Toyota scores points in Wales

Jari-Matti Latvala and Esapekka Lappi both secured points finishes on Wales Rally GB, the penultimate round of the World Rally Championship, with Latvala also taking additional points thanks to a third-fastest time on the Power Stage. Latvala ended the rally in fifth place, less than a second behind the fourth-placed finisher, after winning two stages. Lappi was ninth, while Juho Hänninen was forced into retirement after a small mistake in tricky conditions on Saturday.

The final day in Wales consisted of five stages run consecutively with no service halt, including the Power Stage that concluded the rally. Latvala was locked into a tight battle with his closest rival and pushed hard to try and make up a position. With Lappi having a larger gap in front and behind him, he concentrated on bringing the car home and collecting more data that will be vital for future development of the Yaris WRC.

Quotes:

Tommi Mäkinen (Team principal)

“I can’t really be happy with our performance here, but on the positive side we know what was holding us back and how to rectify it. During the pre-event test, we had some grippier conditions than we found on the rally. We know that we have made some big improvements in high-grip conditions, also from Rally Finland. But in Spain we made a few changes that were in the wrong direction, so next time we will make use of this experience to prepare slightly differently. Our drivers did a good job and of course we have to talk especially about Juho, who was doing his last rally of the year with us. It was a shame his rally ended the way it did, with a very small mistake that led to big consequences, especially as he had been setting such good times, but that’s motorsport. Juho has been a vital part of our test and development programme, and if we have been able to make some good achievements this year, it’s also thanks to him. So ‘thank you, Juho’ f rom all of us. And also congratulations to Sebastien Ogier and M-Sport for winning the titles here in Wales.”

Jari-Matti Latvala

“I couldn’t have gone any quicker than I did on the Power Stage: I gave it absolutely everything! This has not been a perfect rally for us, but we’re happy to score some points, we know what we can do to improve, and it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that the Toyota Yaris WRC is the best car that I’ve ever driven. Conditions between the rally and the test were not exactly the same and that was one of the problems we experienced: on the polished stages today it was impossible to get the car to turn, so that was frustrating. But I’ve still enjoyed the rally: it was fantastic to see so many spectators out on the stages. Wales is always one of the most difficult events of the year, but after Finland it is definitely my second home rally: I’m always very happy to be competing here.”

Esapekka Lappi

“For me the most important thing was to get to the finish, so I made sure that I concentrated on that above everything else, in order to improve my experience of these challenging conditions. Today we had a good run through the first loop of stages and set some promising times, but on the second run when the roads were cleaner, it was more difficult and I struggled to find the grip. We learned a lot on this rally, so even though it wasn’t the result that we wanted, it was very valuable experience that will help us for the future. I’m learning all the time and so is the team.”