Toyota claimed a stunning victory on home territory at Rally Finland, with Esapekka Lappi claiming his debut win. The team celebrated double podium as Juho Hänninen finished third. That was the first time the team has had two cars on the podium. The Yaris WRC led for 22 stages out of 25 in total, claiming 18 stage wins, 13 stage one-two finishes and one stage one-two-three finishes.
Jari-Matti Latvala was forced to retire from the lead on Saturday, but returned to action on Sunday and was quickest in three more stages – one of them jointly with Hänninen. He took fourth on the Power Stage to claim two additional championship points at the end of a weekend that will go down in history for the team.
“I’m not normally an emotional person but this is amazing”, Esapekka Lappi commented
“What a rally. I could never have imagined that we could get a result like this, so it’s a very big surprise. I have to say a big thank you to the team because they have built such a great car in a very short period.”
Tommi Makinen said the rally was almost perfect – besides Latvala’s problem, everything else went smoothly.
“I have to thank our team. They have put the maximum in to make a step forward on this rally. We were able to supply our drivers with a very fast car and the drivers did their very best job. Congratulations to Esapekka and Juho in particular. I still remember my first win here, and I had strong feelings that Esapekka could do the same as I did 23 years ago”, he added.
Latvala admitted some disappointment as his result could have been a lot better. But he still praised the team’s result.
“Well done to Esapekka and Juho”, Jari-Matti said.
“It’s been an amazing weekend and I’m very happy with this result. Of course, I tried to get second, but we made a few mistakes. I’m still very happy to be on the podium for the first time in my career. Thank you to the team and this fantastic car that made it possible”, Hanninen said for his third place.
We win together! Thank you fans, collegues and all who made this happen! @RallyFinland @OfficialWRC #toyota #YarisWRC pic.twitter.com/XLkH0wRzzf
— TGR_WRC (@TGR_WRC) July 30, 2017
