French drivers discover the Toyota Yaris Rally2

It's definitely the fashionable car. All the crews who are looking for a program for 2024 want to test the latest production from the workshop Toyota Gazoo Racing based in Finland.

After Juho Hänninen the main tunemaker or Kalle Rovanperä much more punctually, many other drivers were able to do a session with the Yaris Rally2. Erik Cais, Nikolay Gryazin and Sami Pajari tried it and recently Jan Solans sat in the cockpit. The Spaniard seems to have the finances to be at the start of a few rounds in 2024. Will he be joined by one or more French people?

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Stéphane Lefebvre was the first to ride with the Japanese. Before Dvoluy, he covered several more kilometers with the car without being certain that he could compete in a race with it. Rumors announced his participation in Monte-Carlo, but we will have to wait to see if it will materialize. Having still not given any indication of its future, Pierre-Louis Loubet was able to get an idea of ​​this Rally2 on the heights of Laborel (Drôme).

Like his little comrades before him, the Corsican had to keep silent about his impressions. The latter was just able to comment: “ This is different from anything I have driven before, particularly in terms of the engine. » Pierre-Louis also did not want to reveal what his 2024 season would consist of: “ For the moment, everything is open, but we have to be realistic and recognize that entering Rally1 will be complicated. » Will P'tit-Louis make the same step backwards as Oliver Solberg, Fergus Greensmith or Adrien fourmaux before him ? Will he find another Habs who is looking to make appearances in the world?

After Stéphane Lefebvre, Pierre-Louis Loubet and Nicolas Ciamin are the other French people to have tested the Toyota Yaris Rally2 (Photo: Toyota)

Nicolas Ciamin would indeed prefer to compete in a few rounds in WRC2 rather than perform in France. The Niçois was also able to try the Yaris to get an idea of ​​the potential of this car on the roads of Drôme. “ The chassis is very good and the engine not bad », concluded the man who knows a lot about Rally2 having driven them all in races with the exception of the Fiesta.

While waiting for concrete announcements to be made, the Yaris is in the final stages of the approval process. “ It’s always a bit of a complex moment., explained Kevin Stryuf who oversees this program at Toyota. We don't have the final stamp yet, as there are often small things to change, but we are very close. We will be able to concentrate on building cars for Monte-Carlo where we hope to be able to supply between 3 and 5. »

It now remains to know the lucky users, because if all the rumors and if all the announcements come true, there will be around ten Toyotas in WRC2 next year.