December 2023 tweets
Merry Christmas
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team announces 2024 line-up
M-Sport Ford World Rally Team is excited to announce that Adrien Fourmaux and Alex Coria, and Grégoire Munster and Louis Louka will form its line-up for the 2024 World Rally Championship, both driving the Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1.
Both Fourmaux and Munster, who enjoyed seasons of strong development in 2023 in the Rally1 and WRC2 categories, will step up in 2024 to take on the full WRC season. The pair represent M-Sportâs continued commitment and established history of nurturing future talent into upcoming rally and championship winners. The team is very excited to continue working with Fourmaux and Munster in their quest to achieve important and new career milestones in 2024.
Since its inception, M-Sport has established a heritage of identifying young talent in rallying and providing them opportunities to develop and flourish into top level drivers in the WRC.
Both drivers chosen to represent the team in 2024 have experience in the Ford Puma Rally1 and will aim to utilise this familiarity with the car to launch straight into action on the season opener in Monte-Carlo in January.
Adrien Fourmauxâs highly anticipated return to the Rally1 category comes off the back of a very successful year for the French driver. His highest accolade in 2023 is certainly his British Rally Championship title, a well-earned achievement after five back-to-back victories on British gravel and Tarmac surfaces. His consistency in the BRC would also support his further success in the WRC2 category. A win just out of reach in Sardinia was soon redeemed by claiming a well-earned second overall on the famously fast Finnish gravel stages. He rounded off his WRC2 season with a dominant RC2 class win on Central European Rallyâs debut event in October.
His successes across the varied surfaces in WRC once again pipped him as one of the sportâs rising stars and earned him a Rally1 drive on the seasonâs final round. Although his outing in Japan wouldnât go to plan, Fourmaux still had the opportunity to put some impressive pace down on Friday morning. With the re-introduction to the Puma out of the way, Fourmaux is set and familiarised back into Rally1 ways in-order to hit the ground running in Monte-Carlo next month.
A new face to most of the team at the start of 2023, Grégoire Munster now finds himself well established within the M-Sport contingent. A successful and very consistent year for the Luxembourger, Munster is in the position to be one of the most promising young drivers in the 2024 season.
His achievements to date include two Belgian Junior titles plus a number of top-five WRC2 finishes since his category debut in 2022. Since his maiden event in the Ford Fiesta Rally2 on Rallye Monte-Carlo in January 2023, Munster would make steady progression throughout the season, culminating in a WRC2 Challenger win in Greece. Earlier in the season he also took the category win in Junior WRC in Estonia, behind the wheel of a Fiesta Rally3.
Munster would then impress fans and the team on his debut Rally1 events in Chile and Central Europe. He fought hard to get onto good terms with the Puma in Chile and saw this come true on his preferred Tarmac surface traversing three countries in Central Europe, as he would claim an overall fourth-fastest time and his best overall time on a WRC stage to date.
The 24-year-oldâs career so far exemplifies M-Sportâs progression pyramid as he climbs through the categories, honing his knowledge, instinct and speed to bring him to the next opportunity â a full WRC season at the top level. He continues his partnership with co-driver Louis Louka, and the pair will further their learning in the Puma and focus their sights on a consistent season building speed and experience across all the varied surfaces the WRC has to offer.
Both crews will line up their newly liveried Pumas at the start ramp on Rallye Monte-Carlo next month. The teamâs reputation for unique and breath-taking designs will keep fans on the edge of their seats until the new livery is launched at the Autosport International Show, UK, on Friday 12th January.
Richard Millener, Team Principal, said:
â2024 will see us take a new and different approach compared to the last 12 months. Developing and helping young talent prove themselves is an exciting way to tackle a WRC season, and with several of the top drivers not competing across the full championship we have opportunities to put in some strong and surprising performances. We still have all the ingredients to deliver results and the team is motivated to start again in a few weeksâ time with an almost blank paper on what we can achieve.
