GAZOO Racing Secures Double Podium Finishes at Rally Finland 

The GAZOO Racing (GR) World Rally Team (WRT) has advanced its stellar track record during the 2022 season of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), with two podium finishes at Rally Finland, enhancing Toyota’s Manufacturers’ Championship lead to 88 points. Behind the wheels of their Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Kalle Rovanperä further extended his lead with a well-calculated drive to second place as teammate, while fellow Finn Esapekka Lappi clinched third place to join him on the podium at their home rally. 

Sweeping the gravel roads around the Finnish town of Jyväskylä, the symbolic home of rallying, Rovanperä - with his co-driver Jonne Halttunen - and Lappi - with his co-driver Janne Ferm - put on a great show in their No.69 and No. 4 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1, respectively, which recorded the quickest time in 15 of the 22 stages. Rewarding themselves for their thrilling performance in a rally known for high speeds and narrow margins, Rovanperä took the maximum five bonus points for the fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage to stretch his advantage to 94 points, with five rallies remaining. At the same time, the Lappi-Ferm duo scored their second podium of the season. 

Akio Toyoda, President and CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation, commented: “This year, we have two home rallies, and Rally Finland was the first one of them. The whole team, especially the local heroes, Rovanperä and Lappi, tried very hard and did very well, pushing to the limit and beyond. We received incredible support from the fans and the city of Jyväskylä, and I would like to thank everyone for that. I’m sure we will have huge support as well at Rally Japan, which is our other home rally. The team will continue working hard together, and we will definitely respond to their cheers and return the favor with victory.” 

Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, ‎including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Nürburgring 24 ‎Hours endurance race. Toyota’s involvement in these events was overseen by separate ‎entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established GR ‎to consolidate its motorsports activities under one in-house brand. Representing ‎Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people’ and ‘the people build the cars’ - GR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota’s commitment to ‎making ‘ever-better’ cars. Harnessing years of experience garnered under the extreme ‎conditions of various motorsports events, GR aims to forge new ‎technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure and joy of driving to everyone.

Ypres Rally Belgium - which will take place beetween 19 and 21 August - ran as a WRC round for the first time in 2021, but has a longstanding reputation as a classic and demanding asphalt rally known for its fast but narrow farmland roads lined by large ditches.