ERC
ERC hero Hänninen on hand as Toyota youngsters make asphalt gains
Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program drivers Shotaro Goto, Takumi Matsushita and Yuki Yamamoto used the FIA European Rally Championship to boost their asphalt experience.
Competing on the Croatia Rally season showdown earlier this month, the Japanese trio all gained crucial Tarmac-driving knowledge under the watchful eye Toyota Gazoo Racing WRC Challenge Program instructor Juho Hänninen, the 2012 ERC champion.
Yamamoto, competing in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, used the event to prepare for his home round of the FIA World Rally Championship, next month’s FORUM8 Rally Japan. He was up to ninth on leg one before tyre damage dropped him to 15th. He eventually recovered to 11th overall after setting a top-five stage time in the rain of leg two.
Tyre damage denied Yamamoto a top 10 placing
© ERC
“It was good to do an asphalt rally again after a long time since Rally Islas Canarias, and with very different roads and conditions,” said Yamamoto. “It was not so easy to get the feeling back immediately, but I think we had a steady and clever approach. Compared to last year in Croatia, the pace was okay at the start and then throughout Saturday it was improving all the time, and the split times were good in SS6 until we got the puncture. I’ve never seen conditions like the ones we had on Sunday, so it was not easy, but still we gained good knowledge, especially with the tyres. I had a few moments, but it was nice to finish and get all the kilometres. It’s good preparation for Rally Japan and I’m looking forward to hopefully having a good performance there.”
Matsushita was third in ERC3 after SS1 but retired with suspension damage on SS2 prior to his return on leg two when he finished eighth in the Rally3-based category.
Goto won the final stage of leg one to hold third place in ERC3 overnight only to drop out on the opening stage of leg two with damaged suspension.
Matsushita battled back in wet conditions to finish
© ERC
Hänninen said: “With Yuki the main purpose of this rally was to prepare for Rally Japan, after a long time not competing on asphalt. For this reason, we focused on using the tyres we will have available in Japan rather than optimising our choices for this rally. The qualification was tricky for Yuki, so his starting position was not optimal on Saturday. In the morning, he was still finding his rhythm, but in the afternoon, he was clearly driving better. On Sunday the conditions were really difficult, and he managed them well while still being quite committed in his driving. He experienced all the possible conditions and tyre options, so that was good preparation for Japan, and we hope he can do well there.
“For Shotaro and Takumi it was a really eye-opening experience, with the most difficult conditions they have ever seen on asphalt. Unfortunately, Takumi’s day ended early on Saturday, but he could gain experience of the wet and muddy conditions on Sunday, while Shotaro gained his experience in the dry on Saturday and then had an early finish on Sunday. Both have shown very good progress and pace this season, and this kind of rally helps to show where we need to work more with them for the future.”