âAdrien, Alex, Gregoire and Louis are all great guys who possess a lot of determination and motivation. A young team can create great energy and great things can come from that so I cannot wait to start working with them all again to show what we know we can achieve.â
Adrien Fourmaux said:
âIâm very happy to be back in Rally1 for 2024. Achieving this drive was the main goal of the 2023 season and Iâm thrilled to return for a full season in the Puma next year. Iâm grateful to M-Sport, Ford and Red Bull for having the confidence and trust in me to give me another year at the top level and allow me to show my capabilities.
âIâve enjoyed being part of the development of the Fiesta Rally2 in 2023, and I think this will help me for the upcoming season with the Rally1 car. It will be a very interesting season for everybody, especially with the new regulations and points system.
âWeâve got a proper plan to work hard and deliver the best results we can, to support the team and get it back to where it deserves to be. Iâm also very proud to be the the only French driver competing the full season at the top level of WRC!â
Grégoire Munster said:
âDriving almost the full season in WRC2 in 2023 has been a big positive, itâs the first time I had the chance to do nearly all the WRC events and get the mileage. The two drives in the Puma has helped me a lot with getting prepared for the Rally1 drive in 2024. Working within the M-Sport team has also been incredibly useful, you see the WRC2 and Rally1 team all within the same structure, so itâs good preparation for Rally1 to feel familiar and at home!
âIâm eager to start in Monte-Carlo, and the goal for 2024 will be first to get some good results and increase the pace rally after rally, try not to make any mistakes and just get all the experience. Weâre driving against world champions, so it will be a big challenge but Iâm really looking forward to it.â
Source:
www.m-sport.co.uk
Two new young rally hopefuls chosen by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program is pleased to welcome two new young Japanese drivers â Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita â for 2024 after they impressed with their talent and potential during a week-long evaluation in Finland.
The process to select a third generation of drivers to join the WRC Challenge Program began at Fuji Speedway in Japan in September when more than 70 applicants were given the chance to demonstrate their skills behind the wheel.
Instructors from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team selected six drivers who would advance to the final training camp in Lapland, northern Finland. There, initial fitness tests were followed by five days of driving that would test their skills across a variety of different cars.
Despite their limited prior experience, particularly driving on snow and ice, the finalists made a strong positive impression on the instructors. The aim was to discover two drivers who showed potential to become top-level drivers in the FIA World Rally Championship, and Goto and Matsushita both demonstrated that they had what it took to earn a place on the Program.
Both drivers are at the very beginning of their rally careers and their development will accelerate next year under the guidance of their instructors. A comprehensive period of training focused on driving, pacenotes and fitness is planned for early in the year before the two drivers relocate from Japan to Finland later in spring to commence an intense full-time training schedule. The goal will be for them to start competing in national rallies in Finland and Europe from the summer onwards, in front-wheel drive Rally4 cars.
Goto and Matsushita will also have the chance to learn from those whose footsteps they are following in by joining the Program. Takamoto Katsuta, one of two drivers chosen in the initial selection back in 2015, will compete full-time for TGR WRT in the WRC in 2024 having already achieved multiple podium finishes at rallyingâs highest level. Two drivers from the second generation, Hikaru Kogure and Yuki Yamamoto, will be making the step up from Rally4 to Rally2 cars next year.
