Toyota shines in Croatia with Ogier and Evans / WRC

TGR-WRT maintains its 100 percent winning record in the tarmac event since it was added to the FIA ​​World Championship calendar in 2021. The tracks around the Croatian capital Zagreb once again provided tough conditions and close competition. Throughout the weekend, Toyota finished in the top two positions in the overall standings.

After Friday, Evans was at the same lead as his main rival in the championship, Thierry Neuville (Hyundai). Ogier was just 6.6 seconds behind after a good time on the final stage helped him make up for most of the time he lost on the dirtier road back to the field. The TGR duo kept the pressure on until the final day with a dramatic second stage in the morning where Neuville and Evans lost time through events. A flawless race saw Ogier take the lead, while Evans survived his lap unscathed to remain second overall.

After two more tests, Ogier secured the 59th victory and 100th podium of his WRC career. He and co-driver Vincent Landais eventually finished their second meeting of the season 9.7 seconds ahead of Evans and Scott Martin. With a third podium finish in four rounds and victory over his arch-rival on Sunday, Evans is now just six points off the Drivers’ Championship lead.

Takamoto Katsuta, along with co-driver Aaron Johnston, improved his pace and confidence throughout the event. He topped the Super Sunday standings after winning both rounds of the Trakošćan-Vrbno test to climb to fifth place overall.

Thanks to the efforts of all three crews over the weekend, TGR-WRT continues to lead the Manufacturers’ championship by seven points.

In just its second WRC event on tarmac, the GR Yaris Rally2 finished third in its category and tenth overall in the hands of Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen, who set the fastest four times in their Printsport-entered car.

Team boss Jari-Matti Latvala: “It was an amazing meeting and a good result for our team. After Saturday I wasn’t sure if we could win because Neuville looked strong, but this morning Elfin’s attack on the first stage gave us hope What happened next, with Thierry and Elfin losing time, was something we didn’t want, but it meant that Sébastien was suddenly ahead and he was able to win. It was a rally and you don’t save anything until you finish our game can be good when there is a very close battle for the podium until the last day. It is Seb’s 100th podium finish, which is an incredible number: for him to return to the race after almost three months and end up winning the event shows for he is an eight-time world champion and it is good to have him in our team.”

Elfin Evans: “Today there is a feeling of disappointment. Things started well on the first stage on Sunday, but we were very optimistic with our tire choice and with the hard tire it was difficult on the second stage: the track was full of mud and the rear was spinning “You have to be there to win. It was a good weekend overall, and it’s a good team result. It doesn’t feel like the team was fully rewarded for this one.” kind of a point, but it is what it is.”

Sébastien Ogier: «I am very happy about this victory. It was a tough weekend: we knew we would get here with our starting position, but we pushed all weekend, we didn’t give up and pushed as hard as we could. I don’t think I’ve ever had many moments in a conference where I pushed myself to the limit like that, but most importantly we brought home the win. One hundred podiums is a good number and it is good to achieve it with a victory. I enjoy every opportunity to drive these cars and it’s great to see we still have speed. I’m very happy for the team, even if we can’t make a big difference in points. It was a great team effort and let’s keep it going.”

Takamoto Katsuta: “It was a good weekend for me as I gained more and more confidence over time. Already on Saturday some tracks felt good and I just tried to continue and I got a better feeling in the car. I was a little disappointed in the Power Stage where I was very careful, but every something else went well today. We were faster on Super Sunday and we got good points for the team, which I’m happy with and overall it was a good result for the team. Next time I want to be better from the start of the meeting and the result can be better, but for overall it was a good weekend.” (Toyota)