A new entrant to the championship in 2017, the Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT represents the long-awaited WRC comeback for Toyota - a name synonymous with rallying success in the 1980s and 1990s.
Toyota’s rallying heritage dates back to 1957 when it entered the Mobilgas Round Australia Rally, but it was in 1975 that the brand made its mark with Hannu Mikkola’s victory at Finland’s 1000 Lakes Rally in a factory-backed Corolla.
With a motorsport base established in Cologne, Germany, Toyota secured multiple WRC victories, including three consecutive Safari Rally wins. In 1990, Carlos Sainz became the brand’s first WRC champion, and three years later, Toyota became the first Japanese manufacturer to win the WRC title.
By the time its factory-backed efforts ended in 1999, Toyota had claimed three manufacturers’ titles (1993, 1994, and 1999) and four drivers’ titles, shared between Sainz, Juha Kankkunen, and Didier Auriol.
A WRC return was announced in 2015 by company president Akio Toyoda, with a team base established in Finland and Tommi Mäkinen tasked with developing a Yaris for a 2017 comeback. The team stunned the paddock, securing a podium on debut before Jari-Matti Latvala took victory in Sweden, followed by another win for Esapekka Lappi in Finland.
Success continued in 2018 as new signing Ott Tänak joined the squad, helping Toyota lift the manufacturers’ title. Tänak then secured his maiden drivers’ crown in 2019 before departing the team.
At the end of 2020, Toyota underwent a major leadership change, with WRC’s most experienced driver, Jari-Matti Latvala, stepping into the role of team principal following Mäkinen’s departure. Under his leadership, the team continued its dominance, securing the manufacturers’ title in his first season at the helm while Sébastien Ogier clinched his eighth drivers’ crown.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT, Jari-Matti Latvala, Rally Sweden 2017
A reshuffled line-up for 2022 saw Kalle Rovanperä take centre stage, delivering Toyota another title and becoming the youngest world champion in WRC history. The team successfully defended both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ crowns in 2023, with Rovanperä leading the charge and Elfyn Evans finishing runner-up.
The 2024 season, however, pushed Toyota to the limit. With a reshuffled line-up featuring Evans and Takamoto Katsuta as the only full-time drivers, the team faced a fierce battle with Hyundai. As the season progressed, a series of setbacks — labelled ‘Black Sundays’ by Latvala — saw crucial points slip away.
With the title fight going down to the wire, Sébastien Ogier announced a full return for the second half of the season to bolster Toyota’s chances. Heading into the final round at FORUM8 Rally Japan, the team trailed Hyundai by 15 points. But in a dramatic climax, victory for Evans and a strong team performance saw Toyota snatch a third consecutive manufacturers’ crown on the final Wolf Power Stage of the year.
The 2025 season was a year of absolute mastery for the Japanese marque. Bolstered by a full-time return for Kalle Rovanperä and the promotion of Sami Pajari, Toyota swept 12 of the 14 rounds. The championship battle became an internal affair that went down to the wire at the season finale in Saudi Arabia. In a dramatic desert showdown, Sébastien Ogier emerged victorious to claim a record-equalling ninth drivers' title, matching the legendary Sébastien Loeb. Elfyn Evans, despite another season of relentless consistency and two victories, was forced to settle for a fifth runner-up finish in the standings.
For 2026, Toyota enters the final year of the current technical regulations with an expanded and formidable five-car line-up. While two-time champion Kalle Rovanperä has departed to pursue a new chapter in circuit racing, the team has welcomed WRC2 champion Oliver Solberg into a full-time Rally1 seat.
Solberg joins a core squad featuring the reigning champion Sébastien Ogier in a 10-round partial programme, alongside full-time contenders Elfyn Evans, Takamoto Katsuta, and Sami Pajari.