Quotes:
Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):âThis is the third time we have selected new drivers for the WRC Challenge Program and the first time we could do it like Toyota really wants to, and open up the opportunity to anyone who is interested regardless of their experience. This time we could go to Fuji Speedway and see, out of all the applicants, who had talent and who could drive fast, and then invite the best to Finland. Some of them had minimal background in motorsport or driving and we didnât really know what to expect, but we were really positively surprised by the level of the whole group. It just shows that this is a great opportunity for people who may otherwise have no opportunity to get into motorsport at this level. Shotaro has only done one year of racing through university but the way he could adapt his driving to our instructions was really impressive, and he improved already quite a lot across the week. Takumi has done just one rally before but he has a really good technical understanding about the mechanical side, and he was able to drive all of the different cars at a good level straight away. Neither has much experience in competition but both were really strong and we are really excited to start working with them. Now the real work starts, especially on the pacenote side which is a big part of rallying, but we are sure they can reach a good level soon.â
Shotaro Goto:âI am really happy to have been selected to join the WRC Challenge Program. At the start of the week I noticed that I was not learning as quickly as some other drivers, which was mentally tough. I was a little bit worried about the final result, so I am very happy to be selected. My motivation has always been to be a better driver. Now I have been given this fantastic opportunity in a great environment, and I am really excited to have this chance to become a better driver. It is a big life-changing event for someone like me, who did not have the chance to be part of motorsport already from a young age. This is an unbelievably good opportunity to join the motorsport environment.â
Takumi Matsushita:âI am really relieved to be chosen to become a WRC Challenge Program driver and I am really looking forward to working with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, as well as my predecessors in the Program, Yamamoto-san, Kogure-san and also Katsuta-san. I learned a lot from the driving sessions in Lapland: the most important thing was probably left-foot braking and to drive more with the throttle and brake than with my hands. I really appreciate TGR for giving me this big challenge. I have little experience in rallying so I need to learn a lot from the pacenote training and then driving in rallies.â
Source:
toyotagazooracing.com
Sordo and Mikkelsen to share HyundaiÂŽs third WRC entry with Lappi
We are pleased to announce that Dani/CĂĄndido and Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen will complete our line-up for the 2024 WRC season. The two crews will split events with EP/Janne in our third i20 N Rally 1 Hybrid. Their mission will be to support our full season entrants of Thierry/Martijn and Ott/Martin in their charge for the driversâ championship.
âWe are delighted to confirm the final elements of our experienced and talented 2024 WRC crew line-up,â said Cyril, our Team Principal. âThe combination of EP, Dani and Andreas will give us the opportunity to put the best team forward for every event to fight alongside Thierry and Ott.â
Dream team
Dani and Andreas have been selected due to their vast experience and talents on specific surfaces in the WRC, which will allow us to field our strongest line-up for each individual event. This will play to the strengths of the drivers: Dani on rough gravel, Andreas on tarmac, and EP on snow and fast gravel rallies.
âDani has contributed a huge amount to the team over the past ten years, both on the stages and in the factory, so we are very happy that he will be continuing with us next season,â added Cyril. âIt is also exciting to see Andreas return to our squad, as he brings with him proven success and plenty of experience that will benefit us in both WRC and Rally2.â
Getting back to winning ways
Dani and Andreas both played a key role in our first ever manufacturersâ title win in 2019. 2024 will be Daniâs eleventh year with our team, having been with us since our inaugural WRC season in 2014. Alongside co-driver CĂĄndido, the Spaniard will be looking to add to the 20 podiums he has claimed in our machinery over the past decade.
âI am very happy to be staying with Hyundai Motorsport for another season to help the team achieve its objectives for 2024,â commented Dani. âI have been part of the family in Alzenau for over ten years now and have enjoyed title-winning celebrations in 2019 and 2020, so I will do all I can to help the team get back to the top.â
Andreas is also a familiar face, as he competed with us for three seasons from 2017-2019. Since parting ways with the team, he has gone on to secure two WRC2 driversâ titles in 2021 and 2023. Alongside his driving role in WRC next season, the Norwegian will support the development of our Rally2 car program.
âI am very excited to come back to the top category of rallying with Hyundai Motorsport,â said Andreas. âI want to thank them for putting their faith in us; we will give our maximum to help achieve the high targets that will be set for the 2024 season.â
We are also working on our plans for WRC2 in 2024, using the series to develop future talents with the intention of leveraging these in 2025 and beyond.
Source:
motorsport.hyundai.com
FIA World Motor Sport Council decisions 6.12.2023
Following the announcement yesterday of the creation of a working group to evaluate and recommend the future direction of rallying, Robert Reid stated that the work has now started with meetings already taking place with WMSC members and ASN representatives this week in Baku.
The WMSC has approved the recommendation of the WRC Commission to appoint Hankook as the official tyre partner and supplier to the FIA World Rally Championship for a three-year deal starting in 2025. This decision follows a detailed tendering process launched by the FIA in July based on criteria such as the supplierâs capabilities, sustainability, technical quality, cost per tyre and marketing. Hankook will replace Pirelli whose WRC single supplier deal will conclude at the end of the 2024 campaign.
