TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program drivers Hikaru Kogure and Yuki Yamamoto successfully completed their first events in the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 at the Arctic Rally on February 2-3.
Representing the second generation of the WRC Challenge Program, Kogure and Yamamoto have made the step up to faster four-wheel drive Rally2 machinery for 2024 after competing in two-wheel drive Rally4 cars during their first two years on the Program.
For their debut at this higher level, the pair took on the famous Arctic Rally, round two of the Finnish Rally Championship. Based in Rovaniemi in Finland’s northernmost region of Lapland, the rally features fast stages on snow and ice, some of which must be driven in darkness.
Both Kogure and Yamamoto already experienced the event one year ago, but the increased performance level of their new GR Yaris Rally2 cars would provide them with many new challenges to adapt to.
The main goal was to complete the full distance and gather as much experience as possible – and both drivers achieved this, reaching the finish in eighth and ninth positions in the highly competitive SM1 category. After 199.95 kilometres of rallying, they were separated by only 1.7 seconds, with Kogure finishing just ahead of Yamamoto.
Kogure, co-driven by Topi Luhtinen, showed good performance already on Friday’s opening leg, which he finished in ninth position. On Saturday morning, a technical issue meant he lost some time but this was resolved in service so that he could drive strongly to the finish in a challenging last loop that featured long stages and fresh snowfall.
Yamamoto, who links up with Marko Salminen as his new co-driver for this year, also dropped some time on Saturday morning with a couple of overshoots, but recovered well to set good times in the afternoon.
