Esteban Ocon’s wild youth dream: ‘I wished to buy a
The full capacity of Haas’collaboration with Toyota is yet to be explored– however it has currently helped one of the team’s drivers fulfil a youth dream: Esteban Ocon got to drive the GR Yaris Rally1 vehicle throughout the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“I kept telling them considering that we went to Japan how I enjoy vehicles and how I constantly wanted to test a WRC automobile,” Ocon told Motorsport.com. “They provided me my very first taste of gravel driving on an appropriate track with a roadway car GR Yaris in Japan [previously this year] I believe the request originated from the boss himself, [Akio] Toyoda.
“And honestly, I can’t thank them enough. I didn’t sleep very much the night before. It was a dream come true, truthfully, to drive this automobile.”
The group initially kept it a trick from Ocon up until he saw his schedule for the Goodwood occasion.
“So, I get it and I start to take a look at it, and I see ‘Esteban, WRC’,” he remembers. “So, I called Ayao [Komatsu, the Haas group principal], saying, ‘Ayao, what’s that? Am I driving the WRC?’ And he’s like, ‘No, no, we simply slipped up.’ And then he begins laughing. And I resemble, ‘Okay, so what is it then?’ He’s like, ‘No, no, in fact, you sit as a co-driver.’ And then he chuckles once again. So I went through all the phases of feelings. However in fact, it ended up that Toyota [gave] me a substantial surprise. They desired me to drive the WRC.
“That was the experience that I have actually always desired. When I was young, I had a dream to — one day, if I’m successful enough in Formula 1 — buy a WRC cars and truck that I can drive every day. And then go to the shop with it and, you know … I found out about it later on: these cars and trucks are roadway legal, however you need to have an unique permit for the competitors. But when I was 12, that was my dream.”
The experience “didn’t dissatisfy” Ocon — not least because he both drove the WRC vehicle and got a passenger ride along with Toyota rally motorist Takamoto Katsuta.
“It was extremely remarkable, truthfully,” he stated. “With some cars and trucks, maybe often you test and, because you drive the F1 automobiles, you’re a bit blasefrom whatever else.
“But this was extraordinary, how very well crafted it is. It reminded me of the DTM automobiles. It’s essentially like, whatever is a prototype. But everything is so well thought. The handbrake is extremely easy, you do not require to utilize the clutch. The steering feels very smooth, extremely easy to use. The throttle is super brief in a way that you need to go full throttle immediately. I had a blast.
Esteban Ocon checking out WRC automobiles with Takamoto
Katsuta Photo by: Toyota Racing” And first, you know what was the most remarkable? Getting on the side of Takamoto Katsuta. If I drove it just, I would have thought, yeah, the grip is not that terrific and all of that. But when I jumped on the side of him, I was like, ‘all right, this is something else’.”
Would Ocon think about doing rallies in the future?
“For enjoyable, after my F1 profession, certainly,” he states. “However, it would never remain in a Rally1 class. I will most likely provide a call to have a test eventually, you know, to have a good time for sure – if they let me have the opportunity. But initially, to trust me to drive these cars on the rally stage, I will be forever grateful to Toyota, since it’s incredible.”
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