The Latest Breaking News from Toyota Gazoo Racing

The Japanese brand has become only the sixth marque to achieve a manufacturers’ title three-peat, joining Lancia, Subaru, Citroen, Peugeot and Volkswagen in the WRC’s 50-year history.

Turkington’s West Surrey Racing team-mate Jake Hill charged his BMW 330e M Sport from the back of the grid to eighth, but has now fallen out of championship contention.

The three-time champion wrung everything out of himself and his Motorbase Performance-run Ford Focus ST in the Q2 top-10 shootout to pip the One Motorsport Honda Civic Type R of Josh Cook by 0.006 seconds.

1. Rovanpera crashes out but still leaves impact on rally

The Toyota driver came through an intense battle with Hyundai’s Teemu Suninen to claim the final podium spot at last weekend’s high-speed gravel rally, marking the Japanese driver’s best result of the season to date.

Pascal Vasselon, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director, explained that the Japanese driver who shared the second-placed GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar with Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley was caught out by a rearward brake balance setting at the tight Arnage right-hander.

The non-score at Le Mans for the #7 crew, which resulted from Kobayashi being hit by two cars as he reduced speed for an 80km/h Slow Zone, followed a problem with one of the official series sensors on their GR010 at the Portimao round in April.

Top Performer - Sebastien Ogier and Vincent Landais

The rally has prided itself on being one of the WRC’s jewel in the crown events given its difficulty to win. Its unique stages feature a mix of rough gravel and soft sandy roads sprawled across Kenya’s iconic wildlife-filled savannah. amid changeable weather, poses an altogether different challenge for crews.