Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT
Full name Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team
Base Finland Jyväskylä, Finland
Estonia Peetri, Estonia[1]
Team principal(s) Tommi Mäkinen
Drivers Finland Jari-Matti Latvala
Finland Esapekka Lappi
Estonia Ott Tänak
Co-drivers Finland Miikka Anttila
Finland Janne Ferm
Estonia Martin Järveoja
Chassis Toyota Yaris WRC
Tyres Michelin
World Rally Championship career
Debut 2017
Constructors' Championships 0
Drivers' Championships 0
Rally wins 6
Toyota Yaris WRC premiere at the 2016 Paris Motor Show

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT is a World Rally Championship (WRC) team based in Finland[2] that serves as Toyota's official factory team.[3][4] Its team principal is four time World Drivers' Champion Tommi Mäkinen.[5] The team made its début during the 2017 season, where it entered the Toyota Yaris WRC.[6] The team is a separate entity from the Toyota Gazoo Racing team led by Toyota Motorsport GmbH that competes in the World Endurance Championship.[7]

History

Toyota's return to the World Rally Championship and the development of the Yaris WRC was originally overseen by Toyota Motorsport GmbH, the successor to Toyota Team Europe, the team that ran Toyota Celicas and the Toyota Corolla WRC in the 1980s and 1990s. With Toyota Motorsport GmbH also overseeing the development and operation of the Toyota TS050 Hybrid in the World Endurance Championship, Toyota elected to reassign the project to Tommi Mäkinen. Mäkinen shelved the Yaris WRC prototype developed by Toyota Motorsport GmbH and started anew.

2017

Esapekka Lappi on the way to victory in the 2017 Rally Finland
Toyota Yaris WRC - Jari-Matti Latvala - Buenos Aires Motorshow 2017.

Toyota made their return to the WRC after eighteen years of absence in 2017 season with Toyota Yaris WRC.[6][3] Jari-Matti Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila left Volkswagen Motorsport following the team's withdrawal from the sport to join Toyota Gazoo Racing,[4] where they were partnered with Juho Hänninen—who returned to the championship for the first time since 2014—and Kaj Lindström.[8] Reigning WRC-2 champions Esapekka Lappi and Janne Ferm made their début in a WRC specification car, contesting a partial campaign from the Rally of Portugal.[4][9] Toyota last competed in the sport as a factory-supported team between 1997 and 1999 with the Corolla WRC before withdrawing ahead of the 2000 season to focus on its Formula One project.

The team took their first podium at the 2017 Monte Carlo Rally, and took their first win at the next round in the 2017 Rally Sweden. The teams best run of the season came in Finland, with Esapekka Lappi taking his first WRC win and Juho Hänninen taking his first podium finish, Jari-Matti Latvala had to retire from the lead with a mechanical problem.

2018

Before the 2018 season, Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja left M-Sport to join the team, replacing Juho Hänninen and Kaj Lindström.[10] Hänninen and Lindström remained with the team, with Hänninen taking on a test driver role and Lindström replacing Jarmo Lehtinen as the team's sporting director. [11]

In August, the team located it's service base to Estonia, 8km from the capital of Tallinn. Headquarters, development, testing and administration will stay in Finland.[1]

WRC results

Year Entrant Car No Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Points WMC Points
2017
[12]		 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Yaris WRC
10 Finland Jari-Matti Latvala MON
2		 SWE
1		 MEX
6		 FRA
4		 ARG
5		 POR
9		 ITA
2		 POL
20		 FIN
21		 GER
7		 ESP
Ret		 GBR
5		 AUS
Ret		 4th 136 3rd 251
11 Finland Juho Hänninen MON
16		 SWE
23		 MEX
7		 FRA
Ret		 ARG
7		 POR
7		 ITA
6		 POL
10		 FIN
3		 GER
4		 ESP
4		 GBR
Ret		 9th 71
Finland Esapekka Lappi AUS
6		 11th 62
12 MON SWE MEX FRA ARG POR
10		 ITA
4		 POL
Ret		 FIN
1		 GER
21		 ESP
Ret		 GBR
9		 AUS
2018
[13]		 Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Yaris WRC
7 Finland Jari-Matti Latvala MON
3		 SWE
7		 MEX
8		 FRA
Ret		 ARG
Ret		 POR
24		 ITA
7		 FIN
3		 GER
Ret		 TUR
2		 GBR
2		 ESP AUS 5th* 98* 1st* 317*
8 Estonia Ott Tänak MON
2		 SWE
9		 MEX
14		 FRA
2		 ARG
1		 POR
Ret		 ITA
9		 FIN
1		 GER
1		 TUR
1		 GBR
19		 ESP AUS 3rd* 168*
9 Finland Esapekka Lappi MON
7		 SWE
4		 MEX
11		 FRA
6		 ARG
8		 POR
4		 ITA
3		 FIN
Ret		 GER
3		 TUR
Ret		 GBR
3		 ESP AUS 4th* 104*

* Season still in progress.

References

  1. 1 2 "Toyota completes Estonia switch - wrc.com". www.wrc.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Toyota: Está de regresso um 'gigante' da história do WRC". 14 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Toyota GAZOO Racing Outlines 2016 Motorsports Activities". Toyota. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Toyota confirms all Finnish WRC line-up". speedcafe.com. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Tommi Mäkinen to head up Toyota's WRC bid". speedcafe.com. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Toyota announces WRC return in 2017". Toyota GB Blog. Toyota GB. 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. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Evans, David (18 October 2017). "Toyota signs Ott Tanak from M-Sport for 2018 WRC season". autosport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Tänak joins Toyota". www.wrc.com. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  12. ↑ Season 2017 ewrc-results.com
  13. ↑ Season 2018 ewrc-results.com
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