Tänak Joins Quintero as TGR-WRT Brings Two Cars to Overmountain

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) expands to two GR Corolla Rally RC2 entries for Overmountain Rally Tennessee (September 18–19), with Seth Quintero joined by 2019 FIA World Rally Champion Ott Tänak for the penultimate round of the American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship.

Quintero arrives in Tennessee after once again showing front-running pace at Ojibwe Forests Rally. Although an opening-day retirement ended his challenge for the overall victory, the American returned on Saturday to claim four stage wins, including the Power Stage. For Overmountain, James Morgan steps in alongside Quintero while regular co-driver Topi Luhtinen begins his recovery from injuries sustained at Rally Chile. Following a successful pre-event test together, Quintero and Morgan will look to put together a clean rally as the championship enters its final two rounds.

Tänak and co-driver Martin Järveoja will make their first rally start in the United States in TGR-WRT’s second GR Corolla Rally RC2. Among the most successful pairings in modern world rallying, Tänak and Järveoja have won on many of the World Rally Championship’s most demanding gravel events, and their pace and technical feedback bring a new dimension to the team’s ARA effort. Their participation also forms part of TGR-WRT’s ongoing testing work on North American roads. Overmountain will give the crew the opportunity to experience both the GR Corolla Rally RC2 and local gravel conditions while gathering useful data for the team.

Based in Newport, Tennessee, Overmountain Rally Tennessee takes competitors into the Cherokee National Forest on some of the most technical roads of the ARA season. The generally smooth packed-gravel and dirt stages feature extremely twisty sections, significant elevation changes and exposed mountain roads, placing a premium on accurate pace notes and precision behind the wheel.

The 2026 itinerary covers 99.87 competitive miles across 13 stages and two days of action. Friday consists of two loops of mountain stages before the rally continues with more than 60 competitive miles on Saturday. The third running of Big Clifty will serve as the Power Stage before the event concludes with a head-to-head super special at Newport Speedway.

Quintero enters Overmountain second in the championship standings, 21 points behind leader Lia Block with two rounds remaining. The two TGR-WRT crews will face a particularly strong RC2 field alongside Block, including returning four-time ARA National Champion Brandon Semenuk and several international Rally2 crews, adding to the challenge of the penultimate round.

Quotes:
Ott Tänak (Driver car 881)
“I’m excited to compete in America for the first time. It’s a completely new event for us, with unfamiliar roads and conditions, so the priority will be to learn and gather as much useful data as possible for the team. At the same time, we want to enjoy the experience, discover the local rally culture and hopefully give the American fans a good show over the weekend.”

Seth Quintero (Driver, car No. 103)
“I’m fired up to get back in the car at Overmountain. Ojibwe didn’t go the way we wanted, but the speed was there all weekend, so the goal is to put a full clean rally together this time. Obviously we’re all wishing Topi a speedy recovery, and I’m grateful to have James stepping in alongside me. We got some good miles together at the pre-event test, so I’m feeling really comfortable heading into the weekend. It’s another new one for me and the team, and some of these guys have experience on the Tennessee roads, so we’ll be leaning on our recce and trusting our notes. It’s also awesome to have Ott and Martin joining us in a second GR Corolla Rally RC2. Having a world champion as a teammate is a huge chance for me to learn, and hopefully we can fight for a strong team result.”

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