TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team has kick-started Rally Finland in style at the heart of its home city Jyväskylä, where the innovative GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept also made its public debut before the competitive action began.
Based just three kilometres from the service park, the team already received a warm welcome from the rally-loving local fans at the ceremonial start on Wednesday evening. Thursday began with shakedown over the famous jumps of the Ruuhimäki stage: Finnish youngster Sami Pajari was fastest after the first run over shakedown in his TGR-WRT2 entry while Takamoto Katsuta ended up with the quickest time after three full-speed runs.
As usual, the mixed-surface Harju super special stage in the centre of Jyväskylä would open the rally. The GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept provided a spectacular curtain raiser: developed at the nearby TGR-WRT headquarters as part of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s efforts to create ever-better motorsports-bred cars and realise a carbon-neutral society. Fitted with an internal combustion engine fuelled by compressed hydrogen, it delivers near-zero emissions while retaining the sounds and sensations so enjoyed by rally fans.
With Finland’s four-time world champion and Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen at the wheel, the demonstration run allowed fans to experience the potential of hydrogen as one of the options for the future of motorsport in a carbon neutral society. In the co-drivers’ seat for the run was popular motoring journalist and presenter Richard Hammond, best known for hosting Top Gear and The Grand Tour as well as for science, engineering and sustainability storytelling.
Sébastien Ogier was the fastest GR YARIS Rally1 driver in SS1 in third position, just ahead of local hero Kalle Rovanperä. Elfyn Evans and Katsuta were tied for sixth, just two seconds off the best time, with Pajari only one second further back in ninth.
Quotes:
Juha Kankkunen (Deputy Team Principal)
“It’s an exciting moment to be at the start of Rally Finland. There is so much support for our team and our drivers in our home area, especially here in the city on the Harju stage. It was very nice for me to be able to drive the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept before the stage. It brought back some old memories for me: somebody told me I’ve been fastest in Harju seven times previously and I was again today – in the ‘hydrogen class’! The car feels good to drive and I think it’s good for the fans also. For our Rally1 drivers the most important thing was to get around cleanly because it’s a narrow and tricky stage, and be ready to push in the forests tomorrow.”
Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)
“We always have a very warm welcome here in Jyväskylä: it’s a special feeling as the home event for the team, and it’s a highlight on the calendar for me driving on such amazing roads. Everyone is excited to start the rally, expectations are high, and we are going to do our best to deliver a result for everyone. The feeling was OK in shakedown and hopefully we’re in a good place to start the rally for real tomorrow.”
Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69)
“It’s always super exciting to start Rally Finland. Already yesterday in the ceremonial start we saw so many fans and a lot of support, and again in this first stage tonight. In shakedown we had a pretty good feeling. It was quite a simple bit of road compared to some of the trickier stages we will face in the rally, but the feeling is quite positive at the moment. Tomorrow will be a big push from us and we’ll try to do all we can to get a good result.”
Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 17)
“It’s a pleasure to be at the start of this rally and driving on these magical roads – especially when you’re driving for the best team in the world! The support we feel from the fans is always big here, with so many people cheering for us and we try to put on a good show, starting with this stage in the city. The first target has been to find a good feeling because you need that to be quick here, and let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)
“This first stage was a nice one as usual with the great atmosphere from all the fans. It was a bit slippery in a few places but otherwise it was good. In shakedown this morning I was not completely happy with the feeling at first, but then we made a few changes and the car felt even better and we were able to finish fastest. I’m feeling quite confident and I will try to do my best tomorrow.”
Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)
“It’s always exciting to start the home rally. This first stage in the city is always quite tricky, but it’s also cool to see all the fans watching and cheering for us. I had a good feeling this morning on the shakedown, and to have the fastest time already on the first pass was nice. The proper rally only starts tomorrow morning but so far, the feeling, the atmosphere, the weather – everything is really good.”
End of day one (Thursday):
1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) 2m04.0s
2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.3s
3 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.5s
4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +1.7s
5 Adrien Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria (Hyundai i20 N Rally1) +1.9s
6 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.0s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +2.0s
8 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1) +2.7s
9 Sami Pajari/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1) +3.0s
10 Josh McErlean/Eoin Treacy (Ford Puma Rally1) +3.2s
(Results as of 21:00 on Thursday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
What’s next?
A loop of four stages in the forests north-east of Jyväskylä is run twice on Friday, featuring classic Rally Finland tests Laukaa, Myhinpää and Ruuhimäki as well as Saarikas, run for the first time last year. A second pass of Harju rounds out the day, preceded by another demonstration run for the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept.
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