Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“This was a very good rally for Hiroya. It gave him a chance to experience slightly different type of fast gravel roads in another country, and also to improve his performance in tricky conditions after the last Finnish championship rally in Porvoo. We had a good pre-event test with him in the wet where he was able to adjust his driving during the day and find more pace by pushing more so that everything starts to work better. He was then able to carry this into the rally, setting the fastest time in the first stage, and aside from one small mistake missing his braking point in a slippery place in SS2, it was a really strong and consistent performance given the conditions. We’re only four months on from Hiroya’s first event, so it’s early days in his rally career and there’s still plenty of work to do, but we’re pleased with the progress and the potential that he’s been showing this year.”

Hiroya Minowa
“I’m very happy to be able to finish this pretty crazy rally in second position. I expected beforehand from watching videos that this would be a very challenging rally, and after doing the recce I could see that for myself. The biggest difference in the Estonian roads compared to what I’ve experienced in Finland is that there are not so many crests, and there are also some very long straights which mean it can be hard to judge where the braking point is. This can be difficult, but it’s very fun also. The night stages on Friday were something new for me but they went well, except for one mistake when we overshot a junction. Saturday was also quite crazy with the rain we faced in the last few stages, so I was very happy to finish. Thank you to our instructors and the team for their support, and I will keep working to improve for the future.”