Want to know how the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is doing during the 2021 WRC season? Then this is where you need to be. We’ll update this page with the results after every event throughout the season.
WRC 2021 Round Twelve: Rally Monza
The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team has achieved a magnificent championship treble at Monza, clinching the manufacturers’ title with a one-two finish at the final round as Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their eighth drivers’ and co-driver’s title with a victory.
Ogier and Ingrassia went up against their team-mates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in the final-round showdown at Monza and the two crews engaged in an epic battle for victory throughout the weekend, swapping the lead six times. They came into the final day of three tricky stages around Monza separated by just half a second – and then set identical times on the morning’s opening test. A stall for Evans in the penultimate stage ultimately decided the rally victory in the favour of Ogier, who knew a podium finish would be enough to secure the title.
The win was the fifth of the season for Ogier and Ingrassia after victories in Monte Carlo, Croatia, Sardinia and Kenya. It was their 54th WRC win together in what was the final event of their full-time careers: Ogier will contest a part-time schedule with Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2022 while Ingrassia steps out of the co-driver’s seat after a highly-successful career
Evans and Martin secured the fifth Toyota one-two of the season, and finish runner-up in the championship for the second year in a row after victories in Portugal and Finland.
Alongside their teammates, Kalle Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were key to the manufacturers’ championship success after claiming their first career victories in Estonia and Greece this year. At the final round, they were exemplary team players, focusing on a clean finish in ninth overall to ensure the manufacturers’ title was secured.
This is the fifth time Toyota has won the manufacturers’ championship – putting it joint third on the all-time list of titles – and the second since it returned to the sport in 2017 with the Yaris WRC. This was the 26th and final victory achieved by the car in the final event of the World Rally Car era before hybrid-powered Rally1 cars are introduced in 2022.
TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta finished seventh overall with co-driver Aaron Johnston, overcoming contact in the penultimate test to set the second-fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage after a superb job by the team’s mechanics to repair his car in just a 15-minute service.
WRC 2021 Round Eleven: Rally Spain
Elfyn Evans finished second overall at the Rally de España to set up a final-round FIA World Rally Championship title decider with his Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who finished fourth.
Evans and co-driver Scott Martin led the rally after winning the first three stages on Friday, but despite battling hard didn’t quite have the level of performance over the rest of the weekend to maintain the fight for the victory. Nonetheless, the second-place finish ensures Evans remains in with a shot of a maiden drivers’ championship going into the final round in Monza, Italy.
Ogier was in contention for a podium position all the way to the end of the rally but missed out on the third position by less than seven seconds in a closely fought battle through the final day’s four stages. Nevertheless, he and co-driver Julien Ingrassia continue to lead the standings with a 17-point advantage over their teammates as they look to claim an eighth world title.
In the manufacturers’ championship, the points scored by Evans and Ogier – including those achieved by setting the third and fourth fastest times in a tricky rally-ending Power Stage – have brought the team a step closer to sealing the title. Toyota Gazoo Racing lead by 47 points with a maximum of 52 available from the final round.
All three of the team’s Yaris WRC cars finished inside the top five places, with Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen securing fifth in the overall classification and in the Power Stage on their first time competing in Spain in the top category of the WRC.
WRC 2021 Round Ten: Rally Finland
Toyota Gazoo Racing celebrated a fourth home victory on Rally Finland thanks to an outstanding weekend from Elfyn Evans (below right) and co-driver Scott Martin (below left). The British duo is now the only crew who can prevent team-mates Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia – who finished fifth in Finland – from winning the championship with two rounds remaining. This means that a Toyota driver is now guaranteed to win the title for the third year in a row, while the team has taken a step closer to clinching the manufacturers’ championship.
In the first Rally Finland to be held for over two years, the team faced strong competition on the high-speed gravel roads. Evans was Toyota’s best-placed driver at the end of the opening day on Friday, having produced a strong, third-place performance despite running second on the road. On Saturday morning he surged into the lead with four stage wins out of four, and took an advantage of 9.1 seconds into the final day.
Evans was only 0.4 seconds off the fastest time in the first of Sunday’s tests before delivering the fastest times in both SS17 and SS18 to increase his margin. He sealed the win in style with the fastest time in the rally-ending Power Stage, claiming the maximum five bonus points.
The result means that the Finnish-built Toyota Yaris WRC maintains its unbeaten record on home roads since its debut in 2017. It is the car’s 25th WRC victory in total, on what was its final gravel event before new technical regulations are introduced for 2022. It’s also the 200th WRC podium for Toyota, which becomes only the third manufacturer to reach the figure.
