Rallye Sanremo: Great experience gained on Italian classic

A trio of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program drivers gained valuable asphalt experience in their GR Yaris Rally2 cars as they completed the classic Rallye Sanremo in Italy.

Competing against experienced local drivers, young Estonian Jaspar Vaher finished in a strong sixth position overall and was the highest-placed driver from outside Italy. Japanese drivers Takumi Matsushita and Shotaro Goto also made good progress over the course of the rally and finished ninth and 13th respectively.

The Program’s Japanese co-driver Tomiya Maekawa was also competing in Sanremo alongside Jari-Matti Latvala in his Toyota Celica ST185 in the sister historic event, a round of the FIA European Historic Rally Championship. Together they won several stages and were classified 10th overall.

Information

Results (overall)
1 Fabio Andolfi/Marco Menchini (Lancia Ypsilon Rally2 HF Integrale) 1h43m43.0s
2 Roberto Daprà/Luca Guglielmetti (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +4.7s
3 Simone Campedelli/Tania Canton (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +6.1s
4 Boštjan Avbelj/Damijan Andrejka (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +7.0s
5 Andrea Nucita/Alex Guion (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2) +1m03.1s
6 Jaspar Vaher/Janni Hussi (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +1m08.4s
9 Takumi Matsushita/Pekka Kelander (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +4m55.3s
13 Shotaro Goto/Jussi Lindberg (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) +7m25.3s

Quotes:
Juho Hänninen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program instructor):
“This rally went pretty well, with no major issues for our three GR Yaris Rally2 rookies and they were all able to complete all of the stages, which is very positive. Sanremo was part of the World Rally Championship for many years and it’s a really demanding event. The roads are technical but also quite difficult to read, so the pacenotes are crucial; they need to be accurate and you need to be able to rely on them. The level of the top Italian drivers is also really high and they have a lot of experience on these roads. Jaspar did a really good job for his first time here. Some of his stage times were really good compared to the locals, and it would have been difficult to expect more. Takumi was also very solid, with a good start already on Saturday night and he kept improving on Sunday. Shotaro made a rather steady start, but he too was able to improve during the rally. Altogether, it was a really valuable experience for everyone.”

Shotaro Goto
“For me, gaining all the kilometres from this rally was the highest priority after the accident that ended my previous event early. The first day was a proper struggle as it was really my first experience on narrow and twisty asphalt roads in a rally, and it was difficult to find any rhythm. Fortunately, on the second day, I was able to start building a good rhythm and improve my performance level. At the end, I’m happy with the progress I made and the patience I had during this rally, and the experience that I was able to gain.”

Takumi Matsushita
“I think this was a really good rally. We were able to do all the kilometres, and with the mix of fast corners, slow corners, surface changes and some gravel in places, I really learned a lot. I was maybe a bit too smooth in the first two stages and didn’t use all the grip from the tyres, so I changed my approach to be more aggressive and it was already better in SS3. On Sunday morning I was being maybe too aggressive, but I tried to find the right balance for the second pass in the afternoon and then everything went well. Compared to the previous rally, I was able to understand the behaviour of the car and the tyres better on this surface.”

Jaspar Vaher
“I think this rally went really well for us. Starting the rally in the darkness on Saturday night was not easy but I think we still managed to do quite well, and then Sunday was really enjoyable. The stages were tricky but really nice to drive, and I could gain a lot of experience on asphalt – something I don’t have so much of, especially with a four-wheel drive car. We faced all different kinds of conditions, with wide and narrow roads, fast and more technical sections, and many different surfaces. I could learn a lot and the stage times were pretty OK, and the cooperation with Janni was working well, so we can be really happy.”

Tomiya Maekawa
“This was one of the most challenging rallies on the pacenote side. It was the first time Jari-Matti had used English pacenotes on asphalt, and for me it’s a completely different system to the one I’ve been used to with Jarkko Nikara. On such fast, narrow and twisty stages, we struggled a bit in the first few stages, but after that we managed to find our rhythm and the pace was getting better and better during the rally. Unfortunately, we dropped out of contention for a good overall result because of a technical issue, but it was still very good experience, so I’m very grateful to Jari-Matti and the team for this opportunity.”

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