It looks like Toyota is serious about making a return
to the WRC which can only be good for the sport as a whole – another manufacturer
getting involved.
The company has previously been testing their new 1.6 litre Global
Race Engine and drivetrain in a Yaris S2000 car in South Africa, but this week
they were testing a prototype of their proposed Yaris WRC challenger in Italy. Sebastien
Lindholm and Stephane Sarrazin both had runs in the car.
But don’t go getting your hopes up, a full-blown return is not
quite imminent. There’s a new Yaris model coming next year and the firm will be
expected to homologate that rather than the current car, which makes commercial
sense. However, the company will continue to test and develop the Toyota
Motorsport Division machine ahead of a possible return in 2017 to conform with the
new WRC technical regulations which are due to come into effect then.
It’s 15 years since Toyota curtailed its WRC programme, it’s time
they were back!
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