Toyota rally boss tells PH what it's like to drive the fastest WRC cars in history, and why change was neededAnd there you have it: the fastest World Rally Cars in history are about to be severely pegged back, as, from 2025, the ballistic Rally1 cars that compete at the front of the WRC field will drop their hybrid element in a bid to save costs.
Although Jari-Matti hasn’t been a full-time driver since 2019, he’s the perfect person to talk to you through the ins and outs of the most advanced rally cars ever created. Not only did he finish runner-up to Sebastien Loeb and Ogier - arguably the greatest rally drivers of all time - in the championship on three occasions, as team principal he’s also steered Toyota’s factory squad to a trio of titles with Ogier and WRC wunderkind Kalle Rovanpera since 2021.
Even in a round-table interview, it's impossible not to get swept up in how Jari-Matti recounts his experiences at the pinnacle of WRC. He lives and breathes rallying, as do many in this neck of the Finnish woods, which you’ll likely know if you’ve ever seen one of his highly enthusiastic interviews at the end of a stage. So you know when he says the current Rally1 regulations weren’t sustainable that something needed to change.
Despite the cost advantages, Jari-Matti says that the sheer step in performance between the more junior categories and a hybrid Rally1 car gives young drivers a mountain to climb when they progress to the top class. “I think the idea of bringing them a bit closer, because this ultimate Rally1 car is so quick at the moment. So it doesn't matter if we take a little bit slower with that, bringing it closer to the Rally2. It would maybe also help with the costs.