The Apex Times
Above the Noise
Business Wire
BusinessEli Lilly to buy Merida Biosciences for $2.88 billion, setting off investor focus on the deal’s strategic fitThe Apex TimesBusinessApple says it has evidence a former employee destroyed material after learning of an investigationThe Apex TimesBusinessTelecom comparison turns on profitability pace versus leverage: AT&T’s margin jump, Verizon’s debt loadThe Apex TimesBusinessAnthropic agrees to a $35 billion cloud computing deal tied to Nvidia-backed Lambda, report saysThe Apex TimesBusinessAMD has tended to fall in September, but market history is only part of the storyThe Apex TimesBusinessDuolingo shares jump after results point to steady user momentum, according to Yahoo FinanceThe Apex TimesBusinessNetflix confirms production of Korean series “Materesa (WT),” led by “Queen of Tears” director and writers behind “The East Palace”The Apex TimesBusinessFTC and 22 States Sue Amazon, Alleging It Secretly Marked Up Ads Shown to Marketplace SellersThe Apex TimesBusinessDeere shares gained as market focused on a jump in profitsThe Apex TimesBusinessBaird lifts Deere to Outperform, citing potential agricultural recovery and raises target to $800The Apex TimesBusinessVenezuela’s energy reopening talks could create upside for Chevron and GE Vernova, but agreements still face major hurdlesThe Apex TimesBusinessTrump Says ExxonMobil Is Preparing to Re-enter Venezuela as Investment Outlook ShiftsThe Apex TimesBusinessEli Lilly to buy Merida Biosciences for $2.88 billion, setting off investor focus on the deal’s strategic fitThe Apex TimesBusinessApple says it has evidence a former employee destroyed material after learning of an investigationThe Apex TimesBusinessTelecom comparison turns on profitability pace versus leverage: AT&T’s margin jump, Verizon’s debt loadThe Apex TimesBusinessAnthropic agrees to a $35 billion cloud computing deal tied to Nvidia-backed Lambda, report saysThe Apex TimesBusinessAMD has tended to fall in September, but market history is only part of the storyThe Apex TimesBusinessDuolingo shares jump after results point to steady user momentum, according to Yahoo FinanceThe Apex TimesBusinessNetflix confirms production of Korean series “Materesa (WT),” led by “Queen of Tears” director and writers behind “The East Palace”The Apex TimesBusinessFTC and 22 States Sue Amazon, Alleging It Secretly Marked Up Ads Shown to Marketplace SellersThe Apex TimesBusinessDeere shares gained as market focused on a jump in profitsThe Apex TimesBusinessBaird lifts Deere to Outperform, citing potential agricultural recovery and raises target to $800The Apex TimesBusinessVenezuela’s energy reopening talks could create upside for Chevron and GE Vernova, but agreements still face major hurdlesThe Apex TimesBusinessTrump Says ExxonMobil Is Preparing to Re-enter Venezuela as Investment Outlook ShiftsThe Apex TimesBusinessEli Lilly to buy Merida Biosciences for $2.88 billion, setting off investor focus on the deal’s strategic fitThe Apex TimesBusinessApple says it has evidence a former employee destroyed material after learning of an investigationThe Apex TimesBusinessTelecom comparison turns on profitability pace versus leverage: AT&T’s margin jump, Verizon’s debt loadThe Apex TimesBusinessAnthropic agrees to a $35 billion cloud computing deal tied to Nvidia-backed Lambda, report saysThe Apex TimesBusinessAMD has tended to fall in September, but market history is only part of the storyThe Apex TimesBusinessDuolingo shares jump after results point to steady user momentum, according to Yahoo FinanceThe Apex TimesBusinessNetflix confirms production of Korean series “Materesa (WT),” led by “Queen of Tears” director and writers behind “The East Palace”The Apex TimesBusinessFTC and 22 States Sue Amazon, Alleging It Secretly Marked Up Ads Shown to Marketplace SellersThe Apex TimesBusinessDeere shares gained as market focused on a jump in profitsThe Apex TimesBusinessBaird lifts Deere to Outperform, citing potential agricultural recovery and raises target to $800The Apex TimesBusinessVenezuela’s energy reopening talks could create upside for Chevron and GE Vernova, but agreements still face major hurdlesThe Apex TimesBusinessTrump Says ExxonMobil Is Preparing to Re-enter Venezuela as Investment Outlook ShiftsThe Apex TimesBusinessEli Lilly to buy Merida Biosciences for $2.88 billion, setting off investor focus on the deal’s strategic fitThe Apex TimesBusinessApple says it has evidence a former employee destroyed material after learning of an investigationThe Apex TimesBusinessTelecom comparison turns on profitability pace versus leverage: AT&T’s margin jump, Verizon’s debt loadThe Apex TimesBusinessAnthropic agrees to a $35 billion cloud computing deal tied to Nvidia-backed Lambda, report saysThe Apex TimesBusinessAMD has tended to fall in September, but market history is only part of the storyThe Apex TimesBusinessDuolingo shares jump after results point to steady user momentum, according to Yahoo FinanceThe Apex TimesBusinessNetflix confirms production of Korean series “Materesa (WT),” led by “Queen of Tears” director and writers behind “The East Palace”The Apex TimesBusinessFTC and 22 States Sue Amazon, Alleging It Secretly Marked Up Ads Shown to Marketplace SellersThe Apex TimesBusinessDeere shares gained as market focused on a jump in profitsThe Apex TimesBusinessBaird lifts Deere to Outperform, citing potential agricultural recovery and raises target to $800The Apex TimesBusinessVenezuela’s energy reopening talks could create upside for Chevron and GE Vernova, but agreements still face major hurdlesThe Apex TimesBusinessTrump Says ExxonMobil Is Preparing to Re-enter Venezuela as Investment Outlook ShiftsThe Apex Times
Back to front
Toyota’s WRC team heads to Acropolis Rally Greece with title fight tightening on gravel
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Business/The Apex Times/Jun 19, 4:22 AM EDT

