Toyota: A Clean Sweep on the Final Day for the Yaris WRC
March 12 2018 - 12:04AM
JCN Newswire (English)
A tough Rally Mexico for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally
Team ended on a high with the team winning all three of the stages
on the final day. Jari-Matti Latvala took the first fastest time as
he secured eighth overall, before Ott Tanak scored two more stage
wins, including on the rally-ending Power Stage to take home five
bonus points.
http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_Car8OttTanakMartinJarveoja.jpg
Car 8 (Ott Tanak, Martin Jarveoja)
Latvala had to restart under Rally 2 rules on Saturday after a
technical issue on Friday evening, but despite a time penalty, he
managed to get back into the points positions and finish eighth
overall. He won the day's first stage, Alfaro, by 9.7 seconds. He
was then second on both runs over Las Minas, scoring four bonus
points on the Power Stage. On his first time competing in Mexico,
Esapekka Lappi was forced to retire on Friday after going off the
road, but restarted and gained valuable experience on his way to
11th overall.
Tanak restarted this morning with the aim of scoring points in the
Power Stage, after a mechanical fault had forced him out of the
fight for the rally win. Having already won the first pass of Las
Minas, he used maximum effort to get as good a result as possible
from the Power Stage. He went quickest to claim five bonus points,
leading Latvala by 1.3 seconds in a one-two for the Toyota Yaris
WRC.
Quotes
Tommi Makinen (Team Principal)
"Today has been a positive way to end a difficult weekend. To win
all three stages was a big bonus for us and we were happy that it
worked out on the Power Stage for Ott to score some important
points. It was good to see that his car was performing as it
should: the team did a good job to fix the problem yesterday. I was
also pleased to see Jari-Matti also do some good times today and
that he was enjoying the driving. It was obviously disappointing to
have the technical issues earlier in the weekend but to score good
points today has made everyone happy and we are looking forward to
the next event."
Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7)
"I had a fantastic feeling this morning and the car felt very good.
We had a really big push and won the first stage. Then the second
stage was also really good, even though we had to save the tyres a
bit. In the Power Stage I gave it everything and I'm really happy
to finish second fastest with my road position. It has been a
difficult weekend but to retire from one day and still come back
and score eight points is good. Overall I know that the car
performance is there, and now I am starting to find the performance
in myself."
Ott Tanak (Driver car 8)
"Today we were putting everything on the Power Stage. We had
nothing to lose and just wanted to get these five points. The car
was performing really well and I felt really comfortable in the car
so I could give an extra push. Of course I'm not happy with the
overall result as we were in contention for the win, but we still
have a long season ahead of us and the performance side has been
good. It was my first time on gravel in the car, we learned a lot
and we can see many places where we can improve."
Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9)
"Today we were concentrating on the Power Stage, so in the first
two stages we just wanted to get through them, check the pace-notes
and save the tyres. It has been a tough weekend for us. The
highlight has actually been the spectator stages. In our pre-event
test we did some work on a go-kart track and we managed to find
some new things which seem to have worked, because last evening I
almost did the fastest time on the street stage. Previously we had
been losing a lot of time in those. We also gained a lot of
experience and data, which we can use to improve next year."
For the latest results please visit www.wrc.com
What's next?
Round four is the Tour de Corse on April 5-8. The classic event on
the French island of Corsica is famous for its narrow and twisty
asphalt stages, which give it the nickname 'The Rally of 10,000
Corners'. Mountainous stages lined by rock faces on one side and
steep drops on the other, numerous surface changes and long stages
provide a major test for the drivers.
About Toyota
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that
introduced the Prius hybrid-electric car in 1997 and the first
mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in
Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today,
Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the
world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in
29 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to
mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170
countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. 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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