OGIER WINS FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING IN DRAMA-FILLED FINISH FINALE

Sébastien Ogier has claimed victory for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team which ENDLESS is a partner of the brake in a dramatic finale to its home event, Rally Finland.

Ogier, along with co-driver Vincent Landais, also performed strongly on his first appearance in the FIA World Rally Championship’s fastest rally for nearly three years: there was just 0.1 seconds separating the team’s multiple world champions Rovanperä and Ogier over the 32.98 kilometres of the returning legendary Ouninpohja stage on Saturday morning. The Frenchman takes his second Rally Finland victory, his first since 2013, and joins Sébastien Loeb, Ott Tänak and Elfyn Evans as the only drivers from outside Finland to win the event more than once.

Ogier also climbs up to second in the drivers’ championship, 27 points from the lead, after claiming three wins and three second places from his six rally starts so far in 2024.

Rising Finnish talents Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen finished a fine fourth on their Rally1 debut on home roads. After picking up damage early on Friday in slippery conditions, Pajari recovered well to end the day with a maiden WRC stage win and was third-quickest across Saturday behind Rovanperä and Ogier.

Takamoto Katsuta was another caught out by the tricky conditions of Friday morning, damage stopping him on the road section back to mid-day service. After restarting on Saturday, he and co-driver Aaron Johnston showed strong pace on Sunday, winning each of the last two stages – including the rally-ending Power Stage – and finishing joint top of the Super Sunday classification.

Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala finished second in WRC2 and sixth overall driving a GR Yaris Rally2 entered by TGR-WRT on his home event – he and co-driver Juho Hänninen once again delighting the local fans while also gathering valuable feedback from the new-for-2024 Rally2 car.

There’s a short break before the Acropolis Rally in Greece on September 5-8. A legendary event in the WRC, it has a reputation for rocky mountain roads and high temperatures which combine to create a tough challenge for cars, tyres and drivers alike.,

Please read the details on the team’s official web site : https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/