The principles of a new format for the attribution of championship points for Manufacturers, Drivers and Co-Drivers have been approved with the aim to enhance excitement and competitiveness, especially on Sunday. The details and balance of the points per day will be confirmed by the WMSC Task Force at a later stage.
With the objective to significantly reduce costs, a maximum of three new hybrid units per season will be allowed in 2025 and 2026 for Rally1 cars entered to score points in the Manufacturersâ Championship, instead of nine.
In regard to promotion, P1 crews will complete a minimum of two passages of the shakedown, while the third pass will be available for a media or VIP passenger ride determined by WRC Promoter to offer greater exposure opportunities to the championship.
Based on feedback from competitors, P2 crews will now be allowed to use route note cars and a different start order on Friday will be implemented to avoid discrepancies with P1 drivers.
Source:
www.fia.com
Citroën Racing to support Rossel and Gryazin in 2024 WRC2
Citroën Racing will be at the forefront of the WRC2 championship again in 2024 with the #C3Rally2Family. A strong line-up of two proven drivers, Yohan Rossel and Nikolay Gryazin will front the official Citroën Racing programme together with the DG Sport team. Building on its 25-year history in the WRC, Citroën Racing, together with Stellantis Motorsport, continues to shine: always looking for new challenges, the teams will be using all their skills to provide the drivers with the best possible cars.
Brought up through the Stellantis Motorsport Customer Racing programmes, Yohan Rossel will continue to proudly wave the Citroën Racing flag this season at the highest level. WRC3 champion in 2021 with C3Rally2, the Gardois finished third of the WRC2 standings this year claiming victories at Rally Monte-Carlo, and in Croatia against a competitive field. Rossel is already focused on the title next season.
Nikolay Gryazin will be joining the #C3Rally2Family for the first time for the 2024 season. Despite his young age, he will bring considerable and varied experience, having competed in WRC2 since 2019, he has demonstrated great performance on all surfaces. Fourth in the 2023 standings, he has put his faith in the C3 Rally2 to compete at the front again in the coming season.
The Citroën Racing teams are working constantly to equip the WRC2 crews and #C3Rally2Family around the world with an updated C3 Rally2 for the 2024 season. The technicians will be by their side to support and advise to get the most out of the cars on the stages throughout the season.
THEY SAIDâŠ
Didier Clement, Stellantis Motorsport Customer Racing Sporting Director
âWeâre all really excited about Nikolay Gryazin and Konstantin Alexandrov joining us in the WRC2 championship: a crew whose talents and experience are universally acknowledged. We also benefit from having Yohan Rossel, a driver who has well and truly risen up through the ranks of the Stellantis Motorsport junior categories. These two talents will form part of the DG Sport team from Belgium next year, which will represent Citroen Racing on the 2024 World Rally Championship. Their programmes already get underway next weekend, when they will take part in the Rallye du Devoluy in the south of France to prepare for the Rallye Monte-Carlo.â
Nikolay Gryazin, Official Citroën Racing WRC2 Driver
âJoining the #C3Rally2Family is really a new chapter in my career. Being in a great environment around me with a great team, it’s really important. I’m really curious to see how the season will be. I already tested the car, and on the tarmac, I felt really nice. The car is easy to drive for me, for my driving style, I have no doubts. For the gravel itâs also good, just need to spend some test dates to find the best setup for my driving style. Overall it feels also really good. I really enjoyed when I was doing the test on this car so I’m excited for this season to come. My target will be, of course, to try to win all the races, and for sure it is nice to have all the team from Citroen Racing, all their expertise. In 2024, I think we will have to be smart, strategic and do our job as we usually do and for sure to enjoy the driving, this is the most important!â
Yohan Rossel, Official Citroën Racing WRC2 Driver
âOnce more, I feel so proud of the confidence that the Stellantis Group has shown in me: next season, it will be 10 years that I have been driving their cars! This respect goes both ways: loyalty and consistency are extremely important for me, so to carry on with Citroen â the make I have been driving since 2019 â is entirely logical. The 2024 season will be another very intense one, but we will have the benefit of Nikolay in our team. He is driving on a lot of events and will be able to help develop the car on every surface, which was one of my wishes: we need someone like him who puts in the kilometres. Heâs a great person too, so Iâm really happy. The goal will be for us to work together and win. I know that CitroĂ«n Racing is working very hard: we know our strong points as well as the areas we have to improve. We’re close every time but the championship is so competitive that just finishing in the top three is a great achievement. Weâre going to do everything we can to try to be champions in 2024 and the objective is clear: to fight for the win on every rally!â
Source:
www.media.stellantis.com
November 2023 tweets
FIA Rally Star Junior WRC graduates revealed
- Caparo, Gill, JĂŒrgenson and Smart chosen for huge career progression opportunity.
