Sebastien Ogier, one of Toyota’s drivers, attempted to stay in the drivers’ championship race in the Rally Chile, which took place just under two weeks ago. However, Ogier was forced to retire after damaging his Toyota on a rock.
Ogier rejoined the competition on the final day, where he claimed a full 12 points. Yet, his gap to the championship leader Thierry Neuville has now widened to 41 points.
This is, in all likelihood, too large a gap to close over the remaining two events. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was candid about the situation.
“After Seb’s accident, we realised that our chances are very weak in the drivers’ championship,” Latvala admitted.
“The way we need to look at the situation now is to focus more on the manufacturers’ championship,” the team boss emphasised.
Hyundai is now close to securing its first drivers’ championship. The team has a one-two lead on the leaderboard, with Ott Tänak following Neuville in second place.
In the manufacturers’ championship battle, Toyota’s situation looked bleak before the Rally Chile. However, a double victory and full points on Super Sunday from the gravel rally put Toyota back in contention against Hyundai. Hyundai’s lead is now 17 points, down from 35 points before Chile.
Check out the WRC standings here.
The WRC season finale will take place on tarmac. Next week, points will be contested in Central Europe, and in November, the competition will head to Japan.
“The next two events are difficult weather-wise on tarmac. If it’s raining or muddy, it can be very tough. We don’t know yet how it’s going to be, but it’s better to expect the worst and be prepared for it,” Latvala predicted.
Toyota conducted their pre-event testing for the Central European Rally in the Czech Republic last week.
“The key is to maintain our performance and keep the cars on the road,” Latvala underlined.
