Impressive result helps secure manufacturers' crown for Toyota Gazoo Racing.
Scoring his third podium from three events, Elfyn kept his championship battle alive after a tough weekend at Rally Chile. However, his third place finish and additional points from the final Power Stage helped his Toyota Gazoo Racing team secure the Manufacturer World Rally Championship title for the third consecutive year with two rounds still to go.
Despite running second on the road and reporting very low grip levels with lots of road cleaning, Elfyn started with a strong pace on Friday and took an early rally lead after the first loop of stages.
He was in the mix for the rally win before he and his team-mates suffered unexpectedly high tyre wear on extremely abrasive stages on Saturday. With the tyres on the rear of his GR Yaris worn right through, he dropped time and slipped down the order to fourth but battled through the rest of the day to stay in contention for the podium places.
Elfyn continued to push on the final day’s loose stages and was rewarded when Teemu Sunninen was caught out by the tricky roads in Sunday’s penultimate test. Elfyn secured third and took enough points to both keep his title bid alive and help TGR secure the manufacturer title.
“This year Elfyn was the driving force behind the manufacturers’ title with six podiums including two wins out of 11 events so far,” said Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team. “Elfyn and Scott, thank you for getting the third place, which became the deciding factor to conclude the title today.”