Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced its 2024 WRC driver lineup
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is pleased to confirm its star-studded driver line-up for the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season, when it will aim to once more win the manufacturers’, drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.
Kalle Rovanperä this year became the youngest ever winner of back-to-back WRC drivers’ titles, aged 23, and has signed a new multi-year contract with TGR-WRT. Following his remarkable rise to the very top of the sport, Rovanperä will take part in a selected programme of rallies in 2024 alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. This will allow him some time away from the intense demands of competing for world championship titles and to enjoy driving across different disciplines including drifting, further enhancing his skills and experience behind the wheel.
Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier achieved the last of his titles with TGR-WRT in 2020 and ’21 before stepping back from full-time competition. He remains a key player in the team, having claimed victories in Monte Carlo, Mexico and Kenya during 2023, and will again contest a partial programme next season together with co-driver Vincent Landais.
The team is also excited to continue its relationship with Elfyn Evans for further seasons. Since joining TGR-WRT, Evans has established himself as a regular championship contender, finishing runner-up three times in four years – including in 2023, when he scored rally wins in Croatia, Finland and Japan. Looking to build on the progress of this season, he and co-driver Scott Martin will enter 2024 with their sights set on competing for their first world championship titles.
Takamoto Katsuta will also again form part of the team’s line-up and drive a full season in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID with co-driver Aaron Johnston. A product of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program, Katsuta stepped up to join the team’s main line-up in 2023 and contributed to its manufacturers’ championship success with an excellent podium finish at Rally Finland.
Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal):
“We are very happy to be keeping our winning driver line-up together for the future. It’s great to know that we have such a strong squad of drivers who feel at home in our car and our team and want to continue working with us. Kalle’s programme will be a bit different in 2024 but the important thing for us is that he is a Toyota driver and he wants to stay with the team and keep enjoying his passion for rallying. Even though he is young, he has been driving rally cars at a serious level for a long time and he feels a part-campaign would be best for him now so that we can look forward to more full seasons together in the future. It’s also great that Seb continues with us, and it means that together with Kalle, we will have two multiple world champions as strong assets in our defence of the manufacturers’ championship. Elfyn has shown us again this year that he can win rallies and compete for championships, and we know he will give his best efforts in every rally. Taka proved at Rally Finland this year that he can be up there in the fastest rallies and hopefully we can see him as a contender for podiums in almost every rally next season.”
Kalle Rovanperä:
2023 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 13 / Rally Japan 2023 / 16th-19th November 2023 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
“I am really excited to have signed a multi-year contract with TGR-WRT and to continue working with the team. Next year I am only going to be driving some of the events and the biggest reason for this is that I have been driving rally cars for 15 years already, which is quite a long time, and while the last seasons have been amazing of course, they have also been really demanding mentally and physically. So I felt that now would be a good moment to take a year for recharging the batteries, and then come back again full-time to fight for the championship once more with a full attack. I enjoy all kinds of motorsport and I’m looking forward to doing some drifting and maybe some other cool events as well as the rallies which we will be selecting next year.”
Elfyn Evans:
2023 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 13 / Rally Japan / 15-19th November, 2023 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota GAZOO Racing WRT
“I’m looking forward to heading into what will be my fifth consecutive year with the team. We’ve had some great successes together over the last four years and I’m excited to continue that story with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. I gelled with the team immediately when I joined and it feels very much like home now. The support from everyone to get me feeling comfortable in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID has been great, and we’ve continued to make progress this year. I’m keen to build on that and be even better in 2024. We have a lot more to achieve together and I’m excited about the future. As always, the target will be to win, whether that’s in each rally or in the championship.”
Sébastien Ogier:
“I am of course really happy to still be with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing for next year. The 2023 season has been good for me and more importantly for the team, and managing to clinch all three titles again is great. So I’m looking forward to staying in this environment and to try and continue our success story together. I really like the relationship that I have with the whole team and for me there was never any doubt that I wanted to stay in TGR overalls. I also really enjoy the balance that this kind of partial programme gives me, and next season should be pretty similar in that respect. As long as the success is there for me and the team, I think we should try to carry on in a similar way.”
Takamoto Katsuta:
2023 FIA World Rally Championship / Round 13 / Rally Japan 2023 / 16th-20th November 2023 // Worldwide Copyright: Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
“I’m really excited to start a new season with TGR-WRT next year. I learned a lot this year: there were some rallies that were good for me and some that were not so good, but those have made me stronger and will hopefully help me in the future. Next year will be important to prove what I can do, and I will try to make it the best season of my career so far. A huge thank you to the team and everyone who has been supporting me. I’ve had a very good opportunity to gain step-by-step experience in rallying since joining the TGR WRC Challenge Program in 2015. Now I will try to make the next step to fight for better results and for podiums and victories.”
Keyword: Toyota Gazoo Racing announces 2024 WRC driver line-up