Toyota, WRC Manufacturers’ champion: a look back at a great saga

1993

How can we forget the Castrol livery affixed to the Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD? In the corners, his exhaust pipe spewed flames while Juha Kankkunen sped towards a fourth world title, with the support of Didier Auriol, winner in particular of Monte-Carlo.

The Celica had already won two World Cup titles, but this was the classification reserved for Drivers with Carlos Sainz in 1990 and 1992. This time, Toyota, which had the heyday of rally since practically the creation of this sport, it has been ahead of another legendary brand in the discipline, Ford, by 12 points on the evening of the RAC.

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1994

The French public has fond memories of this year. The performance provided by Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli, winners of three rounds, allowed France to finally obtain the title among the Drivers, even if it was necessary to take advantage of a crash by Carlos Sainz in the British RAC forest .

“I knew by listening to the radio, just before the start of the special, that Carlos had gone out,” Auriol explained at the time. Bernard told me that we were world champions, I didn't want to believe him, but we heard correctly. Then I had trouble concentrating. I drove very badly, and even went off the road. That's it, I am the first French world champion. It's hard for Sainz, but I've been through that before. Now I'm all smiles, but not long ago I had tears in my eyes. »

Auriol won Sanremo in 1994. © DPPI / F. Baudin

Toyota also achieves the feat of always appearing on the podium at all 10 meetings of the season!

1999

After exclusion from the championship in 1995 (non-compliant air restrictor on the Celica), Toyota distanced itself from the WRC, and took the opportunity to develop a more compact WRC, the Corolla. Appearing in 1997, it made its mark in 1998 with several prestigious successes, but Carlos Sainz remembers it above all for having released it a few hundred meters from the finish at the RAC! A defeat which allowed the enemy brother Mitsubishi to win both among the Manufacturers and among the drivers.

A year later, the laurels are shared. To Mitsu' the Drivers' coronation via Tommi Mäkinen, to Toy' the Manufacturers' trophy thanks to more homogeneous and regular drivers (only one success in China for Didier Auriol but 15 podiums!). The call of the F1 being too strong, Toyota Team Europe ceased its official involvement at the end of 1999, leaving the Corolla in the hands of private teams.

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2018

Esapekka Lappi at the 2018 Rally of Catalonia. © Paulo Maria / DPPI

If the 1990s were marked by the battles of Japanese firms, the new century is consecrating the European teams. We will have to wait until 2017 for Toyota to deign to come back WRC, thanks to a new regulation allowing more spectacular cars.

From now on, it is no longer in Germany but in Finland, in Jyväskylä, that the manufacturer is developing its rally program. Former glory Tommi Mäkinen is the head of this new organization, called Toyota Gazoo Racing. Jari-Matti Latvala is chosen to spearhead it, but he is a young talent who will explode at the high level in 2018: Ott Tänak.

The Estonian, protégé of Markko Martin, turns out to be the main opponent of Sébastien Ogier (Ford), but a mechanical breakdown in Wales takes him out of the game. Toyota can console itself with a Manufacturers' title acquired against M-Sport Ford, Citroën and Hyundai, at the end of one of the most competitive years in the history of the WRC.

2021

Ott Tänak has given in to the sirens of Hyundai, but Toyota has not lost anything because the reference Sébastien Ogier decides to end his career there. The Frenchman easily installed himself in the role of leader of men at TGR, and managed to control the progress of his teammate Elfyn Evans to win the title in 2021.

In the absence of Citroën, and with less efficient Fords, Toyota became the reference team in the WRC, with 18 podiums collected in 12 races thanks to three crews.

2022

The Toyota Yaris in hybrid mode is even more efficient. © Red Bull Content Pool

This hierarchy becomes even more obvious when the WRC adopts the hybrid Rally1 regulations. Still in use since 2017, the Yaris is now in a new electrified GR version. Less light than its big sister, less mechanically advanced (limited slip differential instead of the controlled central differential), it benefits in return from a 3,9 kWh battery and an MGU delivering an additional 100 kW (134 hp). upon acceleration.

Taking advantage of an M-Sport clan with a reduced budget and internal tensions at Hyundai, Toyota crushes the 2022 season: seven wins in 12 rounds (before the final in Japan), and the advent of a new star, the young Kalle Rovanperä. The Finn breaks all records for precocity at just 22 years old, with a first victory among the Drivers.