Toyota confirms return to rallying in 2017
Toyota has confirmed its return to the rallying scene by 2017, with its motorsports arm in Cologne, Germany, tasked to ready a rally-spec Yaris for competition in the FIA World Rally Championship. The WRC announcement was made by Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda at a news conference in Tokyo, where the Yaris WRC made its public debut, complete with new launch livery.
By the time it makes its competitive debut as scheduled, the Yaris WRC will mark more than 17 years since Toyota last participated in the WRC back in 1999. At the time, Toyota ended over 25 years of continuous presence in the world rally scene, a period in which Toyota Team Europe had amassed no less than 43 wins in cars such as the Celica Twin-Cam Turbo and GT-Four variants and the Corolla WRC driven by the likes of Carlos Sainz, Juha Kankkunen and Didier Auriol. Closer to home, our very own YS Khong is also closely related to Toyota
