TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Completed the WRC Akropolis Rally with 1st and 2nd Places with Yaris GR Hybrid
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team demonstrated its superiority once again by taking the first two places in the Acropolis Rally held in Greece. While the heavy rains in the region before the start of the rally made the rally even more difficult, the pilots struggled with many difficulties, from muddy stages to rocky roads. Toyota's rally vehicle, the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, once again proved its durability and high performance.
Kalle Rovanperä, who became the youngest WRC champion at the age of 22, and her co-pilot Jonne Halttunen achieved a new victory by completing the rally in 3 hours 16.7 seconds. Toyota achieved a double victory by taking the first two places and took a place on the podium with Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Elfyn Evans completed the rally 1 minute 31.7 seconds behind Rovanperä. Sebastien Ogier, racing for the first time since the Kenya Rally in June, led the rally until he had trouble on Saturday afternoon. Ogier, who had to quit the race on Saturday, returned to the stages on Sunday and managed to get 10th place.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing increased the difference to 91 points
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, which added another success to its success by taking the first two places in Greece, achieved maximum points in both the rally and the Power Stage. In this way, he increased his point difference with his closest rival to 91 with three races remaining in the Brands Championship. Toyota continued to take firm steps towards the championship by winning 10 of 8 races this season.
Young driver Rovanperä scored his third victory this year, increasing the gap to his closest rival and teammate Elfyn Evans in the Drivers' Championship to 33 points.
Kalle Rovanperä, the winner of the tough rally, said that they had a great weekend and added, “This rally is always tough. Last year in Greece we had problems from the very beginning to the end of the race. This year we had the potential to compete much better. I would like to thank the team for providing us with a strong car. Now it is time to continue our consistent performance and focus on other rallies.”
The 2023 World Rally Championship will return to South America for the next race. The Chile Rally, which was last held in 2019, will be run between 28 September and 1 October. The rally will be held on stages in the forests of the Bio Bío region around the port city of Concepción. The roads here stand out for being fast and fluid, as well as being technical.
The rally vehicle that left its mark on the season: GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID
Toyota, which won the Brands, Pilots, Co-Pilots World Championship with its GR YARIS Rally2022 HYBRID racing vehicle in the 1 season, further developed its vehicle for the 2023 season with the aim of winning the WRC championship for the third time in a row.
Having proven its success in a short time, Toyota has taken the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID even further in terms of performance and durability, ensuring that the rally vehicle achieves a stable drive in all road conditions. Toyota continues its success in 2023 by increasing the efficiency and performance of the rally vehicle's hybrid system. This new generation hybrid rally vehicle draws attention with its performance, efficiency, speed and durability.
In the first 2023 races of 10, the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID took first place three times with Sebastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä, and twice with Elfyn Evans. The vehicle's consistency also drew attention, with at least one GR YARIS Rally3 HYBRID in the top three in nine out of 2 races.
More assertive cars with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
Introduced in 2007, Toyota's racing division TOYOTA GAZOO Racing competes in top-level motorsport events such as the World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance Championship (WEC) and World Rally-Raid Championships (W2RC). Toyota directs automobile development by racing its vehicles in the most extreme conditions and on the most challenging roads. It produces many different studies in the motorsports arena, from hybrid technology to hydrogen. The team, which has won the championship many times, aims to bring together excitement and fun with sustainable motorsports.
