This weekend’s Rally Estonia demands a change from the typical World Rally Championship mindset according to Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
Estonia is one of the two quickest rounds on the WRC calendar – the other being Finland – that require a different mindset.
Rally Estonia takes place after a three-week break, a newcomer to the series that was handed its big break by promoters during the COVID interrupted campaign of three years ago.
Sharing many of the popular traits of Rally Finland, the Tartu-based event is popular with drivers and fans thanks to a route comprising wide and flowing forests roads that feature lots of jumps and crests.
It is not all about breakneck speed, though, as a percentage of the competitive mileage is made up of narrower and more technical sections that become heavily rutted due to their soft and sandy surface.
Latvala has overseen another strong first half of the season with the Japanese team, which currently leads the way in both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings, and is hoping the introduction of an ‘updated internal combustion engine’ will help Toyota pull further clear of Hyundai and M-Sport Ford.
“The last event in Kenya marked the mid-point of the 2023 season and after an incredible result there, our lead in the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships shows that the team has done a really good job so far in the face of close competition,” said Latvala during last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“We want to continue this strong form in the next rallies in Estonia and Finland where the focus is very much on performance. They require a different mindset from the drivers compared to the rough events we have had recently: if you want to win, you will need to push from the first corner of the first stage.
“We were strong in Estonia a year ago but we have still been working hard to improve our performance for these rallies and it’s great that we can bring new updates to the GR Yaris Rally1,” continued the Finn. “Our drivers enjoy driving on fast roads – and we are really looking forward to this week’s rally.”
Kalle Rovanpera led a one-two finish for Toyota at Rally Estonia 12 months ago by getting the better of Eflyn Evans. Whilst the former has had multiple wins already in 2023, Evans has yet to visit the podium’s top step and is targeting specific areas of his preparation in the hope of finally ending his barren spell.
“As a driver, you need to have trust in your pace notes and also have a good feeling with the car, so we were working hard during our pre-event test to try and get everything right,” explained the Welshman.
“Hopefully we can go into it feeling good from the beginning and really enjoy the driving, which is really key to performing well on a rally like this one.”
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