Toyota quadruplet at Safari, a first in more than 10 years

Le Rally du Kenya 2022 a permis à Toyota de rentrer dans l’histoire de l’ère hybride, et de ces dernières années. Dans la savane kenyane, le constructeur japonais a maîtrisé son sujet à la perfection échappant à tous les pièges là où les Hyundai i20 et Ford Puma rivales ne cessaient de tomber en morceaux à l’image d’un Sébastien Loeb not spared from mechanical problems.

But in Kenya, it is above all through its domination that Toyota marked this 2^e Safari since its return to the calendar in 2021. On site, the Japanese firm has placed its 4 Yaris in the first 4 positions with Kalle Rovanperä, winner for 4^e of the year, ahead of Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sébastien Ogier. A first in 12 years in WRC !

Flashback

To find traces of a quadruple in the World Rally Championship, we have to go back to the 2010 Bulgarian Rally! At the time, it was not a question of Toyota or Hyundai but of Citroën.

Led by Sébastien Loeb, then 6 times world champion, the chevron brand would dominate the Bulgarian event head and shoulders by taking the first 4 places with its 4 C4 WRCs. In the final ranking, the Alsatian finished first ahead of Dani Sordo, Petter Solberg and a young Sébastien Ogier.

Sébastien Loeb with Dani Sordo, Sébastien Ogier and Petter Solberg. © DPPI/F. Baudin

For the record, this is not the first time that Toyota has achieved a quadruplet. In 1993, the manufacturer from the Land of the Rising Sun had already won the Safari with 4 Celica Turbo Turbo 4WD and Juha Kankkunen at the forefront. Twenty-nine is once again 4 Japanese machines and a Finnish driver who dominated the Japanese event. Coincidence.

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