Seth Quintero’s not quite ready to leave – he wants to get his photograph nailed first. It’s understandable. This is a big moment.
We’re in Finland, in the middle of the deepest of deep freezes. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s all-new, all-American team member is about to take the leap and learn about making pacenotes. Even now, sitting in the warm, writing a story about a manufacturer driver who hasn’t previously even written a note seems a little bit far-fetched. But it’s true. All of it.
To make notes, you need a driver, a co-driver, a pencil and a notebook. And a recce car. This being Toyota – world rallying’s current, all-conquering force – things are being done properly. The GR Yaris is parked and ready in the team’s Jyväskylä factory, prepared to the same level as if it were heading out to pre-run the Safari Rally stages.
Quintero’s handed the key and this is where we lose him. Still staring at it, he opens the door and slides behind the wheel. Staring around him, he adjusts the mirror, but he does it in a careful, considered fashion. He grips the wheel and pushes his shoulders back into the seat. Then smiles the biggest, widest smile.
“Man,” he grins, “I can’t believe this. Look at this…”
He holds the key in our direction. There’s one word (and a registration plate) on the key fob: ‘Séb.’
“This is Sébastien Ogier’s recce car,” he said, to himself as much as to anybody else.
Sitting alongside him is Topi Luhtinen, a rising star among Finland’s co-drivers. He’s worked within Toyota’s Challenge Program for years now, as well calling notes for countrymen at either ends of their respective careers: Jari-Matti Latvala and Tuukka Kauppinen.
Luhtinen smiles. He gets it. He’s also keen to get on with the day ahead.
Quintero’s in a good place right now. He’s Toyota’s W2RC star who’s going to spearhead the team’s ARA National Championship effort at home in America. And he’s doing it at the wheel of an all-new GR Corolla Rally RC2. The job starts in Missouri, with this week’s Rally in the 100 Acre Wood.
Is he going to win? No idea. Ask him? Apparenttly, it’s not really the plan. Not for year one. It’s experience he’s after – not to mention the opportunity to build on the pacenote craft he’s learning. Pretty much everything about year one is talks of a toe in the water for the crew and the team.
Will Quintero win? Why not?
Doubtless, there’s more to come, but for now Quintero’s keen to keep his powder dry in terms of year-long predictions.
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure about Seth. I couldn’t quite see the vision. Then we spent a couple of days with him and Topi and it all made sense. Watching the onboards back as the pair progress through the dark arts of making notes is impressive. Luhtinen’s a fine teacher, Quintero the most eager of students. And, let’s not forget, in the background there’s a new principal in the shape of two-time world champion Jonne Halttunen.
Out of the car, debriefs and video analysis done, Quintero starts to relax. He’s tired. Learning a new language isn’t the work of a moment and he’s more aware than anybody that calling something wrong in the woods around Salem this week will have significant consequences. Talking to him about the process, his thirst for knowledge is incredible; he wants to know more and more and more about what the others do and have done.
It’s the same when it comes to the car. He knows this is no two-tonne, horizon-bound Hilux. The GR Corolla Rally RC2 is his first taste of a genuine, gravel-born, stage-tuned rally car from the most successful minds rallying has on offer right now. He’s seen his name – alongside that of Toyota Gazoo Racing – on the side. He gets it.
I’m sure Quintero can be a force for good in American rallying. He’s quick-witted, charismatic, good-looking and pretty damned quick. Will he be American champion this year? As we’ve said, that’s neither the focus nor the necessity – what’s pretty much a given, however, is that he’ll put smiles on faces and bums on Stateside seats.
