Rovanperä began the longest day of the cross-border rally just 0.6 seconds behind team-mate Sébastien Ogier, and claimed the lead in the morning’s first stage in misty conditions on German roads near the service park in Passau.

Crews then ventured back into the Czech Republic and faced wet roads in the new Keply stage. It was here that the battle for this year’s drivers’ championship took a new twist, when Ogier went off the road following a loss of front-left tyre pressure and hit a tree. He and co-driver Vincent Landais were both unhurt and are preparing to restart tomorrow in search of Super Sunday and Power Stage points.

Rovanperä was fastest again in SS10 and, after a clean run through the rest of the day, leads by 36.3s into the final day of the rally.

Elfyn Evans continued his battle with Ott Tänak (Hyundai) over what became second place after Ogier stopped. Evans sits third overnight, 8.4s away from Tänak.

With Rovanperä and Evans the highest-placed drivers eligible to score manufacturers’ points, TGR-WRT remains in a strong position to secure the crown on Sunday.

Takamoto Katsuta is fourth overall after claiming stage wins on both passes of the Klatovy stage in the Czech Republic. Sami Pajari is sixth in his TGR-WRT2 entry and set a third-best time on the second run through Klatovy.

Oliver Solberg remains the lead Rally2 runner in his Printsport-run GR Yaris in ninth overall.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It’s been a good day, except for what happened to Seb. I could tell that something was not right because this corner was nothing special, and sure enough he’d had a slow puncture and so the car didn’t turn. It was quite a hard impact, but mainly on the wheel, so it didn’t do too much damage and the car will be good to restart tomorrow. Seb will be motivated, he can start as first car on the road, and I’m sure we will see some speed from him tomorrow. It certainly makes the championship fight interesting. Kalle is still doing a great job in the lead, and there will be a good fight between Elfyn and Tänak, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“It’s been an OK day but I’m naturally not happy with the pace that we were able to show, especially this afternoon. We were pushing but not really able to deliver the pace, and we haven’t been at the level that I want to be at. We tried to change some things on the car during the day, but it didn’t necessarily go in the right direction. So we need to try and find out why tonight and have another go at it tomorrow, with a lot of points available.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It’s been a good day for us. We had a really good and tight fight going on with Seb and it’s never easy against him. It was not nice to see what happened to him, and the best thing is that he and Vincent are both OK. After that we just had to focus on our own job and I think we did pretty well, as there was a lot of dirt coming onto the road with every car. We still kept a good pace and rhythm and enjoyed the driving without taking any risk. Tomorrow will be a big day at this point of the season, with four of us who need all the points we can get. We also have the rally win to secure, so it won’t be easy but we’ll try our best.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17) 
“I knew that this second stage of the day would be the most difficult with the rain and the leaves on the road, but we were driving with a good rhythm and feeling. Unfortunately, we started to lose pressure from the front-left tyre close to the end of the stage. Going through a fast right-hander, I couldn’t do anything and we just understeered into the ditch and hit a tree. It’s frustrating but I don’t think I could have done anything differently and sometimes it’s just a matter of luck. The good news is that we should be able to restart tomorrow and we will do our best to take the full 10 bonus points.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“It’s been a good day overall. I can’t be fully happy, as I lost quite a bit of time on the second stage this morning. The conditions were very tricky in sections and I was not really committed enough in those places. Otherwise, we could do two fastest times in Klatovy – things were working well in that stage. In the other stages too, the car feels good and when I’m pushing, the times are there so that’s a good sign. There is still a long Sunday to come and I will try to keep pushing.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5) 
“It has again been a tricky day. Like yesterday, I think we had some strong stage times and some that were not so great. So there is plenty of learning to take from that, but I’m generally satisfied that we had no mistakes or issues and some steady pace, getting closer to the front. There are still quite many kilometres tomorrow, especially in the Power Stage which is quite long, but they’re nice stages so I’m looking forward to them.”

End of day three (Saturday): 
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 1h56m14.7s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +36.3s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +44.7s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +58.3s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m37.8s
6 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m59.0s
7 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m30.9s
8 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m39.3s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +6m32.5s
10 Jan Černý/Ondřej Krajča (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m26.1s
38 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +49m49.9s
(Results as of 22:00 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
Sunday’s final day features two passes of the Beyond Borders stage – which spans Germany and Austria – as well as the all-Austrian Mühltal test, totalling 77.78 competitive kilometres. There will be a final tyre-fitting zone before the second pass of Mühltal serves as the rally-ending Power Stage.

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The first full day of the rally featured stages in three different countries – Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic – each run twice, totalling 99 competitive kilometres. The three stages would each bring different challenges, and while the weather remained largely dry, there would be mud and gravel dragged onto the road by each passing car.

Following Thursday’s opening two stages of the rally, Ogier and Rovanperä began the day separated by 1.6 seconds at the head of the leaderboard. Rovanperä reduced the gap to just 0.6s with a stage win in Austria’s Böhmerwald test this morning, only for Ogier to then go fastest in the Col de Jan stage on demanding Czech roads and end the morning with a lead of 3.9s.

In the afternoon, Kalle claimed two more stage wins in the repeats of Col de Jan and Böhmerwald, closing the deficit once more to just 0.3s. Ogier was then quicker by 0.3s in the day’s dark final stage, Granit und Wald 2, to finish the day leading by 0.6s.

Elfyn Evans produced a good recovery drive after receiving a five-second penalty last night for contact with a haybale in SS1, climbing from eighth to third and winning the last stage of the day.

Takamoto Katsuta is fifth and just 2.9s behind fourth-placed Ott Tänak (Hyundai) after showing strong pace including third-fastest times in both passes of Böhmerwald. Sami Pajari was second-fastest on the first run of the same stage and ended the day seventh overall in his TGR-WRT2 entry.

Oliver Solberg is the lead Rally2 driver in his Printsport-run GR Yaris in 10th overall, with Alejandro Cachón of Teo Martín Motorsport just one place behind and leading the WRC2 category.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“This was a good day for us. It looked after the first stage this morning that it could be a big fight with our rivals, but the more slippery conditions that came later seemed to suit us better. We could see that the drivers were able to make a big difference on the third stage in the Czech Republic, which was more difficult and slippery. It’s great to watch the battle between Seb and Kalle who have been driving fantastically well: I’m not nervous watching them because they are both very good drivers when it gets slippery and difficult. The same is true of Elfyn, who has recovered well after the penalty. Tomorrow they will be starting further back in the order, where there will be a lot more dirt on the road, so it will become more difficult for them but I know they can handle that. Taka and Sami have shown good speed on some stages as well, and we hope to see more of that.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“I think we had some strong moments during the day but overall it didn’t go as well as we would have hoped – especially on Col de Jan, where we lost a bit of time to Seb and Kalle. On the first pass I was a bit tentative at the start and then had a little overshoot, and didn’t get as close as I would have liked on the second pass either. I seemed to be losing more today in the dirtier sections, so we need to look at that tonight and see why that was. It’s good to get up to third but it’s still very tight and we need to keep pushing.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It has been an enjoyable day driving some really nice stages and being in a big fight through the whole day. Starting third on the road I think we have managed the situation well so far, to be this close to Seb, so I’m pretty happy with the day. We had some good stages and some good times and it’s a tight battle. Tomorrow we have the challenge of being further back in the starting order and seeing how conditions evolve, but I’m sure it will stay really close and we will keep fighting.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“I’ve enjoyed today and this exciting fight with Kalle. We fought the whole day to try and stay in the lead and even though it’s a very small gap, it’s very positive to still be in the lead. Today I don’t think we always had the usual advantage being first on the road on asphalt because it’s been dry and quite dusty, so I think conditions have been more or less fair for everyone which is what we like to see. Tomorrow will not be any easier, and if it rains it can be even more challenging, but we will keep fighting.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It’s been a very challenging day as we expected, especially stages five and six which had a lot more dirt on the road. But we managed to get through with some quite OK stage times. I think we probably lost some time because of our road position which was not ideal, but we are only six seconds away from the podium, so we will keep pushing. It’s not been a bad day, and we will try to be even better tomorrow.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It has been a mixed day in terms of the stages and also for our performance. We had some really good stage times but also some stages where I feel we were a bit too far away from the pace. Of course, I would like to do better but we still need to go step by step and we will try to find something to be more consistent tomorrow. The road position should improve which can help us, but let’s see how the conditions are.”

End of day two (Friday):
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 1h03m29.8s
2 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +0.6s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +29.5s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +32.8s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +35.7
6 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +46.1s
7 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +56.0s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m55.8s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m50.2s
10 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +3m37.6s
(Results as of 21:00 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
Saturday is the longest day of the rally at 103.64 competitive kilometres and follows a similar format to Friday. The opening stage runs in Germany before two tests on Czech roads are followed by a tyre-fitting zone in Klatovy. All three stages are then run again in the afternoon.

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Stage 4 proved to be one of the toughest of the rally with narrow tracks, dune crossings, rocky surfaces and wide stretches of camel grass which all created unpredictable conditions throughout the route around the Anti-Atlas mountain range.

Title contenders Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón delivered a composed and consistent performance in Stage 4, securing third position. Most importantly, by finishing ahead of championship rival Nasser Al-Attiyah, Moraes enters the final day of the 2025 FIA World Rally Raid Championship just two points behind in the Drivers’ standings. Moraes and Monleon, in their #202 GR Hilux EVO also have a chance of securing the rally win but will need to overhaul a time deficit of 3 minutes and 38 seconds to the leaders.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings delivered a strong performance as they opened the road. Despite contending with limited visibility and unexpected challenges across the 284 km timed section, they maintained their #204 GR Hilux EVO inside the top ten by the end of the Stage.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short faced a demanding day in their #205 GR Hilux EVO entry, also contending with limited visibility and difficult conditions as one of the first crews to depart the stage. A separate issue on the road further hindered their progress, yet the pair managed to secure a strong starting position for tomorrow’s final stage, keeping them firmly in contention for valuable points. 

The final day of the 2025 FIA World Rally Raid Championship and the Rallye du Maroc will see competitors tackle a 216 km route leading into the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. The event concludes with a decisive 33km Power Stage in Erfoud, where the 2025 World Champions will be crowned and the final standings confirmed. 

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“Day 4 here in Morocco, opening the day after our Stage win yesterday. It was a really difficult day. The organisation said it was going to be a fast and flowing stage but that wasn’t the case. The tracks were very faint and hard to see, a lot of the day was tricky. We could see where the bikes were going but the problem we had was whenever there was camel grass or places that were dangerous they’d all join up and just make a single file line and then we arrive at 150, 160 kmh and have to squeeze a 2.3 meter wide car in a gap made by the bikes so we took some shots for that, we hit big bumps and ditches as we had to go off the track. So tough day, hard on the body, hard on the car but we got to the finish and managed fifth place which was good as we made some time back at the end.   

Lucas Moraes:

“That was a very nice stage for us, we finished P3 in front of Nasser so in terms of points it was important but at the same time I think I was a bit too careful on the rocks and on some of the camel grass but I was just trying to protect the car, so I lost a bit of time. Of course, we tried to win the stage but we missed it by 50 seconds. Anyhow, great work by the team and especially through the night working on the car, we really appreciate all the efforts and I’m ready for tomorrow – the last day of Rallye du Maroc,” 

Seth Quintero:

“Today was a tricky one – navigation and the terrain was very tough and we had a small issue which cost us some time today but on the bright side we have a great starting position tomorrow to try and score as many points as possible and help the team as much as we can in the final stage and try and get the drivers’ championship for Lucas. We’ll keep working and getting better.”

Rallye du Maroc 2025 – Stage 4 Result*

Rallye du Maroc 2025 –  Standings after Stage 4*

*results correct at the time of publication

The cross-border event marks the first asphalt round of the FIA World Rally Championship for six months, and action began on Thursday with shakedown near the service park in Passau, allowing teams and drivers to make any last setup adjustments before the first competitive stages. Ogier was fastest on his first and second runs of the shakedown and finished second quickest, just ahead of team-mate and closest championship rival Elfyn Evans.

There would be 25.66 competitive kilometres to tackle already on the opening day. These were formed by two passes of an extended version of the shakedown on roads around the Bavarian spa town of Bad Griesbach. Ogier was quickest in the afternoon’s first pass by 1.7 seconds over Rovanperä and Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai). The second pass took place in the evening as darkness began to fall, and Rovanperä was this time fastest by 0.1s over Ogier.

Ogier therefore leads Rovanperä by 1.6s overnight. Sami Pajari and Takamoto Katsuta both also started well and are tied for fourth overall, just 5.6s from the lead, with Evans only 0.4s behind them in sixth.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It has been a good start to the rally for us, but it is only the beginning and there will be more difficult stages and conditions to come. I knew that Seb could be tough to beat here as I think these stages suit him well, but Kalle has also made a good start. Elfyn is not really so far behind either, so I think we can look forward to a good fight between our three title-contending drivers – while hopefully doing enough to wrap up the manufacturers’ championship as well. I was confident that Sami and Takamoto can be fast too on these asphalt roads, and it’s nice to see them also starting well.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s good to be back on asphalt here and getting the rally underway. I can’t be too pleased with how the first stages have gone on my side. It’s been a bit steady, with a few mistakes on the first pass and we were not quite fast enough on the second pass. We need to try and find something more for tomorrow; I think there’s a few areas we can look at tonight to tweak some things. It's going to be a mixed day across three different countries and we'll have to wait and see how the weather is, but conditions in SS5 especially could be quite difficult.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s been quite a good start to the rally for us; the feeling has been quite OK. We all had two hours to prepare for the second run, so the gaps were very small as expected with everyone on the limit. On the first pass there was already more leaves and dust coming onto the road than we expected, but I think that will be the case for the rest of the weekend, especially tomorrow. Hopefully for us being third on the road it won’t be too bad.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“I’m happy with the start of the rally. It’s only a small lead but it’s always good to be in the lead. It’s been a good clean drive for us and I’m pretty happy with the car. There was not so much difference between the two passes for me; maybe just a couple of corners where I was slightly too cautious on the second run through. This was only the starter and tomorrow the main course is coming and will probably be much more challenging, with difficult stages and conditions.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It is very demanding like always here, but the car is working well and I’m happy with how the rally has started for us, even though we have only done two stages and there is still a long way to go. Already there has been quite a lot of gravel coming on the road through the corners, so I can imagine that tomorrow the roads can be quite messy, especially the Czech stages where there are more opportunities to cut. It can be tricky but I will keep trying to do my best.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“To be in fourth place is a pretty solid start I think. Already in the first stage there were some slippery surprises so it was not easy to have trust going into the blind corners, but it was quite an OK run. I wasn’t so satisfied with the second stage. It was not so easy for us in the dark, and tricky to read the amount of gravel on the road in places. So it wasn’t the best stage but not bad, and overall it’s been a good start.”

 

End of day one (Thursday):
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 12m48.4s
2 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.6s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3.9s
4 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5.6s
= Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +5.6s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +6.0s
7 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6.1s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +6.3s
9 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +15.4s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +25.1s
(Results as of 18:40 on Thursday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

 

What's next? 
Friday’s route totals 99 competitive kilometres with one stage each in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic all to be run twice. There is no mid-day service, only a tyre-fitting zone in the Czech town of Kaplice between the two loops.

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Stage 2 saw the GR Hilux EVOs face more demanding terrain and more rocky sections but also, for the first time on Rallye du Maroc, the sand dunes. Visibility was a challenge for all the crews as the course took them towards the border with Algeria. 

Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón in the #202 GR Hilux EVO built on their impressive Stage 1 performance, maintaining a strong presence at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day. Their speed and tactical mastery over the dunes earned them another third-place Stage finish, elevating them to second overall in the standings. 

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were also set to move further up the order, but with 110 km remaining, just before tackling the largest sand dunes, a rear differential failure forced the crew to continue with only front-wheel drive, nursing their #204 GR Hilux EVO to the finish.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short likewise looked on course for a strong finish as the pairing set competitive times throughout the stage and were closing in on the top positions, but as they approached the dunes their #205 GR Hilux EVO suffered the same technical issue as their teammates but they were unable to finish the stage.

Stage 3 on Wednesday sees the crews once again set off from Erfoud to tackle a 322 km loop, the longest and most demanding stage of Rallye du Maroc featuring expansive dunes, challenging rocky sections and rugged terrain to navigate. Wadis and camel grass also await, and a combination of slow technical sections and high speed action.  

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“I think today was a really bad day for us. Mechanical failure, a rear diff failed with a lot of kms still to go which was obviously far from ideal, especially as we had a lot of dunes to cross as well. It was very difficult, almost impossible to cross some of them so basically today ended our realistic world championship hopes so it’s a sad day. We at least are still in the rally, we can restart tomorrow, and the car can be fixed so we will carry on and gain experience for the future and we have something for when we return next year.”

Lucas Moraes:

“That was a very nice stage and the car performed very well all day. Today we met the first dunes and it was a challenge as visibility on the dunes was crazy hard and then right at the end we caught Ekström but we decided not to pass him and just to follow to avoid any problems with the dunes and use him as a reference to see the drops. I think it was a good one and I’m thankful to the team for the car. Let’s keep going.”

Seth Quintero:

Really good day for us at the beginning, smooth, consistent, easy pace and we were leading for most of the stage and then just before the first dunes we unfortunately lost the rear diff and had to pull out of the stage which ends our Morocco rally. Taking away the positives, working really well with Andrew, happy with him and the way he’s holding himself and doing really well in the car. My driving has felt the best it ever has, and I feel like I’m only continuing to go faster and I think the times are showing. So I am very happy.”

Rallye du Maroc 2025 – Stage 2 Result*

Rallye du Maroc 2025 –  Standings after Stage 2*

*results correct at the time of publication

The opening full day of off-road action unfolded across demanding terrain, combining hard-packed surfaces with slower, stony sections that tested the precision and endurance of all three crews. Stage 1 began amidst the rugged Atlas Mountains before pace intensified over broken road surfaces and deep ditches. Adding to the challenge, the GR Hilux EVOs were tasked with navigating multiple intersections and technical crossings. 

Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón, winners of the previous round at the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, once again demonstrated strong form in their #202 GR Hilux EVO. The duo climbed from 12th to 3rd overall by the end of the 300 km timed section, setting the fastest time through the demanding 164 km stage and scoring three valuable championship points, bringing Moraes to within seven points of the overall lead.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings also delivered a determined performance, steadily advancing into podium contention with a composed and strategic drive. Skilfully navigating traffic from slower bikes and cars, the duo maintained their championship hopes, bringing the #204 GR Hilux EVO home in fifth position, just over a minute behind the leaders.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short delivered a composed start to the event, keeping their #205 GR Hilux EVO firmly within the top 10 for much of the day despite being one of the first cars on the stage which made for a very demanding and challenging task regarding navigation. Despite a late-stage setback, the pair showcased strong potential and remain determined to regain ground in tomorrow’s stage.

The battle for the title and podium honours resumes on Tuesday with Stage 2, covering 306 km of timed running from Erfoud toward the Algerian border. A demanding mix of sand dunes and rocky terrain awaits, setting the stage for another challenging leg in the FIA W2RC season finale. 

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“The first proper day of racing went a lot better than yesterday. Started P13 on the road and passed quite a lot of cars and bikes but it was tricky to get passed some of them thanks to the dust at times. That was a really tricky, high speed, rocky day and there’s not a lot of time in it. We did more than 300 km in three hours so that shows how fast the pace was and the times are very close. We’ve played a little bit of a strategic game today, we knew we were not going to make up a lot of time so we backed off slightly so that we have a better road position for tomorrow so let’s see if it pays off. Fifth on the stage and fifth on the road tomorrow, we will give it a big push.”

