Toyota have announced that they will return to the FIA WRC from 2017-on with a Yaris WRC Car. There have been rumours and talking’s of a return for a few years but now its officially happening. The Yaris WRC will be developed by TMG, Toyota’s German based Motorsport division, the same division behind the Toyota FIA WEC LMP1 effort.
It has been said that there entry into the WRC will not effect there on going and continued LMP1 program, which we hope is true as the FIA WEC is on the up at the moment. The picture above is the TMG WRC mule that was been built over a year ago and was out testing during 2014, I would expect by 2017 there will be a brand new Yaris and WRC variant. Any way Welcome back to the WRC Toyota, Its been a while!
From Toyota Press Release: http://bit.ly/1A6jLtT
Toyota UK Blog: http://bit.ly/15OW1NN
FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP (from 2017)
- Toyota has begun preparations for its return to the WRC in 2017, judging this competition to be a leading stage on which to promote its “ever-better cars” activities.
- Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) is developing and testing the engine and the car, which is based on Yaris.
- Toyota’s WRC heritage includes wining 43 events and three manufacturers’’ titles between 1973 and 1999.
| Vehicle | Yaris WRC (length 3,910 mm; width 1,820 mm) |
| Engine | 1.6-litre direct-injection turbo (in line with global race engine stipulations) |
| Tyres | Michelin |
| 2015 test drivers | Stéphane Sarrazin, Sebastian Lindholm, Eric Camilli (drivers for the 2017 season have not yet been selected). |
