Rally Sweden – Toyota, a bittersweet defeat against Hyundai

This new points system introduced in WRC this season provokes contrary feelings among certain teams and among certain drivers. How does it feel when you finish second in the Rally from Sweden, beaten by your main rivals, while being the driver with the most points for the Drivers' championship? Elfyn Evans experienced this incongruous situation this weekend in Scandinavia. The pilot Toyota, who leaves Sweden with 24 additional points (compared to 19 points for the winner, Esapekka Lappi), says “reasonably satisfied” of his performance.

“It was a roller coaster weekend, recognizes the Welshman after a complicated Friday. It didn't look good on Friday when we struggled with our road position. But we managed to get through it, which is important and allowed us to move up the rankings. When the conditions suited us, our pace was absolutely fine and today we managed to take some good points at the end. I think we probably should have won the Power Stage, but we made a few mistakes at the end. Despite everything, I think we can be reasonably satisfied with the situation we found ourselves in at the start of the weekend and come out with a good number of points. »

Latvala relieved by points scored on Sunday

At Toyota, if we remember more the frustration of the defeat against Hyundai for the second time in two rallies – a first since the return of the Japanese team to the WRC in 2017 – Jari-Matti Latvala relative to this failure given the racing conditions. Like his Welsh driver, the Finn underlines the good accounting operation in the two championships.

“The weekend was tougher than we expected and the overall result wasn't what we would have wanted, but I'm really happy with what we were able to do on the final day, declared the director of the Toyota team. Our preparation for this event was good, the car was performing well and the drivers were confident, but we could not take the final step. When you push hard, mistakes can happen and this weekend that's what happened to two of our drivers. Elfyn (…) did a great job to take second overall and be fastest on Sunday, and he was also close to winning the Power Stage until the final corners. The fact that we achieved a double on Sunday and in the Power Stage really helps us to win the constructors' championship. »

Toyota, revenge expected in Kenya

Obviously, Toyota went to Sweden with other ambitions than a second place in the general classification, especially with the return of Kalle Rovanperä to the WRC for his first stint. The reigning double world champion was quickly upset by a fatal exit from the track on Friday morning. “Our only goal was to help the team score points and I'm happy we were able to do that, and we also tried to help Elfyn where we could. Of course, I'm not happy with our weekend because we came here to win, confides the Finn. I'm sorry and I thank the team, because everyone did a very good job of preparation, the car was fast enough to win, but we didn't manage to pull out all the stops. » 

After the retirement of Kalle Rovanperä, hopes of victory rested on the shoulders of a surprising Takamoto Katsuta, in a duel with Esapekka Lappi during the first half of this Rally of Sweden… before the Japanese in turn made a mistake on Saturday morning, annihilating any chance of success for Toyota. The Japanese team, tied on points with Hyundai among the Manufacturers after two rounds (87 points each), will be keen to finally beat Hyundai at the next meeting, at the Safari Rally (March 28-31). In Kenya, Toyota remains on two consecutive quadruplets, in 2022 and 2023.

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