Lucas Moraes:

“It was a very nice stage for us and the team as a whole, happy with the third position. Tomorrow is going to be an important day as we split from the bikes on the dunes and having just two vehicles in front will be good. Overall, the car performed really well and we were able to keep it clean without any punctures which is obviously important. Let’s keep going and big thanks to the whole TGR team for an amazing car”

Seth Quintero:

“ It was a really good day for us, a smooth one. Made a mistake at the end there which cost us a bit of time but the feeling in the car is amazing. Andrew is doing a great job and I’m looking forward to having a good starting position tomorrow and giving it all we have got to make up a bit of time but to be honest we didn’t lose that much so I’m really proud of the team, the job we’ve done and looking forward to the rest of the rally.”

Rallye du Maroc 2025 – Stage 1 Result*

*results correct at the time of publication

TGR W2RC secured the manufacturers’ title for a fourth consecutive season in the previous round in Portugal last month, leaving the drivers’ and navigators’ World Championships to be fought for in north Africa.

Henk Lategan is just nine points behind the drivers’ championship leader going into the fifth and final round of the 2025 season, while Lucas Moraes is a point further back. In the navigators’ standings, Brett Cummings is 14 points off the lead, with Armand Monleón a further point behind.

Their challenge began cleanly on Sunday’s 19 km Prologue stage in the ancient city of Fez in northern Morocco. 

Moraes and Monleón, winners on BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal in their #203 GR Hilux EVO two weeks ago, finished the Prologue in a solid eighth place overall just seven seconds ahead of their teammates Seth Quintero and Andrew Short in their #204 GR Hilux EVO in ninth, with both vehicles securing optimal road positions for the first stage.

After a technical problem prematurely ended their event last time out, Quintero and Short are no longer part of the title battle but they will aim to build on the impressive pace they showed in Portugal in their #204 GR Hilux EVO.

Lategan and Cummings in their #202 GR Hilux EVO endured a tough start, losing time with a couple of mistakes which cost the pairing a top 10 finish in the Prologue. The pair are still in contention, but will have to overhaul a 45 second deficit to the lead.

Over the next five days, Rallye du Maroc will push crews and cars to the limit, across sand dunes and demanding desert terrain. Monday’s opening stage is the longest journey of the rally, at 780 km. Competitors travel south from Fez to the oasis town of Erfoud in the Sahara Desert. The route includes an eastward loop skirting the High Atlas Mountains, featuring a 300 km timed section and 480 km of road liaison.

The remaining four stages all start from Erfoud. Tuesday’s Stage 2 heads east toward the border with Algeria over 304 km of timed running, while Stage 3 on Wednesday features the event’s longest competitive section, a 322 km loop. Thursday’s Stage 4 travels towards the Anti-Atlas range on a 284 km timed loop before, on Friday, Stage 5 takes crews northeast, towards the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Friday afternoon’s 33 km Power Stage in Erfoud will determine the final classifications and crown the 2025 World Champions.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“Not the greatest start for us, we were a bit too cautious at the start and made one or two mistakes, went off the road a bit trying to find a waypoint and with it being such a short Prologue it counts a lot, and we will start quite far back. Being outside the top ten means we were not a part of the draw and that means we couldn’t pick our starting position. We could start anywhere from ninth to 19^th, so we’ll see where we end up and build our strategy from there.”

Lucas Moraes:

“It was a very tricky Prologue, very fast, very dangerous at the same time. You really have to pay attention to the ditches, and it was very hard to manage but I am happy with our eighth place considering the road position that we started from, but as always the car performed really well and I think we are in a good place for tomorrow and have a good strategy.”

Seth Quintero:

“It’s nice to be here in Morocco and get used to the open terrain again. Unfortunately, we lost a little bit of time but still, ninth isn’t too bad and we are going to be in a great starting position for tomorrow. The Prologue was good, it was definitely unexpected the way that the terrain was, like soft farm roads, which I wasn’t expecting. But I know that tomorrow will be a lot different and I’m looking forward to it and hopefully it’ll be a good day”

Rallye du Maroc 2025 – Prologue Result*

*results correct at the time of publication

The battle for victory intensified on Stage 4, which featured 274 km of timed action. It began near Badajoz on fast stone-lined tracks punctuated by slow sections. A winding lakeside route followed as the crews headed into Portugal on faster tracks over hard terrain on the way to a service park on the outskirts of Lisbon.

Lucas Moraes and navigator Armand Monleón retained their overall lead after strengthening their bid to win a W2RC event for the first time. They adopted a low-risk strategy, maintaining a consistent pace to preserve their position at the front, finishing Saturday’s stage in fourth place in their #203 GR Hilux EVO.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings started and ended the day in second in their #202 GR Hilux EVO. They closed the gap on their team-mates at the front to 34 seconds by finishing a strong third on Stage 4.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short fought for the stage win with another impressive performance. They were running second and heading for the podium, less than a minute off the lead, before an engine issue just two kilometres from the end. The #204 GR Hilux EVO cannot resume and will therefore not contest the final stage.

Only one stage remains for TGR W2RC to secure its second victory of the season to strengthen its World Championship challenge. Sunday’s 103 km timed section will determine who stands on the podium in Lisbon, and who holds the advantage in the title race going into next month’s season finale in Morocco.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“It was a very fast stage, with some short and twisty sections. The roads were generally narrow and slippery, so it was easy to make a big mistake. We were driving in fifth or sixth gear most of the stage so, if you go off, you go off properly. I’m pleased to get through unscathed, with just one minor moment, but we limited the time loss. I’m happy to be in contention and fighting at the front; it’s really close between first and second now. Sunday’s stage is short, but depending on the weather, it could be decisive.”

Seth Quintero:

“We ran well again. We found some speed this week and Andrew is doing a great job on navigation. His attitude inside the car has been amazing and it’s really helped me with my driving. His work ethic is strong, so I’m excited to continue working with him. It was a good day for us until it wasn’t. Unfortunately, we had a mechanical issue very close to the finish, after running at the front for most of the stage. We will regroup and learn from this for Morocco.”

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Stage 4 Result*

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Standings after Stage 4*

*Results correct at the time of publication

Intense competition within the 18-strong Hypercar field around the demanding 4.563km Fuji Speedway made for a tough challenge and an exciting afternoon. Although the team could not repeat last year’s front-row start, it is determined to deliver a performance for its enthusiastic Japanese fans to celebrate.

Ryo Hirakawa was the highest-placed TOYOTA GAZOO Racing driver in eighth in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. Nyck de Vries missed out on Hyperpole by a tiny margin and finished 14th in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.

Ryo was at the wheel for his third consecutive qualifying session, having successfully reached Hyperpole in both São Paulo and Austin, while Nyck took over for the first time since Le Mans in June. They lined up on new medium tyres for the 12-minute session and set their fastest times on their first flying laps. Ryo’s strong effort put the #8 safely through in fifth. Nyck was only a fraction further back, but the close competition saw him miss the top 10 by just 0.103secs. He attempted two further flying laps but, on worn tyres, both were marginally slower.

In the 10-minute Hyperpole session, Ryo again recorded his quickest time on his first flying lap, although he appeared likely to improve before encountering traffic. That left the #8 in eighth place for a fourth-row starting position.    

The 6 Hours of Fuji – the seventh of eight rounds this season and the 100th WEC race since the series returned in 2012 – starts at 11am (4am CEST) on Sunday. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will use all its determination, experience and race craft to challenge for a strong points finish and a first podium of the season.

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “We knew going into qualifying that it was going to be difficult. We just don’t quite have the pace. I think we had the performance to get into the top 10 but unfortunately, I made a mistake in turn 15, and the tyres only allow one quick flying lap. That ultimately cost us a top 10 position. Nevertheless, we will do our best in the race, and I hope we can count on a lot of support from our Japanese fans.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “Obviously it was a challenging qualifying, but we did our best. The gap to pole position is quite big and that was a bit of a surprise. We need to compete with the package we have and do everything to execute a perfect race. I believe we can still get a good result, and I hope to fight for the podium. Anything can happen. We never give up so we will keep pushing.” 

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A strong showing on Stage 3 — with second, third and fourth place finishes — earned valuable World Championship points and moved two GR Hilux EVOs in front in the overall standings with two days and 378 km of competition remaining.

Stage 3 featured a challenging 308 km of competition through the countryside east of Badajoz and saw an epic battle for victory between TGR W2RC’s three GR Hilux EVOs. After a fast opening 130 km, a slower section passed between olive trees and included narrow gates and bridges. The stage was briefly paused to deal with a fire, before the crews headed back to Badajoz via a very twisty final two kilometres to end the timed section.

Lucas Moraes and navigator Armand Monleón were third overall going into Friday’s stage and they produced another display of pace and consistency. Their #203 GR Hilux EVO was in the fight for stage victory throughout and finished third. However, the time gained on Stage 3 was enough to move them into the overall lead.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings started the day in fifth in their #202 GR Hilux EVO and were the early leaders on the stage but faced challenging conditions driving in the dust of fellow competitors. They missed victory by just 33 seconds but are well placed in the overall rankings, only 57 seconds off the lead in second.

Completing a commanding team performance, Seth Quintero and Andrew Short finished Stage 3 in fourth in their #204 GR Hilux EVO. Although still out of podium contention due to a brake disc issue on Stage 1, their rapid performances since have recovered some ground and they are 20th overall in the Ultimate class.

TGR W2RC will defend its position at the front when Saturday’s action takes the crews back across the border into Portugal. Stage 4 features a 274 km timed section on the way to a service park on the outskirts of Lisbon, base for the remainder of the event and the podium ceremony on Sunday.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“It was another really tricky stage, like all of them here, but we had a decent day. Today was faster; high speed and high risk. The road got narrow very quickly with rocks and trees on the side. At high speed, it is easy to take off a wheel. We had one small moment when we caught a rock but we got away with it then later we had a slow puncture. A lot of the day we were driving in the dust of cars ahead and it’s really difficult to close in and pass because the roads were so narrow, with crests and corners that you can’t see through the dust. Eventually we got past and could carry on at our pace. Overall, I am quite happy because we are back in contention and hopefully we can maintain that tomorrow.”

Lucas Moraes:

“We are really happy to be leading the race. It was another hard stage, and it would have been very easy to throw everything away. I decided to keep a nice pace, not doing anything risky and to drive smart. Thanks to the whole TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC team for another great day. Third on the stage and leading the race, with Henk in second, is great for the team. Let’s keep fighting now.”

Seth Quintero:

“It was an amazing day for us and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC. We had a great team strategy which we executed perfectly. It was a bit tough being second on the road, which meant we had to clean the road for the guys behind us. But we still put down some amazing times. Everything is working really with Andrew and the whole TGR W2RC team, so I’m proud of everybody’s performance. Our pace just keeps getting better and better so I have a lot of confidence right now. I feel ready for the next couple of days.”

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Stage 3 Results*

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Standings after Stage 3*

*results correct at the time of publication

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After two frustrating races, the team faces a difficult task to add to its 15 WEC podiums at Fuji Speedway. But, motivated by the warm welcome and extraordinary support of its Japanese fans, partners and Toyota colleagues, it is ready for the challenge after Friday’s two free practice sessions.

A constructive practice day for the penultimate race of the season ended with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa fourth fastest in their #8 GR010 HYBRID. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were just a fraction slower in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, in sixth.

Over recent days, all six drivers played their part in raising the excitement for WEC’s annual visit to Japan. They joined an event in Tokyo which showcased endurance racing and featured several cars, including a #7 GR010 HYBRID in this season’s unique Le Mans livery. Visits to partners and Toyota facilities also gave an opportunity to meet other team supporters, many of whom will watch the race from a dedicated TOYOTA GAZOO Racing grandstand.

The week’s on-track preparations began with first practice on a hot, sunny morning in air temperatures of 28°C. After missing the last race due to a training accident, Mike was back in the cockpit at the green light for a session which ran without significant interruptions. This helped the team make progress on adapting mechanical and control systems to meet the specific challenges of Fuji Speedway.

Second practice allowed both cars to analyse the degradation of the Michelin tyres during a race stint, as well as testing new set-ups. The GR010 HYBRIDs set their fastest lap times on new rubber at the beginning of the session before the focus turned to race settings. Aside from two short full course yellows, the session ran smoothly and concluded a useful day of preparation. 

The team will continue to work relentlessly to optimise the GR010 HYBRIDs prior to final practice on Saturday morning. Hypercar qualifying begins at 3pm local time (8am CEST) on Saturday, setting the grid for Sunday’s race, which starts at 11am (4am CEST).

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It’s fantastic to be back with WEC in Fuji and I enjoyed driving the GR010 HYBRID in front of our home fans. We had two clean sessions and completed a lot of set-up work, so we have plenty of information to optimise our car. We are not the fastest yet, so we need to find some more speed before qualifying.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “We worked hard to go through a pretty comprehensive programme over the two sessions. We will now take what we’ve learnt and put that into practice tomorrow. We felt a bit more competitive in second practice compared to the morning session, which looks promising. But we need to try to understand that and continue to improve.” 

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It was great to be on track here in Japan and I enjoyed the two sessions. We had the chance to do quite a few changes which helped us learn a lot about our car and tyres. Now we need to analyse everything and see how we can keep getting better. It’s not going to be easy but there’s only a second covering the first 15 Hypercars so every small improvement matters, and we’ll keep working hard.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “We’ve been here in Japan for a few days already seeing our partners and fans. Now it’s nice to be back in the car. We had two sessions with clean running and good weather. The Hypercar field looks tight and we’re not at the front yet. We’ll work hard to find a bit more lap time and see what we can achieve tomorrow. It’s all about fine-tuning and getting the maximum out of our package.” 

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “We had a trouble-free Friday with no issues. We made some quite big set-up changes between the two sessions and found an improvement. Obviously, our weight and power situation doesn’t make it easy. But we are all working hard to find every fraction of a second, especially here in Japan, in front of our home fans.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It’s been a productive day, and we improved the car quite a lot from the morning to the afternoon. Initially it was difficult to drive but we worked very hard together and had a much better feeling in the second session. It looks like the field is tight and I am sure everyone will improve over the weekend, so we are still missing a few tenths. We will push even harder to find more speed but I’m hopeful for qualifying.”

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The day’s off-road action featured the longest competitive section of the event at 429 km. The route took crews on tree-lined sandy tracks from Grândola in Portugal, through a mountain route into Spain, where rural roads led to the spectacular medieval walled city of Cáceres. This technically demanding stage featured narrow sections, including numerous bridge crossings and gates which required skilful, precise driving to pass safely.

Lucas Moraes and navigator Armand Monleón held second overall overnight. They overcame an early puncture and dusty conditions to maintain a consistent pace throughout the challenging stage in their #203 GR Hilux EVO. They finished Stage 2 in fifth and are third overall.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings started the day in the overall lead but suffered an incident-filled stage. As well as an off-course excursion, they experienced two punctures and had to replace two driveshafts. Their tireless effort minimised the damage on the way to eighth place on the stage for the #202 GR Hilux EVO. They are now fifth overall, less than two minutes behind third with 686 kilometres of timed running still to go.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short delivered a battling Stage 2 performance, despite struggling with dust from other competitors in the early stages. Their speed – particularly over the second half of the stage – fuelled progress up the order and earned fourth place in their #204 GR Hilux EVO. They are now 25th overall in the Ultimate class after losing 100 minutes on Wednesday due to a brake disc issue.

Stage 3 on Friday sees the crews set off from their bivouac service park in Badajoz on a 308 km stage through the countryside east of the Spanish city, offering TGR W2RC’s GR Hilux EVOs another opportunity to claim stage honours and strengthen their challenge for overall victory.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“It was a tricky day for us. It started off okay, although opening the road meant it was slippery, and we lost a little time. But we were managing it until we went through a fence on a corner that was not marked, which caused some damage, and we had to change a driveshaft. Soon after we had a slow puncture then things started to go downhill. We had a broken driveshaft on a twisty up and down section, so we lost a lot of time. Then we had another puncture not too long after. That put us behind two cars and into the dust, so we just nursed it to the end. We have a nice road position for Stage 3, so we’ll try to have a better day.”

Lucas Moraes:

“It was an eventful stage. We had a puncture early on, but it was fortunate to change it without losing much time. Then Henk and I had some issues with the dust when we were the first two cars on the stage and that made it tricky. It was still quite a positive result, and we are in a good position for Stage 3. We’ve got to keep pushing and try to get back in front.”

Seth Quintero:

“It was a great day for us. We started 25th on the road and therefore had to deal with a lot of dust but we just kept our heads down and pushed as hard as we could. It went very smoothly, and we were able to make up a lot of time. It puts us in a great position to challenge for a stage win on Friday. We already earned some good World Championship points today for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC and hopefully we can get plenty more over the next three days.”

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Stage 2 Results

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Standings after Stage 2

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TGR W2RC’s three GR Hilux EVO vehicles will compete over 1,413 km through five stages on demanding Iberian gravel roads and they set the pace on the first full day of competition, following the short Prologue on Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday’s 297 km opening special stage was divided into two competitive sections, with the first taking place east of Grândola followed by a road section southwest to the town of Ourique. From there, another timed section on fast gravel roads brought the crews back to Grândola. The day concluded with a special stage over the same five-kilometre course as Tuesday’s Prologue, this time run in the reverse direction.

Henk Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings maintained the form which earned victory in the previous W2RC round in South Africa. Their #202 GR Hilux EVO took the lead after around 100 km of Stage 1 before they stretched the advantage to over a minute heading into the road section. The pair continued to consistently build a gap to the chasing pack and win Stage 1. They lead the overall standings by 1 min 51 secs going into Stage 2.

Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón strengthened their chances of repeating last year’s Portugal podium with a consistent day which saw their #203 GR Hilux EVO move into the podium positions soon after the 75 km mark, following a steady start. They continued that progress and ended the day in a strong second place.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short headed the field early in Stage 1 but suffered a challenging afternoon. Around 84 km into the stage, a brake disc issue saw their #204 GR Hilux EVO stop on the roadside and they had lost 90 minutes when they reached the road section. They fought on without further significant time loss and completed a challenging day in 32nd position in the Ultimate class.

Competition for podium trophies and World Championship points will resume on Thursday with the longest stage of the event. A challenging 429 km route for Stage 2 travels from Coruche across the border to finish at Cáceres, before competitors proceed to the bivouac service park in the Spanish city of Badajoz.

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Stage 1 Results

*in Ultimate class

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TGR W2RC’s three GR Hilux EVO vehicles, which are enhanced for durability and performance to tackle the gruelling challenge of off-road competition, took the ceremonial start in the southern Portuguese town of Grândola after completing a five-kilometre Prologue stage.

Lucas Moraes and navigator Armand Monleón, who stood on the podium in Portugal last year, led the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing pack in their #203 GR Hilux EVO. They were second quickest among the Ultimate class runners, just three seconds off the fastest time.

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings won the previous round in South Africa in May and are competing in a W2RC round in Europe for the first time. They made a positive start with fourth place in the Ultimate class with their #202 GR Hilux EVO.

The #204 GR Hilux EVO of Seth Quintero and Andrew Short – competing together for the first time on a W2RC event – lost time at the end of the Prologue due to a right rear driveshaft issue. Despite being in ninth in class, they are only 17 seconds behind the leader going into the first full day of competition on Wednesday.

This week’s event, round four of five this season, gives TGR W2RC an opportunity to secure its fourth successive manufacturers’ World Championship. Holding a 92-point advantage over the nearest challenger, a strong result can secure the title with one event remaining.

