Hi everyone,
Well, the team is packing up at the end of a really great week here in Finland. I’ve spent lots of it getting used to the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Yaris WRC - playing with the car’s various settings, and learning the differences they all make.
This was an exploratory test, of course. So while we went in the right direction with some changes, we also went in the wrong direction with others. Each of those decisions was as important as the other, really, because it’s about working out what happens when you do certain things.
That aside, we racked up plenty of useful kilometres in the Yaris, on a variety of roads, and while I don’t really want to get into comparisons, I’m really pleased with how the car performs. It’s very different from what I’ve been used to, in lots of ways.
I just want to say thanks to the whole Toyota Gazoo Racing team at this point, though, because another important part of this week has been getting to know the technicians and the engineers. They’ve been so welcoming to me, and the attitude of the whole operation manages to be cool while still being focused. That’s a great place for a driver to be; it gives me such optimism for 2019.
Hopefully, then, I’ll be back here in Finland before too long, to gain a bit more experience. But in the meantime, I’m heading to Belgium for the Condroz Rally in a couple of weeks’ time. It’s an event I’ve done before, of course, so I know it’s really challenging and there’s usually a top-class field there. So it’s an ideal way for me to get back into competition.
Thanks, as always, for your support - and thanks again for all the positive feedback to the announcement this week. It was great to see.
Kris
https://www.facebook.com/krismeeke