At the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team achieved a remarkable one-two finish on Rallye Monte-Carlo with Sébastien Ogier obtaining a record ninth victory and Kalle Rovanperä following closely behind.

This year’s mostly dry weather made it a contest of power instead of the traditional navigation, with Ogier dominating from the beginning with five consecutive stage wins, leading by 30 seconds by Friday noon.

At the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship, the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team was the fastest in the first 11 stages of the event.

On Saturday afternoon, its streak was broken, with Ogier managing his lead and having a 16-second advantage over Rovanperä. On the last day, he took two more stage wins, finishing with a margin of 18.8s.

This was Ogier’s 56th WRC win, and his co-driver Vincent Landais’ first victory since they started working together at the end of the previous season. It was also the fifth Monte win for Toyota with a fifth different car.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team had an impressive beginning to the 2023 FIA World Rally Championship with Sébastien Ogier’s record ninth win on Rallye Monte-Carlo and Kalle Rovanperä’s second-place finish.

This was the ideal start for Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen to defend their championship titles, as Rovanperä earned six stage wins and his first-ever Rallye Monte-Carlo podium.

Elfyn Evans drove with similar speed to his team-mates but lost 40 seconds due to a damaged tire in SS5 and spun in Sunday’s morning session. He managed to end in fourth place, 27.8s from the podium, and was third in the Power Stage to gain three additional points.

Takamoto Katsuta, supported by the WRC Challenge Program, had his best Rallye Monte-Carlo performance yet and constantly joined his teammates in the top four on stage times, eventually ending in sixth place overall.

Kalle Rovanperä, driver of car 69 for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, expressed his happiness with their weekend, noting that the team’s pace was good, and they were able to take full points on the Power Stage.

Elfyn Evans, driver of car 33, commented on their potential to achieve more and the gap to third place being too big, but that it was still a decent performance as the car was working well.

Sébastien Ogier, driver of car 17, celebrated his ninth win on Rallye Monte-Carlo, noting his team’s dominant weekend and Toyota’s fantastic tools.

He also congratulated co-driver Vincent Landais on his first WRC win and thanked him for his perfect job over their two rallies together.

Akio Toyoda, Chairman of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT)congratulated Sébastien Ogier’s ninth win and Vincent Landais’ first win at Rallye Monte-Carlo.

He acknowledged the hard work of the team who prepared the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID in a short period of time and without taking much time-off during the holiday season.

He was thrilled that the team achieved a great start to the season, with all the crews completing all the special stages. He thanked everyone for their efforts.

Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team, expressed his delight with the team’s great start to the season.

He acknowledged the hard work of the team, which paid off despite their anticipation of a tough competition this rally. He highlighted the motivation of Sébastien Ogier to win after coming so close last year, and was pleased with Kalle Rovanperä’s, Elfyn Evans’, and Takamoto Katsuta’s pace.

He noted that the car was performing well, but reminded the team that they must continue working.

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, RALLYE MONTE-CARLO
1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) 3h12h02m.0s
2 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +18.8s
3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +44.6s
4 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +1m12.4s
5 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRID) +2m34.9s
6 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID) +3m32.6s
7 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +3m47.5s
8 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +3m51.3s
9 Nikolay Gryazin/Konstantin Aleksandrov (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +10m03.4s
10 Yohan Rossel/Arnaud Dunand (Citroën C3 Rally2) +10m07.9s