With his second win of the season, Evans reduces the gap to championship leader Ogier to 24 points with a maximum of 60 available. In the manufacturers’ championship, Toyota’s lead is increased to 61 points. Ogier succeeded in his main aim of reaching the finish and banking more points towards the championship and became increasingly confident with the car after making set-up changes on Saturday.
Finishing one place ahead of Ogier in fourth overall was Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm in a privately-entered Toyota Yaris WRC – a strong return to the car with which they claimed a home victory four years ago. Meanwhile, after being caught out during Saturday, Kalle Rovanperä was able to restart on Sunday and gain further experience from his maiden Rally Finland start in the top category of the WRC.
WRC 2021 Round Nine: Acropolis Rally
Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team’s Kalle Rovanperä has claimed a second outstanding FIA World Rally Championship victory in three events after conquering the Acropolis Rally in Greece at his first attempt.
Sébastien Ogier completed a double podium finish for the Toyota Yaris WRC, strengthening both his and the team’s positions at the head of the championship standings. On the return of the WRC to Greece for the first time since 2013, Rovanperä and Ogier formed part of a top-three covered by just 3.9 seconds at the end of Friday’s first full day of action. A storming start from Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, in which they won all four stages in the opening loop, allowed them to build a gap over their opposition, and they led by half a minute going into Sunday’s concluding tests.
Rain brought challenging conditions for the final day, but Rovanperä produced an incredible stage win in the day’s opening Tarzan test, completing it 14.1 seconds faster than any other competitor, despite having a mixture of hard and soft tyres fitted to his car. He went on to seal the victory in style on the shorter second running of Tarzan, setting the fastest time on what was the event’s Power Stage.
The Toyota Yaris WRC locked out the top three places in the Power Stage, with Elfyn Evans second fastest and Ogier third.
After their closest championship rivals hit trouble on Friday, Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia focussed on securing a valuable podium finish while also keeping the pressure on the crew in second. With his sixth top-three finish of the season, Ogier now leads the drivers’ standings by 44 points with three rounds remaining.
Delayed by a technical issue on Friday, Evans and co-driver Scott Martin produced a strong fight-back to take sixth overall. Evans remains second in the drivers’ standings.
Thanks to a fifth double podium result of the year and the bonus points from the Power Stage, the team has increased its manufacturers’ championship lead to 57 points.
WRC 2021 Round Eight: Rally Ypres
Kalle Rovanperä claimed a podium finish for the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team at Ypres Rally Belgium. He prevailed in a battle with his teammates Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier as the event came to a close at the famous Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit.
In the first Ypres Rally to be held as part of the FIA World Rally Championship, all three of the team’s drivers were closely matched throughout their debut appearance on the tricky Belgian roads. They ended Saturday’s second day of action covered by just 4.3 seconds in an in-house fight for third overall, with Evans leading Rovanperä and Ogier as they headed to Spa for the final four stages.
The final day’s stages were considerably different in character to what had come before, combining twisty public roads in the Ardennes region with access roads around the Spa circuit and sections of the racetrack itself. Rovanperä stole a march on the competition in the day’s first stage, where he posted the fastest time to move ahead of Evans and into third. Ogier meanwhile dropped back from his teammates after sustaining tyre damage.
Rovanperä went on to seal third place by 6.5 seconds over Evans and claim an impressive result for himself and co-driver Jonne Halttunen. Evans and his co-driver Scott Martin took fourth while Ogier and Julien Ingrassia finished fifth. Ogier was second-fastest on the rally-ending Power Stage (with Rovanperä fourth and Evans fifth) to gain additional points and strengthen his championship lead. This now stands at 38 points over Evans, who is tied on points with the driver in third. Toyota continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings by 41 points.
WRC 2021 Round Seven: Rally Estonia
Kalle Rovanperä became the youngest driver to win a round of the FIA World Rally Championship when he and co-driver Jonne Halttunen secured victory on Rally Estonia yesterday (18 July). It was the fifth win in a row for the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team and the Finnish driver’s first at the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC.
At 20 years and 290 days, Rovanperä claims the record that was previously held by the man who is now his team principal, Jari-Matti Latvala (who was just over two years older when he won Rally Sweden in 2008).
