WRC Monza: A finale with two winners 🎥
TOYOTA AND HYUNDAI CELEBRATE While Toyota is the world champion with Sébastien Ogier, Hyundai successfully defended its team title with the honors at the dramatic finale in Monza. The four-minute highlights capture all the drama of the WRC finale. With the triumph at the ACI Rally Monza, Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia jumped to the top of the podium [...].
The four-minute highlights capture all the drama of the WRC final race.
With his triumph at the ACI Rally Monza, Sébastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia leapt to the top of the WRC standings. In his very first season with the Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, the soon-to-be 37-year-old Frenchman took the rallying crown for the seventh time in his career.
In the manufacturers' standings, however, Toyota was narrowly beaten by the Hyundai World Rally Team despite four victories in seven competitions - the gap was just five points.
Winter weather makes for treacherous conditions
The WRC season, shaken up by the coronavirus pandemic, was crowned by an extremely exciting finale with a treacherous mix of rain, snow, mud and ice. The lead changed hands a total of seven times.
Ogier was still fighting for the drivers' title against team-mate Elfyn Evans. After various surfaces at the Autodromo di Monza, which were particularly challenging due to the continuous rain on Friday, the rally drivers ventured onto the nearby mountain roads on Saturday, where wintry conditions already prevailed.
Bad luck for the table leader
Evans, who was on course for a podium and had already triumphed in Sweden and Turkey in his first Toyota season, skidded off the track in his Yaris WRC in a right-hand bend on a patch of ice covered in fresh snow.
Due to his positions in the season so far, a restart was possible on Sunday, which theoretically kept the Welshman's title chances alive.
Fifth world champion with Toyota
However, Ogier seized the opportunity and took a 17.8 second lead into the final stages, which were again affected by the rain. He finished 13.9 seconds ahead of the field.
The Frenchman is the fifth driver in 30 years to win the WRC title with Toyota. The last time Estonian Ott Tänak, who switched to Hyundai in 2020, won the championship.
Hyundai can also cheer
The dethroned world champion was in the leading group for the entire rally in his i20 Coupé WRC. On the first day, he alternated the lead with team-mate Dani Sordo. The Spaniard ultimately finished third in the race and in the world championship, just 1.4 seconds behind Tänak and 15.3 seconds behind winner Ogier.
With second and third place, Tänak and Sordo secured Hyundai the prestigious manufacturers' title, as they did last year.