The drivers’ and navigators’ World Championship battles are also nearing their conclusion, and all three crews are title contenders. Lategan and Cummings lead the TGR W2RC charge from second, 20 points behind the leaders, while Moraes and Monleón are 25 points behind in third, with Quintero fourth, a further 10 points back.

World Championship points will be hard earned during 1,413 gruelling kilometres on demanding Iberian gravel roads over the next five days.

Two special stages on Wednesday cover 302 km, while Thursday’s action is the longest of the event. A 429 km stage from Coruche crosses the Spanish border and finishes at Cáceres on the way to a service park in Badajoz. Friday sees a 308 km stage in the countryside east of Badajoz before Saturday’s 274 km cross-border raid en route to a service park on the outskirts of Lisbon. A 103 km final stage takes place on Sunday prior to the podium ceremony in the Portuguese capital.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“It was a very tricky stage. Despite being only five kilometres long, there were many corners, and some were quite tight. There was a lot of dust which made it tricky to get the line right. Unfortunately, we caught some dust on the straight before some corners, so we had to ease off a little. Overall, it was a decent start. The first few kilometres are done and there is still a long race ahead of us.”

Lucas Moraes:

“The GR Hilux EVO was really nice to drive, so thanks to the whole TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC team for preparing so well. Of course, we faced a lot of dust on the Prologue, but I think that was similar for everyone. In the end, it was a great time for us, and I feel like we have started off on the right footing. Everybody was close, and the pace was very fast. I’m happy to get a good starting position for Wednesday.”

Seth Quintero:

“We had a good run going with Andrew and the GR Hilux EVO was feeling really strong. We were feeling confident in the preparation that we did. Unfortunately, we had an unlucky issue with just over a kilometre to go and that set us back a little bit. It’s better this happened now, and we only lost 17 seconds, not in the next days when it could ruin our chances. We will get ready for tomorrow and give it everything we’ve got.”

BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal 2025 – Prologue (Ultimate Class)

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The 6 Hours of Fuji is round seven of eight this year and gives the team an opportunity for a long-awaited first podium of a challenging season in front of its enthusiastic Japanese fans, partners and Toyota colleagues. 

The team has an impressive record at Fuji Speedway, with nine victories contributing to 15 podiums from the 11 WEC races there since the series returned in 2012. Another podium was a possibility last year when the #8 crew started from second and ran at the front for most of the race, until a late penalty intervened. 

Against a field of 18 Hypercars from eight manufacturers, the two GR010 HYBRIDs face a tough task to return to the podium for the first time since the 2024 season finale in Bahrain. This was highlighted in Austin two weeks ago, when challenging conditions saw neither car able to fight at the front. 

Mike Conway returns to the #7 GR010 HYBRID line-up alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries after recovering from the training injury which caused him to miss the Austin race. In the #8 car, Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa will aim for a strong home result. 

Fuji Speedway, located around 100km west of Tokyo, is truly the home circuit for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. It is located close to the Higashi-Fuji Technical Center, where the high-performance hybrid powertrain in the GR010 HYBRIDs is designed, developed and built. Many staff from Higashi-Fuji will join a large contingent of Toyota employees to show their support for the team throughout the weekend. 

The historic circuit is characterised by a 1.475km start-finish straight where cars exceed 320km/h, and this demands strong top speed and braking stability into turn one. In contrast, the tight and technical third sector requires aerodynamic and mechanical grip, as well as traction out of the corners. 

To meet Fuji Speedway’s complex set-up challenges, the team and drivers already conducted simulator sessions at its facility in Cologne, Germany prior to travelling to Japan. The first on-track opportunity to optimise car settings for the 4.563km circuit comes in Friday’s two free practice sessions. Hypercar qualifying begins at 3pm local time (8am CEST) on Saturday, setting the grid for Sunday’s race, which gets underway at 11am (4am CEST).

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7):

“We are very much looking forward to our home race. After Le Mans, this is our most important race and one where we really want to perform well. So far this year, we are struggling but I hope we can achieve something special on our home track because we have been quite strong there in the past. We will perform to our maximum and hopefully our Japanese fans will be able to enjoy an exciting weekend and a great result for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7):

“It was immensely frustrating to miss the last round in Austin. But my recovery has been going well. I did a simulator session last week to prepare and everything felt okay, so I’m looking forward to getting back in the car in Fuji. It’s such a special race for everyone at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. I’m really pleased that I have the chance to meet our Japanese supporters and Toyota colleagues again.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7):

“We are always excited to come back to Japan, especially because we get to spend time meeting our partners and Toyota colleagues before the race weekend. We want to make our home crowd proud of our performance so we will be giving everything to extract the maximum from our package. We know it will be challenging, as always in WEC, but I am looking forward to it.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8):

“Fuji is a big race for us. We really want to do well so obviously we put a lot of effort into the preparation and hopefully that will help us to succeed. We have been strong at Fuji in the past and we won this race many times, so we have a good understanding of what’s needed to succeed. It can be quite hot and humid, and sometimes the rain has been a factor too, so we need to be ready to adapt. I’m looking forward to a great weekend with lots of fans. We really want to make them happy.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8):

“As every year, we are very excited to go back to Fuji. We see lots of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing fans and meet many of our partners. Plus, it’s the only chance for many of our Toyota colleagues to visit a WEC race, which is great for all of us. I always look forward to this trip not only for the race itself, but for the food, the culture and the support we receive. We are going there with one goal; to win our home race.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):

“Fuji is not only a home race for the team, it’s also a home track for me as well so that makes it even more special. Last year we faced a challenging race and the result was disappointing. I am sure the competition will be intense this year, but we are fighting hard to get a better result. We all enjoy meeting our fans and we’re so happy that they come to support us at the track, so we will be giving everything to give them a race to remember.”

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As on Friday’s opening leg, conditions would again make for a day of two halves for the drivers, with heavy rain creating a muddy and slippery surface for the morning loop of three stages.

Evans excelled in scenes reminiscent of those historically seen on rallies in his native Wales. Having been fifth overall overnight, he stormed to the front of the field with the strongest pace of the frontrunners in the difficult conditions, turning a 13.1s deficit into a lead of 5.6s in three stages.

Ogier, third overnight, felt he had been too cautious in the wettest conditions of the day’s opening stage, but worked his way up into second by the end of the morning.

For the afternoon’s repeat loop, the stages had dried out considerably and tyre management came to the fore once more on the most abrasive roads of the rally. The momentum swung in Ogier’s favour as he claimed a hat-trick of stage wins, edging ahead of Evans after the second test and opening his advantage in the finale.

Evans, running two places ahead of his team-mate on the road, was second fastest in all three afternoon stages and quickest of all across the day. He is 20.5s clear of third-placed Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai).

Sami Pajari also performed strongly in his TGR-WRT2 entry, ending the day in fifth just 8.7s behind Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

The team’s third championship contender Kalle Rovanperä was quickest across the morning loop, making the most of running at the front of the road order to climb from eighth to sixth in his recovery from running wide and pushing a tyre off the rim on Friday morning. He suffered more with road cleaning as the afternoon wore on and saw the gap to compatriot Pajari increase once more from 16.3s to 32.8s. Takamoto Katsuta ended the day strongly to make it five GR YARIS Rally1 cars in the top seven.

Oliver Solberg continues to lead WRC2 in his Printsport-run GR Yaris Rally2, increasing his advantage to 30.2s as he bids to seal the championship title with a victory.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It was a good day for us. Even in the difficult weather conditions this morning, our drivers were managing well, and in the afternoon they could be even faster. I’m not sure what happened to the others, but we managed to be a lot faster today, so I’m very happy. Seb and Elfyn both drove really well today, and tomorrow they are free to fight and drive as fast as they can. Nothing will be decided before the finish, because they need to drive more than 50 kilometres on these abrasive stages with the same set of the tyres. I must say Sami has done an incredibly good drive so far too, and the gap in front of him is not so big either.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“It’s been a very positive day overall today. We had a really good run this morning in difficult conditions. It rained a lot overnight and during the first stage, and it was there where we were able to make the biggest difference, so I was happy with that. This afternoon the tyre wear wasn’t as bad as expected and I was maybe a bit conservative, especially at the start of the loop. Seb’s driven really well and taken some time back, but it’s still pretty close and all to play for tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to the fight.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It was pretty good for us this morning when the rain came: in those conditions it was not so bad to be at the front of the pack and we were able to do some good times and catch up quite a lot. But after all three cars running in front of us dropped out, the afternoon was tough as first car on the road. It was drying up a lot, especially the last stage, and with so much loose gravel we lost a lot of time. Hopefully everyone restarts tomorrow and we have more cars in front of us and we’ll try to get what we can from the final day.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17) 
“I can be pleased to be in the lead tonight but not with my whole day. The conditions were not easy this morning and unfortunately I was not in the right rhythm in the first stage. I was just too cautious and lost a lot of time. That was a frustrating start but we managed to react well and find a good rhythm. Elfyn was very strong in those conditions this morning, but we managed to turn it around in the afternoon. Tomorrow will still be very intense: the fight for the win is very much on and there are a lot of extra points to try and secure too. Every stage will be important, so I will need to be awake and on it from the first one.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“It was a difficult start today with the conditions. The first two stages of the loop were new for me, and we did the recce for them in fog, so it was not easy to trust the pacenotes and we had to accept that we would lose some time there. The last stage of the loop wasn’t so bad, so I knew that the pace was there, and the speed was quite OK in sections this afternoon too. Overall I can’t be satisfied but the rally is not over yet and I’ll try to make tomorrow a good day.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5) 
“This morning the conditions were surprisingly tricky. Like everyone, we were expecting the rain and the muddy sections, but the tyre wear was also quite high and I quickly realised that I had to be clever and not just push like crazy everywhere. I don’t think we did too badly and we were able to catch Thierry a little bit. I was hoping we could have done even more this afternoon, but we do have some new tyres available and will do all we can to try and catch him tomorrow.”

End of day two (Saturday): 
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h23m13.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +6.3s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +26.8s
4 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +41.7s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +50.4s
6 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m23.2s
7 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m54.3s
8 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m00.4s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +6m12.7s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +6m42.9s
(Results as of 18:00 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
The final day’s action takes place in the same area as Saturday’s to the south of Concepción, with stages utilising some of the same roads. Laraquete and BioBío are both run twice, forming 54.8 competitive kilometres, with the latter’s second pass serving as the rally-ending Power Stage.

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Heavy rain in the lead-up to the event and low overnight temperatures in the early Chilean spring led to damp, low-grip conditions on the gravel roads for all the drivers through Friday morning’s opening loop. 

With the usual disadvantage of running first on the road being reduced by the conditions, championship leader Elfyn Evans enjoyed a strong morning with a stage win in SS3 to end the morning loop in the lead with a narrow advantage of 0.5 seconds over Ott Tänak (Hyundai). 

Kalle Rovanperä, running second on the road, had made a strong start by winning the morning’s first two stages, but in the third he ran wide and hit a bank, pushing a tyre off the rim and losing just over a minute.

Ogier, making his 200th start in the FIA World Rally Championship, was not fully comfortable in the morning but finished it in fourth overall, before setup changes on his GR YARIS Rally1 during mid-day service helped him find a better feeling for the afternoon.

Conditions changed considerably for the repeat loop, with the stages drying out and Evans therefore now cleaning a line through the loose gravel for his rivals to follow and seeing the lead slide away. Ogier too, running third on the road, lost some time to the lead in the first two stages of the loop but produced a stunning stage win in the last test to climb up to third overall, only 2.3s behind leader Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai).

After a promising fourth-fastest time in the morning’s first stage, Sami Pajari made the most of his road position to win the second pass of the Pulpería test – his first WRC stage win outside of his native Finland – and end the day up in fourth overall, only 11.2s from the lead. Evans limited the damage of his afternoon’s road sweeping to sit just 1.9s further back in fifth. Takamoto Katsuta rounds out the top six, having also found improved feeling and pace after service, with Rovanperä eighth after conditions restricted his fightback in the afternoon.

Oliver Solberg leads WRC2 in his GR Yaris Rally2 car run by Printsport with a 10.4s lead over his nearest rival, knowing that a win would secure the championship title.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It has been a very interesting day with everything changing quite a lot. In the morning the conditions seemed to be quite good and equal for everybody: damp and slippery, but Elfyn found it to be quite OK and was able to be in the lead. But then in the afternoon it was drying up and our first three drivers had to clean the road for the rest. Seb did a good drive in the end to be third, and it was a good day from Sami too, and Elfyn is not that far behind either. It’s a pity what happened to Kalle in the morning, but we know both he and Taka can be quick and catch up. We’re expecting it to rain through the night tonight, so it could be another interesting day tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It was a good start for us this morning. With the moisture in the air and on the road, the conditions were not as bad for us as usual running first on the road, even if there was still some loose gravel in places. The feeling in the car was pretty good after the work we’ve done in Paraguay and between rallies, and it was a reasonably clean morning. Then the afternoon was a big struggle with the cleaning being much worse than in the morning. At the same time, I don’t feel that I did a lot wrong and we’re still in touching distance of the lead, knowing that many things can still happen with the weather this weekend.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“This morning started quite well. I’ve never felt so comfortable on these stages, but today the pace was finally there. We’ve made some progress with a combination of the car setup and my driving; I was doing something differently and it was working well. Unfortunately we went wide in one narrow place, where the braking is always tricky, and lost the rear. It was not a big hit, but enough to push the tyre off the rim and we lost a lot of time. The afternoon was more difficult with more cleaning than the morning. Tomorrow we expect some tricky weather: hopefully if it’s wet the cleaning won’t be too bad, and we’ll push to see what we can get.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“We didn’t make an ideal start this morning. Even after 200 starts, we can still go the wrong way with the setup occasionally and this morning I was missing the feeling and the precision needed for these narrow roads. We knew what we wanted to change in service and things definitely went in the right direction this afternoon, even if the conditions were challenging for the frontrunners. We kept pushing and managed one very good stage at the end which saved the day for us and put us in contention for the lead, so I’m happy with that. Tomorrow could be even more challenging with the rain that’s expected, but we’ll try and continue in this positive way.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“In the morning I was struggling quite a bit as I was lacking the feeling with the car, and it was not easy to be committed on these fast stages. But we changed quite a lot during the mid-day service and I felt much better in the afternoon and the times were improving a lot. It was a pity that we lost the time in the morning, but we’re sixth overall with still a long way to go and maybe some tough conditions ahead. I will just keep pushing and trying to improve.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It’s been a good day overall. This morning the feeling was not quite there and I felt I could do better, but with some different conditions in the afternoon and some small fine-tuning with the car, I started to feel that everything is coming together. We managed to take a stage win and to be fourth overall, 11s from the lead, it’s a really positive day. I tried to save my tyres in the middle stage of the loop and I probably could have pushed more, because I still had good grip at the end. I’ll try to do my best again tomorrow, when the stages will be more twisty and the conditions could be more wet and muddy.”

End of day one (Friday):
1 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 57m48.5s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.0s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.3s
4 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +11.2s
5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +13.1s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +41.0s
7 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +49.8s
8 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m05.0s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2m27.4s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m35.7s
(Results as of 17:30 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

 

What's next? 
Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 139.2 competitive kilometres to be driven across another loop of three stages repeated either side of mid-day service. Located south of Concepción, across the Biobío River and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, these stages are generally wider but more abrasive than Friday’s.

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Light rain created ever-changing conditions, posing a strategic challenge for both the team and drivers, but they battled valiantly in the qualifying and Hyperpole sessions despite difficult circumstances. 

Ryo Hirakawa overcame the weather to reach Hyperpole and earn eighth in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he races alongside Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. However, Kamui Kobayashi was a victim of the damp conditions and finished 18th in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with José María López and Nyck de Vries.

After the extreme heat of Friday’s two free practice sessions, the Austin weather continued to create a challenge. Light rain began early in third practice and continued intermittently throughout Saturday, resulting in a damp track surface at the start of qualifying, when the 18 Hypercars battled for 10 places in Hyperpole. 

Both Kamui and Ryo started on medium compound Michelin slicks but, on a damp surface and with cold tyres, the drivers battled to stay on track until the rubber reached peak operating temperatures. With the rain continuing, Kamui changed to wets while Ryo continued on slicks. Ryo’s lap times consistently improved, and he was seventh going into the closing seconds. Rapid improvements throughout the field meant he briefly dropped to 15th before delivering an even faster final lap to take 10th at the chequered flag. Unfortunately for Kamui, the wet tyre choice ultimately did not pay off, and he was 18th.

Hyperpole started in slightly drier conditions when Ryo joined nine rivals to fight for the leading grid positions, with all cars using slick tyres. Ryo’s fastest time came on his first flying lap, and as the rain intensified in the closing minutes, he was unable to improve. 

Despite the mixed result, the team remains determined to maximise its chances in Sunday’s race, which begins at 1pm (8pm CEST). 

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “Unfortunately the track conditions were really mixed in qualifying. We tried to move up the order by changing to wet tyres, as some of our competitors did as well, but it didn’t work, and we couldn’t reach Hyperpole with our car. We had a strong race here last year so I hope we can recover positions and get a decent result.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a really tricky day with the weather, which was not expected. I managed to put a good lap together at the end of qualifying but in Hyperpole it was even more challenging. I wasn’t able to complete any good laps, which is a pity. But starting eighth isn’t bad and it gives us a chance to push on in the race. It will be a long race and a difficult one, but we will do our best.”

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Air temperatures hit 38°C and track temperatures peaked at 53°C, but drivers and team members worked relentlessly during the opening two practice sessions to prepare for the sixth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Austin.

The team also faced the heat of intense Hypercar competition and results on the first day of track action highlight the difficult challenge ahead. The #7 GR010 HYBRID, with José María López replacing the injured Mike Conway alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, ended the day ninth fastest. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were 17th in their #8 GR010 HYBRID.

First practice was disrupted by a series of red flags. The first occurred within the opening 10 minutes, due to a technical issue in race control, although the session was extended by an hour to compensate. Three further stoppages caused by on-track incidents cost around 20 minutes of running time. Despite the interruptions, the team made the most of the available track time and progressed with its programme of mechanical and aerodynamic adjustments.

Those earlier delays pushed back the start of second practice by 30 minutes, giving teams enough time to prepare the cars and make set-up adjustments. High afternoon temperatures challenged not only drivers, team members, cars and equipment, but also the Michelin tyres, so the session provided an opportunity to analyse performance and degradation. A largely incident-free session ended prematurely due to a red flag with just a few minutes remaining.

Engineers and drivers will now analyse the data from both sessions in the search for more performance from the GR010 HYBRIDs prior to Saturday’s one-hour third practice. That is the final chance to test adjustments before Hypercar qualifying takes place at 3.40pm (10.40pm CEST) to determine the grid for Sunday’s six-hour race, which begins at 1pm (8pm CEST).

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It’s hard to say where we are in terms of our overall pace, but it was nice to be back here in Austin. The track seems to be a little bit different to last year because it feels less bumpy, so we have been adjusting the car set-up accordingly. We still need to find some more pace. We’ll work hard on that tonight, and I am sure we can improve for qualifying and the race.”

José María López (Driver, car #7): “It was a good day, and I did a decent number of laps to help me get back into the rhythm with this car, even though there isn’t a huge amount of time for each driver in these sessions. I’m happy overall and pleased with the feeling I have in the car. We are on the back foot a bit in terms of lap times, so we need to work on finding some more performance.” 

