Toyota Wins Rally Finland, Again
At the wheel of the Toyota Yaris WRC, Ott Tänak repeated last year’s victory at Rally Finland, the quickest event on the World Rally Championship calendar. That also made it three-in-a row at the event for the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, which has never failed to put at least two cars on the podium since joining the series in 2017.
It was an excellent weekend for Tänak, who was having an intense battle with his teammates on Saturday before switching it up a gear and pulling an almost insurmountable lead. He was 20 seconds ahead in the first of the final four stages, when he registered his 200th career WRC stage win, his 120th stage win in the Yaris WRC car, and his 50th stage win so far this season. He would eventually finish 25.6 seconds ahead of the second-place Citroën drivers.
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Victory at Rally Finland, his third rally victory in the last four events, helped Tänak increase his now substantial lead in the 2019 drivers’ championship, while the double podium helped Toyota close the gap to the leading manufacturer in the constructors’ standings, with still five events in the season still to go. The next one takes place in Germany on August 22-25.
“To have our third win in a row here is fantastic,” said Tommi Mäkinen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Team Principal. “Ott seems to be so strong at the moment, and combined with our car, it’s a package that looks to be very difficult to beat.”
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