Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“This was a good, short rally for Rio and Kanta to continue their learning. There was not so much competition in their class to be able to compare against like in the Finnish Rally Championship, but with really high speed and technical roads – including some former Rally Finland stages – we were just looking for them to have more confidence in their pacenotes and a consistent drive, and that’s what they did. They were having a nice battle with each other with very similar times and no mistakes. Unfortunately Kanta’s car developed a technical issue and he had to retire on the road section just before the last stage; he had been three seconds ahead of Rio, who was able to come through and take the victory. But it was a solid performance from both: they were more consistent with their driving and their pacenotes, so we’re happy. To have three stages repeated was good: it’s natural there might be more hesitation on the first passage of each stage, but for the second pass they were able to see where they could improve and trust their pacenotes and increase their pace. It was a good day with good lessons for future rallies.”

Rio Ogata
“I had a very good feeling from the shakedown on this rally, and I was able to go into it with more confidence in the car setup than before. Already during the recce, the first two stages seemed more straightforward compared to the third stage. I was pleased with my pacenotes for these two stages and felt I could trust them more than before, especially on the second pass. The third stage, Savo, was more difficult with many crests, and some of them turned out to be different in size to what I had expected, but I think I was able to correct these well on the second pass. Overall, the roads were very challenging with some high-speed sections, but I achieved my main goal of finishing the rally and gaining experience, and most importantly, I felt I could build up my confidence, so I’m happy about that.”

Kanta Yanaguida
“This time it has been a very good and meaningful rally for me. I felt that I was able to trust my pacenotes more than before. Before the second loop of stages I got advice from our instructors about some things in my driving, so then I was able to improve these things on the second pass and I felt quite good. On the way to the final stage, the engine stopped and we couldn’t fix the issue so we had to retire. But I can say that we were doing well until that happened, so I am positive. Thank you to the team for supporting me, and I will keep pushing for the next rally.”