The Toyota program will be managed by TGR Europe from 2021

Returned to the World Rally Championship in 2017 under the leadership and management of the structure of Tommi Mäkinen (TMR), the brand Toyota did not take long to return to the highest rank in the world with the Manufacturers' titles in 2018 and the Drivers' coronation for Ott Tänak the following year.

A return with fanfare which will have a new direction from 2021, since the program will be recovered and managed entirely by the Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe entity in Cologne (where the program is also managed Endurance) either a pattern already seen during the epic of WRC in the 80s and 90s with Toyota Team Europe.

“We will benefit from the work of Tommi Mäkinen, learning from his cutting-edge vehicle development know-how, cultivated at TMR, to link this to specific business development, specifies Toyota management.

We will also further strengthen our systems, including by accelerating practical training for human resources. TGR WRT will continue its activities in both Finland and Estonia (bases of the quadruple world champion's structure) as before, using existing human resources and some facilities from TMR. »

The former Mitsubishi driver will also become motorsport advisor to Toyota Motor Corporation to offer its skills for the production of cars in the GR range, or the development of drivers.

“The aim of the Toyota WRC project was to effectively relaunch a program in rally with a flexible organization that only a small company can achieve, recalls Mäkinen. I am happy to say that this goal has now been achieved and it is time for me to take on new challenges with Toyota.

I would like to thank Akio Toyoda for trusting me in this project and for supporting us throughout the achievement of the set objectives. I look forward to continuing the work with him, designing Toyota’s future in motorsport.

We are happy that, as expected, Toyota has now decided to acquire the WRC operations built together and I am also very happy with how Toyota offers our experts a stable foundation and future as Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team .

It is also important to me that operations continue in Jyväskylä and Tallinn, while TGR Europe takes the team under its wing. »

The firm currently leads the 2020 World Rally Championship, both in the Drivers' classification (Elfyn Evans) and in the Manufacturers' classification.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Rally of Turkey, produced by our special correspondent in Marmaris, in issue 2279 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version, and from tomorrow on newsstands.