Sébastien Ogier charged to his first victory of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship at RallyRACC – Rally de España, as Toyota Gazoo Racing sealed the manufacturers’ title.
The eight-time title winner alongside first-time rally winning co-driver Benjamin Veillas secured victory by 16.4s, ahead of Hyundai Motorsport’s Thierry Neuville/Martin Wydaeghe, with 2022 WRC title-winning pairing Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Haltunnen making it a double podium for Toyota Gazoo Racing.
It also marks Ogier’s first victory in the championship’s hybrid era.
“It’s Benji’s first win so I am very happy for him,” Ogier said.
“It’s fantastic to get this win because it was an important weekend for the team.
“It’s not always easy to achieve such results and this season has been very dominant, so congratulations to Toyota Gazoo Racing.”
2019 WRC winner Ott Tänak finished fourth alongside Martin Järveoja, with the Estonian announcing that he will be leaving the Hyundai Motorsport squad at the end of the season hours after the conclusion of the rally.
“This is a personal decision and one that I have taken with careful consideration and respect for the team,” Tänak said.
“However, I feel that I am at a stage of my career where I need to embark on a new challenge.
“We have had a good partnership over the past three seasons, and I am proud of what we have achieved.”
At their home event, Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera finished fifth, 32.5s from Tänak/Järveoja.
Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin, Takamoto Katsuta /Aaron Johnston, Adrian Fourmaux/Alexandre Coria, Craig Breen/Paul Nagle, and Pierre-Louis Loubet/Vincent Landais rounded out the top 10.
In WRC2, a commanding drive from Teemu Suninen, who was guided by Mikko Markkula, saw him break through for his maiden win of the season in a Hyundai i20 N, with Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand, and Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov completing the podium in their Skoda Fabia Evo.
Australian Luke Anear, who was guided by co-driver Allan Harryman, finished 26th in the WRC2 class and 46th outright in their Ford Fiesta Mk II.
The 2022 WRC season will conclude with Rally Japan from November 10-13.
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