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It’s always hard to know what everyone is doing in practice, but I had fun out there because I really enjoy driving on this track. We were obviously trying different things on each side of the garage to help us learn as much as possible. We will analyse everything tonight and hopefully put things together to make some steps forward.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “I am happy to be back in the car after missing Brazil. It’s been a hot day as expected, and we have been trying to learn as much as possible about the tyres and the set-up. Now we have some good data to analyse and I hope we can find some pace. Some competitors are a bit faster than us at the moment so we will try to improve the car for the race.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “We had no dramas, just a lot of red flags but that is the same for everyone. It was fun to be back on track after the summer break, and nice to be here in Austin again. We were not as competitive as we would have liked today, particularly on one lap. So, there is still a lot of work to do before the race if we are going to fight at the front.” 

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a productive day. We improved the car quite a lot from the beginning, especially on the long runs. We have some room to improve in qualifying trim but in terms of race pace we looked better. We are not at the top of the timing sheets, but I think it was a solid start and now we want to do more tomorrow. We need to find an extra bit of performance.”

The 2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC press kit, along with rights-free video material and photography of all TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsports projects, can be found at https://toyotagazooracing.com/media/.

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Following a one-two finish on a demanding debut Rally del Paraguay last week, TGR-WRT makes the trip across the Andes mountains to Chile with a lead of 100 points in the manufacturers’ championship and three of its drivers covered by just nine points at the head of an exciting fight for the title.

After finishing second in Paraguay, Elfyn Evans has a lead of seven points over Kalle Rovanperä, the winner in Chile in 2024, with Paraguay victor Sébastien Ogier just two points further behind.

Ogier is set to start his 200th WRC event in Chile, becoming only the second driver in championship history to reach the impressive milestone after Team Principal, Jari-Matti Latvala.

Five GR YARIS Rally1 cars will once again be in action, with Takamoto Katsuta at the wheel of a fourth TGR-WRT entry while Sami Pajari competes under the TGR-WRT2 banner at an event where he made just his second Rally1 appearance one year ago.

In WRC2, championship leader Oliver Solberg has a chance to secure the title in Chile if he can claim a fifth win from seven starts in the class aboard his GR Yaris Rally2 run by Printsport. A total of six GR Yaris Rally2 cars are entered with Solberg joined by Teo Martín Motorsport duo Jan Solans and Diego Domínguez, Kajetan Kajetanowicz with Rallylab Technology, Marco Bulacia with Delta Rally and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Paraguay’s Alejandro Galanti.

Paraguay and Chile are defined as linked rallies by the regulations, meaning that transmission components such as gearbox and differentials must remain sealed and used across both events. The five GR YARIS Rally1 cars were rebuilt and prepared over three days in Encarnacíon earlier this week before being transported by road for the journey of around 2500 kilometres to Concepción.

Rally Chile is a more familiar challenge for teams and drivers, with this being the WRC’s fourth visit to the country. The gravel roads in the forests of the Biobío region surrounding the Pacific port city of Concepción – located about 500 kilometres to the south of capital city Santiago – combine fast and technical sections with a mix of smooth and abrasive surfaces.

The rally route is identical is that of 2024, totalling 306.76 competitive kilometres. Shakedown and a ceremonial start in Concepción on Thursday are followed on Friday by an opening loop of three stages to the south-east, to be repeated after mid-day service. The rest of the weekend’s action takes place across the Biobío River to the south: Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 139.2 km to be driven across two loops of three stages separated by service, while Sunday features a pair of stages run twice without service.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“The rally in Paraguay was not straightforward but the result at the end was really good for our team. To be leading the manufacturers’ championship by 100 points is very nice, but this is rallying and there are still four events to go, so nothing is won yet. The drivers’ championship is also incredibly close and we want to give all three of our contenders the best chances to win. Rally Chile is much more familiar for everybody, with the route being exactly the same as last year, so we know what we can expect. The drivers enjoy the roads there and it was a good rally for us last year, so hopefully we can repeat that this time.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“After a tough rally we found some good improvements on the final day in Paraguay and the result wasn’t too bad in the end. It means we’re still leading the championship and opening the road on gravel once more in Chile. Let’s see how the weather is there: if it’s dry we could face the usual challenge on Friday, but if it rains it’s not so dissimilar to somewhere like Wales in terms of how muddy and slippery it can get, and then it’s not so bad to be first. Either way, the roads are really enjoyable to drive: Friday’s stages are technical with a lot of crests and quite like Finland, while the others are wider and more open, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Even if our result in Paraguay was not as good as it could have been, we still took good points from Sunday and the drivers’ championship remains close. Unlike in Paraguay, we know what’s coming in Chile. The roads are fast and flowing like in Finland but the surface is quite different with a harder base. Last year, I didn’t feel the most comfortable with that on the Friday stages, but we still managed to do a good rally after that when the conditions changed with rain and fog, and we were able to take the win. We’ll do everything we can again this year and try to score good points.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“It was great to win in Paraguay and stand on the top step of the podium, and we will try to continue the same way in Chile. We haven’t finished off the podium this year, and the plan is to keep it like that as we continue the fight in the championship. Last year was my first time back in Chile since 2019 and we had amazing speed but we didn’t have a clean weekend to bring it all together. So we’ll definitely be trying to put that right this year. The roads there are enjoyable to drive and the atmosphere is nice like always when we’re in South America, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Paraguay was a really enjoyable rally, even if the result was not what I wanted, and now I’m really looking forward to going back to Chile. As I wasn’t there last year, there will be some stages that will be new for me, but I’m trying to prepare as well as I can by watching videos from previous years. The surface in Chile is different to what we experienced in Paraguay, so I don’t know how much we can take from one rally to the next, but the stages are very nice and I’m feeling quite confident that we can have a good performance there.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“I’m looking forward to Rally Chile. Like Rally Finland, it’s one of the events that I did in the Rally1 car already last year and I enjoyed it a lot. We were quite close to the lead on the first day before the conditions became more tricky and it became more about learning. The roads are nice to drive and quite similar to Finland in places. The feeling and the performance that we’ve had in the car in the last few rallies has been really good, and the plan will be to try to carry that on in Chile.”

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Saturday’s route was shorter than Friday’s – with 112.78 competitive kilometres to be driven across seven stages west of Encarnacíon – but was marked by a different character and a looser gravel surface.

Kalle Rovanperä led coming into the day and started the morning with a stage win in SS9, took another in SS11, and had increased his advantage to 16.7 seconds by the end of the morning loop. Ogier meanwhile continued his fightback from tyre damage sustained on Friday morning, winning the other two stages in the loop and closing to within half a second of second-placed Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) arriving back into Encarnacíon for mid-day service.

Ogier took second place emphatically with a stage win in the first test of the afternoon, and would then gain the rally lead in SS14 when Rovanperä was slowed significantly by front-right tyre damage, dropping two and a half minutes.

At the end of the day, Ogier’s advantage stands at 10.3s over Fourmaux. Elfyn Evans is up into third overall after a trouble-free day, with 2.5s in hand over fourth-placed Ott Tänak (Hyundai).

Rovanperä is now sixth, one place ahead of Sami Pajari who continued his learning at Rally1 level after the time he lost changing a tyre on Friday afternoon. Takamoto Katsuta restarted this morning after the damage he sustained on the opening day, and faced the loosest conditions running first on the road.

In WRC2, Oliver Solberg has been fighting back from a slow puncture of his own on Friday morning, and climbed to second in the class – just 6.5s from the lead – after 12 consecutive stage wins in his Printsport-run GR Yaris Rally2. 

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It’s certainly been another up-and-down day today. As a team we are still in a good position in the fight but it is still very tight, and tomorrow is going to be a difficult day for everyone. Seb is such a good and experienced driver. When the conditions are difficult he knows the right speed to take and here he is now back in the lead. It’s been a good clean day for Elfyn too, moving up to third. It was unfortunate that Kalle lost so much time but there are extra points to go for tomorrow and he’ll do his best to fight for those. It’s going to be an interesting day and an exciting one to follow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s not been the easiest day but we did what we could. I’ve still been struggling to find a good feeling, especially when the stages are more technical. But we had a clean day and were able to stay out of trouble and gain a couple of places. Ott is pushing pretty hard and will be tough to keep behind us tomorrow, but we’ll give it a good shot. We’ll keep working tonight to try and find some extra speed and aim to maximise our points tomorrow.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“Obviously this was not what we were hoping for today. Things had been going OK; we made some changes with the car last night and the balance had been better than yesterday. We have seen this weekend that the puncture risk has been quite high, and for us it happened so early in the stage that we lost a lot of time. Looking back, we should have stopped to change it, but it wouldn’t have made a difference to our position now. It’s disappointing, but let’s see what the conditions are like tomorrow and what we can do to take back some points.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“It was a pity to see what happened to Kalle; you never want to take the lead from a team-mate in that way. Most of us have had issues with tyres at some point this weekend and unfortunately Kalle’s was more costly. Since we had ours yesterday, we’ve pushed and maximised everything we can and we can be happy with that. It’s nice that we’ve managed to come back to where we are now but it’s definitely not over. Tomorrow we have the longest loop of the weekend, with maybe some rain in the forecast, so many things can still happen.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Thank you to the team for fixing the car so that we could restart today. Running first on the road we had to do a lot of road cleaning, as we had expected with the different surface of today’s stages, so it was hard to know how much pace we had compared to the top drivers. Still, it was a good learning day. The surface here is very specific and difficult to judge so it’s important to learn about it. We tried many different things with the setup and learned some good things.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“Today we didn’t really have anything to fight for in terms of position but we still tried to do what we could. We were running second on the road for most of the day with some tricky conditions, so it was not so easy to compare the pace. But we tried to keep up some proper speed and have some good confidence, while also trying some things with the car, and we’ll aim to continue like that tomorrow.”

End of day two (Saturday):

1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h17m20.5s
2 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +10.3s
3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +36.6s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +39.1s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +46.8s
6 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m21.2s
7 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m16.2s
8 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +5m30.8s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +5m37.3s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +5m38.0s
20 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +21m54.2s
(Results as of 17:30 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
Sunday’s final leg is formed by a pair of stages north-east of Encarnacíon, which will both be run twice without service inbetween, for a total of 79.5 competitive kilometres. The second pass of Mision Jesuitica Trinidad – finishing at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the same name – serves as the rally ending Power Stage.

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The FIA World Rally Championship’s inaugural visit to the central South American country has been a trip into the unknown for the teams and drivers, but they have been met with the warmest of welcomes by the passionate local fans. After the pre-event reconnaissance and shakedown – with the vital tasks of making pacenotes and refining setups for the fast but challenging red gravel roads – a spectacular ceremonial start launched the event in host city Encarnación on Thursday evening.

Friday’s opening leg was the longest of the rally, featuring two loops of four stages totalling 140.9 competitive kilometres. The first stage, Cambyretá, would prove to be the most demanding of the day with many large bumps and compressions providing a test for cars and tyres, but TGR-WRT made a good start with Rovanperä quickest ahead of his team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Sami Pajari.

Ogier would lose more than half a minute in SS2 with tyre damage, just as Takamoto Katsuta had done in SS1, but Rovanperä ended the morning loop in second place, 4.1 seconds from the lead, with Pajari holding onto third ahead of a chasing pack of more experienced drivers that included Elfyn Evans.

In the afternoon it would be the second pass of Yerbatera, the rally’s longest stage at 30 kilometres, that would prove to be the most eventful. Rovanperä regained the rally lead from Adrien Fourmaux, who sustained a loss of tyre pressure, and would end the day with an advantage of seven seconds over the Hyundai duo of Fourmaux and Ott Tänak.

After his earlier setback, Ogier was the quickest driver over the rest of the day and climbed up from eighth to fourth place, 17.8s from the lead. Evans is one position and 3.3s further back in fifth.

Pajari was enjoying his fight with more experienced drivers on the level playing field of a brand-new rally until he had to stop and change a wheel and tyre in the eventful SS7, costing him two minutes and dropping him to eighth overall. Katsuta also hit trouble in that stage, running wide and hitting a bank and bringing an early end to his day.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“It has been a very interesting first day of rallying here in Paraguay. The stages seem to be fast but very tricky in places, and we’ve seen things changing a lot during the day. Seb lost some time this morning with the tyre damage, but he’s been very fast and got back into the game. The long stage this afternoon was good for Kalle because he could retake the lead, but not so much for Sami and Taka. Still, it’s an interesting fight with three of our cars in the top five and it’s all quite tight, so the battle will be on tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s been a pretty tough day. I think the conditions are tough for everybody, as we discovered in the shakedown, with grip levels that are very changeable and overall pretty low. With the very hard-packed clay surface, it’s been difficult to get a good feeling. Tomorrow there will be a lot more loose gravel in sections and road order will probably have more of an effect than it did today. The feeling might improve in those conditions, but we’re working to try and find something to be better.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s good to be in the lead. Today we had tricky stages to discover for the first time. We tried to be fast, but aside from the first stage this morning, we didn’t really have the last bit of pace we would have liked. On the other hand, we stayed out of trouble when many others had issues and that has paid off. I’m happy to have the best possible starting position for tomorrow with the greater road cleaning effect we’re expecting, and hopefully we can use that well.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“We started the day with a good rhythm so it was a bit disappointing to lose the time with the tyre damage in SS2. The only thing we could do then was try to fight back, and after that misfortune we can be happy with the rest of our day. I was pushing hard and we had to show our real speed without holding much back, which was enjoyable. It was especially important to improve our starting position for tomorrow, given the cleaning we are all expecting, and even if we are still some way from the lead, we are at least in a place where we can fight.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It was unfortunate that we had tyre damage on the first stage, and for the rest of the morning I was trying to avoid risks. The stages are difficult with a lot of grip changes, and it’s not easy to find the rhythm if you’re not pushing. The afternoon was going well, though. We were quite on the pace with nice and clean driving, without pushing too hard. The feeling was good in SS7 but on one corner the rear snapped and I wasn’t able to catch it. I’m sorry for the team but I will try my best to learn more about these stages in the remaining two days.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It was not a bad start for us this morning. I tried to be on it from the beginning, even in the first stage with the nasty bumpy places, and still there was room to do better because I made a small mistake at the beginning of the third stage. Still it was going pretty well and we were in the game this afternoon until we had to stop and change the tyre. It was really disappointing because we lost a lot of time and now the road position for tomorrow is not so good. But that’s the way it is and we just need to keep going.”

End of day one (Friday):
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 1h16m13.3s
2 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7.1s
3 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7.6s
4 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +17.8s
5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +21.1s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.7s
7 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m18.4s
8 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m24.2s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +2m57.6s
10 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +3m06.7s
TBC Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
(Results as of 17:30 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next?
Saturday features a trio of stages west of Encarnación each to be run twice, plus a third pass of the Friday’s Autódromo super special that will round out the morning loop prior to mid-day service. These stages are different in character to Friday’s, with a generally smoother yet looser surface, and form a total of 112.78 competitive kilometres.

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The Rally del Paraguay will be the first of two consecutive rounds on South American gravel, with cars to then be transported over the Andes mountains to compete in Rally Chile just two weeks later.

Having completed an intense run of European rallies with a perfect 1-2-3-4-5 result on home roads at Rally Finland earlier this month, TGR-WRT travels to South America with its full fleet of five GR YARIS Rally1 cars – back in their regular all-black livery after a lighter silver summer scheme was used on the previous events.

With five rounds remaining in the 2025 season, the team has a lead of 87 points in the manufacturers’ championship, and three drivers leading the way in the title race. Elfyn Evans is back in the lead of the drivers’ standings, with Kalle Rovanperä just three points behind after his home win at Rally Finland. Sébastien Ogier is 10 points further back in third, level with Hyundai driver Ott Tänak.

These three drivers will compete for manufacturers’ points, supported by Takamoto Katsuta – fresh from a strong second-place finish in Finland. Sami Pajari joins his team-mates in competing in all black for the next two rallies, even though his car remains entered under the TGR-WRT2 banner.

A strong pack of eight GR Yaris Rally2 cars are also entered in WRC2. Championship leader Oliver Solberg (Printsport) of Sweden is joined in making the trip by Poland’s Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Rallylab Technology) and Bolivian Marco Bulacia (Delta Rally) while five cars are driven by Paraguayans: WRC2 regular Diego Domínguez Jr (Teo Martín Motorsport) joined by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Paraguay duo Alejandro Galanti and Tiago Weiler, Gustavo Saba (Saba Competición) and Diego Domínguez Sr (DTA Rally Team).

The rally will be based in the south of Paraguay in the city of Encarnación, situated on the banks of the Paraná river and the border with Argentina. The route is formed by roads that have previously featured in Rally Trans Itapúa but will be a trip into the unknown for the Rally1 teams and drivers. The stages are expected to be generally fast, with some more technical sections through dense forest, while the red earth surface should be smooth but soft – meaning that deep ruts could form for the second pass of stages in particular.

After a ceremonial start on Thursday evening in Encarnación, the rally begins on Friday when 140.9 competitive kilometres will be driven across two loops of four stages. The loop ends with a super special stage at the Autodromo Alfredo Scheid, which will be run for a third and final time at the end of Saturday morning. Saturday’s route is otherwise formed by a trio of stages to the west each run twice, before Sunday’s finale features a pair of repeated stages to the north-east.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“Rally Finland was an incredible result for us and a strong performance by our drivers, and it’s giving the whole team good confidence as we enter the last part of the season. In the drivers’ championship, it’s still very close and exciting, with only 13 points covering the top four drivers – in Elfyn, Kalle and Seb we have three very strong contenders. Hopefully Takamoto and Sami can continue with the confidence and speed they had in Finland too. Paraguay will be something new for everyone, and nobody really knows what to expect there. What we do know whenever we go to South America is the passion that there is for rallying there – this is something I always remember from competing myself in Argentina. Like Argentina, it seems like the stages could be quite fast, but on a new rally we always need to be prepared for some surprises.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“After Rally Finland we’re back in the lead of the drivers’ championship, but the pack is incredibly close, so we can expect a big fight until the end of the season. We’re heading into another gravel rally in Paraguay, so it might not be easy to defend that lead when we need to open the road, but like usual we’ll be trying our best to get a good result. It’s always a big challenge to prepare for a new rally, and especially when it’s outside of Europe and we’re not able to test there beforehand. We’ll need to wait for the recce to really see what the stages and the conditions are like, and try to adapt the car to suit that as best as we can.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“The result in Finland was amazing for us and for the team, and the points we got were really valuable for the championship. Now we need to try to keep going like this with a good feeling and continue the fight until the end of the season. We are working hard with the team to try and keep the pace that we had in Finland for these next gravel rallies, and I think we have a good idea now as to how we can be fast. Paraguay will be a new rally for everyone and we don’t really know what to expect, so it’s not an easy one to prepare for, but hopefully it can suit us well.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“Rally Finland was amazing for our team and good for the manufacturers’ championship, which has been our main target again this season. Also in the drivers’ championship, to have four drivers so close is great for the fans and it’s exciting to be part of that fight. We’ve been on the podium in every rally we’ve started and we’re going to try to keep that up in the next events if we can. I always enjoy the challenge of a new rally like this one in Paraguay where everybody will be starting from zero, writing new pacenotes from scratch and needing to adapt as quickly as possible, and I’m looking forward to discovering it.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Rally Finland was really nice for me; to have that speed and also take a good result with it. I will try to take this good feeling to Paraguay, even though we don’t know exactly what kind of rally we will face there. Going to a brand-new rally can always be tricky. I think everybody will need to switch their mindset a little bit following a pure flat-out rally like Finland. Now we have something more unknown, even if there might be some fast sections. We will see on the recce what it’s really like, and if the conditions look nice, then maybe we can push for another good result.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“Our feeling is good after the pace we had in Finland, and that gives us a good base to work from for the next two rallies – even though they will be a bit different in character. Paraguay will be completely new for everyone, and I like it when we have new stages or a completely new event: it feels a bit more equal when everyone starts from the same position. We don’t know so much about what the stages there will be like. From what I’ve heard and seen, it could be that the conditions are quite nice and not too rough, but we’ll find out more once we’re there.”

