The World Rally Championship in New Zealand, which was driven over the weekend, was a celebration of the Toyota rally team.
Toyota, led by Jari-Matti Latvala, is on its way to the brand championship. TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
The Finnish star of the team, Kalle Rovanperä, found a winning momentum again and sealed his first world championship at the same time with map reader Jonne Halttunen. In addition, Toyota collected a big pot from the race, when Sebastien Ogier guaranteed the team a double victory.
The top result smoothed Toyota’s way towards the manufacturers’ championship. The team now has a great opportunity to grab the jackpot for the second season in a row.
Toyota has collected 81 points more than Hyundai in the brand championship. This means that a team needs to get two cars to the finish line in the last two races of the season to secure the championship. Investments in themselves do not matter.
– Now the manufacturers’ championship is the most important thing for Toyota. Our drivers did a great job and got a double win, which was important for the series, team manager Jari-Matti Latvala said.
The next race of the season starts in two and a half weeks in Catalonia, where the competition will be on asphalt. Toyota has the same driver trio in the race as in New Zealand, i.e. Rovanperä, Ogier and Elfyn Evans, who stopped the weekend in the race.
– I hope we can win the championship already in Spain. Hyundai has made a big development leap and the situation has become tighter. But hopefully we will win the championship, because next year will be difficult, Latvala estimates.
Toyota has now collected as many points as last season in total. Last year, however, there was one race less.
The Catalan World Rally Championship is on the program from 20 to 23. October