Toyota’s WRC Milestones
We look back at its previous 25 years in rally
Mäkinen heads up Toyota WRC programme
Four-time world champion Tommi Mäkinen will be the team principal of Toyota’s WRC squad when the Japanese manufacturer returns to the championship in 2017.
The team will be run under the name Toyota Gazoo Racing, which operates the company’s title-winning World Endurance Championship circuit racing programme, and Toyota president Akio Toyoda will be team chairman.
The news was issued by Toyota from Japan on Tuesday morning. However, the statement made no reference to Toyota Motorsport, which is owned by the parent company, and announced a return to WRC on 30 January ‘with a car developed and built entirely at its Cologne technical centre’.
Since then test drivers including Sebastian Lindholm and Stéphane Sarrazin have been developing a Yaris World Rally Car, and TMG has signed development drivers Eric Camilli and Teemu Suninen with an eye to the future.
Mäkinen won 24 world rallies between 1985 and 2003 and four straight drivers’ titles for Mitsubishi from 1996 to 1999.
Mäkinen has run Tommi Mäkinen Racing in Finland since retiring from driving and last year built a private GT86 car for Toyoda which the pair demonstrated at Neste Oil Rally Finland last year.
Toyoda said he was ‘happy and excited’ to have Mäkinen leading the team.
“I first met Tommi in 2013. At that time he was my instructor, helping me improve my driving technique. In the end, he taught me a lot more. He showed me the appeal of rallying and the relationship between vehicle development and rallying,” he said.
“Tommi has abundant experience and fresh ideas for vehicle development, both of which will be valuable assets to us. After talking to Tommi, I felt ‘I want to work with him, I want him to help us make better cars’, and that's how I came to ask for his support with this project.
“With Tommi behind us, Toyota will forge ahead with our return to WRC and also our efforts to make ever-better cars,” he added.
