TOKYO, Jan 16, 2026 - (JCN Newswire) - A new-look TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will begin its 10th season of competition when the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship gets underway with the iconic Rallye Monte-Carlo on January 22-25.

2026 GR YARIS Rally1

After a record-breaking 2025 campaign, TGR-WRT enters this year with the goal to successfully defend its manufacturers’, drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles. Not resting on its laurels, the team continues to work on improving the all-conquering GR YARIS Rally1 car, which also sports a striking new red, white and black livery.

Making use of the homologation jokers available for the final season of the current Rally1 regulations, the team has focused on developments around aerodynamics and suspension. These include a new rear wing (fitted to the three manufacturer entries for round one) while the introduction of new parts to the suspension system allows for greater setup possibilities.

The team once more counts on a strong and exciting driver line-up with all five GR YARIS Rally1 crews in action on round one.

Sébastien Ogier claimed a record-equalling ninth world championship in a thrilling conclusion to the 2025 season, guided by co-driver Vincent Landais. He is also the most successful driver in the long history of Rallye Monte-Carlo, which is based in his hometown of Gap in the French Alps, having achieved his 10th victory one year ago.

Before the start of the rally at Monaco Harbour on Thursday, a new special edition GR Yaris marking Ogier’s ninth title will be unveiled, and displayed alongside the GR Yaris MORIZO RR that was created with TGR-WRT Chairman Akio Toyoda and revealed at Tokyo Auto Salon.

Elfyn Evans embarks on his seventh successive full season with TGR-WRT, along with co-driver Scott Martin. Last year’s championship runners-up, they have finished on the podium four times at Rallye Monte-Carlo during their time with the team, including second place in 2025.

Joining the line-up for the 2026 season are Oliver Solberg and co-driver Elliott Edmondson following their dominant run to last year’s WRC2 title in the GR Yaris Rally2 car plus victory on their GR YARIS Rally1 debut in Estonia. With six previous Rallye Monte-Carlo starts to his name, Solberg is the third final driver nominated to score manufacturers’ points for TGR-WRT.

Also competing in a fourth car under the TGR-WRT banner are Takamoto Katsuta, looking to build upon a previous best finish of sixth on the event with co-driver Aaron Johnston. Sami Pajari meanwhile begins his second season under the TGR-WRT2 banner, with the goal to continue the strong progress he demonstrated during his rookie campaign last year alongside co-driver Marko Salminen.

TGR-WRT’s commitment to supporting young drivers extends to the WRC Challenge Program. After demonstrating strong progress during 2025, the Program’s second-generation driver Yuki Yamamoto takes another step, embarking on a full season of WRC rallies driving a GR Yaris Rally2.

Yamamoto’s is one of seven GR Yaris Rally2 cars entered on Rallye Monte-Carlo. Filip Mareš, Chris Ingram, Eliott Delecour (son of 1994 Rallye Monte-Carlo winner François), Olivier Burri and Johannes Keferböck are all registered within WRC2, with Paolo Vallivero also on the entry list.

Rallye Monte-Carlo is famed for its often-changeable weather conditions which can bring ice and snow to the asphalt roads. Tyre choice can be crucial, with a wider range of rubber – some fitted with studs – available to suit the conditions. This year’s rally starts and finishes in Monaco’s harbour and, for the first time since 2008, includes a super special stage using part of the principality’s grand prix circuit.

The action heads straight for the mountains on Thursday with three stages driven en route back to Gap, two of them in darkness. A trio of stages west of Gap are all run twice on Friday, while Saturday features three more mountain tests before the Monaco Circuit super special in the evening. A pair of repeated stages above Monaco form Sunday’s finale, including the rally-ending Power Stage over the famous Col de Turini.

