Kalle Rovanperä has moved to circuit racing, but his place has been filled by Swedish driver Oliver Solberg, who impressed last year by winning Rally Estonia and cruising to a dominant WRC2 championship.
At this week’s Rally Monte Carlo, Toyota once again has a major trump card, as defending champion Sébastien Ogier will be competing on his home roads while chasing his 11th victory in the French Alps. Ogier has once again stated that he will contest only a selected number of events, but if a championship opportunity opens up, his program could expand later in the season.
Last year’s championship runner-up Elfyn Evans has also learned the tricks of Monte over the years, as the Welshman has finished second there twice and third on two occasions.
“Sébastien has done that more times than anybody else and I know that, even after taking his ninth world title, he will still be hungry to win. Elfyn too showed incredible performance throughout last season and doesn’t really need to do anything differently to be a contender again this year,” team boss Jari-Matti Latvala says.
“We’re also excited to have Oliver joining our line-up and to see what he, Takamoto (Katsuta) and Sami (Pajari) can do during the season.”
Toyota, led by Latvala and Juha Kankkunen, is the favourite to start the season, as last year was almost a run of victories for the Japanese brand. In the 14 races of the season, arch-rival Hyundai only managed to win twice. However, Hyundai has been testing and developing its i20 N Rally1 car furiously during the winter break, although Toyota has also introduced homologation jokers.
“It’s always exciting to be starting a new season, whether you’re a driver, a team principal, or a fan. It’s interesting to see the level of the teams and the drivers and who looks in good shape for the year ahead. With the development work we’ve done on the suspension and the aerodynamics, our GR Yaris Rally1 should be strong, but we know that our rivals have been working hard to improve too,” Latvala sums up.
“Rallye Monte-Carlo is the most difficult and stressful event of the season but also the most rewarding if you can reach the podium in Monaco.”
