Citroen Racing yesterday confirmed that Esapekka Lappi will join Sebastien Ogier in 2019. Meanwhile Toyota Gazoo Racing has confirmed that Kris Meeke, whose contract with Citroen was prematurely ended, will join existing drivers Ott Tanak and Jari-Matti Latvala. Hyundai and M-Sport have still to announce their drivers. Citroen recently announced that the World Drivers’ Championship is their priority over the Manufacturers’ series in 2019 and they are not looking for a regular third driver. Toyota’s choice of 39-year old Meeke is intriguing. It will be Meeke’s first drive for a Japanese team and he will work alongside teammates who are six and eight years younger than him. It is over five years since a WRC driver older than Meeke has won a WRC event. It is believed that he will also be competing with a new, unannounced co-driver, replacing 40-year old Paul Nagle, who has been with Meeke for five years when Meeke won all his five WRC victories. Toyota’s driver policies are notable. Four of the five oldest drivers to win WRC events all drove Japanese cars, and Japan has a celebrated annual public holiday called Respect for the Aged Day!  

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