Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“Hiroya has continued the really good start he’s made to his rally career during these two events. The HYAcenter Ralli was only his second rally and, up against competitors who’ve been strong in the Finnish championship this year, he was able to already narrow the gap compared to his first rally. He continued that into the Tampereen Lattiamestarit Ralli, which was longer with more stages. The roads in that area are very demanding, so it was a big test for Hiroya’s pacenote making. He was a bit cautious in the beginning, finding his feeling with the grip level, and he was unfortunate to pick up a puncture on the second stage. But from then onwards he performed really well. Again, up against drivers who’ve been at the front of the Finnish championship, he made a couple of fastest times, so it was an impressive drive which will help build his own confidence and trust in his pacenotes. So far Hiroya has made quick progress and he’s been driving cleanly and consistently with it, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. There will be greater challenges ahead and we will see how he handles those.”

Hiroya Minowa
“These two rallies were really good experience for me. At HYAcenter Ralli, in the first loop it was quite hard to judge the grip level, but after I worked with my co-driver on my pacenotes we were able to push more and more in the second loop. So that was a good rally, even though we didn’t have enough speed to compete with the winner in our class. The next rally was a bit of a different story. Again, at first it was quite tricky with the conditions and it was hard to push straight away, but already in the second stage, the grip level was better and I could trust the car and the pacenotes. In the middle of the stage I hit an unexpected stone on the inside and we got a puncture, so we lost any chances in the overall fight. In the second loop there were ruts and a lot of loose gravel on the outside, but we were able to take two stage wins. I’m happy with that, and from the next rally I will aim to have better speed from the first stage.”