Victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing as Tänak takes maximum points
October 06 2019 - 8:34PM
JCN Newswire (English)
Ott Tänak added to his FIA World Rally Championship
lead by claiming maximum points on Rally GB, sealing his sixth win
of the season in the Toyota Yaris WRC in style by setting the
fastest time on the Power Stage. Team-mate Kris Meeke finished
fourth to complete a strong points haul for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
World Rally Team, which closes to within eight points of the lead
in the manufacturers' championship.
The final day of the rally consisted of two runs over the Alwen and
Brenig stages in north Wales, with the asphalt Great Orme stage
along the coast ultimately cancelled because the sea conditions
meant there was insufficient safety cover.
Tänak, the leader of the rally since the end of Friday,
began the day perfectly, outpacing his nearest rival by one tenth
of a second to win the first pass over Alwen. He took an advantage
of 9.5 seconds into the Power Stage, where he went fastest of all
by half a second, beating his closest championship rival to the
five bonus points on offer. He and co-driver Martin
Järveoja's final overall winning margin was 10.9s, and
Tänak now leads by 28 points in the championship.
The Toyota Yaris WRC led the rally from start to finish, with Meeke
having set the early pace before Tänak took over at the
front. On the final day, Meeke made sure of his fourth place,
clinching important points for the team.
Quotes
Akio Toyoda (Team Chairman)
"TOYOTA GAZOO Racing won two FIA World Championship events (WEC and
WRC) on the same weekend. We very nearly achieved this earlier this
year, in June, and therefore after the Fuji race I was really
hoping that we could also win in Wales. In heavy wind and rain and
extreme road conditions, I am really happy to see Ott and Martin
won Rally GB, believing in the team and the car after the issue
that cost them points in Turkey. For the last two WRC events of the
season, I truly hope for more victories and finally for their
championships. Let's make ever-better cars with all our teams.
Thank you very much to all fans who support our activities in these
two FIA world championships."
Tommi Mäkinen (Team Principal)
"It has been an incredible rally. Ott did a perfect job: I know
that this rally is one of the most difficult, but he controlled it
all weekend under huge pressure. The Power Stage was incredibly
exciting, and I think my heart rate is still recovering, but for
Ott to get maximum points was amazing. His championship is looking
good now: I've been in this situation and it's very hard, but he's
managing everything very well. Kris also did a great job this
weekend to score us important points for the manufacturers'
championship. We have two rallies to go: we just need to
concentrate and do our job as well as we can."
Ott Tänak (Driver car 8)
"It's an amazing feeling to win. There's a lot of people working
behind us and with the effort they put it, it's great to be
rewarded like this with maximum points. On the Power Stage, I had
full confidence in the car and I had to take the opportunity, as
every point can be crucial. Our team slogan is 'pushing the limits
for better' and I always try to do my best. We have two more
rallies to come this season and certainly nothing is decided yet,
so we need to keep pushing and keep focused."
Kris Meeke (Driver car 5)
"After leading the rally for most of Friday, to finish fourth is a
little bit disappointing, but to be honest, I'm happy. It was a
weekend full of challenging conditions. We weren't so far off, we
just lacked a bit of pace on Saturday, but it's still very strong
points for the team. I'm delighted to see Ott take the victory and
we close the gap in the manufacturers' championship, so it's been a
strong weekend for us. We have two rallies to go, I hope we can be
strong in Spain and fingers crossed we can have a good end to the
year."
FINAL RESULT, RALLY GB
1. Ott Tänak / Martin Järveoja (Toyota Yaris WRC)
- 3h00m58.0s
2. Thierry Neuville / Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) -
+10.9s
3. Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia (Citroën C3
WRC) - +23.8s
4. Kris Meeke / Seb Marshall (Toyota Yaris WRC) - +35.6s
5. Elfyn Evans / Scott Martin (Ford Fiesta WRC) - +48.6s
6. Andreas Mikkelsen / Anders Jaeger-Amland (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC)
- +58.2s
7. Pontus Tidemand / Ola Fløene (Ford Fiesta WRC) -
+5m23.8s
8. Craig Breen / Paul Nagle (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) - +9m25.0s
9. Kalle Rovanperä / Jonne Halttunen (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo)
- +10m51.1s
10. Petter Solberg / Phil Mills (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) -
+11m36.1s
What's next?
Rally de España (October 25-27) is the only WRC round run
on both gravel and asphalt. After one day on gravel, teams are
required to transfer the cars from gravel to asphalt specification
within a 75-minute service. The asphalt stages that follow are
smooth, fast and flowing, similar to racing circuits in their
characteristics.
About Toyota Motor Corporation
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 Motor Corporation
Contact:
Public Affairs Division
Global Communications Department
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3817-9926
Copyright 2019 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024