Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“This trip to the south of Europe with two different gravel rallies has been really good experience for our drivers. This rally in Spain was quite different to the last one in Portugal; it was fast in places but also very narrow with hard compressions. Jaspar continued with the amazing speed that he had in Portugal and this time everything went smoothly from start to finish with a really good and clean drive. Takumi and Shotaro also did really well. After he made a really good step in Portugal, this rally was maybe a bit more challenging for Takumi with the narrower sections where it was maybe not so easy to play with the car and push with confidence, but this was still a good clean drive with a good result and good kilometres under his belt. Shotaro was able to make quite a good step forward from Portugal, and be more committed with how he’s using the throttle and brake and get closer to his team-mates. We’re very happy about Rio’s rally after the technical issues that affected him in Portugal. This time he could be in a proper rhythm and did a very good drive with impressive speed, getting closer and closer to the Rally2 cars during the rally and beating many of them. I’m sure it’s a big confidence boost for him. Kanta was very close to Rio’s pace, like usual when everything’s working well for both of them. He just made some small mistakes and picked up some punctures which cost a lot of time, but this is good learning to try and drive a bit cleaner in these rough gravel rallies where there’s often a rock hiding somewhere if you run too wide.”

Shotaro Goto
“Overall I’m happy about how this rally has gone. I was able to complete it without any big mistakes and I think this is very important for me, to be able to build confidence and to gain experience. It’s the first rally this year in which I didn’t have a spin or have to stop during a stage, so this is positive. Of course, there’s still a lot to improve speed-wise but the pace was better than before and it was also consistent, and to have this consistency is also very important for me at the moment.”

Takumi Matsushita
“This was a good rally and good experience for me. It had very fast yet really narrow roads, so the stages were actually very tricky. Unlike Portugal, where I had a very good feeling, I found the faster sections to be slightly more difficult for me. Still, I was able to drive with a steady and consistent pace without taking any risks, and at the end we could find some good rhythm and improvements. I think we can be happy with this second place and I will keep trying to improve myself.”

Jaspar Vaher
“This was a good rally for us. We could find the right rhythm from the beginning and just drive according to our feeling, not trying to push too much or drive right on the limit but also not just cruise through. I enjoyed the roads because some of the sections were really similar to what we have at home in Estonia – very high speed – and this was nice. But most of it was still really demanding, with places that were very narrow and twisty where you had to be really precise to avoid mistakes, so we also gained a lot of new experience.”

Rio Ogata
“I’m happy that I could finish this rally without issue because it has felt like quite a long time since I could have a good rally. The stages were challenging with many bumps and compressions which was something new for me and nice to experience. The grip level was also very different in each stage, but I could manage it well which was good. It’s a pity that Kanta had many punctures and we couldn’t have a battle together. I still found room to improve my pacenotes, so that will be my main target in the next event.”

Kanta Yanaguida
“This was a bit of a difficult weekend for me. The stages were completely different to what I’ve experienced in other countries: very narrow with big bumps, and it was difficult to see the road because of the tall bushes and walls often blocking the view. We made quite a good start and the time in SS2 especially was good, but unfortunately I got a double puncture on SS4, where there was a rock hidden at the edge of the road which we hadn’t seen during recce. We got another puncture in a similar situation in SS6. Still, it was good learning about how to drive on these kinds of roads and I will keep trying to improve.”