Toyota left the Acropolis Rally with its bones, if not broken, certainly not in the best possible condition. The victory obtained by Thierry Neuville and the simultaneous hat-trick of Hyundai on the Greek gravel have further distanced the Japanese manufacturer from the 2024 WRC world titles.
There are 3 events left until the end of hostilities, but the team led by Jari-Matti Latvala must start thinking about the future. To be precise, next season, when it could find itself playing the role of Hyundai’s first challenger.
The first move Toyota will make for next season will be to choose three drivers capable of doing the entire season. No more part-time drivers as it has found itself doing in recent seasons.
“What I learned this year is that for 2025 we need to have three drivers who do the whole championship.”
“It is now clear that having part-time pilots and if you only have two pilots who do the whole [campionato]it’s not enough to win the title, so that’s clear. We can have a fourth driver who can be part of the championship, but three drivers have to do a full season.”
“There are things we need to consider and think about, so I can’t talk about the lineup yet.”
Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota Racing
Rovanpera is under contract and is expected to return to full-time driving with the team next year, which will be a boost for the Japanese marque which has won the last three drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
“Kalle has already said that he wants to do a full season and that is our goal. It is clear that if Kalle drives, then it is a full season, we just have to check a couple of things. But that is how we want it to be,” Latvala said.
With Rovanpera assured of one of the three seats, that leaves two drivers who could be fielded for the entire season, but also two credible candidates to be the part-time driver. One between Elfyn Evans and Takamoto Katsuta could find himself stranded or, at least, demoted to part-time if Sébastien Ogier says no at the end of the season.
Another driver who, however, has ambitions of taking the next step and reaching the top of the WRC is Sami Pajari. The Finn has already made his debut in a Rally1 at Rally Finland and will make two more outings in the GR Yaris Rally1 at Rally Chile (replacing Katsuta) and Rally Central Europe.
“Of course there are drivers, there are good drivers, there are great drivers, young talents, and of course Toyota is thinking about investing for the future, like we did with Sami in Finland,” Latvala added when asked about the driver market for next year.
“These are the areas that Toyota wants to invest in for the future. But of course, overall, we need drivers who can help us win the championship,” Latvala concluded.
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