Toyota suffered a major setback just before the Rally Poland when Sebastien Ogier was involved in a head-on collision during the recce and ultimately had to withdraw from the competition.
Toyota reacted swiftly to the situation. On Tuesday evening, Kalle Rovanperä boarded a private plane in Jyväskylä Finland, picking up his co-driver Jonne Halttunen on the way. The Finnish duo eventually made it to Poland to replace Ogier and his co-driver Vincent Landais.
This exceptional decision highlighted how crucial it is for Toyota to stay in the manufacturers’ championship battle. Bringing Rovanperä out of his holiday and into the competition was an extra expense for the team, but the alternatives were limited. Competing with only two cars against Hyundai’s three would likely have meant lost championship points.
Hyundai has cornered Toyota during the early season. Hyundai currently holds a 13-point lead over Toyota in the manufacturers’ championship and is genuinely competing for the title after a long hiatus.
Team boss Abiteboul has noticed signs of concern within Toyota.
“One of the indications that you are on the right way is when people start to react, adapt, and change their plan. Getting them to change their plan, alter their strategy, and move out of their comfort zone is ultimately what you want to achieve as a competitor,” Abiteboul told RallyJournal.com before the Rally Poland.
“So if that’s happening, it definitely shows that we are on the right trajectory. We are not there yet, but we are certainly on the right trajectory,” the French boss added.
Abiteboul assessed that Toyota is also worried about Hyundai being allowed to use four homologation jokers at once, enabling the team to make significant changes to their Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car.
“When you see the level of discomfort it’s creating for Toyota, again, it shows that we are heading in the right direction.”
Hyundai is also well-positioned in the drivers’ championship battle. Belgian star Thierry Neuville leads the points standings, and the team’s Estonian star Ott Tänak shares second place with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans.
According to Abiteboul, Hyundai’s drivers still have free rein to fight fully for the world title.
“They both deserve to win the championship. So, what we need to see is how we manage the threats. Is there a threat from Toyota? Is there no threat from Toyota? If there is no threat from Toyota, it’s going to be a very straightforward battle between our two guys. We have no limitations in terms of parts availability, development capability, or testing data availability.”
“But first and foremost, we need to assess the risk level coming from behind. And I don’t expect that risk to go away. So let’s monitor the situation. Right now, it’s free for all, and we will see if we can keep it like that until the end of the season.”
