Toyota’s Home Sweep

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team delivered a flawless performance at Rally Finland, achieving a rare top-five finish lockout led by hometown hero Kalle Rovanperä in the GR YARIS Rally1.

Rovanperä and co-driver Jonne Halttunen claimed their first home win after years of near-misses, controlling the rally from the opening stage on Friday and securing 10 stage wins, including the Power Stage. They set a new FIA WRC record for fastest average speed at 129.9 km/h, taking maximum points.

Takamoto Katsuta finished second, holding off defending champions Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais by 5.9 seconds. Elfyn Evans placed fourth, reclaiming the championship lead, while Sami Pajari sealed fifth in one of his strongest Rally1 drives.

The result marked only the second time in WRC history a single manufacturer claimed the top five spots, the last being Lancia in 1990.

Toyota also dominated WRC2, with Roope Korhonen winning in a GR Yaris Rally2 ahead of TGR-WRT Team Principal Jari-Matti Latvala.

Chairman Akio Toyoda praised the crews for “returning the favour” to their home base of Jyväskylä. Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen called it “an unbelievable result,” noting it took him 11 years to win his home rally compared to Rovanperä’s quick triumph.

With its eighth victory in nine events this season, TGR-WRT extended its manufacturers’ lead to 87 points, setting the tone for the remaining five rallies.