With the completion of the Rally de Espana recently, and a win by Sebastien Ogier, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team won its third World Rally Championship (WRC) Manufacturers title. The Manufacturers title follows the Drivers and Co-drivers titles that were won by Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen on the previous rally in New Zealand.
This is the second year in a row that the team has managed a clean sweep of the three top titles. In total, this is the sixth occasion that Toyota has topped the WRC’s Manufacturers’ classification, the third time since it returned to the series in 2017.
The achievement is notable as it spans a period of change in the technical regulations which required the top teams to develop new cars with hybrid powertrains. In the case of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, the earlier Yaris WRC was replaced with the all-new GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID.
The win in Spain was the team’s seventh of the season and a first for the outgoing 8-time champion Ogier in his part-time campaign. In his first asphalt rally since January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, Ogier was among the pacesetters from the start, winning 3 stages on Friday to lead despite having to deal with dirtier roads than his rivals in mixed weather conditions. He took 3 more stage wins in a commanding performance as he pulled away from the pack and clinched victory by 16.4 seconds.
The young Rovanpera was also in the battle for the lead on Friday when he was fastest in 4 stages, and eventually finished in third overall. His hopes of second place faded after he was one of several to sustain tyre damage over a drain cover in Sunday’s second stage.
Elfyn Evans was part of a close-fought top five at the beginning of the rally but was unable to find the perfect feeling to match the rapid pace at the front. A flat tyre on Friday afternoon and another at the same place as Rovanperä on SS17 contributed to him finishing sixth overall – still an important result to help the team towards its main goal.
Although Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville was ahead of Rovanpera initially, the expected battle with the late on Saturday afternoon and was poised for a tight scrap with the young Finn. However, the duel never took place as the Toyota driver had the puncture. The remaining places of the top-five went to Hyundai, with Ott Tanak finishing 44 seconds back from the lead in fourth overall. Incidentally, he will leave the Hyundai team after this season.
In the WRC2 category, Teemu Suninen was third time lucky after almost in Portugal and He drove a fine rally, in control almost from start to finish to take his first victory of the season in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
WRC3 was won by Finnish youngster Lauri, who also took the 2022 WRC3 championship. It was a side-by-side duel in Spain against rival Jan Cerny and Joona, in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 was the triumphant one.
After 12 rounds, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has collected 503 points, with Hyundai Motorsport in second with 410 points and M Sport Ford in third with 238 points. In the Drivers Championship, Rovanpera leads with 255 points, 68 points ahead of Tanak while Neuville is 21 points behind his team mate.
The 2022 season will conclude in Japan next month on demanding asphalt roads in the mountains of the Aichi and Gifu prefectures, with the service park in Toyota City near Nagoya.
