While Oliver Solberg made a sensational Rally1 debut and dominated on Estonia’s fast gravel roads, the rest of the Toyota squad couldn’t extract the best from the GR Yaris Rally1.
Kalle Rovanperä was the second-best Toyota driver, finishing fourth around Tartu. Meanwhile, championship leader Elfyn Evans had to settle for sixth.
Both Evans and Rovanperä need to find extra pace quickly, as the next round takes place on home soil for Toyota in Finland. However, Evans warned that lessons from Estonia don’t directly translate to Central Finland.
“We have to be cautious because the two rallies are—while they are similar in nature, with high speed and all the rest of it—the surface is different, the character is very different. So we have to be careful,” Evans said.
This week, Toyota drivers focused on improving the Rally1 car’s performance with Hankook tyres during testing.
“Obviously, we don’t go and try to reinvent the wheel, but clearly there are areas that we are struggling with. We need to try and get to the bottom of it,” Evans explained.
“All four of us—obviously, with the exception of Oliver—struggled in Estonia. It’s maybe becoming more clear that we need something a bit different to get the best out of this tyre.”
Evans, who had led the championship for a long stretch, lost the top spot to Hyundai’s Ott Tänak in Estonia. Tänak finished second on home soil, overtaking Evans by one point in the standings. As a result, Evans won’t have to open the road in Finland.
“Of course, it’s a negative thing in a way. But I won’t say ‘no’ to not having to open the road. But there’s a good chance it’s going to rain in Finland nowadays,” Evans noted.
Rally Finland gets underway next Thursday.
