Nearest Monte Carlo
Also for the 2024 season Toyota will inevitably play the role of the team to beat, as demonstrated by the roll of honor of the latest editions of the WRC. In the drivers' world championshipthe Japanese house has established itself from 2019 to last yearalso winning the manufacturers title continuously from 2021. Everything is now ready for the upcoming world championship, with the first appointment scheduled from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th January and valid for the historian Monte Carlo Rally.
The 2024 lineup
On the occasion of the first stage, Toyota will present itself with its GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid characterized by a new matte black livery, but with little news relating to its line-up. In this case, the Gazoo Racing team will in fact field the same drivers as last season: Sebastien Ogierwinner in Monte Carlo in 2023, as well as Takamoto Katsuta and to the vice-world champion Elfyn Evans. Among the riders, obviously, there is no shortage of the two-time reigning world champion Kalle Rovanperä, even if the real novelty concerns Finnish. Already at the end of 2023, the 23-year-old had announced the unexpected decision to participate in the 2024 World Cup part time, with his partial exit which will therefore exclude him from the title fight and the first round. Next season, therefore, Rovanperä will share the car with Ogier.
Ogier aims for an encore
A battle in which Ogier, an eight-time world champion but excited to be able to achieve not only his second consecutive success in the French Alps, but also the tenth in the Monegasque rally, will not participate: “I am happy to be at the start of another season after all these years and I take this opportunity fully – commented the Frenchman – the last two years have been fun with the team and we have managed to achieve some good results. I think we want to continue like this for as long as possible and this is the plan for 2024, starting obviously with Rallye Monte-Carlo. For me it is an unmissable event and there is a lot of hope for this first rally. I think it's the rally that needs to be respected more than any other, because the conditions can be very challenging, which means that nothing is guaranteed. Numbers are never my main motivation, but if I could get the tenth win in this event it would be something very special“.
The danger of winter
Elfyn Evans, winner of three rallies last year, is aiming for his first world title: “It's always exciting to start a new season, especially with the Rallye Monte-Carlo – he has declared – the 2023 season was a nice progression for us that showed that we are going in the right direction. Of course, we want even more in 2024, but it won't be easy to achieve this. We know that the competition will be tough as usual, so as a team we always work to continuously improve and we are ready to give our best this season. With the Rallye Monte-Carlo moving north again this year, that's much more likely winter conditions are part of the challenge. In the tests prior to the event we found difficult conditions, which allowed us to do some practice, but in this rally it's about adapting to the conditions that will arise over the weekend.”
The dream of the first victory
While waiting for the first challenge of the season, Katsuta added his comment that in 2024, as a full-time driver, his main objective will be the first victory in his career: “It's always nice to return to the mountains of Monte Carlo to start a new season – he added – every year the expectations increase, but I like this pressure and I want to fight at the front, so I will try to achieve even better results in 2024. I want to be constantly fighting for the podium and try to get the first victory. I will have fun and continue to push the limits and work hard. The engineers are putting a lot of effort into further improving the car and I feel like everyone in the factory is working hard, so I'm confident that we can do even better than last year. The Rallye Monte-Carlo is one of the most difficult rallies in terms of conditions, with difficult tire choices, but we are ready for the challenge.”
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