Amman, February 2020: The GAZOO Racing (GR) World Rally Team (WRT) recently achieved a double podium finish at Rallye Monte-Carlo; the first event with its all-new driver lineup. Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans finished second and third, respectively, during the opening event of the 2020 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) following strong performances on their Toyota Yaris WRC debuts.

Quickly coming up to speed in their new cars, Ogier and Evans traded the lead with each other throughout the second and third days. Evans led into the fourth and final day’s four stages in the No. 33 Toyota Yaris WRC with an advantage of 4.9 seconds over his teammate, who was at the wheel of the No. 17 Toyota Yaris WRC.

Ogier edged Evans for second overall on the rally-ending Power Stage, where he missed out on the fastest time by just 0.012 seconds. His second place with co-driver Julien Ingrassia in the No. 17 Toyota Yaris WRC represents a strong beginning to his bid for a seventh world title this season. Meanwhile, Evans, who was joined by co-driver Scott Martin in the No. 33 Toyota Yaris WRC, achieved his best-ever Rallye Monte-Carlo finish.

Akio Toyoda, Team Chairman, commented: “For GAZOO Racing, this is a new season that starts with eight new drivers and co-drivers. I am happy to see this new team begin with two cars finishing on the podium, which is a great start to the season. I really appreciated the team preparing for this season in such a short period of time; thank you everyone. This year's team is one where all drivers can win. Let's fight hard together to target the top of the podium and keep working together to make the Toyota Yaris even stronger. Thank you in advance to our fans for supporting us this season.”

Representing ‎Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars’ - GR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota’s commitment to ‎making ‘ever-better’ vehicles. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme ‎conditions of various motorsports events, GR aims to forge new ‎technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure and joy of driving to everyone.

The next race of the season is Rally Sweden, which is scheduled to take place between 13 - 16 February.