- Decision taken following review of detailed analysis by FIA Rally Star Committee.
- Potential to become future FIA World Rally Championship winners a key consideration.
- Promising quartet can now prepare to take on other young global talents in 2024.
FIA Rally Star drivers Jose Caparo (Peru), Taylor Gill (Australia), Romet JĂŒrgenson (Estonia) and Max Smart (South Africa) are set for more life-changing experiences in 2024 after they were selected to contest next seasonâs FIA Junior WRC Championship.
It follows their graduation from the FIA Rally Star Training Season, which concluded with a meeting of the FIA Rally Star Committee earlier this week.
The FIA Rally Star Committee reviewed the performances of the six drivers during Mayâs Training Camp and six rallies, three FIA European Rally Trophy rounds and three national-level events, using extensive and detailed analysis. But they also considered their potential to be able to take the next step of their careers as they embark on an FIA Junior WRC campaign in 2024.
In addition, the FIA Rally Star Committee considered feedback from Maciej Woda, whose M-Sport Poland organisation prepared and maintained the Ford Fiesta Rally3s used in the Training Season, plus the FIA Rally Star operational team, Nicolas Klinger, Bryan To and Project Leader JĂ©rĂŽme Roussel.
FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid chaired the Committee, which included Road Sport Director Andrew Wheatley and representatives from the WRC, Rally, Drivers and Esports Commissions.
After considerable deliberation, they confirmed that Caparo, Gill, JĂŒrgenson and Smart will graduate to FIA Junior WRC in 2024, a five-event competition using the latest-specification Fiesta Rally3 Evo equipped with tyres from official supplier Pirelli.
FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid, the 2001 FIA World Rally Championship-winning co-driver and Chairperson of the FIA Rally Star Committee, said: âFirstly I want to say thank you to all the FIA Rally Star team, M-Sport Poland, Pirelli and all other partners for making the FIA Rally Star Training Season possible.
“It wasnât easy organising five Continental Finals and the Womenâs Final on the back of the disruption caused by the global health crisis, but we achieved something incredible by showcasing rallyingâs accessible nature to a new generation of potential competitors around the world. At the same time, I also want to acknowledge all the FIA Member Clubs and volunteer officials for their endless efforts, support and contribution.
âWe talked a lot during the FIA Rally Star Continental Finals about potential rather than mere performance because we were never only looking to see the levels of drivers now, but whether they can go further in the sport, not just next year but well into the future. Itâs easy to measure performance but itâs more difficult to measure potential and thatâs what we have worked very hard to do. After all, we were looking for drivers who can be FIA Junior WRC champion in 2025 and who we feel then have the potential to go on and become a genuine rally star of the future.
âIn Jose, Max, Romet and Taylor we firmly believe we have four drivers with the necessary potential and we wish them well in delivering on this. The FIA Junior WRC wonât be an easy ride by any means, but with the support and expertise of the M-Sport Poland team, the FIA Junior WRC structure and the FIA Road Sport Department, they have the platform to be the next champions.
âProviding they keep working hard and progressing, Abdullah and Annia can also go far in rallying. However, the FIA Rally Star Committee agreed that the FIA Junior WRC in 2024 is just a step too far right now. We will remain in contact and Iâm sure weâll see them both in the service parks of the WRC in the future.â
Annia Cilloniz and Abdullah Al-Tawqi have been informed that, despite their best efforts and level of progress made, they were not considered ready to graduate to FIA Junior WRC in 2024. Their participation in the FIA Rally Star programme therefore comes to an end. However, they leave the process with every good wish and high hopes remain that they will use the experience and expertise gained during the FIA Rally Star Training Season to continue to pursue their competition careers.
