WRC Rally Croatia
Rovanpera: Toyota making “good progress” developing 2022 WRC Yaris
Toyota has made “really good progress” with the development of the new GR Yaris ahead of next week’s Rally Croatia, according to Kalle Rovanpera.
Tom Howard
Edited: Apr 18, 2022, 10:12 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The factory Toyota driver heads into second asphalt round of the season equipped with a 14-point World Rally Championship lead, courtesy of a fourth in Monte Carlo followed by a win in Sweden last time out in February.
During the almost two month break between events Toyota has been busy developing its new hybrid challenger, testing on gravel in Sardinia before a pre-event test on tarmac in Croatia last week.
Speaking following the latest test, Rovanpera is already convinced the car has taken a step forward since the last outing on tarmac in Monte Carlo back in January.
“Straight away in the morning the feeling was quite positive from the car and generally the whole day has been going quite well,” said Rovanpera, who also conducted a test for tyre manufacturer Pirelli in Croatia last week.
“We have new things to do and try which is always the best thing and also [I can] see the new things are improving the car.
“I think there has been really good progress from the last time we were on tarmac. Hopefully it will be going well on the event also.”
Toyota WRC boss Jari-Matti Latvala says the lengthy break since Sweden has provided a valuable opportunity to hone the set up on the new Yaris following a frantic off season preparing the new cars for 2022.
“The first two events of the season with the new regulations were very intense and the break in the schedule has given us the chance to evaluate what we have learned and to keep developing the GR Yaris Rally1,” said Latvala.
“We had some test days on gravel in Sardinia and then the pre-event test in Croatia last week.
“Until now, a lot of the focus has been on reliability and the function of the hybrid system, but now we can really work on optimising the setup of the car and trying to make it even stronger.”
Kalle Rovanpera, Toyota GR Yaris Rally1
Photo by: Toyota
While Rovanpera has been buoyed by the progress Toyota has made with the Yaris on tarmac, Rally Croatia wasn’t a happy hunting ground last year and is likely to provide a significant challenge.
The Finn headed into the 2021 event leading the championship but crashed out on the opening stage leaving him with limited experience of the stages for this year’s edition.
“Of course it is exciting [to be leading the championship] it is the same situation as last year, but hopefully we will manage Croatia a bit better,” added Rovanpera.
“I think the biggest challenge for us is to try and manage experience gap to the guys that did the race last year, as we did only almost the first full stage last year.
“After that we didn’t have any experience and in an event like this it seems the condition, the grip and the stages are quite difficult.
“We have been in this situation before and I’m sure we will do everything we can even without the experience.”
Rally Croatia begins with shakedown next Thursday before 20 competitive stages, beginning on Friday.
Read Also:
- M-Sport sets sights on Dakar in new Ford rally raid venture
- Sordo to make first 2022 WRC outing in Portugal for Hyundai
- Evans 'can't afford too many more mistakes' in WRC title bid
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article M-Sport sets sights on Dakar in new Ford rally raid venture
Next article WRC legend Walter Rohrl makes music video cameo
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tom Howard
WRC’s new champion Elfyn Evans celebrates title with Wales show run
WRC
WRC
WRC’s new champion Elfyn Evans celebrates title with Wales show run
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
WRC
WRC
M-Sport’s 2027 WRC Fiesta Kit car breaks cover
Latest news
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 33 min
Barcelona set to host IndyCar race in 2027 under multi-year deal
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
2 h
Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
2 h
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe