The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) World Rally Team (WRT) recently secured yet another impressive victory this season for its GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric vehicle in the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at Rally Estonia. Kalle Rovanperä once again dominated the roads in the No. 69 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric vehicle, taking home top podium position for the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) for the third year in a row. Rovanperä’s peerless performance has extended his lead in the FIA World Rally Championship, while Toyota has increased its manufacturers’ championship lead to 57 points.
Guided by co-driver Jonne Halttunen, Rovanperä once again maneuvered his No. 69 GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric vehicle across some of the fastest roads in the WRC. He held a narrow lead despite having to run first on the loose gravel stages and was unbeatable thereafter as he pulled clear of the competition.
He recorded a remarkable run of 13 consecutive stage wins in the last two days of the rally including the rally-ending Power Stage, becoming the first driver to have such a streak of fastest times on a WRC round in 15 years.
Quickest in the final leg of the race by two seconds, he secured his second win of the season by 52.7s overall and claimed the maximum 30 points to increase his standings lead to 55 points. The victory is his 10th in the WRC in the two years since he became its youngest-ever winner at Rally Estonia 2021.
Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: “Kalle, Jonne, congratulations on your victory, and three consecutive wins at Rally Estonia! Two years ago, it was Estonia where Kalle, 20 years old at the time, became the youngest WRC winner. Until then, the youngest winner record was held by Jari-Matti, at 22 years old. And now, 22-year-old Kalle has already won 10 WRC events. I would also like to congratulate him for becoming the youngest double-digit winner. The next WRC round is held in our hometown, Jyväskylä, Finland. I will head to Finland fully prepared for the team to carry the good momentum from Kenya and Estonia into the next round. We need to win. We will win!”
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 next leg of the 2023 FIA WRC is Rally Finland, which will take place from August 3-6, is the fastest rally on the calendar and a home rally for the TGR-WRT, which has its headquarters close to the service park in Jyväskylä.
Race Notes:
● No. 69 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid Electric vehicle (Kalle Rovanperä & Jonne Halttunen)
● Position: 1st
● Total time: 2:36:03.1
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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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