Latvala hopes to turn things around with Toyota in New Zealand

Toyota vit une saison 2022 à deux vitesses. D’abord, il y a eu les succès, abondants, du début de saison : 5 victoires en 7 rallyes, une domination totale dans les deux championnats et le point d’orgue, le quadruplé historique au Safari Rally du Kenya. Puis il y a eu les échecs, avec trois défaites consécutives face à Hyundai dont la dernière en date, celle à l’Acropole, fût cinglante avec une seule Yaris présente dans le top 10 à l’arrivée.

If the term “crisis” seems far too strong for a team still well ahead in both championships, the three consecutive failures have had the gift of calling the Toyota team into question. In recent rallies, Hyundai seemed to have gained the upper hand not only in terms of performance, but also in reliability.

For the next event, which will take place in New Zealand for the first time in a decade, the Finnish-Japanese team wants to reverse the trend. “The roads in New Zealand are quite similar to those in Finland, without the bumps, said Jari-Matti Latvala, director of the Toyota team. I hope they will fit the Yaris. The last rally in Greece has been difficult, we know it and we have worked to find out the reasons. New Zealand is a very different rally, with other roads and other stages. We will see. »

“Tänak will want to prolong the battle for the title” distrusts Latvala

On the other side of the globe, Toyota is hoping to turn its head around. For the antepenultimate stage of the 2022 season, the Japanese brand will travel to Auckland with still 4 cars at the start and the presence of Sébastien Ogier. The experience of the eight-time world champion will be important: the Gapençais is the only driver to have already participated in the New Zealand Rally among the current drivers, it was in 2010 with Citroën.

Jari-Matti Latvala is counting on this team spirit to put an end to the excellent dynamic of Hyundai andOtt Tänak at the end of the season. “It’s a fantastic place for drivers and I’m sure we will fight as a team. We must, however, remember how strong [Ott] Tänak is. He has had some good rallies and he will want to extend the title battle with Kalle [Rovanperä] for as long as possible. »

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