Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala opens up about where we are currently going behind the scenes of the World Rally Championship. The current hybrid rules are valid for the next two seasons.
The World Rally Championship starts this week in Monte Carlo. The rally is run from Thursday to Sunday.
Only ten teams competing with Rally1 cars have entered the main class for the opening race of the Rally World Series, which starts this week.
On the other hand, there are 41 pairs of drivers competing in a Rally2 car at the starting line. The Finnish color is represented by Sami Pajari as map reader Ethe so-called Mälkönen.
In the WRC2 class, many familiar names from the main class compete in recent years, such as Gus Greensmith, Adrien Fourmaux and Oliver Solberg.
The situation has sparked a lot of discussion. A Rally1 car with a hybrid engine is very expensive. The price is estimated at around one million euros. (you switch to another service) You can get a Rally2 car for much cheaper.
– There are many good things in the current system: Carbon-neutral fuel and hybrid engines. If we think of a continuum in environmental matters, we have moved forward. The difficult thing is that the sport has become more expensive. Cars cost a lot. Rally1 car is really expensive. There aren’t terribly many private operators who can rent Rally1 cars, Toyota team manager Jari-Matti Latvala says.
– We have to be careful in terms of the future, how we can reduce costs and make cars cheaper. This could lead to more car manufacturers. It’s a vital thing.
According to Latvala, the price difference between the Rally1 car and the Rally2 car is now too big.
– If we could get closer to the price ceiling of a Rally2 car, it would help the future of the sport, Latvala states.
The current hybrid rules are valid until the end of 2024. Halfway through last year, Latvala wanted quick decisions on the future rules, so that it would be easier to prepare for the new era and it would be possible, for example, to attract new car manufacturers to the World Series. According to the Toyota boss, discussions have taken place, but no decisions have been made.
– A couple of years ahead is now okay, but solutions must be found during this year. You have to think about rule changes. The rules must be such that they attract more teams. You can’t know if one of the car manufacturers will leave. The series is already going to be difficult for the two car manufacturers, Latvala states.
Prada heir to the wheel of Toyota in Sweden
Toyota also has an interesting situation this season. The team led by Latvala will rent its fourth WRC car in the races where Sébastien Ogier not driving Used to drive in Toyota’s development team in previous years Takamoto Katsuta then jump to the main team.
Italian millionaire, heir to the Prada fashion house, Lorenzo Bertelli has rented a car now for the first such competition, the World Rally Championship in Sweden.
Latvala thinks it’s wonderful that Bertelli drives a Toyota. However, only the Swedish race has been agreed with Bertelli. Previously, it was already in the public eye that M-Sport drove a Ford Gus Greensmith negotiated a fourth Toyota lease. The Brit, however, decided to drive in the WRC2 class with his background crew.
According to Latvala, there has been enough interest in the fourth Toyota. He believes that Bertelli will not remain the only tenant.
How would a Finn sound in this car?
– That would be a great thing. We’ll see how things go later in the season. The Finnish World Rally Championship is a competition where we can probably provide a car. Ogier has not usually been so willing to drive fast races. He has not cared to drive in Finland, Latvala states.