 2021, with Toyota’s all-time Safari record now prolonged to 11 victories – 10 of these performed as a part of the WRC.
The 1-2-3-4 lift out comes 30 years to the month since Toyota first recorded this kind of end result in Kenya with the Celica ST185, one thing it repeated with the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID in 2022. It be the first time any manufacturer has managed the feat on the identical WRC round on three separate instances, or to assemble it in two successive editions of a rally.
Ogier’s second Safari success in three years is also his third victory from 5 begins as much as now this season alongside with co-driver Vincent Landais. They led ever for the explanation that first fat-size stage of the rally on Friday morning, and came into Sunday with a lead of 16.7 seconds over closing year’s Safari winners, Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen.
Six stages and 74.38 competitive kilometres remained on the relaxation day and the tip two crews persisted to placed on an thrilling battle for the victory. Rovanpera halved Ogier’s reduction within the morning’s first stage prior to Ogier recovered that ground within the following test, no subject losing the rear waft and tailgate from his automobile. This used to be repaired within the relaxation service before the closing three stages, which quiet provided valuable challenges with comfortable sand and deep ruts. Ogier’s remaining winning margin used to be honest 6.7 seconds: the smallest ever in Safari historical past, on an match on the total determined by entire minutes.
Having situation the third-easiest time within the rally-ending Vitality Stage to rob three bonus factors, Rovanpera will improve his championship lead from 25 to 37 factors following the mid-level match of the 13-round season.
Evans is now as much as Third within the standings, 41 from the lead, after he and co-driver Scott Martin made the Safari podium for the second year in a row. Additionally they started Sunday with an reduction of 16.7s, this time over Katsuta and Aaron Johnston, and managed to extend that to 25.3s over the course of the day.
Katsuta nonetheless drove one more staunch Safari with the support of the TGR WRC Subject Program, inserting a roll in Wednesday’s pre-match shakedown at the wait on of him to contend for a third successive podium in Kenya and in a roundabout procedure clinch his easiest lift out of the season as much as now.
Following its fifth get of the year, TGR-WRT has now elevated its producers’ championship end result in 42 factors.
For additional data, discuss over with https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/liberate/2023/rd07-day4/.
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