Monday, September 30, 2024 at 6:09 pm
In the last gravel race of the season, heavy rain and heavy fog did not stop Calle Rovanber, who teamed up with Elfyn Evans to take a double win in South America.
In addition to the double overall win, the Toyota factory team was also pleased with a top-three finish in the separate Super Sunday evaluation introduced this year, and also achieved the two fastest times in the Power Stage at the end of the rally. Which earned them many extra points.
TGR-WRT became the first team to obtain the maximum factory points of 55 points in the new points system introduced for 2024. Thus, with two races to go before the end of the season, its chance of taking two world championship titles remained, for example, the gap decreased Among manufacturers from 35 to 17 points.
Rovanpera, who has not played a full season this year, had not yet found his rhythm after Friday, but on Saturday, driving bravely through the dense fog, he took the lead from Evans, which he never left his hands after. Which. The final day, Sunday, consisting of four stages, witnessed a continuation of the difficult conditions experienced on Saturday in the mountains of the Biobio region, south of Concepcion, as drivers were forced to contend with mud in addition to low visibility.
Rovanperä started the final day 15.1 seconds ahead of Evans, then increased the gap in the first two speeds. On the power stage, he was also the best for two-thirds of the way (by 0.5 seconds), but in the end he took the left corner a little too far, losing to Ogier by 0.1 seconds, but this did not affect him as he took his fourth win of the season and the fifteenth of his career. The Finn, who celebrated his 24th birthday on October 1, overtook two-time world champion Carlos Sainz to claim the most World Rally Championship victories for Toyota.
The biggest loser in the Chilean Rally was Sebastien Ogier, who more than deserved the win based on his raw speed. The Frenchman, who is fighting for his ninth individual World Cup title, drove over the border on Friday, which did not go well in the end: he swerved into the right turn, and the roadside policeman took the tire off the left rear edge. His car, so he had to stop to change a tire, which took about two minutes. On Saturday, a huge rock hit the right front wheel of the GR Yaris, breaking the bolt holding the steering linkage and making the GR Yaris out of control. De Ogier took advantage of pole position on the muddy tracks on Sunday and won all four stages, including the power stage, to collect the maximum points of 12 points and maintain his theoretical chance of winning the individual World Cup title. He is currently 41 points behind Thierry Neuville, but another 60 points could be collected in the remaining two tarmac races.
Elfyn Evans managed to stand on the podium for the fifth time this season, but was unable to achieve victory. However, on Friday morning, he still looked like he might have his first success of the year, when he took advantage of a favorable starting position to take the lead. But on Saturday afternoon, heavy fog arrived, which he didn't like. The Welsh driver finished third on Super Sunday and fifth on the Power Stage, thus collecting a total of 21 points, the most of any competitor apart from Rovanper on 28 points. Thus, his mathematical chance of obtaining the individual world championship title remained, even though his disadvantage was 46 points.
Finnish WRC2 talent Sami Pajari finished sixth in a white GR Yaris in his second Rally1 event. He made a great start to the rally, finishing just 12.2 seconds behind leader Evans in fourth place on Friday night. When circumstances became more difficult, he showed a mature attitude. Instead of going beyond the limits, he focused on gathering valuable experiences and reaching the goal. At the next race, the Central European Rally, Pajari will have another opportunity to increase his Rally1 experience, and he could still win the WRC2 championship with the GR Yaris Rally2 making its debut this year at the season-ending race in Japan.
Data:
Calle Rovanpera:
“It was a tough weekend, you had to fight for pole. There was no point in the race as it was easy for us because of the weather and other things, but we did well. I didn’t feel very comfortable in the car on Friday, but we managed We crossed the road without any major mistakes and when the conditions became more difficult we were able to create big gaps. It was important to press hard today, so we scored important points with our teammates in the Manufacturers' Championship, which we can be very happy about. Thanks to the team because the car was strong Very much this weekend.”
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Leader):
“It feels really good to finally have a perfect Sunday, especially after the devastating hits in the last two races. Our riders did a fantastic job today, and continued to work hard until the end of the final stage. This result gives the whole team extra momentum and motivation for the remaining two races. Both Cali led The car ran very well all weekend, and either one of them deserved to win. Seb set a very good time on every stage, and thanks to his speed and fighting spirit today, we scored very important points in the Manufacturer's Championship. In the end, Sami did exactly what we asked of him This weekend: He drove the car steadily and gave a mature performance to get the car to the finish line, gaining more and more experience. Overall, the progress was very positive for us.”
Final result of the Chilean Rally:
1. Kalle Rovanpera/Jon Haltunen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid) 2h 58h 59.8m
2. Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid) +23.4 seconds
3. Ott Tänak/Martin Järvioja (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +43.9 seconds
4. Thierry Neuville / Martin Weidaeg (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID) +1p01.1s
5. Adrien Formo / Alexandre Correa (Ford Puma Rally 1 Hybrid) +2p02.7s
6. Sami Bajari/Eni Malkonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid) +2, 39.7 seconds
7. Gregoire Munster/Luis Luca (Ford Puma Rally 1 Hybrid) +2, 47.7 seconds
8. Johan Rosell / Florian Barral (Citroen C3 Rally 2) +8 with 31.4 seconds
9. Nikolai Gryazin / Konstantin Alexandrov (Citroen C3 Rally 2) +8 with 48.7 seconds
10. Jos Greensmith / Jonas Andersson (Skoda Fabia RS Rally 2) +8p52.1s
36. Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landis (Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 Hybrid) +1h 27h 03.1s
Individual World Championship standings:
1. Thierry Neuville 207 points
2. Ot Tanak 178
3. Sébastien Ogier 166
4. Elvin Evans 161
5. Adrian Formaux 140
6. Kale Rovanpera 114
7. Katsuta Takamoto 80
8. Dani Sordo 44
9. Sami Bajari 41
10. Esapika Labbe 33
World Manufacturers' Championship standings:
1. Hyundai Shell Mobis World Rally Team 482 points
2. Toyota Gazoo World Racing 465 Team
3. M-Sport Ford World Rally Team 245
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