Toyota’s WRC team heads to Acropolis Rally Greece with title fight tightening on gravel

With seven straight gravel rallies approaching, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team enters Round 8 of the FIA World Rally Championship leading the manufacturers’ standings by 127 points, while five drivers sit in the top five positions. The team is also backing a WRC2 and WRC Masters Cup slate in Greece, where new stages, high temperatures, and tough mountain roads are expected to test tyres, cars and crews.

By The Apex Times Newsroom4 min readAI-assisted Apex article

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team begins a run of seven successive gravel challenges that will culminate in a decisive late-season stretch of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship. The next stop is the Acropolis Rally Greece, which stages Round 8 of the season on a course the team describes as rough, rocky and potentially punishing for tyres, hardware and drivers, especially in high temperatures.

The team arrives at the Acropolis holding a clear edge in the championship. At the halfway point, following a 1-2-3-4 finish on home roads at Rally Japan three weeks earlier, TGR-WRT leads the manufacturers’ standings by 127 points. Toyota says its five drivers are also positioned from first through fifth in the drivers’ standings, putting the team’s performance on a pedestal as the calendar turns fully to gravel.

The driver standings show the tightness inside Toyota’s lead. After winning Rally Japan, Elfyn Evans holds a 20-point advantage over Takamoto Katsuta. Toyota also highlighted its younger drivers as key contributors: Oliver Solberg sits third, 49 points behind the lead, while Sami Pajari is fourth, 55 points back. Sébastien Ogier, the reigning champion in 2026’s context and a former Acropolis winner in 2011, is fifth in a partial campaign and is 61 points from the lead.

Toyota framed the Acropolis as both a technical and strategic rally, noting that the event’s reputation for surprise and punishment remains intact even though modern cars are driven at higher speeds than when the rally was last a more frequent fixture in earlier eras. Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen said the second half of the season will be demanding, with each gravel rally presenting its own challenges and with the Acropolis, in particular, rewarding teams that stay smart rather than simply pushing to the limit.

Kankkunen also pointed to conditions and competition as key uncertainties. He expects the race to be closer, drawing a comparison to what Toyota described as tighter margins in Portugal. He added that, with all five Toyota cars running near the front of the order, the team will be tested by the reality of rough gravel and evolving road conditions, but said the squad and drivers are strong going into a rally he called one where anything can happen.

