Wikipedia

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

For Toyota's WRC team which competed between 1975–1999, see Toyota Team Europe. For other Toyota Gazoo racing teams and divisions, see Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team is a competitor of the World Rally Championship (WRC) based in Finland, serving as the entry for the car manufacturer Toyota.[1][2][3] Its team principal is former WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala and its drivers for 2023 include reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä, alongside Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta and Sébastien Ogier.[4][5] The team made its debut during the 2017 season, where it entered the Toyota Yaris WRC.[6]

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Full nameToyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
BaseFinland Jyväskylä, Finland[a]
Japan Japan[b]
Team principal(s)Jari-Matti Latvala
DriversFrance Sébastien Ogier
United Kingdom Elfyn Evans
Finland Kalle Rovanperä
Japan Takamoto Katsuta
Italy Lorenzo Bertelli
Co-driversFrance Vincent Landais
United Kingdom Scott Martin
Finland Jonne Halttunen
Republic of Ireland Aaron Johnston
Italy Simone Scattolin
ChassisToyota GR Yaris Rally1
Toyota GR Yaris Rally2
TyresPirelli
World Rally Championship history
Debut2017 Monte Carlo Rally
Manufacturers' Championships5 (2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Drivers' Championships5 (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)
Rally wins50

The team is a separate operational unit to the Toyota Gazoo Racing team that competes in the World Endurance Championship, but both are a part of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe.[7][8]

In 2018, the team won the championship for manufacturers, Toyota's first since 1999, followed by more wins in 2021 and 2022.[9] The team have also delivered championship titles for drivers and co-drivers every year since 2019.[10]

History

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Toyota Yaris WRC premiere at the 2016 Paris Motor Show
 
The brand new Toyota Yaris World Rally Car, set to compete in the 2017 WRC season, at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. On the left is Akio Toyoda, CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, next to four time World Rally Drivers' Champion Tommi Mäkinen

In January 2015, Toyota officially announced its intention to return to the World Rally Championship in 2017. The manufacturer had last competed in the series in 1999 before withdrawing ahead of the 2000 season to focus on its Formula One project. For the new project, development of the Yaris WRC was delegated to Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), the division that ran Toyota Team Europe and the previous WRC campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s with Group B and Group A Celicas, and the Toyota Corolla World Rally Car.[11]

In July 2015 however, Toyota President Akio Toyoda elected to reassign responsibility for the project to Tommi Mäkinen, who based the team in his native Finland. Only the engine would be built by TMG, and by this time new World Rally Car regulations due for 2017 forced Mäkinen to shelve the Yaris WRC prototype and start anew.[12][13][14][15]

Also in 2015, Toyota consolidated all its motorsport activities to operate under the banner of Toyota Gazoo Racing, with TMG being renamed Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe.[16]

2017

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Esapekka Lappi on the way to victory in the 2017 Rally Finland

Toyota made their return to the WRC after eighteen years of absence in 2017 season with Toyota Yaris WRC.[6][2]

Following the withdrawal of Volkswagen Motorsport from the sport, Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila joined Toyota Gazoo Racing,[3] where they were team-mates with Juho Hänninen, who returned to the championship for the first time since 2014, and his co-driver Kaj Lindström.[17] Reigning WRC2 champions Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm made their début in a WRC specification car, contesting a partial campaign from the Rally of Portugal.[3][18]

 
Toyota Yaris WRC - Jari-Matti Latvala - Buenos Aires Motorshow 2017

The team took their first podium at the Monte Carlo Rally, and took their first win at the next round in Rally Sweden. The team's best result of the season came in Finland, with Lappi taking his first WRC win, Hänninen his first podium finish, although Latvala had to retire from the lead with a mechanical problem.

The team finished the season third in the manufacturers' championship.

2018

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Ahead of the 2018 season, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja left M-Sport to join the team, replacing the crew of Hänninen and Lindström who took new positions within the team. Hänninen remained in a test driver role and Lindström replaced Jarmo Lehtinen as the team's sporting director.[19][20]

In August, the team relocated its service base to a new facility in Estonia, located 8 km from the capital of Tallinn. Headquarters, development, testing and administration remained in Finland.[21]

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT won the 2018 World Rally Championship manufacturers title. With Tommi Mäkinen heading the team, he became the first person in the history of the championship to win both as a driver and as a team principal.[22] Tänak took four rally wins, including three consecutively. Jari-Matti Latvala won once.[23]

2019

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In 2019, Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm left to join Citroën after two years with the team.[24] Kris Meeke and Sebastian Marshall were recruited to drive a third car in the championship.[25] Tänak and Järveoja won the driver's and co-driver's championships, although Toyota would finish runners-up to Hyundai in the manufacturers' championship.

2020

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Elfyn Evans on the way to victory in the 2020 Rally Sweden

In the 2020 season, Toyota had a brand new line up with six-time WRC champion Sébastien Ogier joining from Citroën who had pulled out of the 2020 season with Elfyn Evans from M-Sport and Kalle Rovanperä from Škoda Motorsport all joining Toyota for this season, as 2019 champion Ott Tänak left to join Hyundai, and Kris Meeke left the team as well.

