The Latest Breaking News from Toyota Gazoo Racing

Torrential rain soaked the teams on the grid, forcing everyone onto wet-weather tyres, and Sutton was the master of the conditions in his Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus ST. 

The three-time champion wrung everything out of himself and his Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus ST in the Q2 top-10 shootout to pip the One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R of Josh Cook by 0.006 seconds.

1. Rovanpera crashes out but still leaves impact on rally

The Toyota driver came through an intense battle with Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen to claim the final podium spot at last weekend’s high-speed gravel rally, marking the Japanese driver’s best result of the season to date.

Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director, explained that the Japanese driver who shared the second-placed GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar with Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley was caught out by a rearward brake balance setting at the tight Arnage right-hander.

The non-score at Le Mans for the #7 crew, which resulted from Kobayashi being hit by two cars as he reduced speed for an 80km/h Slow Zone, followed a problem with one of the official series sensors on their GR010 at the Portimao round in April.

Top Performer - Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais

The rally has prided itself on being one of the WRC’s jewel in the crown events given its difficulty to win. Its unique stages feature a mix of rough gravel and soft sandy roads sprawled across Kenya’s iconic wildlife-filled savannah. amid changeable weather, poses an altogether different challenge for crews.  

Nick Tandy was at the head of the field aboard the #75 Porsche 963 as the race reached quarter-distance, 1.7s ahead of the #51 Ferrari 499P of Alessandro Pier Guidi, shortly before making a pitstop.

The new BoP guidelines thrashed out by the FIA, the ACO and the manufacturers competing in the WEC’s Hypercar class this year allowed for only minimal changes over the first four races of the 2023 campaign, up to and including Le Mans on 10/11 June, as part of a drive…

Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s technical director, said the decision of WEC rule makers the FIA and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest to unilaterally make revisions outside the scope of the new BoP rules introduced for 2023 has set an unwelcome precedent.