Dubai, UAE – 30 January 2025: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) opened the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season in spectacular fashion with a dominant one-two finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo, one of the oldest and most prestigious events in motorsports.
Sébastien Ogier, alongside co-driver Vincent Landais, delivered a masterful performance in the No. 17 GR Yaris Rally1, securing his record-extending 10th Monte-Carlo victory and his third with TGR-WRT. This triumph also marks Toyota’s sixth overall win at the iconic rally. Adding to the team’s success, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin claimed second place in the No. 33 GR Yaris Rally1, cementing TGR-WRT’s early lead in the Drivers’ Championship, as well as Toyota’s in the Manufacturers’ Championship.
Akio Toyoda, TGR-WRT Chairman, commented: “We were able to kick off the 2025 season with Seb’s memorable 10th victory in Monte Carlo. Up until 2019, Seb had a streak of six consecutive wins in Monte Carlo with various teams. Since joining Toyota in 2020, he has alternated between 2nd and 1st place every other year. Given this pattern, I was certain that he would win this year.”
Toyoda added: “This year, I want to make it a season that we can enjoy from the bottom of our hearts also as team members. And I want to experience that feeling again at Rally Japan! I believe Jari-Matti, Juha, all the drivers, all the co-drivers, and everyone in the team will make it happen! And just so you know, this year’s Rally Japan is not the final event…”
The rally presented highly variable conditions, with dry asphalt in the French Alps often interrupted by ice, mud, and gravel. It was a tough first event for teams adapting to the 2025 technical updates, including a regulation change that phased out plug-in hybrid units in Rally1 vehicles and the debut of Hankook tires.
The battle for victory remained close, culminating in a dramatic final stage on the iconic Col de Turini. Ogier held a 20.3-second lead over Evans heading into a cold, wet final day that made tire choices crucial. Both opted for four studded winter tires and two supersoft slicks, excelling in the icy pre-dawn stage.
The rally-ending Power Stage featured mixed conditions, with dry ascents, icy sections, and slick descents. Ogier edged Evans by 0.215 seconds, despite Evans running wide and brushing a bank on the descent.
Ogier’s win is also his 15th for TGR-WRT, drawing him level with team-mate Kalle Rovanperä and their fellow two-time champion Carlos Sainz as the drivers who have achieved the most WRC victories for Toyota. Evans and co-driver Scott Martin start their season strongly, also topping the Super Sunday classification to earn five extra bonus points.
Over the years, Toyota has been participating in many different forms of motorsports, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC), and the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race. Toyota’s participation in these events was overseen by separate entities within the company until April 2015, when Toyota established TGR, to consolidate all of its motorsport activities under one in-house brand. Representing Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,’ TGR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota’s commitment to making ‘ever-better’ cars. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme conditions of various motorsports events, TGR aims to forge new technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone.
Rally Sweden, taking place from 13-16 February, is the only full winter event of the season held on snow and ice. Metal studs inserted into the tyres bite into the surface to provide grip and allow for some of the highest speeds of the year.
Race Notes:
- No. 17 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais)
- Position: 1st
- Time: 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 6.1 seconds
- No. 33 Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 (Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin)
- Position: 2nd
- Time: 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 24.6 seconds