As the reigning manufacturers’ champion, the team is defending its title, yet the duo that has won a total of ten world championships, Kalle Rovanperä and Sébastien Ogier, are only participating in half the series.
The full-season drivers for Toyota are only the Japanese Takamoto Katsuta and Welshman Elfyn Evans. Last year, Evans credibly fought for the world championship until ultimately conceding to Rovanperä, who clinched his second consecutive championship.
Evans is undoubtedly Toyota’s leading horse in the championship race. Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has stated that drivers are free to race against each other, with no one being favoured.
But is Latvala’s stance practical? Should Toyota harness Ogier and Rovanperä to support Evans’ championship aspirations? Dirtfish decided to ask former WRC team principals about this.
“Every driver should be allowed to run their own rally. Talking about this after one event, I don’t think it’s right,” says Jost Capito, who served as Volkswagen’s team principal from 2013-2016.
“I’m sure Jari-Matti thinks the same as what he learned at Volkswagen, that finally the manufacturer is putting a lot of investment in and the main thing for the manufacturer is the manufacturers’ title,” Capito continued.
Motor racing is indeed initially a playground for manufacturers, not drivers, even though more is said about drivers than manufacturers these days. A championship-winning driver is always more celebrated than the manufacturers’ champion, but manufacturers don’t see it that way.
“It doesn’t matter which driver is getting the points. For a manufacturer, getting the points is the main thing,” Capito stated.
Capito would wait calmly before even discussing team orders.
“Then, at the end, if you have somebody who seems he is the guy who can win the drivers’ championship and the second or third driver doesn’t have the chance anymore, then it should be within the team that the guy who can win the championship is supported.”
Andrea Adamo, Hyundai’s former team principal, shares similar sentiments.
“Every option has a positive and negative,” he began.
“I can understand Jari-Matti. Being a driver, maybe he was not happy with respecting team orders, he thought that they were not fair,” Adamo continued.
But Adamo also reminds us of the most important thing.
“But in my opinion, considering it is the manufacturers paying the bills, it is their right to decide what the best option is to bring home a title. We have cases that thanks to team orders, titles have been won and lost,” Adamo reminded.
“If you have to respect the manufacturers, who is paying the bills, the payroll, everyone has to do what is possible to win. It’s not a matter of winning fairly or not fairly. It is a matter of reaching the target. And the target is to win.”
Adamo also raised a very interesting point.
“We also have to ask ourselves if Toyota is interested in winning the drivers’ title; maybe they are not interested and only want to be focused on the manufacturers’ title,” Adamo speculated.
The fight for the manufacturers’ and drivers’ championship points continues this week. Rally Sweden is scheduled for February 15-18.
