Sebastien Ogier, the new world champion in rallies on nine occasions, has not yet defined his program for the World Rally Championship (WRC) for 2027, but he is expected to compete in a maximum of three events.
Recently, Ogier was absent from the launch of Toyota’s driver line-up for 2027, held in Finland. At this event, it was announced that the manufacturer champion team in the WRC will expand its vehicle lineup to six cars, with two teams and two differentiated models.
The drivers who will defend Toyota’s colors include defending champion Elfyn Evans, Oliver Solberg, and Sami Pajari, who will drive the new GR Celica. On the other hand, the returning world champions Ott Tanak and Kalle Rovanpera will take charge of the new GR Yaris along with Takamoto Katsuta.
The confirmation from Toyota indicates that Rovanpera will participate in a partial campaign, leaving some spots available for young talents or for Ogier in certain races.
During the season finale held in Sardinia last month, Ogier expressed that he would not participate for the first time since 2011, and that his presence in the future would be limited. ‘You probably won’t see me often, but it’s not impossible that I come back from time to time,’ he remarked at that time.
The head of the Toyota team, Jari-Matti Latvala, admitted that it is likely Ogier will only compete in two or three races next year, which opens opportunities for new drivers. ‘Definitely, Seb will do less than in any other season. We haven’t agreed on the exact number of events, but for me, the maximum will be three, but it will probably just be two,’ Latvala assured.
The emerging talent series includes drivers who have excelled in the WRC challenge program, such as Yuki Yamamoto, as well as the promising Jaspar Vaher and Takumi Matsushita, who will compete in WRC2 next year. Latvala also confirmed that other drivers competing in the Rally2 category will be considered to fill the spots during Rovanpera and Ogier’s absences.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
