Arab News Japan

TOKYO: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team drivers Elfyn Evans, Sébastien Ogier and Kalle Rovanperä will face off to be crowned world champions when the all-new Rally Saudia Arabia stages the final and deciding round of the 2025 FIA World Rally Championship from November 26 to 29.

Toyota Gazoo’s 12 wins from the 13 rounds held so far equal the best tally ever achieved by a manufacturer in a single season. Having already clinched a fifth consecutive manufacturers’ title, the team is now preparing for three of its crews to exclusively battle one last time to win the drivers’ and co-drivers’ crowns.

In pursuit of their first world titles, Evans and co-driver Scott Martin currently lead the standings following a consistent campaign to this point, in which they have finished every single rally inside the top six. That has included two wins and six other podiums, with four successive second places in the last four events.

Just three points behind after winning a tight battle with Evans for victory on the previous event at Rally Japan, Ogier has a chance to achieve a record-equaling ninth World Championship and a first for co-driver Vincent Landais. Together they have been on the podium in nine of the 10 rounds they have started this year, winning six of them.

Also, in contention to claim what would be a third world title are Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen. After three wins and two other podiums this season, Rovanperä will hope to be able to close a deficit of 24 points in what will be his final WRC start before he makes the switch to single-seater circuit racing next year.

The WRC’s first visit to Saudi Arabia will be based out of the city of Jeddah. The event provides a trip into the unknown for the crews with organizers promising a mix of mountain, volcano, and desert terrain. Some of the gravel roads are expected to be relatively smooth and fast with a hard base, while desert sections will be softer and others will be rough and rocky. This character can change within each stage, demanding a compromise in both car setup and driving style between speed and reliability.

The service park is located close to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and the rally will start nearby on Wednesday evening with an asphalt super special stage. The same test is run again at the end of Thursday, following two loops of three stages to the north. Friday is then the longest day of the rally, with 141.72 km driven across another two loops of three stages. The rally ends on Saturday following three tests.

“Rally Saudi Arabia is going to be very interesting as the final round of the championship,” Toyota Gazoo’s Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen said. “There can be a lot of new things that the team and drivers will need to adapt to during the event.”

“Nobody really knows what to expect from this event,” Evans said. “None of the drivers have done it before and many of the stages are completely new, so it’s basically a clean sheet for all of us. We just must arrive there, focus on doing the best rally we can, and see what comes.”

Rovanperä is expecting a tough challenge: “The stages look to be quite tricky with a lot of rocks around, so there could be a fairly big chance of something happening for any of the drivers. All that we can do is focus on trying to do a good job and get a good result for ourselves.”