Rovanperä led almost throughout the event’s 24 stages, held over some of the fastest roads in rallying. He took six out of eight stage wins on Friday in a close battle with his nearest rival, before building a good lead during Saturday with some stunning stage times.
He went into the final day with an advantage of 50.7 seconds, which he ultimately extended to almost one minute with an expertly-controlled drive through the last six stages.
The team’s fifth consecutive win (and sixth from seven rounds so far this year) is the longest- WRC winning streak achieved by Toyota in its proud rallying history. All three of the team’s cars finished inside the top five, with Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia coming fourth and Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin taking fifth.
WRC 2021 Round Six: Safari Rally
Round Six saw the WRC head to the Safari Rally Kenya for the first time in nearly 20 years, with the highly anticipated return proving to be another successful stage for TGR, securing another 1-2 finish. Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia pulled off a superb fightback to take their fourth win from six events and extend their championship lead, while Takamoto Katsuta scored his first-ever WRC podium to complete a one-two finish for the Toyota Yaris WRC.
Ogier was seventh overall and more than two minutes off the lead after suffering an issue on Friday morning, but he charged back through the field. He was third overall going into the final day when trouble befell the leader, promoting Katsuta into the lead of a rally for the first time.
The final two stages saw both drivers tied on overall time and were able to compete fully with each other for the win right until the finish. Ogier claimed his seventh stage win of the weekend to move ahead before the one-two finish – the fourth such result for Toyota this season – was secured in the rally-ending Power Stage. The victory is the ninth claimed by Toyota in the history of the Safari Rally.
All four crews finished inside the top 1, with Kalle Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen in the battle for the lead on Friday before becoming stuck in deep ruts in the day’s final stage. They finished sixth overall and took second in the Power Stage.
Elfyn Evans and co-driver Scott Martin retired in Friday’s second stage but restarted on Saturday, and on Sunday they climbed back into 10th place overall as well as taking third in the Power Stage.
WRC 2021 Round Five: Rally Sardinia
The TGR World Rally Team has claimed an amazing one-two finish on Rally Italia Sardegna, with Sébastien Ogier scoring his third victory from five events so far this season and Elfyn Evans taking second to complete a remarkable result that extends the team’s advantage in the championship.
The team’s maiden Sardinia win came after a fast and reliable performance from the Toyota Yaris WRC and its drivers, who were able to overcome their disadvantageous positions at the head of the road order on Friday. Ogier was particularly impressive opening the road on Friday, ending the day in third before climbing into the rally lead on Saturday, when Evans also improved his confidence and speed to rise to second.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia safely managed their advantage through the final day’s four stages to clinch their fourth Sardinia victory and first since 2015. Evans, co-driven by Scott Martin, started the final day with a strong stage win in SS17 to increase his advantage over third place and was also fastest in SS19. In the final stage, he was slowed after water entered the car in a water splash, but the buffer he had built earlier meant his second place was secured.
With two bonus points for the fourth-fastest time in the Power Stage, Ogier now leads the championship by 11 points over Evans, who is in turn 18 points ahead of the driver in third.
Taking three bonus points for the third-best time in the Power Stage was Kalle Rovanperä, who together with co-driver Jonne Halttunen had been forced to stop by a technical issue on Friday while running in second position. With the help of their additional points, Toyota now has a 49-point lead in the manufacturer’s standings.
WRC 2021 Round Four: Rally Portugal
The TGR World Rally Team are celebrating their third win and third double podium finish from four events so far in 2021 after Elfyn Evans claimed victory and Sébastien Ogier finished third on the Rally de Portugal. Ogier continues to lead the drivers’ championship – two points ahead of Evans – while the team have extended their lead in the manufacturers’ standings.
Alongside co-driver Scott Martin, Evans drove a consistent and intelligent rally and was rewarded with the lead on Saturday afternoon. His advantage coming into Sunday’s final five stages was a narrow 10.7 seconds, but he stormed through the opening test 8.9 seconds quicker than anyone else to almost double his advantage. He claimed two further stage wins later in the morning, bringing his tally for the weekend to six. and ultimately sealed the victory by 28.3 seconds. It’s the fourth win of his WRC career, and his third since joining Toyota at the start of 2020.
Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia recovered well from the disadvantage of running first on the road on Friday and sweeping the loose gravel stages. Securing third overall, he saved his tyres for the rally-ending Power Stage to try to secure as many points as possible. He set the third-best time, giving him three bonus points while Evans was fifth-fastest in the same test.