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Saturday was the longest day of the rally with 142.16 competitive kilometres to be tackled across two loops of four stages in the forests south-west of Jyväskylä. Weather conditions would remain mixed after the rainstorms that brought an end to Finland’s long hot and dry spell on Friday afternoon.

Rovanperä’s lead was just 4.9 seconds coming into the day but he was fastest in three of the morning’s four stages – racking up his 250th FIA World Rally Championship stage win in the process – and returned to Jyväskylä for mid-day service with an increased overall advantage of 14.7s. 

His margin would grow to 36.1s in the afternoon after nearest pursuers, Hyundai drivers Thierry Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux, both slowed with loss of tyre pressure in SS16. 

Rovanperä’s TGR-WRT team-mates would also benefit to gain two positions each. Takamoto Katsuta is up to second place, 6.8s in front of Sébastien Ogier, who took a stage win in heavy rain in SS15. Elfyn Evans is just 1.5s behind Ogier having been second quickest to Rovanperä across the day. Completing the top five is Sami Pajari, who was more cautious than his more experienced team-mates in SS15 but scored his third stage win of the weekend in SS16.

The GR Yaris Rally2 occupies the top two places in WRC2 with Roope Korhonen (Rautio Motorsport) leading Jari-Matti Latvala by 1.8s. 

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“We are of course very happy to be in this position tonight, with all our drivers inside the top five and within one minute of each other. It had been a good fight with our rivals until this afternoon; from my position as a former driver, I know it must feel a bit unfair what happened with two drivers potentially hitting the same stone. All our drivers are free to drive tomorrow. There are 10 extra points available, they’re feeling good and the cars are working well. So there’s no need for me to say anything, except for 'go for it'! Ouninpohja is one of the nicest and fastest stages in the world and all the drivers like it. Even on the second pass, it will still be in good condition, so it will be a very enjoyable final day to drive and to watch.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s been a good day out there for us. It’s been a tight fight with our team-mates with not a lot to separate us on most of the stages. The conditions were tricky in the first stage of the afternoon with the rain, so I was happy to get through that, and otherwise it’s been a reasonably solid and fun day and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. Ouninpohja is a stage that needs a lot of concentration but we’ll just do the best we can and I’m sure it will be a lot of fun.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s been a super good day for us and the team. This afternoon the conditions were tricky in many places but we were able to control the pace quite well. The feeling in the car was a bit more comfortable and we could still do some good times without any big risks, which is always a good sign. It will be a tricky Sunday on such a demanding stage. Everybody will be pushing hard, and of course we want to secure the win, but we also need as many points as we can for the championship.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“I don’t feel that I did a fantastic job today; the pace was still missing a little bit. The car is quite OK to drive but I’m somehow lacking the little things which allow me to drive on the limit, and that’s been costing time on these extremely fast roads. I still have a little idea for tomorrow and hopefully it can be a good one. Tomorrow is all about Ouninpohja: the most beautiful stage of the season and the perfect showdown for the rally. It’s always fun to drive and I’m expecting it to be spectacular with everyone pushing for points.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“There were some up and downs today but at the end we came back in second place so I must be happy with that. I have mostly just been trying to manage the risk. It’s not been easy to find the balance between that approach and fighting against Seb and Elfyn, but it worked out well. Tomorrow with Super Sunday and the Power Stage, I think the decision will be easier: just go flat-out!”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“I think it has been another quite solid day for us today. We had some really close fights with Seb especially in the morning. In the afternoon I was obviously a bit careful in the rain on the first one of the loop, and then we did the fastest time on the second one. So not too bad overall and I’m still enjoying it and learning too. Tomorrow the main aim is to finish but I would like to be quick as well. Ouninpohja is such a cool stage to drive, and if you are not fully on it you are kind of wasting it, so I hope to enjoy it.”

End of day three (Saturday):
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h01m28.8s
2 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +36.1s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +42.9s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +44.4s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +59.2s
6 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m54.7s
7 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m23.7s
8 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +3m28.3s
9 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m27.9s
10 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m38.7s
(Results as of 19:50 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
A special Finnish finale awaits with the legendary Ouninpohja – one of the most famous rally stages in the world – to be run twice. Up to five Super Sunday points are available for the fastest drivers across the two passes, and another five for the Power Stage formed by the second run.

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After Thursday evening’s opening super special in the centre of host city Jyväskylä, the action moved to the high-speed forest stages to the north-east. After an extended period of hot weather in Finland, the stages would be loose and dry in the morning, before heavy rain arrived ready for the afternoon loop.

The day began with a stage win for local rising star Sami Pajari in Laukaa, one year on from his maiden fastest time on debut in Rally1 machinery. He was just 0.1 seconds quicker than team-mate Takamoto Katsuta – and the gap was exactly the same when Pajari also won the fourth and final stage of the loop in Ruuhimäki to end the morning third overall.

Rovanperä meanwhile was fastest in the two middle stages of the loop as he opened up a small lead of 4.4s, with the top seven still covered by less than 10s. He won the same two stages in the more challenging mixed conditions of the afternoon and ended the day with a lead of 4.9s over Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

Katsuta secured his 50th WRC stage win in the first stage of the afternoon as he moved up to the head of a close fight for second. He finished the day fourth overall, just 0.4s behind Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) and within 8.1s of the lead. Pajari is one place and 7.6s further back after a strong and solid day in his TGR-WRT2 entry.

Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier were both inside the closely matched top seven in the morning, despite experiencing some road cleaning running second and third on the loose stages. With standing water in places they would concede some more time in the afternoon, with Ogier 1.9s behind Pajari in sixth and Evans a further 8.4s back in seventh. 

Following its debut public run on Thursday evening’s first pass, the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept completed another demonstration run through the Harju stage at the end of the day. Juha Kankkunen, Deputy Team Principal, was once more at the wheel of the hydrogen-engine car alongside Masanori Ito, a producer at leading Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi, which has been sharing the excitement of rallying with Japanese audiences for many years.

The GR Yaris Rally2 car leads a close WRC2 contest in the hands of Finland’s Roope Korhonen (Rautio Motorsport). Georg Linnamäe is third (RedGrey) just 5.5s from the lead with Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal of TGR-WRT, in fourth having led the way until hitting heavy rain in the afternoon.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“I think we can be happy with how the day has gone. Kalle came back to service smiling, which is really good to see after Estonia when the confidence wasn’t so high. On these fast rallies you need to be confident and push flat out and that’s what he did today, and it’s good to see him leading. Taka and Sami were also very quick today and it was really nice to see them winning stages and up there in the top places. Elfyn and Seb drove well as well: it was not easy for them with the weather this afternoon and still the gap to the front is not too much. I’m sure there’s two more exciting days to come for the drivers and the fans.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“We had a good start this morning. There was a little bit of cleaning with the loose gravel like we expected after the hot and dry weather. I think we were pretty strong considering and the times were really close. Unfortunately the afternoon was quite tricky after the rain with a lot of standing water in the ruts, so the conditions didn’t really work in our favour. So a bit disappointed with the day overall, but tomorrow’s a big day and there can still be some surprises with the weather, so we’ll just keep doing the best we can.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s been a good Friday for us. It’s nice to be fighting for the top positions and there’s a lot of people cheering for us, so we’re enjoying it. The feeling behind the wheel is still maybe not the best, but we have been pushing hard and we have been able to be fast: we’ve been doing a lot of work to find more pace and it seems to be better. This afternoon was tricky after the rain came in but still we managed to do some good times and hold onto the lead, and hopefully we can continue in a good way tomorrow.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“The conditions haven’t been easy today. This morning in the dry there was a bit of cleaning for us, and maybe I wasn’t committed enough in a few places and lost a bit of time. This afternoon the rain was also a bit challenging for those of us at the front, but it wasn’t too bad. There’s a couple of things that could have been a bit better, but we’re still not that far from the podium places and that’s what we need to fight for tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“I had quite a good feeling from the start this morning. I struggled a bit on some stages but we made some small changes on the car and it felt better straightaway. When the rain came for the afternoon I felt it was time to push: I immediately had a good feeling and set the fastest time. After that the feeling was still good, there were a few tricky ruts and bumps and I lost some time from that. But still the gaps are small, there’s a long way to go and I’ll keep focused and keep pushing.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It’s been a really solid day for us. The morning was really good, with two stage wins and to be up in third place overall, and still there were some places where I felt I could improve. This afternoon the conditions were not so easy, but still we are not too far from the lead. Everyone is really close and it’s hard to make big differences. It’s really cool to be in the fight on our home rally, and it’s nice how much the crowd is cheering, so I’m sure there’s another two days of enjoyment to come.”
 

End of day two (Friday):
1 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 56m31.6s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +4.9s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +7.7s
4 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +8.1s
5 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +15.7s
6 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +17.6s
7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +26.0s
8 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +40.5s
9 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m06.0s
10 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m07.2s
(Results as of 21:00 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 142.16 competitive kilometres to be tackled across a route that takes crews south-west of Jyväskylä for more classic roads in Västilä and Päijälä as well as new-look Parkkola and Leustu tests.

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Based just three kilometres from the service park, the team already received a warm welcome from the rally-loving local fans at the ceremonial start on Wednesday evening. Thursday began with shakedown over the famous jumps of the Ruuhimäki stage: Finnish youngster Sami Pajari was fastest after the first run over shakedown in his TGR-WRT2 entry while Takamoto Katsuta ended up with the quickest time after three full-speed runs.

As usual, the mixed-surface Harju super special stage in the centre of Jyväskylä would open the rally. The GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept provided a spectacular curtain raiser: developed at the nearby TGR-WRT headquarters as part of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s efforts to create ever-better motorsports-bred cars and realise a carbon-neutral society. Fitted with an internal combustion engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen, it delivers near-zero emissions while retaining the sounds and sensations so enjoyed by rally fans.

With Finland’s four-time world champion and Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen at the wheel, the demonstration run allowed fans to experience the potential of hydrogen as one of the options for the future of motorsport in a carbon neutral society. In the co-drivers’ seat for the run was popular motoring journalist and presenter Richard Hammond, best known for hosting Top Gear and The Grand Tour as well as for science, engineering and sustainability storytelling.

Sébastien Ogier was the fastest GR YARIS Rally1 driver in SS1 in third position, just ahead of local hero Kalle Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans and Katsuta were tied for sixth, just two seconds off the best time, with Pajari only one second further back in ninth.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It’s an exciting moment to be at the start of Rally Finland. There is so much support for our team and our drivers in our home area, especially here in the city on the Harju stage. It was very nice for me to be able to drive the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept before the stage. It brought back some old memories for me: somebody told me I’ve been fastest in Harju seven times previously and I was again today – in the ‘hydrogen class’! The car feels good to drive and I think it’s good for the fans also. For our Rally1 drivers the most important thing was to get around cleanly because it’s a narrow and tricky stage, and be ready to push in the forests tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“We always have a very warm welcome here in Jyväskylä: it’s a special feeling as the home event for the team, and it’s a highlight on the calendar for me driving on such amazing roads. Everyone is excited to start the rally, expectations are high, and we are going to do our best to deliver a result for everyone. The feeling was OK in shakedown and hopefully we’re in a good place to start the rally for real tomorrow.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It’s always super exciting to start Rally Finland. Already yesterday in the ceremonial start we saw so many fans and a lot of support, and again in this first stage tonight. In shakedown we had a pretty good feeling. It was quite a simple bit of road compared to some of the trickier stages we will face in the rally, but the feeling is quite positive at the moment. Tomorrow will be a big push from us and we’ll try to do all we can to get a good result.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17) 
“It’s a pleasure to be at the start of this rally and driving on these magical roads – especially when you’re driving for the best team in the world! The support we feel from the fans is always big here, with so many people cheering for us and we try to put on a good show, starting with this stage in the city. The first target has been to find a good feeling because you need that to be quick here, and let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“This first stage was a nice one as usual with the great atmosphere from all the fans. It was a bit slippery in a few places but otherwise it was good. In shakedown this morning I was not completely happy with the feeling at first, but then we made a few changes and the car felt even better and we were able to finish fastest. I’m feeling quite confident and I will try to do my best tomorrow.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5) 
“It’s always exciting to start the home rally. This first stage in the city is always quite tricky, but it’s also cool to see all the fans watching and cheering for us. I had a good feeling this morning on the shakedown, and to have the fastest time already on the first pass was nice. The proper rally only starts tomorrow morning but so far, the feeling, the atmosphere, the weather – everything is really good.”

End of day one (Thursday): 
1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 2m04.0s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.3s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.5s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.7s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.9s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.0s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.0s
8 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2.7s
9 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3.0s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +3.2s
(Results as of 21:00 on Thursday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
A loop of four stages in the forests north-east of Jyväskylä is run twice on Friday, featuring classic Rally Finland tests Laukaa, Myhinpää and Ruuhimäki as well as Saarikas, run for the first time last year. A second pass of Harju rounds out the day, preceded by another demonstration run for the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept.

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The forests of central Finland around the city of Jyväskylä are considered to be rallying’s spiritual home, containing smooth and high-speed gravel roads with frequent jumps and crests that delight drivers and fans alike. They are home territory too for TGR-WRT, which is headquartered just three kilometres across the Jyväsjärvi lake from the service park and has won six of the last seven editions of Rally Finland.

Currently leading the manufacturers’ championship by 52 points, the team will field a full five-strong line-up of GR YARIS Rally1 cars, piloted by a quintet of drivers who all relish competing on the Finnish stages.

The greatest cheers from the local crowds will be reserved for double world champion Kalle Rovanperä, who along with co-driver Jonne Halttunen also hails from Jyväskylä. They continue to dream of a first home victory after an errant rock on their line cruelly caused them to crash out while on course to win one year ago.

Welshman Elfyn Evans is one of only four foreign drivers to know how it feels to have won Rally Finland more than once, having triumphed in 2021 and 2023 with TGR-WRT, and arrives just one point from the lead of the drivers’ championship. Last year, Sébastien Ogier joined that same elite club, and the French eight-time world champion sits third in this year’s standings after three wins and two second places from five starts. Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta grew up as a rally driver in Finland as part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program and finished on the podium in 2023.

TGR-WRT2 driver Sami Pajari returns to his home event one year on from a hugely impressive debut at rallying’s highest level, when he won a stage on his first full day in Rally1 machinery and finished fourth overall.

Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala will once more get behind the wheel for his 20th start on his home rally, driving a GR Yaris Rally2 car for the second year in succession as he returns to more modern machinery between outings in the FIA European Historic Rally Championship aboard the classic Toyota Celica ST185.

Fresh from scoring a sensational victory on his GR YARIS Rally1 debut at Rally Estonia just last week, Oliver Solberg resumes his main season programme in pursuit of the WRC2 championship, which he leads by three points in his GR Yaris Rally2 car run by Finnish team Printsport.

Other GR Yaris Rally2 drivers include reigning Finnish champion Roope Korhonen and compatriot and Rautio Motorsport team-mate Tuukka Kauppinen, as well as Estonia’s Georg Linnamäe of the RedGrey team.

The TGR WRC Challenge Program is well represented by Yuki Yamamoto in WRC2, Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita in WRC3 and Japanese co-driver Tomiya Maekawa making his WRC debut next to Finnish driver Jarkko Nikara in Rally4 machinery.

Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen will also be back in the driving seat to debut the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept. Fitted with an internal combustion engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen, it delivers near-zero emissions while retaining the sounds and sensations so enjoyed by rally fans.

The car will be demonstrated by four-time world champion Kankkunen in the heart of Jyväskylä on the popular mixed-surface Harju stage, allowing fans to experience the potential of hydrogen as one of the options for the future of motorsport in a carbon neutral society.

The always-popular Harju opens the competitive action on Thursday evening and is run again at the end of Friday, following two loops of four stages in the forests north-east of Jyväskylä including classic tests Laukaa, Myhinpää and Ruuhimäki. Saturday’s route to the south-east includes more classic roads in Västilä and Päijälä as well as new-look Parkkola and Leustu tests. The legendary Ouninpohja becomes the centrepiece of Sunday with its second pass serving as the rally-ending Power Stage.

Quotes:

Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)

“Rally Finland is a very special event for our whole team. The atmosphere created by the fans in Jyväskylä and in the forests is amazing, and all of our drivers feel great support there and really enjoy driving the fast Finnish roads. They all have the speed to do well and the team is working hard with them during our pre-event testing to make them comfortable and confident with the car so that they can be fast from the start of the rally. I’m also looking forward to doing some driving myself with the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept: it’s a very exciting project for our team to be involved in, demonstrating the potential of hydrogen technology with the sound and performance of a proper rally car, and we hope the fans will enjoy it.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)

“Finland is a brilliant rally and a real highlight of the season for me, so I’m really looking forward to it. Nothing quite compares to the feeling of driving on the Finnish stages, especially when you’re at one with the car. While it’s a similar event to Estonia in terms of speed, the surface and the character of the roads are quite different, so our test in Finland this week was important to try and find the best setup and feeling behind the wheel. It’s always a really enjoyable rally so the biggest thing is to enjoy the driving and hopefully a good result can follow.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)

“As our home event, going into Rally Finland always feels special with a lot of excitement and support from the fans. We’ve had good chances to win there with good pace in the last two years and didn’t quite manage to do it. We continue to work hard with the team to improve upon the pace that we’ve had on gravel so far this year, and we’ve been trying some more new ideas in testing for this event. Of course, we will try to enjoy the whole week, keep pushing as much as we can and do our maximum to get a top result.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)

“It will be nice for me to do Rally Finland again this year. I had a great rally there last year, taking my second win after a couple of years away, so it felt like a good idea to add it to my schedule once more. We’ll try to have fun on the beautiful Finnish roads and secure a good result on the home event of the team. It will be the first really fast rally that I’ve driven this year, but we’ve had good performance on gravel so far this season and I’ll still have the chance to test in Finland and get back up to speed before the start of the rally.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)

“Finland is a special place for me: I lived there for many years and learned so much and have many friends there, so I think of this event as being a second home rally for me. I usually have a very good feeling on the Finnish stages and it’s of course an important rally for the team as well. It was really nice for me to finish on the podium there two years ago and I want to aim to have an even better rally this time. I hope we can make another step forward with our performance and will just try to push as much as I can and enjoy.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)

“Rally Finland has always been a really special rally for me – right back to the first WRC event I drove six years ago. To drive in front of friends and family is a nice feeling and the roads themselves are really cool to drive in any car. To be able to drive them with a Rally1 car still feels like a dream for me, even though I did it once already last year. You always want to try and do better than the last time, but it’s never as easy as that and I’m not adding too much pressure on myself. I’m just really looking forward to it and will try my best to do a good rally.”

Map Rally Finland 2025

(Please visit www.wrc.com for the latest.)

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Making his first start at rallying’s top level since 2022, Solberg took a lead of 12.4 seconds into the longest day of the rally – made up of nine stages totalling 125.76 competitive kilometres – aware that any road position advantage he capitalised on during Friday would be reduced now that his nearest rivals were running directly in front of him on the road.

He soon showed this would be no problem, however, by claiming stage wins in the first three tests of a high-speed morning loop and rapidly expanding his advantage to 23s. Even with that more comfortable margin to lean upon, he set a further fastest time in the third stage of the afternoon and finished the day 21.1s ahead of the duelling Hyundai pairing of Ott Tänak and Thierry Neuville.

