TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has claimed a stunning victory on home territory at Rally Finland, with Esapekka Lappi claiming his debut victory and Juho Hänninen finishing third: the first time the team has had two cars on the podium. Not only that, but the Yaris WRC led for 22 stages out of 25 in total, claiming 18 stage wins, 13 stage one-two finishes and one stage one-two-three finishes.
Latvala was forced to retire from the lead on Saturday, but returned to action on Sunday and was quickest on three more stages – one of them jointly with Hänninen. He took fourth on the Power Stage to claim two additional championship points at the end of a weekend that will go down in history for the team.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 10)
“Luckily after our problem yesterday we were able to come back today and it started really well, winning the first three stages. We had a good run on the Power Stage but the road was more slippery for me than the drivers who followed, so two points was the maximum. Even though it could have been even better, it’s a great team result with Esapekka taking his first win and Juho his first podium, well done to both of them.”
FINAL RESULT, RALLY FINLAND:
1 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Toyota Yaris WRC) 2h29m26.9s
2 Elfyn Evans/Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta WRC) +36s
3 Juho Hänninen/Kaj Lindström (Toyota Yaris WRC) +36.3s
4 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1m01.5s
5 Craig Breen/Scott Martin (Citroen C3 WRC) +1m22.6s
6 Thierry Neuville/Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1m33.1s
7 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Ford Fiesta WRC) +1m53.6s
8 Kris Meeke/Paul Nagle (Citroen C3 WRC) +3m12.6s
9 Dani Sordo/Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +4m11.5s
10 Mads Østberg/Torstein Eriksen (Ford Fiesta WRC) +4m21.2s
21 Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (Toyota Yaris WRC) +20m15.8s
(Results as of 19:30 on Sunday local time, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2017 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DRIVERS AFTER ROUND NINE:
1 Thierry Neuville 160
2 Sebastien Ogier 160
3 Ott Tanak 119
4 Jari-Matti Latvala 114
5 Dani Sordo 84
6 Elfyn Evans 79
7 Craig Breen 53
8 Hayden Paddon 51
9 Juho Hänninen 46
10 Esapekka Lappi 45
2017 FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER ROUND NINE:
1 M-Sport World Rally Team 285
2 Hyundai Motorsport 251
3 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT 193
4 Citroen Total Abu Dhabi World Rally Team 135
What’s next?
The next round of the World Rally Championship is Rallye Deutschland in Germany from August 17-20, as the series returns to asphalt. This event is actually made up of three former national rallies rolled into one, and that’s apparent from the very different nature of each day’s stages. The rally begins with tight and twisty vineyard stages before moving to the notorious Baumholder military ranges on Saturday, featuring challenging concrete roads. The final day is made up of more classic European asphalt stages, with wider and faster roads. The weather can often be variable all weekend.
Recent Comments