Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team intend to build on their strong start to the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship season when the snow and ice of Rally Sweden hosts round two 13-16 February.
TGR-WRT began the defence of their manufacturers’ championship title with a maximum points haul and a one-two finish at January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo, where Sébastien Ogier claimed a record-extending 10th victory on the event.
Ogier is contesting a partial schedule of rallies so will not be present in Sweden. His team-mate Elfyn Evans thus effectively leads the fight for the drivers’ title and will be opening the road on an event where he scored his first win with the team in 2020.
Third on the road will be Kalle Rovanperä, who took victory in Sweden in 2022. Completing the team’s manufacturer line-up is Takamoto Katsuta, who has also performed strongly in Sweden previously, while Sami Pajari represents TGR-WRT2 on his first full winter rally in Rally1 machinery.
Elfyn said, “Our podium in Monte Carlo was a solid start to the year and we’re looking forward to the next challenge in Sweden.
“It’s an event that’s always a lot of fun to drive with the stages being as fast as they are. Opening the road could make for a difficult start to the weekend if there’s a lot of fresh snow like last year.
“On the other hand, if it’s icy, it could play into our hands; we’ll be giving it our all regardless. There’s a lot of learning to do at the start of the year about the new Hankook tyres and for Sweden it’s no different. So far the feeling is quite different to before and we have to try and adapt to that and get the most out of it.”
Figures released this week show the FIA World Rally Championship reached a cumulative television audience of almost 1.3 billion in 2024, while generating more than 1.7 billion social media impressions on its owned channels.
For the first time in its history, the WRC captured the attention of cumulative television audience of more than a billion in 2024, highlighted by remarkable growth in the Middle East and Asia.
This milestone once again highlights the WRC’s undeniable global appeal, with the 2024 calendar taking the championship to four continents over 13 thrilling rounds.
But the impact didn’t stop on TV screens. On social media, WRC’s strategic and collaborative approach powered its owned platforms to generate an impressive 1.78 billion impressions and nearly 70 million engagements – a 24 per cent increase on 2023.
