This year’s much-anticipated World Rally Championship season kicked off with Rallye Monte-Carlo, which ran from January 22 to 25. First held in 1911, it is the oldest rally in the WRC, taking place in Monaco and the mountainous regions of southern France. The stages are mostly conducted on paved roads, but winter weather can bring snow-covered sections, slush, black ice, wet surfaces, and more. These dramatic road condition changes have given it a reputation for strategic difficulty.
The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team (TGR-WRT) took on this year’s Rallye Monte Carlo with a new driver lineup. Among them, Oliver Solberg is the only newcomer. The son of 2003 WRC champion Petter Solberg, he claimed the WRC2 title last year.
Despite running wide on snow, ice, and muddy sections, Oliver recovered brilliantly and held the overall lead from Day 1 through Day 3.
Meanwhile, the only Asian driver in Rally1, Takamoto Katsuta, suffered a setback on Day 2 when his power steering malfunctioned. However, after setting the second-fastest time on SSS13, he made a comeback, climbing three places in the overall standings.
Morizo appeared extremely satisfied, praising Katsuta as an excellent professional driver. “Morizo,” of course, is the racing pseudonym and alter ego of Toyota Motor Company’s chairman, Akio Toyoda.
On the final day, Oliver held onto his lead, becoming the youngest winner in Rallye Monte-Carlo history. Elfyn Evans finished second, while Sébastien Ogier came in third, giving TGR-WRT a clean sweep of the podium.
Katsuta moved up on the final day to finish seventh overall.
Morizo described it as the “best possible start” and shared his hopes for the new lineup, saying, “After a strong start to the season, we head into Rally Japan, and I hope everyone looks forward to it.”
Rally Japan is set to take place this May. Rally Sweden followed three weeks after Monte Carlo, with TGR-WRT claiming a stunning 1-2-3-4 finish.