Kalle Rovanperä couldn’t match the pace of the podium fight but remains in fourth position overall. Takamoto Katsuta was in a close battle with fifth-placed Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) through the morning and remains within 8.6s overnight, with championship leader Elfyn Evans 13.6s further back in seventh. Sami Pajari is one place further back in eighth having enjoyed a clean and consistent day in his TGR-WRT2 entry. 
 

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“Oliver did a great job again today. Yesterday he made the most of his starting position but today he was able to keep up the same pace compared to the others, which was very impressive. He’s feeling comfortable in the car and the times are coming without any crazy risk. There’s still quite a long day tomorrow, but he just needs to carry on as he’s been doing and I’m sure he’ll be fine. For our other drivers it’s not been so easy but there’s still good chances tomorrow to go for some extra points and we will be giving it our all.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s not been the day we wanted and we haven’t been able to climb the leaderboard like we hoped we might. The times have been tight between everybody and it’s been hard to make big differences. Some stages have felt quite OK behind the wheel, but it seems we’ve been missing some speed to challenge the top times. We’ve been experimenting with the setup to find a better feeling and I think we’ve got a good idea of what we want to go with tomorrow, and we’ll give it our best shot.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s been a tricky day, much the same as yesterday. These stages always feel super nice to drive and I tried my best in every stage, but the pace was not there to do anything more. On the smaller, softer roads we can see that we have the pace on the split times, but we don’t have it on the wider more hard-packed roads. We’re working hard with the team to try and find that last bit. We will see how the conditions are tomorrow, as some rain can always mix things up, and try to catch some more points.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Today the feeling was definitely better than yesterday. We found a good direction with the setup to make the car better. The stages are enjoyable but you just need to be committed to make a good time and it’s not easy with the tricky, narrower sections. The gap has been tight between me and Adrien. Something didn’t feel quite right in the afternoon but I’m sure it will be fine for tomorrow and I’ll try my best to get as many points as I can for the team.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“Today was quite fine I believe. After what happened yesterday, we didn’t really have anything to fight for in terms of the result so it was just about trying to have a good feeling with the car and a good drive and take what we can from here to prepare for the next event in Finland. Considering our road position, which still seemed to be playing a big role, I think some of the stage times were not too bad and we’ll try to continue like this tomorrow.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)
“It has been another absolutely amazing day today, with consistent speed and no mistakes. It wasn’t our plan to extend the gap – I expected that our rivals might fight back with their improved road positions – but that we were able to do so is fantastic. The car was working really well and I was just trying to do my thing, still having fun while also learning some new things and trying to control the speed a bit this afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll just try to carry on with the same rhythm.”

End of day three (Saturday):
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 2h08m05.4s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +21.1s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +25.1s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +51.6s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1m08.2s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m16.8s
7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m30.4s
8 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m14.5s
9 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2m48.5s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +4m13.6s
(Results as of 18:30 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
Three stages form Sunday’s route with a total of 60.19 competitive kilometres. The first stage, Hellenurme, is new for the drivers while Kääriku uses part of last year’s Mäeküla test and is run twice, with the second pass serving as the rally-ending Power Stage.

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Solberg has been handed the opportunity to drive the GR YARIS Rally1 on Estonia’s fast gravel stages following his strong results so far this season in WRC2, where he currently leads the championship with the GR Yaris Rally2. 

After two days of testing in the car in Finland last week, the main goal for Solberg’s first start at the top level since 2022 was to gather experience, but he made an instant impression in Friday morning’s first forest stage with his maiden fastest time in the FIA World Rally Championship, going 5.3 seconds quicker than anyone else. 

Moving into the rally lead, Solberg also won the second pass of the Peipsiääre stage and came a close second in both runs over Mustvee to end the morning leading by 8.5s over local hero Ott Tänak (Hyundai). He continued to increase his advantage in the afternoon, when he won the second pass of the Kambja stage, and finished the day 12.4s in front of Tänak.

Kalle Rovanperä was second quickest to Solberg in both passes of Peipsiääre while holding third overall during the morning. With more road cleaning to contend with in Kambja, he conceded third position to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) but the three-time Rally Estonia winner remains within 20.1s of the lead overnight. Takamoto Katsuta is sixth, just 0.2s behind Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai), after sharing the fastest time on the super special on the streets of Elva that rounded out the day.

Elfyn Evans is one place further back in seventh after dealing with more road cleaning running first on the road as championship leader, with the first pass of Kambja proving particularly costly for time. Sami Pajari is eighth after an issue in the braking system on his TGR-WRT2 entry was resolved in mid-day service, allowing him to show stronger pace in the afternoon.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“Oliver’s performance has been a positive surprise for everybody today. Of course, we knew he’s fast but he has surprised me and I think it surprised Oliver himself just what he was able to do today with a really clean and quick drive. If he can just do a similar day to this tomorrow, it would be fantastic. It’s looking close between the top cars and I’m sure it will be a tough fight tomorrow. Kalle was struggling a bit with the grip and Elfyn knew he would lose time once more as the first car on the road, but tomorrow should be cleaner for them. Taka had a good solid day and Sami too could show more performance this afternoon once we fixed the issue on his car.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“It’s been a demanding day and a bit more difficult than we were hoping it would be. Already this morning I struggled with the grip: we had seen much damper conditions in recce but the sun had been out since and dried out the roads and made conditions looser for us running first on the road. Then the first stage after service was particularly difficult; I think you could see it quite clearly from the times. We’ve lost quite a lot of time to the leaders so we’ll be looking for some more speed with a better position tomorrow.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“The morning loop was quite good for us. The conditions were tricky after the rain earlier in the week with some changeable grip levels, but it was a clean start for us. We made some changes for the afternoon to try to optimise the grip of the car. Still I felt we were leaving some time on the stages and not being able to drive as sharp and precise as usual. At least we tried some things and know a bit more about the direction to go in for tomorrow. We still pushed through the whole day and tomorrow we will do the same.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“Things started quite difficult this morning. I was struggling a lot, but I tried changing a few things on the car setup during the morning and the feeling was getting better and better. Then, unfortunately, the afternoon was still a bit of a struggle. We will keep working together with the engineers and my teammates to continue improving the car, and I will try to improve my driving and I will give it everything to be better tomorrow.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It was an unfortunate start this morning for us with the problem that we had from the first stage today. It was quite a long morning loop before we could get to service, but thankfully the team was able to fix the issue and we could enjoy the afternoon’s stages. It was a pity that we lost the time in the overall standings, but I’m trying not to focus too much on that and just focus on my driving, and the pace is starting to be on the level where we should be, somewhere close to the front. Tomorrow is another day with some even faster sections and I’m looking forward to it.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)
“Today has been the best day of my life. It was a dream come true just to be driving this car, but to be leading the rally and winning a few stages, it’s been a lot of fun. The car has been amazing to drive. We worked in our test last week to get a comfortable feeling and we’ve been able to take that into the rally. I’m learning with every stage but I’ve been able to have a clean rhythm. The guys behind me will get a better road position tomorrow and I’m not sure I’m ready to push harder with my limited experience, but I will just try to do the same as today and see what it brings.”
 

End of day two (Friday):
1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 1h06m33.4s
2 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +12.4s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +14.2s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +20.1s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +29.8s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +30.0s
7 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +41.4s
8 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m05.1s
9 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m11.4s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m30.0s
(Results as of 20:00 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
Saturday is the longest day of the rally with 125.76 competitive kilometres to be driven across nine stages following a similar format to Friday: the Raanitsa and Kanepi stages are tackled twice in the morning before mid-day service, with Otepää and Karaski run twice in the afternoon before a return to the Tartu super special rounds out the day.

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The morning’s shakedown gave the drivers one last chance to get up to speed before the start of the rapid gravel rally. Kalle Rovanperä set the fastest time after making three runs over the stage, with team-mate Takamoto Katsuta completing a GR YARIS Rally1 one-two.

Oliver Solberg was fifth fastest in shakedown as the current WRC2 championship leader prepares for his first start with TGR-WRT at the highest level.

The team is also welcoming Central Automotive Products as a new partner; its logo visible on the A-pillar of the works GR YARIS Rally1 cars from this rally onwards.

Following the always well-attending ceremonial start in the historic centre of host city Tartu, crews tackled a short super special stage adjacent to the service park. Championship leader Elfyn Evans was second quickest over the 1.76-kilometre test, conceding just half a second to the fastest time set by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).

Rovanperä was within a second of the pace in fourth, with Katsuta, Solberg and Sami Pajari all close behind in the Rally1 order.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“I think all our drivers are happy to be moving onto faster roads here in Estonia. I never competed here myself but I know that the stages are a bit different to Finland, with a few less jumps and crests. Still, they’re very fast nice roads with a good surface. Kalle has won here three times and he has confidence on these stages, but we also know Ott Tänak will be a tough competitor on his home roads. Elfyn has done a fantastic job opening the road on the last few rallies and, with the cleaner and faster stages here, shouldn’t suffer as much and should be able to stay in the fight. Taka and Sami can also do well here – as can Oliver, but the most important thing for him is to drive the whole rally to gain the experience.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“Estonia has a massive following for rallying and the people are passionate about the sport, and we always get a warm welcome for the start. I’ve been looking forward to this weekend: it’s a nice change of pace from the last few events and with a high-speed character that we can really enjoy. There’s been a bit of rain in the build-up which should help us be not too disadvantaged running first on the road tomorrow. We’ll have to see how the conditions are in the morning, but hopefully it’s similar for everyone and we can be in a close fight.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It’s always really nice for me to be back in Estonia. It’s my favourite event to drive on the calendar, and the fans are really good here as well. The stages here are so fast that you need to push a lot, but when you’re feeling comfortable you can set some good times. I’m always feeling a bit more comfortable on these roads anyway and the feeling was good at the end of shakedown, so I think we’re quite well prepared.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“I’m happy to be back in Estonia with these fast gravel stages, and the fans are always nice. It was a quite OK start for me in SS1. In shakedown we just checked the car setup and found some interesting things, so we’re ready for the rally. Tomorrow will be a big challenge and it will be important to find the right pace and the balance between being committed and pushing too hard.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5) 
“It’s always cool to feel the passion of the fans here in Estonia at the start of the rally. It’s a nice rally and I’ll be just trying to enjoy it and find that good feeling and confidence that I’ve always had here in other categories. The feeling was good in shakedown: there was surprisingly good grip, and we don’t know how the conditions will be tomorrow, but we were trying to make a few adjustments to make it even better.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99) 
“It’s amazing to start my first rally with the GR YARIS Rally 1 car. In the super special, I couldn’t tell whether to use first or second gear in the tighter places, but I’ll figure it out. The feeling in shakedown on the faster roads was incredible. My test in Finland was good and I got quite comfortable with the car there, but the roads here are more technical and the soft surface can change a lot, so I’m just trying to adapt for that a bit. There are some very tricky stages tomorrow, but I’ll try to enjoy it, reach the finish and see how it goes.”

End of day one (Thursday): 
1 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1m42.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +0.5s
3 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +0.6s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.0s
5 Robert Virves/Jakko Viilo (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1.2s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.4s
6 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.8s
8 Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2.1s
9 Tuukka Kauppinen/Sebastian Virtanen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2.1s
10 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.5s
(Results as of 19:15 on Thursday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)

What's next? 
On Friday morning, a pair of stages north of Tartu – Peipsiääre and Mustvee – are run twice prior to mid-day service. The action moves south in the afternoon for two passes of the Kambja test, plus a super special stage on the streets of Elva, rounding out a total of 120.64 competitive kilometres across the day.

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Faced with challenging circumstances, the team and drivers pushed hard to maximise the potential of the GR010 HYBRIDs around Interlagos. Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa will start Sunday’s race from 10th in the #8 while Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries line up 18th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID.

The day started with third practice, a one-hour session during which the drivers sampled the cars in qualifying trim, before switching to race preparation and tyre analysis. Although Ryo’s lap set the pace, expectations were modest heading into the 12-minute qualifying session, which determined the 10 cars to reach Hyperpole.

When the lights turned green on a cloudy São Paulo afternoon, Kamui, who set pole position at Interlagos last year, was at the wheel of the #7, while Ryo took on qualifying duties in the #8 for just the third time. 

At 4.309km, Interlagos is the shortest circuit on the calendar, making it difficult for drivers and race engineers to find a clean lap amidst traffic within the 18-strong Hypercar field. Kamui waited more than a minute in the pits before hitting the track, but his flying lap was only enough for 18th place. 

Ryo enjoyed a more successful qualifying, earning 10th and a place in Hyperpole for the chance to fight for the top grid positions. Hyperpole saw him initially take ninth before dropping to 10th at the chequered flag, less than a second away from the pole position time.

Despite the frustrating result, the team takes encouragement from the first half of the season, which saw bold strategies, determined driving and fast pit stops often move the GR010 HYBRIDs up the field to achieve strong points finishes. The race begins at 11.30am local time (4.30pm CEST) on Sunday.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “We came here with higher expectations after the great result last year but so far it isn’t going well. Hopefully we can get something positive from the race. Unfortunately, car #8 finished 10th and I was 18th, which is obviously not what we wanted. But that’s how it is, and we will try to recover positions in the race; hopefully we can score points with both cars.” 

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “We made it through to Hyperpole, which I think was the maximum result for us, considering the performance we have and what we have seen from the competition so far here. It’s been a tough week and it’s going to be a very challenging race but starting from 10th isn’t too bad. We will try to move forward and push for our first podium of the year.”

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The second half of the season begins in Brazil and sees a return to action again after last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours, in which the leading GR010 HYBRID finished fifth. At a venue where it has won twice in four visits, including a dominant victory 12 months ago, the team expects a tough challenge to return to the podium against intense competition from an 18-strong Hypercar field.

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, who started last year’s race from pole position, ended the day seventh fastest in their #7 GR010 HYBRID. Last year’s winners Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa – competing together as a two-driver crew for the first time in the #8 GR010 HYBRID due to Sébastien Buemi’s other racing commitments – were 16th.

In sunshine and temperatures of around 20°C, first practice began slightly late due to technical issues, but the team wasted no time getting to work on a programme to adapt to the resurfaced 4.309km circuit and establish baseline set-ups. That includes brief spells in the garage for set-up adjustments to tune the GR010 HYBRIDs to the unique demands of Interlagos’ anti-clockwise lay-out.

In the three hours between sessions, drivers provided detailed feedback to engineers to help identify the areas of car set-up and balance to improve ahead of second practice. As well as testing those set-up changes, second practice allowed further analysis of the Michelin tyres. Another 90 minutes without significant interruption, combined with a trouble-free day for both cars, meant the team successfully completed its full programme of analysis and comparisons.

Third practice on Saturday morning offers the team a final opportunity to optimise its cars before qualifying and Hyperpole, which will determine the starting order and begins for Hypercars at 3.25pm local time (8.25pm CEST). The race itself starts at 11.30am (4.30pm CEST) on Sunday.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “It’s nice to be back in Brazil. We had two clean sessions, and we are in the process of optimising our car for this circuit, especially considering there is a new track surface which changes things compared to last year. We are not on the pace that we hoped for, so we need to work to find more performance and we will try our best to do that.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “Both sessions were quite different in terms of how the car felt so we need to understand that a bit more. I don’t know how much we can improve because it feels like some others are just a bit quicker. But we will try to find as much as we can and see what we can bring for qualifying and the race. We will keep pushing and aiming for a strong result.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “I had a good day, I had fun. The day went smoothly, and we made some progress on car balance between the two sessions, but I don’t think we are competitive enough. We are pretty much where we have been all season; some of our competitors look stronger than us. Tyre degradation is still quite important here even with the new surface so it’s important that we get on top of that for the race.”  

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It’s nice to be back in São Paulo; I really enjoy this track. We experienced the resurfaced track and had two smooth sessions with no issues. We are clearly in a tight midfield battle so we will work hard overnight to find more pace. It was a new experience for me having only two drivers in our crew. The positive aspect is we get more laps, but we do also miss the input from Séb.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a tricky day but also a productive one. The focus was to assess the resurfaced track and how the tyres behaved. We did a lot of laps, so we have a lot of data to work with. I had a good number of laps which helped me get to know the car on this track. The field is quite tight so it’s going to be a challenging race, and we need to get the most out of our package.”

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After a trio of hot and rough gravel rallies in Portugal, Sardinia and Greece, the forests of northern Europe now offer a significant change of pace with Estonia to be followed just two weeks later by Rally Finland – the fastest round on the calendar and a home rally for TGR-WRT.

Halfway through the 14-round season, the team has a 65-point lead in the manufacturers’ championship while Elfyn Evans remains on top of a close contest for the drivers’ title despite facing the disadvantage of sweeping the loose gravel roads on the last three rallies.

He will aim to be back on the podium on terrain he enjoys as a two-time winner in Finland, as will Finland’s own Kalle Rovanperä – the winner of the last three WRC rounds to be staged in Estonia. Takamoto Katsuta too relishes the return to faster roads for the first time since he finished second to Evans in Sweden in February, as does TGR-WRT2 driver Sami Pajari, twice a winner in Estonia in the Junior WRC.

While Estonia is not part of Sébastien Ogier’s partial schedule, TGR-WRT still fields a fast and exciting five-car line-up as it hands a debut in its GR YARIS Rally1 to Oliver Solberg. Swedish driver Solberg, son of 2003 World Champion Petter, is currently leading the WRC2 support series where he has taken three wins so far this season driving the GR Yaris Rally2 car. His outing in Estonia – made possible by a change of entered car and change of competitor that have been approved by the FIA – forms part of TGR’s commitment to providing a path for young talent to reach rallying’s top level.

With Solberg’s step up, the GR Yaris Rally2 contingent on the Estonia entry list is led by Roope Korhonen, who’s joined at Rautio Motorsport by fellow Finnish driver Tuukka Kauppinen. Estonia’s Georg Linnamäe won the event outright last year as a round of the FIA European Rally Championship and is joined under the RedGrey awning by Joosep Ralf Nõgene, who makes his WRC2 debut at home. Others competing in the GR Yaris Rally2 include Marco Bulacia (Delta Rally) and Fabio Schwarz (Armin Schwarz Driving Experience).

TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Yuki Yamamoto also continues his season driving a GR Yaris Rally2, while it has been agreed that Hikaru Kogure will step back from his participation. The Program’s third-generation drivers Takumi Matsushita and Shotaro Goto make their fourth starts of the year in the WRC3 category driving Renault Clio Rally3 machinery.

Returning to the WRC calendar after a year away, Rally Estonia is known for wide and flowing roads featuring plenty of jumps and crests, but also features many narrower and more technical sections; here the soft and sandy surface can become heavily rutted by the second pass of each stage.

The event remains based in the country’s second largest city, Tartu – around two hours south-east of the capital, Tallinn. The historic Town Hall Square once more hosts the ceremonial start on Thursday evening before an opening super special stage adjacent to the service park at the Estonian National Museum.

On Friday morning, a pair of stages north of Tartu are run twice before mid-day service. In the afternoon the action moves south for two passes of the Kambja stage plus a street stage in Elva. Saturday’s format is similar, with two stages run twice in the morning and another two repeated in the afternoon, before a return to the Tartu super special in the evening. Three stages form Sunday’s route with Kääriku run a second time to serve as the rally-ending Power Stage.

