ogier – PressAP

Ogier claims ninth Monte win in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two

January 23, 2023

TOKYO, Jan 23, 2023 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has started the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with a one-two finish on Rallye Monte-Carlo as Sebastien Ogier claimed a record ninth victory on the legendary event ahead of team-mate Kalle Rovanpera.Car 17 (Sebastien Ogier, Vincent Landais)Mostly dry weather made this year's rally more a test of outright performance than usual, and Ogier set the pace from the start with five straight stage wins as he opened up a lead of half a minute by Friday lunchtime.The GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID was fastest in the first 11 stages of the season, its streak only ended on Saturday afternoon - by which point Ogier was focused on managing his lead. He carried an advantage of 16 seconds over Rovanpera into the final day, when he proceeded to claim his eighth and ninth stage wins of the weekend and finished up with a winning margin of 18.8s.Ogier's 56th WRC win is also the first for his co-driver Vincent Landais, in only the second event since he began working with the up-and-coming French navigator at the end of last season. It is also Toyota's fifth Monte win with a fifth different model of car: the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID winning all but two of the 18 stages across the weekend.With Ogier once more only contesting selected events this season, second place plus victory in the rally-ending Power Stage represents an ideal start to Rovanpera and co-driver Jonne Halttunen's defence of their first championship titles. Rovanpera grew in confidence and speed during the rally, taking six stage wins in total on his way to a first Rallye Monte-Carlo podium.Elfyn Evans displayed similarly strong pace to his team-mates throughout the weekend and was second to Ogier before losing around 40s with a damaged tyre in SS5 on Friday morning. He and co-driver Scott Martin fought back to finish fourth, 27.8s from the podium despite a brief spin on Sunday morning. He was also third in the Power Stage to claim three additional bonus points.The strong start to the season for TGR was completed by Takamoto Katsuta in his WRC Challenge Program-supported entry. He produced his strongest Rallye Monte-Carlo performance to-date alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston, frequently joining his team-mates in the top-four on stage times and finishing sixth overall.For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2023/rd01-day4/. Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing seals manufacturers’ crown in style with Ogier win*

October 24, 2022

TOKYO, Oct 24, 2022 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has completed an FIA World Rally Championship treble in style by clinching the 2022 manufacturers' title* with a superb win for Sebastien Ogier at Rally de Espana.Team PhotoThe manufacturers' championship success follows the drivers' and co-drivers' titles that were won by Kalle Rovanpera and Jonne Halttunen on the previous rally in New Zealand. It's the second year in a row that the team has managed a clean sweep of the three available titles: An especially notable achievement given that it spans a major revolution in the technical regulations introduced at the start of this season when the all-new GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID succeeded the Yaris WRC.In total, this is the sixth occasion that Toyota has topped the WRC's manufacturers' classification, the third time since it returned to the series in 2017.The rally win in Spain is the team's seventh of the season and a first for the outgoing eight-time champion Ogier in his part-time campaign. The 55th victory of his career is also a maiden triumph for co-driver Benjamin Veillas.In his first asphalt rally since January's Rallye Monte-Carlo, Ogier was among the pacesetters from the start, winning three stages on Friday to lead despite having to deal with dirtier roads than his rivals in mixed weather conditions. He took three more stage wins in a commanding performance on Saturday as he pulled away from the pack, and went on to win the last two stages of the rally on Sunday - including the final Power Stage - as he clinched victory by 16.4 seconds.Rovanpera was also in the battle for the lead on Friday when he was fastest in four stages, and eventually finished in third position overall. His hopes of second place faded after he was one of several to sustain tyre damage over a drain cover in Sunday's second stage.Elfyn Evans was part of a close-fought top five at the beginning of the rally but was unable to find the perfect feeling to match the rapid pace at the front. A flat tyre on Friday afternoon and another at the same place as Rovanpera on SS17 contributed to him finishing sixth overall - still an important result to help the team towards its main goal.One place further behind in seventh was Takamoto Katsuta who recovered from a difficult start to show strong and consistent speed in his TGR WRT Next Generation entry.*Subject to the official publication of the results by the FIAFor more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2022/rd12-day3/. Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)