Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will resume their pursuit of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship over challenging roads through Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria this week on the Central European Rally (17-20 October).
By achieving a magnificent maximum score on the previous round in Chile, TGR-WRT reduced the gap to the manufacturers’ championship lead from 35 to 17 points with two rounds remaining. Both the final events take place on demanding asphalt roads – as the WRC returns to the surface for the first time since the Croatia Rally in April – with the second edition of the cross-border Central European Rally to be followed by the season finale at Rally Japan in November.
Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans remain in mathematical contention for the drivers’ championship and are joined in the team’s line-up for the Central European Rally by the returning Takamoto Katsuta. Following impressive first drives in the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid on the gravel stages of Finland and Chile, rising star Sami Pajari once more lines up in an additional, fourth entry for his first experience of asphalt at rallying’s highest level.
The Central European Rally made its WRC debut last year, becoming the first round to feature stages driven in three different countries. The character of the stages varies from one region to another and the weather can also be changeable, making the roads more slippery with rain, mud and leaves.
As in 2023, the rally begins from the Czech capital city, Prague. This year, shakedown will also be held on the edge of the city on Thursday morning before the ceremonial start in the capital’s famous castle district. The opening super special stage follows at the Velká Chuchle horse racing course, before a longer stage in the evening near the town of Klatovy. The same test is run twice more on Friday together with two other stages on Czech roads – which are especially bumpy and narrow yet fast in nature. There are opportunities for remote service to begin the morning and mid-afternoon, before cars return to the service park in Karpfham, to the south-west of the German city of Passau, at the end of the day.
Saturday is the longest day of the rally with more than 75 competitive miles to be driven over two loops of three stages spanning Germany and Austria. The middle stage of the loop, Beyond Borders, begins in Germany and ends in Austria. Sunday’s finale features a pair of stages run twice on German roads before the final podium in Passau.
The GR Yaris Rally2 car will be seen in WRC2 action in the hands of the top-seeded Czech driver, Filip Mareš, entered and run by ACCR Toyota Dolák.
Team quotes
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal): “Our result in Chile was a big motivational boost for the whole team. Having halved the gap, we have shown that the manufacturers’ championship race remains open and everything is still possible. This rally is a big challenge for the crews and last year we saw difficult conditions with a lot of rain and mud. Our car has been working well in those conditions and I think our drivers are ready for the challenge. To see that Seb still has so much speed and motivation is really pushing the team on, while Elfyn’s strong weekend in Chile has helped his confidence, and I’m sure that they can both be fighting at the front. For Taka, the target will be to have a solid rally, score some points and find a good feeling in the car ahead of Rally Japan. Meanwhile, this rally will be something new for Sami driving our Rally1 car on asphalt for the first time and for him it will be all about learning and gaining experience.”
Elfyn Evans (driver car 33): “After a great team performance in Chile, it was nice to be back on the podium and now we want to get the most out of these last two asphalt rounds to end the season. We know that both Central Europe and Japan can be quite difficult rallies in terms of the weather and such events are a challenge as a driver to try and get right, especially with the added dimension of working with our route note crews. Our driving time on this surface is quite limited during the year, but at least the conditions we expect are not so different to Croatia. The car was working well there, so we’ve had a good base to work from while trying to find some improvements that can put us in a good place for the event.”
Sébastien Ogier (driver car 17): “Although I didn’t manage to score the result I was hoping for in Chile, I’m pleased we managed to make a perfect weekend as a team and come back much closer in the manufacturers’ championship, which was always my main target for this season. So we are really motivated now to push for the last two events on asphalt. In Central Europe, it’s nice to have another home rally for me, close to where I now live in Germany, and with a lot of fans watching the stages. From last year, we know that the conditions can be really challenging with very narrow roads, some quite dirty sections and very low grip. So we’ve been working to have a car that can give us maximum confidence for these tricky stages.”
Takamoto Katsuta (driver car 18): “I’m looking forward to being back in the car and driving on a totally different surface for the last two rallies of the year. I really like driving on asphalt and I hope to find a good feeling and perform well. This rally is a big challenge for everyone with a lot of surface changes and dirt on the road. Last year, the Friday on Czech roads was especially difficult with rain and a lot of cuts. With that experience it should be easier to return this year but there will still be many new stages, so we need to focus on making good pace notes and communicating well with our route note crew. I will try to be patient, be there to score points for the team and if everything goes well, it will be easier for me to push at Rally Japan.”
Sami Pajari (driver car 5): “This will be my first time with the Rally1 car on asphalt and I’m sure it will be a big challenge. I did the rally in WRC2 last year and it was really tricky in places, with some more enjoyable parts as well. The stages are a bit different in each of the three countries, and at this time of year the weather can be quite unpredictable. But at the moment for me it’s all about facing these challenges and learning from them. I think we did quite a solid job in Finland and Chile and I’m sure it will be a similar story on this rally too: when we’re feeling good we can do some nice times, and if there’s more risk or tricky conditions, step back a little bit to gain the experience and not rush too much.”
ENDS