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“After three very rough and demanding gravel rallies, our team is really looking forward to these next events on fast roads in Estonia and Finland, which tend to suit our drivers and our car well. Still, the competition has been close recently and we know that we will need to be at our best if we want to win. These will be the first fast gravel rallies driven with this year’s tyres, so there has been some important work going on in testing since Greece to optimise the whole package for these conditions. We are also excited to give Oliver Solberg this opportunity after some strong results with the GR Yaris Rally2 car so far this season. It’s a great chance for him to experience the performance of the Rally1 car, and for us to see how he adapts to the step up.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“We’re looking forward to a very different character of rally for the next two events, with some very fast roads. Although Estonia wasn’t on the calendar last year, it’s an event we have pretty good knowledge of and a nice one to be going back to with the high-speed nature of the stages. It’s important to have a good feeling in the car and our test last week was good for working through some ideas, but we also know the conditions we’ll face on the rally can depend a lot on the weather; hopefully there can be a chance of some rain to help us out opening the road on Friday.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s cool to be going back to Rally Estonia this year. It’s where I took my first win in the WRC and we’ve had some good success since then also, so I have good memories of this event. I really enjoy driving on the fast and flowing roads and they suit my style well, so I’m excited. The pace on gravel so far this year hasn’t quite been where I’ve wanted it to be, so we had an important test in Estonia last week to try and get fully up to speed and find the best setup for these faster rallies. The feeling was pretty good and I’m confident that we can do a good rally.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“The fast rallies coming up in Estonia and Finland are some of my favourites on the calendar and I’m looking forward to them. It can be challenging to adjust again to the much faster roads, and we also have to get used to driving with the new tyres on high-speed gravel for the first time, but the car felt good in our test and I feel I’m ready to push. The Estonian stages can be tricky in places especially in the forests, where they are still very fast but also narrow, and this could make Friday the most challenging day. Still, I’m confident we can do a good job and will try to prepare as well as I can.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“These next two rallies are very different to the ones we’ve just had, and maybe the most enjoyable ones on the calendar for me: the stages are high-speed and also quite flowing and in pretty good condition, so it can be more about driving fast than trying to avoid issues. In Estonia the surface is softer than Finland and the roads can get more rutted, so it’s not totally straightforward, but it’s been a nice rally for me in the support categories. Now we’re halfway through the season, it’s natural to try to increase the pace and these next rallies can be good for this, without planning to do anything crazy.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)
“It’s a fantastic opportunity and a dream come true for me to be able to do Rally Estonia in the GR YARIS Rally1. To test the car in Finland this week was already an incredible feeling. It’s been a great season so far and I feel ready for this and to learn and gain experience at the top level. Estonia’s one of my favourite rallies; it’s quite technical but also super fast, so it won’t be easy. The goal is to build up step-by-step during the rally and get more and more comfortable in the car, finish the rally to gain as much experience as possible, and have loads of fun.”

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The Interlagos circuit has witnessed significant milestones in the team’s WEC history, from its maiden victory in 2012, to securing the manufacturers’ World Champions for the first time two years later. Last year’s successful title challenge was strengthened by a dominant performance there, with pole position and victory. 

A return to the podium is the priority after last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours, which saw Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries classified fifth. After appearing in a unique livery inspired by the TS020 which raced at Le Mans in 1998, their #7 GR010 HYBRID will return to its regular matt black design. 

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa had led Le Mans but ended up 15th in their #8 GR010 HYBRID. In that race, Sébastien – who already holds the record for most WEC wins – set another record by becoming the most experienced driver in the series’ history with his 90th start, but he will miss São Paulo due to Formula E commitments, leaving Brendon and Ryo to race together in Brazil. 

After two pole positions, two wins and three podium finishes in its four visits to date, the 6 Hours of São Paulo offers the team an opportunity to return to the front of a highly competitive Hypercar field, which features 18 cars from eight manufacturers. 

The anti-clockwise 4.309km circuit, officially named the Autodromo José Carlos Pace after the São Paulo-born former Le Mans and Formula 1 driver, is the spiritual home of Brazilian motorsports and has held four WEC races since the series returned in 2012. 

Track action begins with Friday’s two 90-minute free practice sessions before a final one-hour on Saturday morning. The starting order will be determined by qualifying and Hyperpole, which begin for Hypercars at 3.25pm (8.25pm CEST) on Saturday, while the race itself starts at 11.30am (4.30pm CEST) on Sunday 13 July.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7):

“The whole team is looking forward to racing again, especially in Brazil. The support we receive from our colleagues at Toyota do Brasil is fantastic, and the atmosphere at the circuit is really special. We didn’t get the result we wanted in Le Mans, and this makes it almost impossible in the World Championship, but we never give up and we want to fight for victory at every race. We know it will be a challenge because our rivals have shown strong performance so far this season, but we are all working very hard for this.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7):

“It’s good to be back in the car so soon after Le Mans. We’ve had time to rest and regroup so we’re ready to race again. I’m looking forward to racing in Brazil again because it’s a true motorsport country and the fans are just incredible. The circuit itself is special, too, with all that history, so it’s a place I always enjoy visiting. We’ve had strong results there in the past and we’ll be pushing hard to stand on the podium again.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7):

“Last year was my first time racing at Interlagos and it was a cool experience. As well as the amazing support from the Brazilian fans, the circuit is very specific with low grip, so it’s a challenge to find the right set-up. It’s also a relatively short lap, so it can be pretty hectic when we’re fighting our way through traffic. It should be an exciting race and I’m looking forward to it.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8):

“Last year we had a strong race from both cars and that gives us some confidence for the weekend. Interlagos is one of the highlights of our season because we get huge support from Toyota do Brasil, the fans at the circuit are incredible and the atmosphere is really special. Obviously, after Le Mans, we all want a strong result to start the second half of the season with a positive result. We’ll miss Séb, of course, but it’s no problem to take on a six-hour race with two drivers.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):

“I really enjoyed my first race in Brazil last year. It was the first victory of the season for the #8 car, and an important result for the World Championship. It’s going to be a challenge to repeat that result this year but the whole team is fighting hard to get us back on the podium again. With only Brendon and me in the #8 car, it means we both get more track time than normal, but we will miss having Séb in our crew. Our team spirit is really strong, and we’re all determined to bounce back after Le Mans.”

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Saturday was the longest day of the rally in terms of competitive distance with two loops of three stages in the mountains south of Lamia totalling 123.44 kilometres. Starting the day in third overall, Ogier used his experience to guide his GR YARIS Rally1 through the day quickly and without issue. He took a stage win in the morning’s third and final stage, and with it gained second place when Adrien Fourmaux (Hyundai) sustained damage.

A consistent rhythm from championship leader Elfyn Evans ensured he strengthened his grip on fourth position, achieving another mistake-free day of driving to close in on an important points haul.

Takamoto Katsuta started strongly on Saturday, gaining almost a minute on the driver in front during the morning loop to take fifth position. A small but costly overshoot on SS11 ended his day however, when he became stuck on a gravel bank and was unable to continue.

Kalle Rovanperä was running in eighth place until SS11, where he also ran wide and got stuck. Though he was briefly able to continue again, he ultimately had to stop in the stage and retire for the day.

The car of Sami Pajari did not return to the stages after its retirement on Friday, the team electing to focus on preparing the car for a restart on Sunday. The team is working this evening to get all three retired cars back on the road tomorrow.

The Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 continues to lead the way in the WRC2 support category, with Oliver Solberg’s Printsport-run car leading by over a minute. Kajetan Kajetanowicz in third place with Rallylab Technology ensures that two GR Yaris Rally2 cars are currently in podium position.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It has been both a good day and a bad day today: Seb and Elfyn both drove very well again, but we unfortunately lost Taka and Kalle from the overall fight this afternoon. Seb tried his best but Tänak was very fast today and it’s not looking likely that we will be able to catch him on pace. Tomorrow is still a long day to get through, and we should have Taka, Kalle and Sami all returning to join the fight for bonus points on Super Sunday.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“The feeling in the car was better today with our position further back in the road order certainly helping us. We tried to keep a decent speed and rhythm while staying out of trouble and we managed to achieve that. We definitely have to give it a go tomorrow but also have to wait and see how the feeling is. It will be a rough and long day tomorrow, not a typical short Sunday, but those Sunday points are important, so we will have to try.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It’s not been an easy day. Already in the morning I was struggling quite a bit. Then in the first stage of the afternoon we went off in quite a rough braking, going a bit wide and getting stuck. After we got back on the road we saw that we had some damage on the car; I’m not sure if that’s why I couldn’t get the car slowed down, but it meant we couldn’t finish the stage. Tomorrow we just need to try and have a good day and get as many points as we can.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17) 
“It was a solid day for us and we have to be happy to get through another challenging day in Greece. At least it was not as hot as yesterday so it was a bit more enjoyable. The roughness was still there in places and managing the tyre wear was a big focus on the second pass this afternoon. Ott was flying today so there was not much we could do and we realised this morning that road position was still playing a role. Tomorrow everything is still to play for; there are many kilometres to go and very rough conditions expected on the second pass, but with Sunday points on offer, nobody can relax!”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“Today started much better than yesterday. We changed a few things on the car overnight and felt more comfortable and confident. It felt even better in the afternoon after some changes during service and the split times were looking good in SS11. It wasn’t a crazy push and everything felt under control, but under braking for one hairpin it was quite bumpy and rough and I couldn’t get the car stopped. Unfortunately there was a gravel bank on the outside and we got stuck on top and could not get out. It was quite unlucky but it was my mistake, and I’m sorry to the team.”

End of day three (Saturday): 
1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 2h56m31.7s
2 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +43.6s
3 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m08.0s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3m04.4s
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +4m17.7s
6 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +5m55.0s
7 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +6m56.7s
8 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +8m34.5s
9 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +8m44.5s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +8m59.6s
TBC Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
TBC Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
TBC Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
(Results as of 19:40 on Saturday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
Acropolis Rally Greece concludes on Sunday with two stages run twice: Smovoko, which is brand new, and the legendary Tarzan stage, the second pass of which will also act as the points-paying Power Stage. Though it is the shortest leg of the rally at 99.06km, it features several tempo changes, mixing from fast to technical – and even featuring a brief section on cobbles during the Tarzan test.

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Ogier led the rally for much of Friday, winning both passes of the Aghii Theodori stage in the morning to build a 6.1-second lead over Ott Tänak (Hyundai), with whom he’d tied for first place after the Thursday super special stage in Athens.

After a remote service in Loutraki, the afternoon featured three stages used only once, so as the second car on the road, Ogier faced the disadvantage of sweeping loose gravel away which benefitted cars starting behind. But the eight-time world champion managed the challenge well, limiting his time losses and finishing Friday only 16.9s from the lead in third overall.

Elfyn Evans picked up damage from an impact on stage four, which he and his mechanics were able to fix successfully in remote service. Like Ogier, Evans faced a road sweeping disadvantage – to an even larger degree given the championship leader was the first car to begin each stage – but a strong, consistent performance delivered fourth place overall at the end of the day.

Takamoto Katsuta and Kalle Rovanperä are separated by 3.8s in sixth and seventh place respectively. Both drivers had to stop and change a wheel and tyre on Friday – Katsuta on stage two and Rovanperä on stage six – losing approximately two minutes each.

Sami Pajari, competing on Acropolis Rally Greece in a GR YARIS Rally1 for the first time, put in a strong performance and was in a podium position after SS2. A technical issue after SS5 curtailed his day early; the team is investigating the cause and preparing the car to restart on Saturday.

GR Yaris Rally2 drivers hold first and second positions in the WRC2 support category, with Oliver Solberg (Printsport) leading Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Rallylab Technology) rounding out the overall top 10.
 

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It was a ‘normal’ Acropolis day today and very demanding, but I think we have done well. Starting first, second and third and cleaning the road, you will always lose a bit of time. Seb did a great drive from second on the road and Elfyn did what he could and they are still in a good position to attack tomorrow. Taka and Kalle may have lost time changing tyres mid-stage but this is the Acropolis. When I first won this rally in 1986, I was a minute and a half behind after the first stage and by the second day I was leading by two minutes. Anything can still happen!”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) 
“It was tough today. It was hot and we definitely suffered opening the road. It was a tough position to be in, especially with how the afternoon stages were, having to clean every one. I am not particularly happy with how the day went and with how difficult it was to get a good feeling in the conditions that we faced. Fourth is a reasonable position to be in with several others having had trouble today, but there is still a long way to go and we need to keep driving a clean rally.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) 
“It’s been a demanding day on the cars, the tyres and the crews – it has been so hot. I wasn’t able to have the pace that I wanted in the morning which was quite annoying. Also, the roads were so rough that with many big hits to the car we picked up some damage and carried this for the rest of the day. On a rally like this you need some luck and we didn’t have it today but tomorrow we can try again.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17) 
“Overall the day has been very positive; to be where we are from second on the road is better than we expected. The morning loop was especially good for us with the two stage wins in Aghii Theodori. Loutraki on the other hand was a proper taste of what was to come in the afternoon – on those stages the cleaning effect was much harder and we lost some time. I am still pretty pleased with what we achieved and with the car, and with a better start position tomorrow we can be even more competitive.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18) 
“Unfortunately we had to change a tyre early in the first stage this morning; we’re not sure what happened but the roads were rough and there was a very big step in the bedrock. But there can be many dramas on Acropolis, so I made an effort to avoid a similar issue later and also avoid any mistakes. By the end of the day we recovered to sixth overall, which is good considering what happened this morning. It is still a long way to go and anything can happen, so I will keep pushing enough while avoiding trouble.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5) 
“We had really tough and tricky conditions today. There are so many rocks and anything you hit can lead to trouble. I was pushing in some places but being clever in the tricky sections. It was going quite well in the morning; we were in the game and I was really happy with the car and the driving. Unfortunately after SS5 we found we had a technical issue and couldn’t go any further. It was a pity but Acropolis is so rough that these things can happen, and hopefully we can restart tomorrow.”

End of day two (Friday): 
1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 1h25m07.4s
2 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +3.0s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +16.9s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1m21.5s
5 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +1m43.3
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m34.3s
7 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2m38.1s
8 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +2m38.3s
9 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +2m48.4s
10 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +3m41.8s
TBC Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1)
(Results as of 21:30 on Friday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
A trio of classic Acropolis stages – Pavliani, Karoutes and Inohori – are run twice on Saturday from 123.44 competitive kilometres. The roads are slightly different to those used in southern Greece on Friday, moving away from the rougher roads filled with bedrock to the tree-lined mountains directly south of Lamia, which houses the service park.

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The event’s move from September to June has been met with higher temperatures with ambient heat of up to 40 degrees anticipated during the rally, providing a challenge for cars, tyres and crews alike.

Thursday morning’s shakedown provided a chance to make final preparations, held over 3.62 kilometres of gravel road in the hills above the Lamia service park. Takamoto Katsuta set the joint fastest time after two runs each over shakedown by the TGR-WRT drivers.

Crews then travelled south to the heart of the Greek capital city, driving over the start ramp in front of the historic Panathenaic Stadium and into the opening stage of the rally; a 1.5-kilometre super special which took them past another of the city’s landmarks, the Zappeion hall.

Sébastien Ogier was equal-fastest on the opening stage, tied for fastest time with Ott Tänak (Hyundai). Katsuta holds third place after the stage one, 0.9 seconds behind the eight-time world champion. Elfyn Evans and Kalle Rovanperä are tied for sixth, just 1.5s off the lead, with Sami Pajari ninth.

Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal) 
“It is always nice to be in Greece for such a historic rally as the Acropolis. Coming here in the summer again, it is very warm this week and it will be a tough week for everyone, especially the crews in the cars. They’re certainly expecting a tougher rally than the previous years and they’ve been asking how I would approach it. These days you can’t drive too cautiously - the cars are tough and can take a lot, but to avoid the biggest rocks and hits can be smart. It’s good to have everyone through this first stage cleanly, ready for the proper challenge tomorrow.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“The first stage was nice to start off with, and all was feeling fine with the car after shakedown with no issues, so I’m ready to get properly underway tomorrow. The Acropolis is being held at an earlier time of year so I am expecting some very hot and difficult conditions. It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow; we have to drive fast, that’s clear. But there also needs to be a bit of thinking and some care put into the car and the tyres.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It was nice to start with a stage for the fans in Athens. I didn’t realise this was the 69th running of the rally before the start; I hope that brings us some luck! It was a challenging shakedown with quite rough conditions. We made some small changes with the setup which we wanted to test but for tomorrow we have an idea of what’s coming and how the car is. I’m expecting quite a big challenge still as the conditions this year are very rough, tougher than ever before.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“Athens is a beautiful city and Greek fans are very enthusiastic with lots of passion, so this was a nice way to start the rally. It was a bit difficult on the first pass of shakedown with the dust but it is a taste of what is to come this weekend, with the tough conditions we are going to have to face. It’s going to be extremely hot and rough, as always in Greece, but we are well prepared.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“It is nice to be back in Greece, even if it feels warmer than it used to be with the event moving from September to June. The car feels good and is working well; we are still looking for the perfect balance but the proper stages are much more challenging than the shakedown, so it’ll be a very demanding weekend. I’ll try to do a steady drive, going through every stage without problems and hopefully that should lead to a good result.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“The Athens super special is short but nice for the fans; it’s cool to have something different and it was still a tricky stage. I had quite a good feeling with the car already on shakedown; we found a few small things. It was already quite dusty, so we’ll have to see how it is during the rally itself. This is always one of the most challenging rounds of the season due to how rough it is, so you need to be clever.”

End of day one (Thursday):
1= Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) 1m18.1s
1= Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +0.0
3 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +0.9
4 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.0
5 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.1
6= Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.5
6= Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.5
8 Mārtiņš Sesks/Renārs Francis (Ford Puma Rally1) +2.2
9 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3.0
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +3.2
(Results as of 21:30 on Thursday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
 

What's next? 
Friday’s action totals 121.76 competitive kilometres and begins to the west of Athens around Loutraki, where a loop of three stages on familiar roads are followed by a remote service. Three further stages are then tackled on the route back north to the service park in Lamia, including the Stiri test last driven in 1997.

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After achieving back-to-back gravel wins in Portugal and Sardinia with Sébastien Ogier at the wheel, the GR YARIS Rally1 now faces another tough test in Greece. The Acropolis runs earlier in the year this season, having been held in September since it returned to the FIA World Rally Championship in 2021, and the new date in the middle of summer brings the possibility of harsher conditions for cars, tyres and drivers.

As well as leading the manufacturers’ championship by 69 points, TGR-WRT continues to occupy the top three places in the drivers’ standings; Elfyn Evans leads Ogier by 19 points and Kalle Rovanperä by 20. Alongside this trio nominated to compete for manufacturers’ points, Takamoto Katsuta once more drives a fourth silver GR YARIS Rally1 while Sami Pajari pilots a fifth car under the TGR-WRT2 banner.

The GR Yaris Rally2 is again well represented with 10 cars entered in Greece, where it won the WRC2 class last year in the hands of Pajari. Oliver Solberg, like Ogier, will arrive off the back of wins in both Portugal and Sardinia and is registered to score WRC2 points in Greece with the Printsport team. He is joined by Jan Solans and Alejandro Cachón of Teo Martín Motorsport, Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Rallylab Technology), Marco and Bruno Bulacia (Delta Rally), TGR WRC Challenge Program duo Yuki Yamamoto and Hikaru Kogure, RedGrey’s Georg Linnamäe and privateer Fabio Schwarz.

This year the rally returns to the Greek capital Athens for a start ceremony and opening super special in the heart of the city on Thursday evening. Friday’s action begins to the west with three stages on familiar roads around Loutraki, which then hosts a remote service before three further tests are tackled on the route back north to the service park in Lamia. This includes the Stiri stage, last driven in 1997. Saturday is the rally’s longest day, made up of a loop of three stages south of Lamia to be run twice, either side of mid-day service. Two stages north-west of Lamia will run twice either side of service on Sunday; the brand-new Smokovo and well-known Tarzan, the second pass of which serves as the rally-ending Power Stage.