Caparo, Gill, JĂŒrgenson and Smart, who qualified for the FIA Rally Star Training Season by winning the American, Asia-Pacific, European and African Continental Finals respectively, can now start their preparations for the 2024 FIA Junior WRC, which begins on Rally Sweden from February 15-18.
Their participation in FIA Junior WRC is being fully supported by the FIA and the FIA Rally Star partners. At the end of 2024, the three best performing FIA Rally Star Drivers will receive the full support to contest a second FIA Junior WRC season in 2025 when the prize for the champion will be a step up to Rally2 level in the FIA WRC2 Championship in 2026.
FIA Rally Star Project Leader JĂ©rĂŽme Roussel said: âWhile the Lausitz Rallye marked the end of the FIA Rally Star Training Season calendar, it was the moment when the hard job really started: to select the four drivers who had shown the performance and the potential required to step up to FIA Junior WRC. With the vital input of the FIA Rally Star Committee, which is made up of a number of experts in the field of rallying and motor sport as a whole, we were able to select our own fab four. Jose, Max, Romet and Taylor experienced differing fortunes during the Training Season, but they also displayed the necessary potential. We have every confidence that they can maximise the opportunity they have been given in 2024 and we will follow their progression and adventures with a huge sense of pride but, above all, excitement. Like Jose, Max, Romet and Taylor, Abdullah and Annia also put in so much effort during the course of the FIA Rally Star Training Season. Sadly, we could only offer four FIA Junior WRC seats and Abullah and Annia were unfortunately not at the level required to fill one of those. As I said after the Lausitz Rallye, it would be my biggest disappointment if that event was their last in a rally car.â
Jose âAbitoâ Caparo (26, Peru)
âFIA Rally Star has changed my life and this year was just incredible. Making my rally debut in San Marino was just a dream and each rally made me think a lot about the things I needed to improve. I thank everyone who helped me in making the decisions I needed to make for the next rally. But this is just the beginning because I have so much potential to achieve. Moving from Peru to Spain, not working but only looking to the next rally was a big step for me but I was able to commit all my energy to this project. Thank you to my co-driver Willy and for the opportunity we had to achieve our goals.â
Taylor Gill (20, Australia)
âItâs an absolute dream come true. Itâs the result of everything weâve worked towards over the last 12 months. Iâve dedicated my life to FIA Rally Star this year so itâs nice to know thatâs paid off in the end because itâs not been an easy year. Iâve moved from Australia to Finland, got a job, shared an apartment with my co-driver so Iâve had lots of new life experiences but also new sporting experiences. To come out the other end having been selected is something Iâm incredibly proud of and will be proud of forever. Rally Sweden will be a huge challenge, my first WRC rally and my first rally on snow. Itâs almost the opposite of what Iâve done but I absolutely canât wait to compete in FIA Junior WRC with the level of competition Iâll face. Iâm so excited to get amongst it and hopefully raise my own level within that.â
Romet JĂŒrgenson (23, Estonia)
âI gave everything I could to unleash my potential and the decision of the FIA Rally Star Committee proves I did it right. Fortunately, we had the opportunity and itâs an incredible opportunity for us youngsters that before FIA Rally Star didnât have the chance ourselves. But with the help of this programme we could do some other events to really get some more experience. Going into Sweden will be really special as itâs going to be my first ever event on snow. Itâs going to be special for sure, a dream but this whole year has been a dream and the possibility to compete in FIA Junior WRC really gets you excited.â
Max Smart (21, South Africa)
âIâm super-grateful to have been part of the FIA Rally Star Training Season and now to get his opportunity to compete in FIA Junior WRC. We gave our all to get his far and itâs more than a dream come true getting things right. Iâm very proud of the progress we showed this year, especially on the last three events. There is so much in the bag in terms of what I have learned and what I can achieve and Iâm really excited for next year. My first FIA Junior WRC season, driving in the snow in Sweden and just working with everyone again will be amazing.â
Abdullah Al-Tawqi (24, Oman)
