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TOKYO, Sept 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team's Kalle Rovanpera has claimed a second outstanding FIA World Rally Championship victory in three events after conquering the legendary Acropolis Rally in Greece at his first attempt. Sebastien Ogier completed a double podium finish for the Toyota Yaris WRC, strengthening both his and the team's positions at the head of the championship standings.
On the return of the WRC to Greece for the first time since 2013, Rovanpera and Ogier formed part of a top three covered by just 3.9 seconds at the end of Friday. A storming start from Rovanpera and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen, in which they won all four stages in the opening loop, allowed them to make a gap to their opposition, and they led by half a minute going into the final day.
Rain brought challenging conditions for the final day, but Rovanpera produced an incredible stage win in the day's opening Tarzan test, completing it 14.1s faster than anybody else despite having a mixture of hard and soft tyres fitted to his car. Rovanpera then went on to seal the victory in style on the shorter second running of Tarzan with the fastest time in the Power Stage.
The Toyota Yaris WRC locked out the top three places in the Power Stage, with Elfyn Evans second fastest and Ogier third.
After their closest championship rivals hit trouble on Friday on the notoriously gruelling stages, Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia focussed on securing a valuable podium finish while also keeping the pressure on the crew in second. With his sixth top-three finish of the season, Ogier now leads the drivers' standings by 44 points with three rounds remaining.
Delayed by a technical issue on Friday, Evans and co-driver Scott Martin produced a strong fightback to take sixth overall with their fantastic run through the Power Stage. Evans remains second in the drivers' standings.
Thanks to a fifth double podium result of the year and the bonus points from the Power Stage, the team has increased its manufacturers' championship lead to 57 points.
For more information, visit https://toyotagazooracing.com/wrc/release/2021/rd09-day4/.
Topic: Press release summary
Source: Toyota Motor Corporation
Sectors: Automotive
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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