Quotes:
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)
“Sardinia was a great rally for the team and it’s giving us a good feeling for the Acropolis, which can be a similarly demanding event. We learned a lot in Sardinia as we try to improve the car and the drivability, and we had an important test in Greece last week with all the drivers as we look to make another step in the knowledge that our competition is also working hard. Greece can suit our drivers well, as the roads there are a bit wider and faster than in Sardinia, and opening the road is usually not quite as tough. Still, there will be some cleaning to do for Elfyn, Seb and Kalle, and they will need a very good Friday to keep themselves in the fight for the rest of the rally. Taka and Sami also showed promising performance in Sardinia and that’s giving them more confidence for Greece.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“The Acropolis is another of the tougher gravel rallies on the calendar with a hard and rocky base and a lot of loose rocks. We’re going there at a different time of year to usual, so it has the potential to be very hot and demanding for the cars and the tyres. We also know we will face the familiar challenges opening the road on the Friday, when there are a lot of stages run only once. Our performance was stronger in Sardinia and we’re hoping we’ve made some further improvements in testing and can be more competitive again in Greece.”

Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“In Sardinia we were able to find some good pace and score quite a lot of points in the end, and hopefully we can continue like this for Greece. It’s a rally that has been quite good for us in the past and we’ll try to fight for another strong result. The style of the stages and the surface are a bit different to Sardinia, and it can be harder for the tyres if you’re pushing hard. But we had a chance to test in Greece last week to try and work on this and keep improving the car for these conditions, and this should help us to be prepared.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“Sardinia was a very positive weekend for us and I was back in the car two days later to test for Greece and to try and confirm the good progress we made with the setup. The challenges in Greece are not so different, with high temperatures and a rough and rocky surface, and hopefully we can be strong once more in these conditions. It could again be a challenging Friday for the team with our road positions, and this time I’ll be running second so it might be even harder to win this one, but I’m never afraid of any challenge so let’s see what we can do.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“I’m looking forward to going back to Greece. Last year I had good speed there and this time I’m aiming for a better result. Sardinia was a difficult rally but by the end we had good speed, and we were able to find an even better feeling in the car during our pre-event test in Greece last week. The Acropolis is never an easy rally because you need to be able to take care of the car and the tyres, and there will be some new stages again this year. But having confidence in the car always makes it easier to start and I will give my best.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It’s really helpful for me to have these gravel rallies back-to-back to build up the experience and confidence. In Portugal we could have a nice clean rally, and then in Sardinia the pace was coming more naturally, so hopefully we can continue like this for Greece. Like with Sardinia, I have some good memories of winning WRC2 there last year. At the same time, on rough rallies like these you need to be very careful in the lower categories to look after the car, whereas the Rally1 car can handle a lot more, so you need to learn to trust it and get used to being able to push harder.”

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Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa battled hard in their #8 GR010 HYBRID to challenge in the top six after 16 hours of racing, maintaining hopes of a strong result. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, were effectively in the top 10, although differing pit stop schedules meant they were classified 11th at the 16-hour mark.

The opening hours had seen the #8 move into the top six after starting 10th. From 16th on the grid, the #7 suffered damaged in a first-lap clash but moved closer to the top 10 until a 50-second stop-go penalty – for pit lane speeding – dropped it down the field in the sixth hour.

Mike returned to the wheel of the 17th-placed #7 for a night stint in the seventh hour and Sébastien did the same soon after from sixth. Positions and gaps evolved through different fuel and tyre strategies, as well as various penalties, but Sébastien drove the #8 forward thanks to his pace on soft tyres. He was pressuring the fourth-placed #50 Ferrari late in the ninth hour, before handing over to Brendon. By then, Kamui was at the wheel of the 16th-placed #7 and he overtook the #99 Porsche for 15th early in hour ten.

Ryo and Nyck returned to the cockpit early in the 11th hour, a few minutes before an LMP2 incident caused a safety car. As rivals pitted, the GR010 HYBRIDs moved up and, when the race resumed just before half distance, Ryo was second. Nyck remained 12th, but he now trailed the leader by only 40secs.

With everything to race for, both cars set their fastest laps of the race. Ryo moved into the lead around the next stops when the lead #6 Porsche changed tyres, while Nyck moved into the top 10. On old tyres, Ryo bravely defended from the faster #83 Ferrari but eventually dropped to second late in hour 13.
    
When Ryo changed tyres early in the 14th hour, his rivals did not, and the #8 dropped to fifth. Nyck was pushing hard and passed the #38 Cadillac for eighth before setting a new fastest lap of the race. Later in that hour, Sébastien took over the #8 in fifth, as Mike returned to the wheel of the #7, in eighth.

Sébastien drove hard to stay in podium contention by holding off the #50 Ferrari into the 16th hour, although he eventually had to concede the position. At the very end of that hour, Sébastien handed the #8 to Brendon, while Kamui took over from Mike.

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): 

“It has been an eventful race so far for our car. We’re racing with a damaged car and after a very severe penalty for a clumsy mistake with the pit limiter. But my three stints were strong. We were a bit compromised after the safety car restart by the slower traffic, but it nevertheless gave us the chance to make up some positions. I was quite happy with the car and the pace. We will keep pushing because there is still a long way to go.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): 

“The safety car was good for us because everything was reset almost to zero and we were able to lead the race at a point. In terms of pace, we are not the fastest, but we are quick enough to fight at the front. We still need some luck to win, but so far, it’s going okay. There is a lot of racing still to come so we will keep our focus.”

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After six hours, the #8 GR010 HYBRID of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa were running sixth although the #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were down in 18th after a penalty halted their push for the top 10.

In front of a sell-out crowd of over 320,000 the race began at 4pm on a warm, cloudy afternoon. Sébastien lined up 10th in the #8 with Mike in 16th in his #7. Both cars started their fightback in the opening hour, although the #7 suffered bodywork damage on the very first lap when it was hit by a Peugeot. 

Mike battled hard to close in on the top 10 and overtook both Alpines either side of the one-hour mark. Sébastien made solid progress, getting past the #15 BMW on track before leapfrogging the #51 Ferrari in the pits to run seventh at the end of the second hour, maintaining a strong pace even on older tyres.

Early in the third hour, Brendon took new tyres at the first driver changes but dropped to seventh when the #51 Ferrari and #15 BMW got ahead during his first stint. Meanwhile, Kamui set a fast pace on new tyres until a lock up at Mulsanne corner cost him 15 seconds. As the fourth hour approached, Kamui pitted to replace his damaged front right tyre.

The fifth hour started with Brendon challenging the #311 Cadillac for sixth, while Kamui was 11th. At the next driver change after four-and-a-half hours, Ryo took over the #8 and kept up the hunt for the top-six, while Nyck was pushing to recover into the top 10. 

A battling overtake put the #7 into 13th, just a few seconds away from 10th but that charge was halted by a 50-second stop-go penalty – imposed for exceeding the speed limit when leaving the pit lane at the start of Nyck’s stint. He took that penalty during a full course yellow late in the sixth hour.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): 

“It has been a bit up and down on our car. We have looked okay even though the position is not where we want to be. But there is still a long way to go. We are trying to survive at this stage. We already suffered damage on lap one and then the penalty. The most important thing now is to be consistent and to manage the car. There’s still a long way to go and we are trying our best.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): 

“I’m pretty annoyed by the contact with the Peugeot at the start because there was barely room for another car there and it’s lap one of a 24-hour race. He hit me and damaged the left side of our car. It felt okay to drive but we don’t need that at the start, and it’s hard to say how it might affect us later in the race. From there I got my head down and got into a rhythm, overtook a couple of cars but lost some positions in the pits. It’s still early, so we’ll see how the race pans out.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): 

“We had some big battles at the start, and it was very tight. Our pace seemed decent, and I was able to make up some positions. From where we started, it was a positive sign to be running in the top six at the end of my stint. I still feel that we are in the fight, so we will keep pushing and stay focused until the end.” 

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): 

“I had a clean stint, made no mistakes, and we are still in the running. We seem to be missing a little performance at this stage, particularly in terms of top speed, and that makes it harder to move up the order. But we are fighting, everyone is pushing very hard, and the mechanics have been doing solid pit stops. We are playing the long game and so far, so good.”

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After 16 hours of track action, a combined 425 laps and 5,791km of intense preparation at La Sarthe – in the official test, four free practice sessions, qualifying and Hyperpole – TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is ready to take on the 62-car grid and challenge for its sixth Le Mans victory, in front of a sell-out 320,000 crowd.

Despite a strong lap from Brendon Hartley to reach Thursday’s pole position shoot-out, Hyperpole ended in disappointment due to a puncture for Sébastien Buemi which leaves the #8 GR010 HYBRID they share with Ryo Hirakawa 10th on the grid. After qualifying frustration on Wednesday, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries will line up in 17th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID when the race begins at 4pm on Saturday.

The final day of practice featured two free practice sessions alongside Hyperpole, which determined the starting positions for the top 15 Hypercars. For TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the focus was firmly on optimising the GR010 HYBRIDs in race trim, to maximise its chances of a fighting for victory. 

Third practice started on a warm, dry afternoon, providing ideal conditions for tyre comparisons. With a 24-hour race ahead, getting the maximum from the tyres is a key factor so the #8 car tried different Michelin compounds, while the #7 analysed mechanical set-ups during the three-hour session. A red flag midway through cost 15 minutes of an otherwise trouble-free and productive session for the team.

At 9.05pm, 15 Hypercars – including the #8 GR010 HYBRID – contested Hyperpole 1 for the 10 places in Hyperpole 2, which decided the leading grid positions. On new medium tyres, Brendon set the best time so far for a GR010 HYBRID at Le Mans with his final lap and progressed in sixth. A new format requires a different driver to take part in each Hyperpole session, so Sébastien took over for Hyperpole 2. However, he suffered a trip through the gravel at Mulsanne corner and was forced to return slowly to the pits with a puncture as time slipped away, leaving him no chance of another flying lap.

The final hour of practice took place in darkness from 11pm and provided a final opportunity to fine-tune the cars, as well as their LED headlights in night conditions, and the team completed a trouble-free hour. The next time the cars hit the track will be for a short warm-up at midday on Saturday, prior to the race start at 4pm.

Although there is no track activity for the Hypercars on Friday, the team and drivers have a packed schedule of preparing and checking the cars, defining race strategies and practicing procedures. In addition, when both car crews will meet the fans riding in hydrogen fuel cell Hilux Prototype pick-ups during the traditional drivers parade in the city centre on Friday afternoon.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): 

“Thanks to the team for their big effort to reach this stage in our Le Mans week. We have done a lot of laps again with no problems on either car which is a positive sign. Everyone has pushed very hard to extract more performance from the car and we have made some improvements. I don’t think we are the fastest, but we showed already this season that when we execute a perfect race and keep fighting, we can make up places. I’m looking forward to the race; it should be exciting.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): 

“We tried to maximise our learning in the last two free practice sessions, and we focused on race performance. We were trying things right until the last lap in fourth practice at midnight. We got through a lot of work and made another step to improve the car for the race, and I feel like we’re pretty strong in the night conditions. But some of the other cars look very quick, so we will have our work cut out for us at different times during the race.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): 

“I think generally these two sessions were a bit more positive than Wednesday, and we could focus exclusively on improving the car for the race. We have had a challenging week so far, but I think we are heading in the right direction. Obviously now we are done with practice, so we need to analyse everything on Friday and get as much sleep as possible before the excitement starts.”
 
Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): 

“Brendon did a great job to get the car into Hyperpole 2 but unfortunately we couldn’t set any laps. I locked the tyres into Mulsanne corner and ended up with a puncture, so I am disappointed with that. But we knew it would be difficult due to my very limited preparation in qualifying trim. Now we know we start 10th, which is not too bad considering the pace we had in qualifying on Wednesday. We have focused on getting the most out of the car for the race, that was our big priority this week.” 

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): 

“I was really happy with my lap in Hyperpole 1; it felt great. It always puts a smile on my face to drive flat-out round here, maximum attack with low fuel and new tyres. The car felt okay, and I feel like I got the most of performance out of it. We didn’t have ultimate performance over one lap which, in a way, is a result of our strategy because we have focused on race pace. Free practice has been encouraging in terms of race pace so we will focus on maximising our package for the weekend now.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): 

“We have done all our on-track preparation, and we are ready for the race. Friday is our last chance to check the cars, and work on our race set-ups and strategies. I think it’s going to be a challenging race, but we fight together as a team, and we are strong. Starting 10th is a little bit riskier on the first lap but it’s a long race and in the end, it doesn’t make a big difference to start there or a few places higher. It’s more important to be in the best possible shape for the race and this has been our focus all week. We have done a good job, and I think we can fight for victory; let’s go for it.” 

The 2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC press kit, along with rights-free video material and photography of all TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsports projects, can be found at https://toyotagazooracing.com/media/.

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After setting the fastest lap in Sunday’s test, the reigning World Champions resumed the challenge for a sixth win at La Sarthe on the 40th anniversary of Toyota’s first appearance. Either side of two practice sessions, the GR010 HYBRIDs also fought to make it into Thursday’s Hyperpole contest. 

Brendon Hartley finished 10th in qualifying and secured a place in Hyperpole for the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa. However, a badly-timed yellow flag contributed to Nyck de Vries ending up 16th in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.

With no track action since Sunday’s test, earlier this week the mechanics rebuilt both cars and participated in Tuesday’s Pit Stop Challenge, during which crews from every team compete against the clock to record the fastest tyre change. The #8 crew won the intra-team contest but narrowly missed the podium.

First practice began early on Wednesday afternoon, in warmer weather than on Sunday, with air temperatures close to 30°C. The team used the three-hour session to check car balance in qualifying and race conditions, whilst also comparing different mechanical set-up options and control settings. Two short red flags interrupted the programme, as did a slow puncture for the #8 late in the session, but both cars made an encouraging start and recorded 44 laps each.

Qualifying followed in the evening, with 21 Hypercars battling to earn one of 15 places in Hyperpole and, with heavier fuel loads at the start, the fastest times were always likely to come in the closing minutes. Both Nyck and Brendon set solid first flying lap times but needed to improve when others moved up the order. New tyres helped Brendon go faster on his final flying lap, and Nyck was on course to do the same. However, an incident for another car caused yellow flags and forced Nyck to abandon that lap. A final attempt, on tyres which were no longer performing at their peak, could not bring any improvement, meaning the #7 provisionally holds 16th on the starting grid. Despite that disappointment, the team takes heart from last year, when the #7 fought for victory and finished a close second, despite starting 23rd.  

Second practice took place after sunset, allowing drivers to experience the circuit in darkness for the first time this year. Drivers are required to complete five laps at night and all six completed this formality alongside a programme of set-up adjustments for the cooler, night conditions, as well as comparison of the soft and medium tyres. Debris caused a 13-minute red flag just after half distance, and the team looked set to complete a trouble-free session until an incident in the final seconds. Whilst passing a slower GT car, Ryo was hit on the right side of the #8, breaking the wheel rim and causing minor bodywork damage.

Action resumes on Thursday at 2.45pm CEST with a three-hour third practice prior to Hyperpole 1 at 9.05pm. The 10 fastest Hypercars will then compete for the leading grid positions in the 15-minute Hyperpole 2, starting at 9.40pm, before another night practice until midnight. The race begins on Saturday 14 June at 4pm.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): 

“Generally we are not happy with what we showed in terms of performance. We are not as quick as we hoped to be and we missed Hyperpole with our car, which is a pity. We will be working hard until Saturday to improve our race pace, and we will do our best to extract more from the car.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): 

“It’s not been an ideal day after where we ended up in qualifying. We are not in Hyperpole which is a bit disappointing. Now we just have to focus on the race, which actually makes our task a bit easier in the next practice sessions. We will work on preparing the fastest possible race car; there’s still some lap time left to find. The car felt a bit better in the night session so let’s see what we can do.” 

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): 

“It was obviously disappointing to end up outside the top 15 in qualifying when we had the potential to progress. I had the yellow flag on my best lap which was very unlucky because that would have been quick enough to go through, I think. I had to try another lap, but I lost the peak performance of the tyres, so everything became more difficult. It was still going to be a decent lap time, probably enough for Hyperpole, but I caught another car into the last chicane and that was it.”
 
Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): 

“It wasn’t a great day for us. It’s good to be in Hyperpole but we were hoping to be a bit closer in qualifying, even if we know it’s not the priority. Now we still have two practice sessions to get our car ready for the race. Of course, we will fight to get the best possible result in Hyperpole but we know it will be a challenge.” 

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): 

“It was a well-executed session for our car. We did a clean banker on the first lap, then I raised my game for the second, and it was a clean one. I couldn’t do much more, we just didn’t have the pace of the front runners. I am happy to get through to Hyperpole but unless the track conditions change, it doesn’t look like we will be fighting for pole position. On a positive note, the long runs in first practice look relatively strong and that must be the priority for us.” 

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): 

“It was a difficult day for us. Car #8 made it to Hyperpole but car #7 missed it by a small margin. The field is so tight therefore we need to optimise everything we have for the race. there are two more practice sessions, and we will do our best to find improvements and work on a good strategy. We will keep pushing and I hope it is going to be a better day.”

The 2025 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC press kit, along with rights-free video material and photography of all TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s motorsports projects, can be found at https://toyotagazooracing.com/media/.

 

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The 2025-specification GR010 HYBRIDs – featuring a unique combination of liveries to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Toyota’s Le Mans debut – completed a trouble-free day as the team and drivers finetuned the cars in preparation to fight at the front of a 21-strong Hypercar grid, representing eight manufacturers.

The #8 GR010 of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa ended the day fastest thanks to a lap of 3mins 26.246secs. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries were 14th in their #7 GR010 HYBRID, giving a track debut to its new livery which pays tribute to the 1998 GT-One (TS020).

On-site preparations have been underway for several days, since the first team members arrived in Le Mans directly from a shakedown test at Spa-Francorchamps to begin the task of installing working facilities and systems. Saturday saw the first official appointments, when both GR010 HYBRIDs completed scrutineering in the city and Kamui drove the #7 through the streets during a spectacular parade. 

Saturday’s showers gave way to sun on Sunday, although temperatures were only around 15°C when the test began at 10am. Today’s two three-hour sessions are the only opportunity to test at the Circuit de la Sarthe prior to race week, so the team wasted no time in kicking off a comprehensive programme. 

The 13.626km circuit consists partly of public roads so track conditions evolve – and lap times fall – as the cars sweep the surface clean and add a layer of tyre rubber. The opening session was interrupted by a 40-minute safety car in the first hour, but the team nevertheless made a productive start. The task list included stints on soft and medium Michelin tyres, and set-up comparisons, including in-session changes of suspension components and settings.

The second session began in temperatures of 20°C and lap times throughout the grid were immediately quicker than earlier in the day. However, a disrupted session featured three red flags, the last of which ended the action a few minutes earlier than scheduled. The team used the limited available time to conduct more mechanical set-up changes and tyre evaluations, with the only drama coming when Sébastien suffered a puncture, although he drove well to bring the back to the pits slowly without causing damage. 

With no track action scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, the team nevertheless has a busy schedule. Both cars will be rebuilt by the mechanics ready for Wednesday’s two practice sessions, which take place either side of qualifying. Meanwhile, engineers and drivers will analyse test data and work on adjustments to optimise handling, balance and tyre usage.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): 

“It’s nice to be back on this circuit. Our cars are built for Le Mans, so it feels different compared to other tracks. Le Mans is the big highlight of the season, and I always enjoy driving here, no matter what the lap times are. The two test sessions pretty much went smoothly. We’re building up for the race and making progress. We still need to do some work and find improvements, but that’s normal at this stage. So far, it’s going okay and we’re enjoying it.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7):