TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team travels to Rally Chile for round 11 of the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship on September 26-29, targeting a strong result on South American roads as it continues the championship fight.
Following a demanding Acropolis Rally Greece earlier this month where its performance went unrewarded, the team is highly motivated to bounce back. It has assembled a strong driver line-up to fight for victory in Chile, with Kalle Rovanperä, Elfyn Evans and Sébastien Ogier all present and nominated to compete for manufacturers’ points.
World champions Rovanperä and Ogier have both won three rallies this year, tallies they were unlucky not to add to on their most recent starts in Finland and Greece respectively, and Evans is similarly eager to return to top form following an unfortunate couple of events.
TGR-WRT also welcomes rising star Sami Pajari back for a second outing in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID in Chile following his impressive debut at Rally Finland, where he finished fourth overall and recorded his maiden stage win. As part of the team’s commitment to develop young talent on different roads around the world, the main objective is for Pajari to expand his experience at the highest level on Chile’s varied gravel roads.
Chile returned to the WRC calendar last year, four years after its 2019 debut, with a rally based in Concepción around 500 kilometres to the south of capital city, Santiago. The gravel roads in the forests of the surrounding Biobío region combine technical and faster sections with a mix of smooth and abrasive surfaces.
After shakedown and a ceremonial start in Concepción on Thursday, the rally will begin on Friday with a familiar loop of three stages to the south-east to be repeated following mid-day service. The rest of the rally’s stages take place across the Biobío River to the south, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Saturday is the longest day with 139.2 competitive kilometres across another two loops of three stages, and includes sections not driven previously – as does Sunday when two stages will be driven twice without mid-day service.
Following wins on gravel on four of the last six events, the GR Yaris Rally2 will take part in a WRC2 round outside of Europe for the first time. Spanish driver Jan Solans, a winner in the category in Portugal in May, makes the trip to Chile together with the Teo Martín Motorsport team.
