Toyota unveils its 2020 Yaris

Les champions du monde 2018 ont certes laissé la couronne Constructeurs à Hyundai Motorsport en 2019, mais avec un bouleversement total des lignes, avec l’arrivée de Sébastien Ogier, Elfyn Evans et Kalle Rovanperä, Toyota compte bien remonter sur le trône du WRC.

The brand, whose operation of the sports program in rally remains managed by Tommi Mäkinen's troops, presented this Friday the 2020 version of its Yaris WRC on the sidelines of the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan where the new GR Yaris, a sports version of the production car, was also present.

The Japanese livery hardly changes with the usual white – red – black trio seen in recent years. With stable technical regulations this year, the Toyota Gazoo Racing engineers focused the preparation of their car on the engine section to extract a little more power from the 1,6 liter unit, and make the Yaris as light as possible.

Particular attention should also be paid to reliability, the small Achilles heel of the Japanese in recent seasons.

“It’s great to be in Japan to kick off our season with our new drivers,” said Tommi Mäkinen. We are looking forward to the WRC returning to Japan this year (last round 2020), so it is good to start the season here with lots of fans.

On the outside, our car looks similar to its predecessor and overall we maintain the same strong package in many conditions from last year. But we are always working to make small improvements to make it even better.

I am convinced that our new drivers will quickly feel comfortable and that we will be able to aim for the top again this season. »

Like Hyundai Motorsport, Toyota Gazoo Racing began its preparation for the Monte-Carlo Rally (January 23-26) before the holidays, the opportunity for the three drivers to discover their new car.