TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team snatched a one-two finish on the Croatia Rally after a dramatic finale to a thrilling event, with Sébastien Ogier taking victory over team-mate Elfyn Evans.
TGR-WRT maintains its 100 per cent winning record on the demanding asphalt event since it joined the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in 2021. The stages around the Croatian capital Zagreb once more delivered challenging conditions and close competition, with less than 10 seconds separating the top two in the overall standings throughout the weekend.
Evans was tied for the lead with his main championship rival Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) after Friday, with Ogier just 6.6s back after a stunning final stage time helped him claw back much of the time lost from running on dirtier roads further back in the pack. The TGR duo kept the pressure on until the final day and a dramatic second stage of the morning in which both Neuville and Evans lost time with incidents. A clean run for Ogier allowed him to claim the lead, while Evans survived his spin without major damage to continue in second overall.
Through two more stages, Ogier held on to claim the 59th victory and 100th podium of his WRC career. He and co-driver Vincent Landais ultimately finished 9.7s ahead of Evans and Scott Martin.
With a third podium from four rounds and by outscoring his main rival on Sunday, Evans remains just six points from the drivers’ championship lead.
Takamoto Katsuta improved his pace and confidence throughout the event alongside co-driver Aaron Johnston. He topped the separate Super Sunday classification, having won both passes through the Trakošćan – Vrbno test, and climbed up to finish fifth overall.
Thanks to the efforts of all three crews across the weekend, TGR-WRT continues to lead the manufacturers’ standings by an increased margin of seven points.
In just its second WRC event on asphalt, the GR Yaris Rally2 finished third in its category and 10th overall in the hands of Sami Pajari and Enni Mälkönen, who set four fastest times in their Printsport-run car.
PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, CROATIA RALLY
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 2h40m23.6s
2 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +9.7s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +45.8s
4 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +58.6s
5 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m55.5s
6 Andreas Mikkelsen/Torstein Eriksen (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +4m01.0s
7 Grégoire Munster/Louis Louka (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +5m11.0s
8 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Citroën C3 Rally2) +9m21.3s
9 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +9m59.5s
10 Sami Pajari/Enni Mälkönen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +10m22.7s
(Results as of 14:20 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit www.wrc.com)
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for drivers after round 4:
1 Thierry Neuville 86 points
2 Elfyn Evans 80
3 Adrien Fourmaux 59
4 Ott Tänak 53
5 Sébastien Ogier 45
6 Takamoto Katsuta 45
7 Kalle Rovanperä 31
8 Esapekka Lappi 23
9 Andreas Mikkelsen 14
10 Oliver Solberg 12
2024 FIA World Rally Championship for manufacturers after round 4:
1 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team 176 points
2 Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 169
3 M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 96
