For Shotaro Goto, Takumi Matsushita and Jaspar Vaher, this was the first time they had competed on asphalt in the GR Yaris Rally2 car. While Goto retired in the second stage on Friday evening, Matsushita and Vaher continued driving into the second day on Saturday. Kanta Yanaguida and Rio Ogata were competing on the surface in Rally3 cars for the first time, and were running first and second respectively in their category.

The rally was later stopped and the final two stages cancelled following an accident in which a spectator sadly died. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing extends its sincere condolences to their family and friends. As a mark of respect, the decision was taken to retire the Program’s crews prior to the final time control.

Juho Hänninen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program instructor):
“This was the first rally on asphalt in this level of car for all five drivers, and the main goal this week was for them to get used to this surface and try to find a good feeling. We had some good days of testing with good mileage before the rally, when there would be quite a lot to discover and learn; from making the pacenotes on technical and twisty asphalt roads, to managing the tyres in temperatures of over 30 degrees. Unfortunately, the rally would be quite disrupted with stage stoppages, and it ultimately ended in very sad and difficult circumstances. We will analyse what we can from this week with our drivers so that they can continue their asphalt learning in their next events – at Rally Lazio for our Rally3 crews and San Remo for Rally2 – when they will again face different kinds of roads.”

Shotaro Goto
“This was our first time competing on asphalt with the Rally2 car and we were able to have some very good testing days before the rally. On the second stage on Friday night I was starting to have good confidence and rhythm, but there was a mistake in my pacenotes which meant that I went too fast into a corner where I would have needed to brake, and we hit a barrier and couldn’t continue in the rally. It was a big disappointment and I am sorry to the team, but l will try to analyse why it happened and improve for the future.”

Takumi Matsushita
“My first impression from driving the GR Yaris Rally2 on asphalt is that it really feels like a racing car; there is no play or flex in the suspension, and I’m especially impressed by how quickly the car responds to steering inputs. The feeling with the car was very good throughout the rally, but I was still exploring things like the best lines to take and how to manage the tyres. We did have a spin and a few small issues with the car, but it was good to get the mileage that we could. I’m looking forward to trying more things and continuing to improve at the next rally.”

Jaspar Vaher
“This was a very difficult event in all respects, with a really sad ending. From our point of view, we could not do so many competitive kilometres. We started on Friday with a good rhythm in the first stage but the car in front of us caught fire and we had to stop to help. In the second stage we got a puncture and stopped to change it, and then the road became blocked in front of us. On Saturday, the first two stages went quite well which was positive; we were just trying to find a good rhythm without taking too much risk. There was still a bit of a gap to the top drivers, but this was to be expected given their local knowledge and experience.”

Rio Ogata
“This was my first asphalt rally with a four-wheel drive car. We had two days of testing before the rally and I was able to have a good feeling with the car there, but it didn’t really continue like that in the rally itself. This kind of thing can also happen in gravel rallies too, so it’s important to understand it and to try to work on improving this for the future. I hope I can keep on gathering more good experience on this surface in the next rally as well.”

Kanta Yanaguida
“I was very excited to be back on asphalt after quite a while. During the pre-event test I tried some setup changes and felt well prepared. For us the rally started from SS2 which was a very long 26-kilometre stage driven in the dark, so I felt a little nervous, but I actually enjoyed it more than I expected and we could set the best time. We could also drive several stages on Saturday and this was good learning for me, especially about cuts and surface changes. I realised how these things can easily lead to mistakes and how important it is to identify them during recce and mark them in the pacenotes.”