Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR WRT) continued to lead the manufacturers' standings after the second round of the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at Rally Sweden, despite narrowly missing out on the podium after a hard-fought weekend on snow and ice.
Kalle Rovanperä finished in fourth place, only 5.1 seconds off third place, after fighting hard all the way to the last stage. This position puts the winner of last year's Rally Sweden at a disadvantage due to Friday's first start. But he fought back well to start the final day just 3.8 seconds from a championship podium.
That gap was reduced to 1.1 seconds thanks to Sunday's opening stage victory, but his arch-rivals responded in the following stages and managed to hold on to the championship lead. With the addition of three bonus points for the third fastest time on the Power Stage, Rovanperä remains second in the drivers' championship, only three points behind the leaders.
Elfyn Evans finished the rally one place behind Rovanperä in fifth overall after struggling throughout the race to improve his position despite the car's difficult conditions. His performance peaked when he recorded the second best time on the Power Stage.
His time was only 0.6 seconds less than the fastest time and 0.015 seconds faster than Rovanperä, which made him fourth in the championship. The extra points from the Power Stage kept TGR-WRT leading the manufacturer's championship by 14 points.
The Swedish rally was Takamoto Katsuta's debut as part of the WRC factory team first team driving the third car. The Japanese rider impressed on Friday morning when he was involved in a pole battle and won a stage.
Trapped in the afternoon by a pile of snow that coated the track and made the car lose control, Katsuta started over on Saturday and gained valuable new experience paving the way in the snow. No longer competing for points, his car was retired before Sunday's final stage after he reported problems in an earlier test.
Another first for TGR WRT from Rally Sweden 2023 is Lorenzo Bertelli becoming the first Toyota customer racer to compete behind the wheel of the GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid. The Italian racer who always looks enthusiastic, enjoyed driving in one of his favorite rallies where he completed every stage and finished in 14th position.
