TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Looks to Continue Momentum on German Asphalt
August 14 2017 - 6:33AM
JCN Newswire (English)
After a hugely successful home event in Finland, the TOYOTA
GAZOO Racing World Rally Team now heads to Rally Germany for the
next round of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship season. As only
the second pure asphalt event for the Yaris WRC, the main objective
is to further develop the car on sealed surfaces. The team aims to
maintain its confidence, while switching to a new focus on
asphalt.
http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_TOYOTAGAZOO81417.jpg
Car 11 (Juho Hanninen, Kaj Lindstrom)
Rally Germany is known for providing a mixture of different types
of asphalt tests during the rally. These include twisting roads
through vineyards, the notoriously tough Baumholder military area
and fast country lanes. The differing characteristics of these
roads and the often-changeable weather conditions can make car
set-up and tyre choice difficult.
The rally has a new base this year at Bostalsee and begins with a
new super special stage in nearby Saarbrucken. Another new
spectator-friendly stage, Wadern-Weiskirchen, is run three times on
Friday around the Mittelmosel and Grafschaft vineyard tests. On
Saturday, the action moves to Baumholder for nine stages, including
two passes of the 41.97-kilometre Panzerplatte. Sunday features two
stages run twice: the new Losheim am See and St. Wendeler Land,
which acts as the Power Stage and finishes up on the edge of the
service park.
Although better known for his exploits on gravel, Latvala has a
decent record in Germany, twice finishing second, in 2012 and 2015.
Hanninen on the other hand has only contested the rally once
before, back in 2011. Lappi last year claimed the WRC2 win on the
event and finished seventh overall.
Quotes:
Tommi Makinen (Team Principal)
"This will be our second asphalt rally of the year, so it is going
to be interesting to see how the improvements we have made to the
car since Corsica now work in the different conditions of Germany.
The asphalt development is still going on as there were some new
things we tried in our pre-event test this week, especially with
the dampers. From my experience of Germany as a driver, I remember
just how tricky the stages are: generally, the higher up your start
order is, the easier it is. We're all in a confident mood after
Finland and the drivers are feeling very positive with the car, so
we're looking forward to starting the rally and seeing what we can
do. I think the Yaris WRC should be quite well-suited to these
stages."
Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 10)
"We had some rain during our test, which I was very pleased about,
as normally during Rally Germany you can expect rain at some point
during the weekend. The Yaris WRC in asphalt specification is
pretty much as I remember it from Corsica but Germany has some
different characteristics, with fewer corners and heavier braking
into junctions from high speed: the braking is one area we were
concentrating on during the test as you can gain or lose a lot of
time there. We also worked on the suspension: we'll be running a
slightly softer car in Germany than we did in Corsica. Germany is
one of the trickiest rallies of the whole year and our rivals will
be especially strong, so if we can finish in the top five I would
be happy and a podium would be a really great result."
Juho Hanninen (Driver car 11)
"My feeling is very good after Finland. Although I've not driven in
Germany for a long time we were able to show some good speed on
asphalt in Monte-Carlo and Corsica earlier this year, so I think we
can be strong in Germany too: especially after testing. The weather
can change a lot in Germany, and if it rains there will be a lot of
mud in the road during the first day, which will be a challenge
with our road position. But this rally is also really good fun: the
Baumholder stages on day two are really unique."
Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 12)
"Winning in Finland won't make any difference to my approach in
Germany: I'm going from my strongest event of the year to one that
is definitely outside my comfort zone. It's my first asphalt rally
in a World Rally Car, but actually I find that the Yaris WRC is
even easier to drive on asphalt than it is on gravel, because it
really feels like a racing car. The aerodynamics and the potential
of the car is so big that the tyres are the limiting factor:
there's more power than grip, so you have to drive very cleanly and
gently to keep the life in the tyres. If we can stay out of trouble
in Germany then I think we have a chance to finish in the top five
and score some points. That's my goal."
About Toyota
Supported by people around the world, Toyota Motor Corporation
(TSE:7203; NYSE:TM), has endeavored since its establishment in 1937
to serve society by creating better products. As of the end of
December 2013, Toyota conducts its business worldwide with 52
overseas manufacturing companies in 27 countries and regions.
Toyota's vehicles are sold in more than 170 countries and regions.
For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.
Source: Toyota
Contact:
Public Affairs Division
Global Communications Department
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3817-9926
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