WRC 2024 result after Round 11: Rally Chile

Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team continued its 2024 FIA World Rally Championship campaign in South America, and celebrated a maximum score – the first of any manufacturer this year – on the challenging gravel roads of Rally Chile. The team’s one-two finish saw Kalle Rovanperä claim victory ahead of team-mate Elfyn Evans. What was the story behind this WRC 2024 result? Read on to find out.

WRC 2024 result: Rally Chile

Following a demanding Acropolis Rally earlier this month in Greece where its performance went unrewarded, the Toyota Gazoo Racing team was highly motivated to bounce back. The driver line-up for Rally Chile was strong, with Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier all present and nominated to compete for manufacturers’ points.

That fact was underlined on the first day, where TGR drivers secured the quickest times in five of the day’s six stages. The forest roads proved to be the natural hunting ground of the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid, being fast and flowing yet also particularly narrow and technical, with plenty of loose gravel on top of a hard base. However, a minor mistake in Ogier’s pace notes led to him running wide on a corner on the third stage and sustaining a rear puncture. This was enough to push him down to ninth and also create further implications for day two when he would be among those clearing the road at the front of the pack.

Day two presented the crews with more technical and abrasive gravel roads, made all the worse with changeable weather. Leading by three seconds at the start of the day, Evans continued his strong form with two stage wins out of three during the morning. Rovanperä (above) took second place and closed to within 1.8 seconds of his team-mate when he went almost ten seconds quicker than anybody else in the second stage.

The Welshman responded with his own fast-forward manoeuvre, going eight seconds faster than everybody else despite rain and fog and tricky tyre management decisions. But Rovanperä hadn’t finished yet and leapfrogged his team-mate into first place during stage eleven’s demanding conditions, a margin he then extended to more than 15 seconds in the day’s damp final round.

Unfortunately, day two presented further issues for a beleaguered Ogier. It began well with a brave tyre choice that was helping the Frenchman make up time but came to a crashing conclusion in stage eight when he clipped a rock as the front of the car was fully compressed under braking. The result was major suspension damage that the team hoped to be able to repair for the start of day three.

The final loop of four stages on day three continued the demanding conditions. Despite the disadvantage of opening the road because of his restart, Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais seized the opportunity presented by the foggy mountain conditions to set the pace, winning every one of the last four stages.

Meanwhile, Rovanperä entered the final day with a substantial lead over Evans, which he managed to further extend during the morning’s first two tests. And then in a thrilling finish, the Finn was just 0.1 seconds slower than Ogier through the rally-ending Power Stage as he clinched his fourth win of the season with co-driver Jonne Halttunen. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin also made a strong return to the podium for the fifth time this season, having seized third on Super Sunday and fifth on the Power Stage to conclude the rally in second place.

In addition to this overall one-two in Chile, Toyota locked-out the top three places in the separate Super Sunday classification and posted the fastest two times in the Power Stage. This means Toyota Gazoo Racing is the first team to secure the maximum possible haul of 55 manufacturers’ points under the new system introduced for 2024 – and as a result has reduced the gap to the lead from 35 to 17 points.

From the drivers’ perspective, Rovanperä’s 15th win with Toyota draws him level with fellow two-time champion Carlos Sainz as the drivers who have achieved the most WRC victories for Toyota. Both Ogier and Evans remain in mathematical contention for the drivers’ championship going into the last two rounds of the season with 60 points still up for grabs.

WRC 2024 result in Round 11: Rally Chile

WRC 2024 championship standings: drivers and co-drivers

Where is the WRC heading next?

The WRC juggernaut returns to asphalt roads for the last two rounds of the 2024 season, beginning with the Central European Rally. First held last year, this round takes place on 17-20 October and is a cross-border event that takes place on demanding roads in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria.