Toyota and Ogier are still the strongest. At Rally Mexico the team led by team principal Jari-Matti Latvala took another important victory for the Championship and third and fourth places for Evans and Rovamperä respectively.
The first high-altitude appointment of the Rally1
In what was the first FIA World Rally Championship event in the high-altitude stages in the mountains of León since 2020, and therefore the first of the Rally1 era, the Gr Yaris Rally1 Hybrid performed superbly claiming three of the top four positions in a thrilling finale, with Elfyn Evans finishing third and Kalle Rovanperä fourth. Having led since Saturday morning’s first stage, Ogier and co-driver Vincent Landais entered Sunday’s finale with a lead of 35.8 seconds , which allowed them to safely approach the morning stages which included the longest of the weekend, the 35.63 kilometer Otates.
Ogier then put in an incredible performance to seal victory with the fastest time in the final Power Stage, securing a top score that puts him at the top of the Championship standings with a three-point lead even though he only contested two of the three events played so far.
This latest record broken by Ogier (who took TGR-WRT’s maiden victory in Mexico three years ago) comes after setting a new benchmark for the number of Rallye Monte-Carlo wins with his ninth triumph in January . It also continues the great start of his partnership with Landais, who was competing in Mexico for the first time.
A close double for Toyota
The team came close to a one-two finish, with Evans dropping second place to Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) by just 0.4s on the final stage. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin started the day well, beating their fastest time rivals at Otates to strengthen their hold on second place. After sustaining suspension damage they carried out repairs