Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR WRT) is determined to defend its 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) drivers' and manufacturers' world titles with great optimism.
TGR hopes to record an inaugural victory in the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo as the 2023 WRC season opener on January 19-22.
TGR WRT has been aiming for three consecutive WRC world championship crowns after a successful debut season in 2022 using the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid to sweep the drivers, co-driver and manufacturers titles.
The team continues to work hard to improve this winning package, and the most obvious change for 2023 will be in the bodywork.
Among these is a new rear fender which uses a revised cooling inlet for the hybrid system. Other developments include the specification of a new engine with a higher power output.
After becoming the youngest WRC drivers' champion at 22 years old, Kalle Rovanperä returns to defend his crown with co-driver Jonne Halttunen.
They were joined again for a full season by two-time WRC runners-up Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin. Eight-time champion Sébastien Ogier started part of the rally schedule at his home in the French Alps.
He is also targeting a record ninth Monte-Carlo Rally victory and continues to work with co-driver Vincent Landais after joining late last year.
Takamoto Katsuta will share a team third entry with Ogier over the course of the season, while continuing to gain experience in all of the remaining rallies.
Starting from Rally Monte-Carlo, he entered in race four with co-driver Aaron Johnston as part of the TGR WRC Challenge Program.
Rallye Monte-Carlo is the oldest and most famous event on the WRC calendar and also one of the most challenging.
Changing weather conditions can mean racers can face dry asphalt, snow and ice on the same stage. As a result, tire selection becomes crucial.
As in 2022, the service park will again be located on the waterfront in Monaco, where the rally will start from the iconic Casino Square.
It then climbs up to finish on the famous Col de Turini, then descends from La Cabanette on the road that was last used at the end of the 2020 season and is the longest rally track at 24.9 km.
Friday consists of two rounds of three stages to the northwest of Monaco around Puget-Théniers. Saturday follows a similar format but is longer, with the action taking place further west and the drivers only returning to Monaco nearly 15 hours after they left.
Sunday sees two classic Luceram – Lantosque Tests with two more laps on the Col de Turini, where the rally will conclude at the end of the Power Stage.