For its wider driver development pipeline, Toyota’s entry for Greece includes Yuki Yamamoto in WRC2 under the WRC Challenge Program banner. Toyota described the GR Yaris Rally2 as a Rally2-spec car used in WRC2 competition, a category designed for privateer and developing drivers with a structured pathway to higher-level rallying. Yamamoto, who earned his first WRC2 podium at home in Japan, will drive one of 11 GR Yaris Rally2 cars listed in Greece, according to Toyota.

Toyota says Yamamoto is joined in WRC2 by a roster that includes Roope Korhonen, Alejandro Cachón, Gus Greensmith, Diego Domínguez, Bernhard ten Brinke and Adrien Mosca. Toyota also noted separate competition targets: Andrea Lafarja and Johannes Keferböck are set for WRC Masters Cup honours, while Alejandro Galanti of Paraguay is making his first WRC2 appearance of the season and Luis Arceluz of Argentina is entering a WRC event for the first time.

Logistics and route design are part of the Acropolis challenge, Toyota said. The rally service park returns to Loutraki, a coastal resort roughly 80 kilometres west of Athens, which last served as a WRC base in 2013. A new super special stage in the Ellinikon area of Athens opens the event on Thursday evening, after which cars are transported by sea through the Gulf of Corinth to Itea to begin Friday’s leg. Toyota described Friday’s leg as the longest, at 129.22 competitive kilometres, featuring six stages across central Greece with a remote mid-day service in Livadia.

Saturday moves to the Peloponnesian peninsula west of Loutraki, where Toyota said two of four stages are brand new and two last run in 2013. Those stages will be repeated after afternoon service in Loutraki, then the rally ends Sunday with two revised stages in the hills above Loutraki. Toyota’s drivers pointed to the same central theme: gravel demands patience and preparation, and the schedule may leave some crews less time to adapt if they open road or manage tyre and engine stress through limited-running stages.

Why It Matters

  • A manufacturers’ lead of 127 points on a gravel-heavy stretch increases the strategic value of maximizing points at Round 8, especially with multiple Toyota cars running at the front.
  • With Toyota drivers occupying the top five spots in the drivers’ standings, the Acropolis outcome could reshape who controls the direct battle for the championship, not just overall positions.
  • The rally’s emphasis on rough roads and heat highlights the operational and engineering challenge for teams, where tyre management and pace judgement can affect results quickly.
  • Toyota’s parallel WRC2 program in Greece suggests the event is also being used as a development platform while the top-level team pursues the title.

Sources

Key Facts

  • TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team leads the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship manufacturers’ standings by 127 points after a 1-2-3-4 finish at Rally Japan.
  • In the drivers’ standings, Toyota says its five drivers occupy the top five positions, led by Elfyn Evans, who has a 20-point lead over Takamoto Katsuta.
  • The team expects a demanding second half of the season, described by Deputy Team Principal Juha Kankkunen as gravel-heavy and close in competition.
  • The Acropolis Rally Greece begins with a Thursday super special stage in Ellinikon, then features sea transport to Itea and a Friday leg totaling 129.22 competitive kilometres.
  • Toyota says the service park is based again in Loutraki, returning after its last WRC use in 2013.
  • In WRC2, Toyota will field Yuki Yamamoto through the WRC Challenge Program and says there are 11 GR Yaris Rally2 cars on the entry list, with additional WRC2 and Masters Cup drivers also named.

Autos & Transport Related

Aug 31, 5:22 PM EDT
The Apex Times

Dow slips after Trump AI warning, Tesla shares rise ahead of a key event

A broader market retreat in the Dow Jones followed a warning from President Trump about artificial intelligence. Tesla stood out with gains, while other stocks reportedly moved around important technical levels ahead of an upcoming catalyst.

Dow slips after Trump AI warning, Tesla shares rise ahead of a key event
The Apex Times
Toyota’s WRC team heads to Acropolis Rally Greece with title fight tightening on gravel | The Apex Times