Finishing in a superb fourth place after a fast and consistent weekend, Takamoto Katsuta claimed the best result of his career to-date, driving a Yaris WRC as part of the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program.
After retiring due to technical reasons on Saturday afternoon, Kalle Rovanperä restarted on Sunday, taking the opportunity to gain further knowledge and also setting the fourth-best time in the Power Stage.
WRC 2021 Round Three: Rally Croatia
The TGR World Rally Team claimed another one-two finish in a thrilling conclusion to the first Croatia Rally, the third round of the WRC 2021 season. In a final-stage decider that went right down to the last metres, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed victory by just 0.6 seconds over their teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in one of the closest finishes the championship has seen.
Just 10.4s covered the top three cars going into Sunday’s final day, with Ogier 6.9s ahead of Evans. In the opening two stages, Evans was the fastest driver and took the lead from Ogier – who had earlier been involved in a traffic incident on a road section. His car was able to continue, albeit with damage to the right-side door and aerodynamics.
Evans and Ogier began the deciding Power Stage separated by 3.9s and both needing to push to secure a one-two result, there being only a narrow margin back to third place. Ultimately, Ogier was fastest through the stage and claimed the victory, with Evans 4.5s slower after running wide.
With a maximum points haul, Ogier moves back to the top of the drivers’ standings and the team extends its lead in the manfuacturers’ championship to 27 points.
Takamoto Katsuta claimed his third consecutive sixth-place finish in the Toyota Yaris WRC he drives as part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program, having impressed with his pace and two stage wins on Saturday alongside co-driver Dan Barritt.
WRC 2021 Round Two: Arctic Rally Finland
Kalle Rovanperä has become the youngest ever driver to lead the FIA World Rally Championship standings after finishing in a strong second place on home ground at Arctic Rally Finland, securing the position with the fastest time on the Power Stage in his Toyota Yaris WRC.
The Flying Finn and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were among the pacesetters from the beginning of the rally, and were holding onto second overall by just 1.8 seconds at the beginning of the final day – a margin they narrowly extended.
On the rally-ending Power Stage, Rovanperä achieved the best time by 0.3s, securing second overall by 2.3s – the best result of his WRC career to-date. He now leads the championship for the first time in his career by four points over his nearest rival.
Elfyn Evans finished in fifth position and is now joint third in the championship with his team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who finished in 20th position.
WRC 2021 Round One: Rallye Monte Carlo
Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia scored their 50th WRC win at Monte Carlo, after trading the lead early on with their Toyota Yaris WRC teammates. With Elfyn Evans finishing runner-up, the one-two finish marks the first time that the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team has won the championship’s most prestigious event, having made the podium every year since 2017. It is the fourth Rallye Monte-Carlo win in Toyota’s history, coming on the 30th anniversary of its maiden victory in 1991.
The Toyota team led the rally from the third stage early on Friday morning, with Rovanperä, Ogier and then Evans all taking turns in the lead over the course of the rally’s longest day. On his home event, Ogier claimed back the lead with a storming stage win on Saturday’s first test. He took a 13-second advantage over Evans into the final day, when he won three of the four stages – including the rally-ending Power Stage – to begin the defence of his title in style.
With second place Evans also makes a strong start to his championship campaign, while Kalle Rovanperä came home fourth, just missing out on the top three due to tyre damage.
WRC 2021: Preview
The WRC 2021 season sees new changes to the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC team with the debut of a new livery for the Toyota Yaris WRC So far, the car has achieved 17 victories in the WRC (winning over one-third of the events it has taken part in) and 322 stage wins. After the manufacturers’ title of 2018, it has been taken to back-to-back drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the team’s aim is to secure the full set of championship titles.
Behind the scenes, Jari-Matti Latvala becomes Team Principle.
The team retains the same driver line-up for the second consecutive season. Defending champion Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia return alongside Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin, who finished as runners-up last year.
Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen will look to build upon their promising rookie campaign, in which they finished fifth in the championship.
To Whom it may concern.
Could you please answer a simple questions? Why is ELFYN EVANS NOT ALLOWED to have the WELSH FLAG on his Rally Car? Why is he not allowed to have the Welsh Flag flying when on the Podium, Why is he not allowed to have The WELSH NATIONAL ANTHEM when on the Winners Step.
WALES IS A COUNTRY with it”s own Parliament, Flag and Anthem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi David,
Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on this.
We would recommend contacting Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC for further assistance.
Thanks.