In September, Toyota Gazoo Racing completed the purchase of the team and operational assets from Tommi Mäkinen Racing. Mäkinen himself stepped down from the team principal role and became a motorsports advisor to the Toyota Motor Corporation.[26]

2021

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The facility in Estonia closed at the end of the 2021 season, with team operations being run from one base in Jyväskylä, Finland.[27]

2022-2024

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Toyota GR Yaris in 2022
 
Toyota GR Yaris hybrid in 2024

Driver development program

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The TGR WRC Challenge Program (TGR-DC) was first established in 2015 to identify and nurture talented young Japanese drivers with the potential to rise up to the WRC.[28][29] The first two to join the program were drivers Hiroki Arai and Takamoto Katsuta. Co-driver Sayaka Adachi was added to the program in 2017.[30]

The WRC Challenge Program was renewed in 2022, when three drivers – Hikaru Kogure, Nao Otake and Yuki Yamamoto – joined the program.[31] The third generation was started in 2024, with Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita being added to the roster. Kogure and Yamamoto currently compete with Toyota GR Yaris Rally2s, while Goto and Matsushita drive Renault Clio Rally4s in Finnish and European events. The program is run from the team's headquarters in Jyväskylä. Trainers for the program include Finnish former rally drivers Jouni Ampuja, Mikko Hirvonen, and Juho Hänninen.[32]

The WRC Challenge Program's first and only graduate is Takamoto Katsuta, who currently competes for Toyota's manufacturer team in the World Rally Championship.

Members

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Current TGR-DC members
Driver Years
  Hikaru Kogure 2022–
  Yuki Yamamoto 2022–
  Shotaro Goto 2024–
  Takumi Matsushita 2024–
Former TGR-DC members
Member Years
  Hiroki Arai 2015–2018
  Takamoto Katsuta 2015–2023
  Sayaka Adachi 2017–2018
  Nao Otake 2022–2023

WRC results

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Main article: Toyota World Rally Championship results

Notes

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  1. ^ Team base
  2. ^ Car homologations through Japan Automobile Federation

References

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  1. ^ "Toyota: Está de regresso um 'gigante' da história do WRC". 14 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Toyota GAZOO Racing Outlines 2016 Motorsports Activities". Toyota. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  3. ^ a b c "Toyota confirms all Finnish WRC line-up". speedcafe.com. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Toyota: Latvala named team principal at Toyota". www.wrc.com. 18 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Toyota Gazoo Racing reveal 2023 line-up". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  6. ^ a b "Toyota announces WRC return in 2017". Toyota GB Blog. Toyota GB. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  7. ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Outlines 2017 Motorsports Activities | PRESS RELEASE | 2017 | OTHER MOTORSPORTS | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing". TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  8. ^ "TGR WRT". Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  9. ^ Van Leeuwen, Andrew (18 November 2018). "Rally Australia: Latvala wins as Ogier, Toyota claim WRC titles". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  10. ^ "juwra.com | Drivers championship". juwra.com. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  11. ^ Blog, Toyota (2015-01-30). "Toyota announces WRC return in 2017". Toyota UK Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  12. ^ "Q&A: Tommi Makinen".
  13. ^ "Tommi Makinen to lead Toyota Yaris WRC team in 2017 - Drive".
  14. ^ "WRC: Toyota Yaris WRC prototype caught testing in Spain". 25 October 2016.
  15. ^ Blog, Toyota (2015-07-07). "Tommi Mäkinen leads Toyota GAZOO Racing's WRC return in 2017". Toyota UK Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  16. ^ Blog, Toyota (2015-04-09). "Toyota consolidates all of its motorsport activities under GAZOO Racing". Toyota UK Magazine. Retrieved 2023-03-05.
  17. ^ Evans, David (18 October 2016). "WRC 2017: Juho Hanninen gets first seat in Toyota's new Yaris". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  18. ^ Beer, Matt; Evans, David (18 April 2017). "Toyota to add third Yaris WRC for Lappi from Rally Portugal". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  19. ^ Evans, David (18 October 2017). "Toyota signs Ott Tanak from M-Sport for 2018 WRC season". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Tänak joins Toyota". www.wrc.com. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  21. ^ "Toyota completes Estonia switch - wrc.com". www.wrc.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Tommi Mäkinen on rallin Midas – näin Puuppolan päälliköstä tuli historiallinen maailmanmestari Toyotan tallipäällikkönä". Aamulehti (in Finnish). 18 November 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  23. ^ Season 2018 ewrc-results.com
  24. ^ "Esapekka Lappi Joins Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT". media.citroenracing.com. Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  25. ^ "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing confirms WRC driver line-up for 2019". toyotagazooracing.com. Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  26. ^ "Toyota takes charge of WRC programme from 2021". WRC - World Rally Championship. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  27. ^ "Toyota Gazoo Racing to move operation to one base". Motorsport Week. 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  28. ^ "ABOUT WRC Challenge Program". Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  29. ^ "WRC Challenge Program - Toyta GAZOO Racing". Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  30. ^ "Sayaka Adachi to co-drive Jarkko Nikara in Finnish Rally Championship". 12 January 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  31. ^ Wood, Ida (7 February 2022). "Toyota inducts three new drivers to its WRC Challenge Program". Dirtfish. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  32. ^ Evans, David (4 January 2022). "How Toyota selected its latest stars". Dirtfish. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
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