âI am happy with what I achieved and the improvements I made to finish the rallies and show some progress. This disappointment doesnât mean I will stop my career in rally. I will try to push and find the sponsorship to continue my career in Europe. That was my plan from the start. I left my university to do FIA Rally Star and now I can restart again to finish my studies. But I will not stop rallying and hope to do the Oman International Rally next year.â
Annia Cilloniz (24, Peru)
âI started this journey to become a rally driver when I was very young. I made big decisions in my life when I left university to enter the workshop for my job. Doing a rally in Europe was like a dream that I thought would only happen if one day I would be a millionaire and paying for my rallying myself when Iâm old. I really want to thank FIA Rally Star for this opportunity, it was a dream come true. It was really, really amazing and I learned a lot. I know there is a lot to come and I am really grateful for what happened this year.â
Checking the data, considering the future
To select the four FIA Rally Star Drivers for FIA Junior WRC progression in 2024, the FIA Rally Star Committee considered extensive data gathered from the FIA Rally Star Training Camp and the six-event FIA Rally Star Training Season. This included comparing stage performances against drivers in Rally2 cars to understand the difference in seconds per kilometre achieved. How the drivers performed against a list of pre-season objectives was also assessed with the number of rally finishes, penalties, pace and driving skills among factors taken into account. The sporting and technical feedback of the drivers during briefing sessions was also considered. But throughout the process, the readiness of the drivers to compete successfully in the FIA Junior WRC was of primary importance, along with their potential for the future.
FIA Junior WRC Championship calendar 2024
- Rally Sweden (snow/ice), February 15-18
- Croatia Rally (asphalt), April 18-21
- Rally Italia Sardegna (gravel), May 30-June 2
- Secto Rally Finland (gravel), August 1-4
- EKO Acropolis Rally Greece (gravel), September 5-8
Source:
www.fia.com
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents 2024 WRC Activity Team Setups
In the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), TGR will continue to work with the drivers and co-drivers with whom it has built relationships of mutual trust to take on the challenge of securing the Manufacturersâ, Driversâ, and Co-driversâ triple.
TGR will continue its practice of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and pursuing activities to enhance the appeal and sustainability of motorsports.
Major Results for the 2023 Season
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)
Won the Manufacturersâ, Driversâ, and Co-driversâ Championships for a third year in succession
·Manufacturersâ title
·Driversâ title (Kalle RovanperĂ€)
·Co-driversâ title (Jonne Halttunen)
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is pleased to confirm its star-studded driver line-up for the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season, when it will aim to once more win the manufacturersâ, driversâ and co-driversâ titles.
Kalle RovanperĂ€ this year became the youngest ever winner of back-to-back WRC driversâ titles, aged 23, and has signed a new multi-year contract with TGR-WRT. Following his remarkable rise to the very top of the sport, RovanperĂ€ will take part in a selected programme of rallies in 2024 alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. This will allow him some time away from the intense demands of competing for world championship titles and to enjoy driving across different disciplines including drifting, further enhancing his skills and experience behind the wheel.
Eight-time world champion SĂ©bastien Ogier achieved the last of his titles with TGR-WRT in 2020 and â21 before stepping back from full-time competition. He remains a key player in the team, having claimed victories in Monte Carlo, Mexico and Kenya during 2023, and will again contest a partial programme next season together with co-driver Vincent Landais.
The team is also excited to continue its relationship with Elfyn Evans for further seasons. Since joining TGR-WRT, Evans has established himself as a regular championship contender, finishing runner-up three times in four years â including in 2023, when he scored rally wins in Croatia, Finland and Japan. Looking to build on the progress of this season, he and co-driver Scott Martin will enter 2024 with their sights set on competing for their first world championship titles.
Takamoto Katsuta will also again form part of the teamâs line-up and drive a full season in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID with co-driver Aaron Johnston. A product of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program, Katsuta stepped up to join the teamâs main line-up in 2023 and contributed to its manufacturersâ championship success with an excellent podium finish at Rally Finland.
