TGR-WRT chases third consecutive ARA victory on all-new Colorado challenge

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) continues its American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship campaign at Rally Colorado (July 18–19), where Seth Quintero and co-driver Topi Luhtinen will contest the fifth round of the season in the GR Corolla Rally RC2.

Quintero and Luhtinen arrive in Colorado on the back of a breakthrough victory at the Southern Ohio Forest Rally, where the crew claimed their first rally win together in only their third event. The result gave TGR-WRT two consecutive ARA victories following Jari-Matti Latvala’s win at Olympus Rally, and the team now targets a third straight success as the season enters its second half.

This weekend, however, presents an unknown for every crew in the field. Rally Colorado joins the ARA National Championship for the first time in 2026, stepping up from the West Regional calendar, meaning the high-desert stages of northwest Colorado will be new territory for the entire National field. With no previous National-level pace notes or event experience to draw on, the rally puts a premium on adaptability and clean preparation from drivers and teams alike.

Based in Rangely, in the high desert of Rio Blanco County only a few miles from the Utah state line and Dinosaur National Monument, Rally Colorado is known for some of the most distinctive roads in American rallying. Wide-open, fast, and flowing gravel sections sweep across hills, canyons, and mesas, mixed with tighter and more technical stretches. High altitude, summer heat, and dust all add to the challenge, affecting engine performance, tire wear, and visibility across the weekend.

The event traces its roots to the Colorado Cog Rally, a national-level fixture in the 2000s, and was revived in its current form in 2017. It has grown steadily since, becoming a favorite of competitors and the local community: the traditional Friday-evening parade through downtown Rangely kicks off the weekend before competition begins with a total of 265 stage miles across two days of action on Saturday and Sunday.

For Quintero, the event also carries championship significance, as the American driver looks to convert his recent momentum into a sustained title challenge in the second half of the season.

Quotes:
Seth Quintero (Driver, car No. 103)
“I’m really excited to get back in the GR Corolla after the win in Ohio. Colorado is a new event for everybody, which I think levels the playing field a little bit and puts the focus on preparation and good pace notes. From what I’ve seen, the roads are fast and flowing, with some big elevation gain, which should be a lot of fun. The plan is the same as always: finish every mile, keep learning, and if we can be fighting at the front again and make it three in a row for the team, that would be awesome.”

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