Quotes:

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal)

“It’s always exciting to be starting a new season, whether you’re a driver, a team principal, or a fan. It’s interesting to see the level of the teams and the drivers and who looks in good shape for the year ahead. With the development work we’ve done on the suspension and the aerodynamics, our GR YARIS Rally1 should be strong, but we know that our rivals have been working hard to improve too. Rallye Monte-Carlo is the most difficult and stressful event of the season but also the most rewarding if you can reach the podium in Monaco. Sébastien has done that more times than anybody else and I know that, even after taking his ninth world title, he will still be hungry to win. Elfyn too showed incredible performance throughout last season and doesn’t really need to do anything differently to be a contender again this year. We’re also excited to have Oliver joining our line-up and to see what he, Taka and Sami can do during the season.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33)

“After a short turnaround like always, I’m looking forward to the new season and to be hopefully fighting at the sharp end. I’m sure it’s going to be a competitive year and we will have to be at our best. There’s quite a lot of continuity in terms of the car and the tyres, and although we finished last season in a pretty good place, the team is always working to find improvements and that bit more performance that we as drivers are always asking for. Rallye Monte-Carlo is always a bit of an unknown in the sense that you cannot be sure beforehand what conditions you will face. It’s a huge challenge and it’s all about adapting as best as you can during the event.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1)

“It’s been nice to have some time to celebrate and appreciate what we achieved last year, but the focus is already on the new season when everyone starts again from zero. Even though I won’t be driving on every rally just as in the last few seasons, it’s still going to be quite an intense schedule. We will try to make the best of it together with this great team, which is always pushing hard to keep improving every year. As with every year, it’s exciting for me to start Rallye Monte-Carlo. It’s the rally that means the most to me and the one that made me dream, so it was a proud moment to win it for a 10th time last year. The target will be the same this time, but it never gets any easier.”

Oliver Solberg (Driver car 99)

“It’s a dream moment to be starting the new season as a Toyota Rally1 driver. I don’t have clear expectations in terms of results this year; I just want to do my job to the best of my ability and see how it goes. While I know the car quite well on gravel, I feel I still have some learning to do on asphalt. On this surface you feel a bigger difference from Rally2 to Rally1 machinery in terms of speed, but we’ve had some good testing and I have a very good feeling in the car. Rallye Monte-Carlo is an event that you just have to love, even if it’s really tricky and probably the most difficult rally of the year. It’s always a special experience and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Takamoto Katsuta (Driver car 18)

“It’s always special to be starting a new season in Monte Carlo. The conditions are some of the trickiest we face during the season, so the feeling beforehand can be quite mixed: you’re looking forward to it, but at the same time you never know what will happen. We need to have good communication with our route note crews, who are giving us the latest information about the conditions, which can change very quickly. In our pre-event test we had ice and snow but it was melting, so we could also see how the car and tyres were working on wet asphalt, and I could feel some good progress. My target this year is to deliver more results and I’m ready to give my best.”

Sami Pajari (Driver car 5)

“It’s an exciting feeling to be starting my second season with the Rally1 car. Last year was pretty much all about learning, as in most of the rallies it was my first time there with this car. Still, in the second half of the year things were clearly going better and better, and now I’m feeling much more ready to be competitive. The car is pretty much the same as last year, as are the tyres, and I feel much more confident in understanding what it’s capable of. Rallye Monte-Carlo is maybe the most challenging event of the season with the chance for a big range of different conditions, but I hope to have a good feeling and enjoy it.”

Yuki Yamamoto (Driver WRC Challenge Program GEN2)

“I’m really excited to start this new season full of WRC events. While previous years have been more about gathering experience, I think it’s time to start performing and building up the pace consistently. I believe we can have some good results this season and hopefully some podiums and victories within WRC2. Rallye Monte-Carlo is a special one, and last year on my first time there wasn’t easy for me with a lot of new conditions and challenges. I’m not registered for WRC2 points, but I hope to learn more about this event and show the speed where I can, being smart about where to push and where to avoid risks.”

Map Rallye Monte-Carlo 2026
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