For the third year in a row, GAZOO Racing (GR) World Rally Team (WRT) with the Toyota Yaris WRC won Rally Finland, the fastest event on the FIA World Rally Championship calendar. Ott Tänak, in the No. 8 Toyota Yaris WRC, repeated his victory from one year ago to increase his championship lead, while Jari-Matti Latvala, driving the No. 10 Toyota Yaris WRC, finished third on his home event. With these achievements, the Finland-based GR WRT maintained its record of getting two cars onto the podium on the event every year since its debut in 2017.
Tänak moved into the lead on the third day following an intense battle with his competitors, and took a lead of 16.4 seconds into the fourth and final day. He instantly increased that to 20 seconds in the first of the final four stages, when he claimed his 200th WRC stage win. It is also his 120th in the Toyota Yaris WRC and 50th so far this season.
Guided by co-driver Martin Järveoja, Tänak went on to set another fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage as he clinched his victory, outpacing his nearest rival by 0.7 seconds to take the maximum 30 points away from the rally.
Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila took their eighth stage win of the event on SS21 on their way to sealing their first podium finish of the season. The double podium win helped the team to close up to the leader in the manufacturer’s championship.
Akio Toyoda, Team Chairman, commented: “I really appreciate the local people and all the supporters across the globe who cheered us on. I would also like to send words of celebration and appreciation to Tänak and Järveoja, who climbed onto the top of the podium, Latvala and Anttila, who stood on the third step, and all the team members. I strongly believe the hard and enjoyable drives from our drivers and co-drivers will make the Yaris an ever-better car!”
Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race. Toyota’s participation in these events was overseen by separate entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established GAZOO Racing (GR), to consolidate all of its motorsports activities under one in-house brand. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme conditions of various motorsports events, GR aims to forge new technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone.
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