[WRC Team Principal & Drivers’ Comments]
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal):
“We are very happy to be keeping our winning driver line-up together for the future. Itâs great to know that we have such a strong squad of drivers who feel at home in our car and our team and want to continue working with us. Kalleâs programme will be a bit different in 2024 but the important thing for us is that he is a Toyota driver and he wants to stay with the team and keep enjoying his passion for rallying. Even though he is young, he has been driving rally cars at a serious level for a long time and he feels a part-campaign would be best for him now so that we can look forward to more full seasons together in the future. Itâs also great that Seb continues with us, and it means that together with Kalle, we will have two multiple world champions as strong assets in our defence of the manufacturersâ championship. Elfyn has shown us again this year that he can win rallies and compete for championships, and we know he will give his best efforts in every rally. Taka proved at Rally Finland this year that he can be up there in the fastest rallies and hopefully we can see him as a contender for podiums in almost every rally next season.”
Kalle RovanperÀ:
“I am really excited to have signed a multi-year contract with TGR-WRT and to continue working with the team. Next year I am only going to be driving some of the events and the biggest reason for this is that I have been driving rally cars for 15 years already, which is quite a long time, and while the last seasons have been amazing of course, they have also been really demanding mentally and physically. So I felt that now would be a good moment to take a year for recharging the batteries, and then come back again full-time to fight for the championship once more with a full attack. I enjoy all kinds of motorsport and Iâm looking forward to doing some drifting and maybe some other cool events as well as the rallies which we will be selecting next year.”
Elfyn Evans:
“Iâm looking forward to heading into what will be my fifth consecutive year with the team. Weâve had some great successes together over the last four years and Iâm excited to continue that story with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. I gelled with the team immediately when I joined and it feels very much like home now. The support from everyone to get me feeling comfortable in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID has been great, and weâve continued to make progress this year. Iâm keen to build on that and be even better in 2024. We have a lot more to achieve together and Iâm excited about the future. As always, the target will be to win, whether thatâs in each rally or in the championship.”
SĂ©bastien Ogier:
“I am of course really happy to still be with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for next year. The 2023 season has been good for me and more importantly for the team, and managing to clinch all three titles again is great. So Iâm looking forward to staying in this environment and to try and continue our success story together. I really like the relationship that I have with the whole team and for me there was never any doubt that I wanted to stay in TGR overalls. I also really enjoy the balance that this kind of partial programme gives me, and next season should be pretty similar in that respect. As long as the success is there for me and the team, I think we should try to carry on in a similar way.”
Takamoto Katsuta:
“Iâm really excited to start a new season with TGR-WRT next year. I learned a lot this year: there were some rallies that were good for me and some that were not so good, but those have made me stronger and will hopefully help me in the future. Next year will be important to prove what I can do, and I will try to make it the best season of my career so far. A huge thank you to the team and everyone who has been supporting me. Iâve had a very good opportunity to gain step-by-step experience in rallying since joining the TGR WRC Challenge Program in 2015. Now I will try to make the next step to fight for better results and for podiums and victories.”
The TGR WRC Challenge Program started in 2015 aiming to develop professional rally drivers who can compete worldwide. Following in the footsteps of Takamoto Katsuta, the second generation of Hikaru Kogure and Yuki Yamamoto will continue the program in 2024 and compete in European rallies with Rally2 cars. The process to recruit a new intake of young drivers to the program is also underway and the final selection will take place in Finland in December. We expect the young drivers to develop a lot through the thorough training we offer in Finland.
Hikaru Kogure:
“I am very happy to be a part of the WRC Challenge Program again in 2024. Thanks to TGR, I have got a lot of experience over the past two years in Finland with a great environment where I can concentrate on rallying. Without the support of TGR, I would not have been able to learn and grow as much as I have. Stepping up to Rally2, things will be more challenging with more high-level drivers. I will keep up the hard work and the spirit of challenge that is also in the name of the program.”
Yuki Yamamoto:
“I am very honored to get the opportunity to continue my challenge next year as a member of the TGR WRC Challenge Program again. I really appreciate all the people who support me and offer this wonderful environment. I have gained lots of experience in the rallies in Europe over the past two years, and I have learned a lot and grown a lot. The Rally2 category, in which I will challenge next year, is a very competitive class with many top drivers. This will be a very important year for me to grow as a driver at a higher level. I will do my best in each and every rally with strong heart.”
Source:
toyotagazooracing.com
Rally Paradise 