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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Nissan Formula E Team secured race victory in the final event of the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, with Oliver Rowland putting in a masterful drive in the season-ending Round 16 at the London E-Prix.
The new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH has hit the track for the first time, as Aston Martin with The Heart of Racing begins a comprehensive testing programme ahead of the British ultra-luxury sportscar brand’s bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright next year and for the first time since 1959.
The new Hypercar, developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and works team The Heart of Racing, completed a shakedown and initial evaluation testing in the UK this week, The car was driven by Aston Martin High Performance development driver Darren Turner (GBR), The Heart of Racing’s Mario Farnbacher (DEU) and Harry Tincknell (GBR), who won the LMGTE class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin.
Aston Martin with The Heart of Racing will now commence a full development schedule to prepare the car ahead of FIA homologation in the autumn and its competitive debut in early 2025. The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is the first racing car to be built to Hypercar regulations to contest both the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] simultaneously.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is unique in the top Hypercar class of global endurance motorsport in that it is the only one among its contemporaries to derive its roots from an existing production-based extreme performance car – Aston Martin Valkyrie, the ultimate hypercar. Works team The Heart of Racing will enter two Valkyrie AMR-LMH contenders in WEC and a single car in IMSA in 2025.
Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “The Valkyrie AMR-LMH sets its own standard as a thoroughbred endurance competition car. It is a pure, leading edge racing machine, and while it is very early in the testing cycle, from what we have witnessed so far, we are satisfied that it is achieving the targets and criteria we have set out for it to accomplish.”
The last day of the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed was nothing short of spectacular. Over the five-day event, hundreds of vehicles, ranging from turn-of-the-century machines to modern hypercars, took on the iconic 1.16-mile hill climb. This year, the top 10 fastest cars showcased a thrilling mix of vintage Formula One racers and cutting-edge sports cars. Some were veterans of the hill climb, while others made their debut in style. Let's dive into the details of the 10 fastest cars at this year's event.
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