Kogure and Yamamoto take on the world’s fastest rally

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program drivers Yuki Yamamoto and Hikaru Kogure faced the fastest FIA World Rally Championship event, Rally Finland, on August 1-4.

Colloquially known as the “grand prix on gravel” due to its fast, sweeping gravel turns, there is no higher-speed challenge in the world of rallying: the six fastest rallies in WRC history have all taken place in Finland.

In the dry, Rally Finland features a hard compact gravel base that requires equal amounts of smoothness and precision. But the roads can change quickly and become unpredictable when it rains: which is exactly what happened on Friday, the first day of stages out in the forests of Finland’s lake district after the opening super special stage in Jyväskylä’s Harju district.

Both drivers mastered the treacherous conditions of Friday morning, where heavy rain showers had made grip levels unpredictable and inconsistent. Conditions were similar in the afternoon and, unfortunately, this caught out Kogure, who slid off the road and retired on the Saarikas test.

Yamamoto and co-driver Marko Salminen scored some encouraging stage times and continued on to Saturday’s stages, which featured the legendary 33-kilometre Ouninpohja test that is widely regarded as one of the greatest stretches of road in rallying. Though he successfully navigated the Saturday morning loop, a mechanical issue meant his car was retired in mid-day service.

Quotes:
Hikaru Kogure:
“I’ve lived in Jyväskylä for almost two years now, so this feels like a home rally at this point; everything feels quite familiar! I hadn’t driven for a couple of months after my accident in Sardinia, so I wanted to be patient on the first day and find a good rhythm. I took a lot of care in the morning with the challenging weather: some stages were completely dry and some had rain so heavy you could barely see out of the car. But I had no moments on the Friday morning loop and the speed was quite consistent. We didn’t get a chance to drive Saarikas first time around, so I drove more cautiously than the other stages. Even so, one corner which had a muddy surface caught me out: I was slightly late and missed the clean line, so went off and rolled the car. Because I had just recovered from an injury sustained in Sardinia, this small impact meant I couldn’t restart the next day.”

Yuki Yamamoto:
“This rally felt faster than last year’s from the very beginning – probably helped by Ouninpohja being part of the itinerary this year! The roads here feel quite familiar now but with the large Rally2 field, I knew we had a big challenge ahead. I was focused on building my pace and finding a better rhythm than I had in Estonia. Friday was tricky with the weather changing all the time and a puncture in the afternoon – but other than that, it was really good, I felt my pace was improving relative to Estonia last month. Ouninpohja was so nice, jumping through corners in fifth gear: you need to remember your lines! But it was a really nice feeling and I enjoyed it a lot. I feel we can push even more next year.”

Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“Hikaru and Yuki were excited to contest what has become their sort-of home rally. They knew the roads well but not the conditions, which presented a tricky challenge. There were plenty of positives: the main goal was to reduce the gap to the fastest drivers in WRC2 when the conditions were more consistent and they achieved this. There’s nothing Yuki could have done to prevent his retirement and he drove a smart rally when the conditions were difficult. It was a pity for Hikaru because he had a strong Friday morning and the plan was to continue in the same way for the afternoon. It was only a small mistake and he tried to save it but unfortunately the car rolled over. Sometimes rallying delivers tough moments and after missing Estonia through injury as well, Hikaru is going through one of those – but he can still bounce back.”

Results (WRC2 class):

• 1 Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)2h33m57.4s
• 2 Jari-Matti Latvala/Juho Hänninen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+39.0s
• 3 Lauri Joona/Janni Hussi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m13.9s
• 4 Mikko Heikkilä/Kristian Temonen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m16.5s
• 5 Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m51.5s
• 6 Roope Korhonen/Anssi Viinikka (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+2m32.0s
• Retired Yuki Yamamoto/Marko Salminen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
• Retired Hikaru Kogure/Topi Luhtinen (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)

What’s next?

After a summer season spent on gravel, TGR Challenge Program’s second-generation drivers are switching to asphalt, as Kogure and Yamamoto will head south to Italy for the Rally 1000 Miglia on September 13-14. Based out of Brescia and running on roads in the foothills of the Alps, the 1000 Miglia features mostly narrow technical roads that are punctuated by sections of wide and sweeping turns.