The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) World Rally Team (WRT) has recently secured top position at the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship’s (WRC) Rally de Portugal to claim its fourth victory out of five rounds this year. Kalle Rovanperä's performance in the No. 69 GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric Vehicle, along with the victory of him and Jonne Halttunen, the reigning world champions, in the rally-ending Power Stage, has extended the team's FIA WRC lead by 17 points.
With its second consecutive Rally de Portugal victory, TGR-WRT repeats the maximum score they achieved in last year’s rally. It is also the fourth time in a row that the team has won in Portugal.
Rovanperä built these results on his strong opening day performance while running second in the road order on the loose gravel stages. He led by 10.8 seconds at the end of the day, with his stunning speed on day two then allowing him to move over 50s clear.
By the end of the third day, the team continued its winning streak by achieving another victory in the final Power Stage, setting the quickest time by 0.717s and sealing the rally victory by 54.7s.
Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: “Kalle, Jonne, congratulations on your first victory this year! I could see that Kalle was enjoying driving just as much as he did last year. This victory is a wonderful way to celebrate Mother’s Day, and it will allow him to truly relish the experience of drifting at Japan’s Ebisu circuit. When he joins Formula Drift Japan next week, he will showcase another impressive display of his driving skills to his Japanese fans. In the two weeks leading up to the next rally in Sardinia, Kalle will be drifting with the GR Corolla in Fukushima, Japan, and Jari-Matti will be driving the GR Corolla in the 24-hour endurance race at Fuji Speedway. I am delighted that the team continues to enjoy their time racing with Toyota around the world, not just during rally weeks. As we enter the middle stages of the WRC season, we will continue to savor the experience of driving Toyota vehicles and strive for the best possible results."
Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race. Toyota’s participation in these events was overseen by separate entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established TGR, to consolidate all of its motorsports activities under one in-house brand. Representing Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,’ TGR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota’s commitment to making ‘ever-better’ cars. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme conditions of various motorsports events, TGR aims to forge new technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone.
The sixth round of the 2023 FIA WRC is Rally Italia Sardegna, which will take place from June 1-4 June.
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Formula E and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) have today revealed the next generation of race car, the new all-electric GEN3 Evo, capable of 0-60mph in 1.82s.
Leveraging a roster of innovative technical upgrades, the GEN3 Evo unveiled at H.S.H Prince Albert II’s Private Car Collection will debut in Season 11 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship where some of the world’s greatest manufacturers and drivers race wheel-to-wheel in iconic locations around the globe.
Developed by specialists from Formula E and the FIA, the latest GEN3 Evo edition marks a significant leap in electric racing technology, with acceleration 0-60mph 30% faster than a current F1 car, and 36% faster than the GEN3 car.
Capable of accelerating nearly a full second faster than its predecessor – the GEN3 – that was the world’s first race car designed for street racing, it sets an even higher standard in performance, sustainability, and efficiency. The GEN3 Evo serves as a formidable ambassador for the future of motorsport, embodying cutting-edge advancements and a commitment to environmental responsibility.
On Saturday, April 27th, Abu Dhabi will host a groundbreaking event, welcoming 10,000 spectators to witness the inaugural ASPIRE Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) at the iconic Yas Marina Circuit. This brand-new autonomous racing competition marks a significant milestone in motorsport history, billed as the largest league of its kind globally.
Eight teams will compete: Code19 Racing (one of the first independent autonomous racing entity from the USA), Constructor University (based in Germany and Switzerland), Fly Eagle (representing Beijing Institute of Technology from China and Khalifa University from the UAE), HUMDA Lab (a member of the Széchenyi István University Group from Hungary), KINETIZ (a collaboration between Singapore Nanyang Technological University and Kintsugi based in the UAE), PoliMOVE (representing Politecnico di Milano from Italy), UNIMORE (also from Italy - University of Modena and Reggio Emilia), and Technical University of Munich - TUM (from Germany), vying for a substantial prize purse of US$ 2.25 million.
Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 continues its hunt for glory in the world’s two most prestigious endurance racing series, as the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] resume this weekend.
The WEC begins its European leg on Sunday with the 6 Hours of Imola (ITA), and an inaugural visit to one of the continent’s best-known circuits, before heading to Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) on 11 May, and then the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 15-16 June. Meanwhile IMSA heads to the world famous Long Beach street track for its first sprint race (100 minutes) of the season. A second-place finish in the brand-new LMGT3 class for the Heart of Racing (HoR), and third for D’station Racing, made Aston Martin the only one of the nine GT manufacturers present to score a WEC double podium finish at the season-opening 1812km of Qatar in March. It means both teams arrive in Italy in strong form.
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