TOYOTA GAZOO Racing backs young rally talent for exciting global challenges in 2026

Jones and Minowa join TGR WRC Challenge Program

Two up-and-coming rally drivers – Zeal Jones and Hiroya Minowa – have been selected to join the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program ahead of 2026 after impressing in a week-long selection process in Finland.

The TGR WRC Challenge Program was established in 2015 with the ambition to identify and develop rally drivers who can compete on the world stage, and since 2023, the search to uncover new talent from Japan has been held annually. The process to find a fifth intake of drivers started at the Kota circuit in Aichi Prefecture in September, when a maximum of 100 applicants were given the chance to demonstrate their skills in front of instructors from TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team.

A total of six drivers were then invited for the final training camp held in Lapland in northern Finland from December 5-11. Initial fitness tests were followed by five days of driving in different cars on snow and ice, alongside instructors Mikko Hirvonen, Jouni Ampuja and Janne Ferm. While some drivers could build upon experience of the final selection in previous years and demonstrate growth in their skills, others had no prior experience of driving on snow and ice yet impressed with how quickly they adapted.

Looking for drivers that showed potential to become top-level competitors in the FIA World Rally Championship, the instructors selected Jones and Minowa to join the Program. Jones, 21, was born in New Zealand to a Kiwi father and Japanese mother, and this year competed in the MORIZO Challenge Cup in Japan to further develop his skills. Minowa at 16 is the youngest driver to ever join the Program, and will be switching his focus to rallying having already achieved success in drifting.

Both drivers will move to Finland early next year to begin an intense training schedule covering driving, pacenotes and fitness. The goal is for them to be ready to compete in rallies in Finland and Europe from the summer onwards.

By joining the Program, Jones and Minowa will also have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of drivers such as Takamoto Katsuta, who was part of the initial intake in 2015 and now competes full-time for TGR-WRT in a GR Yaris Rally1. Also on the Program in 2026 will be Yuki Yamamoto, who contests a full WRC season aboard a GR Yaris Rally2, Shotaro Goto and Takumi Matsushita, who step up to Rally2 together with Jaspar Vaher, who joins from the first ever global selection, and Rio Ogata and Kanta Yanaguida, who step up from Rally4 to Rally3 along with the only co-driver on the Program, Tomiya Maekawa.

Quotes:
Mikko Hirvonen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program chief instructor):
“The level of the drivers in the final selection was really high again this year. Generally, they were very consistent, with only small things making the difference, so it wasn’t an easy decision but two of the guys stood out in particular. Zeal made a very good step up from last year’s selection, when he was a little wild and aggressive in his driving. This year he has clearly grown and matured and he showed really good performance in every area. Hiroya, despite his youth, demonstrated exceptional car handling in every different type of car he drove – front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive – and was always able to perform when the pressure was on. I’m really happy that we found two very talented drivers with great potential in rallying, and this is a very exciting opportunity for them.”

Zeal Jones
“I’m really happy and relieved to have been selected this year. This time, I was able to enjoy the process because I knew what I needed to work on compared to last year and how I could do it. I was able to just stay patient and focus on driving cleanly and smoothly. Joining this Program is a really cool opportunity for me that will allow me to take the next step in my career. I hope that it’s just the start of the next chapter, and I will keep working hard to reach the ultimate goal, which is to become a WRC champion.”

Hiroya Minowa
“I’m very happy to have been selected to join the Program. A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me to get to this point, including my family. I knew that the level would be high in this final selection so I tried to push the limits every day. I received good advice from the instructors and learned a lot. I’ve always been interested in rallying and this is a huge chance for me to try and become a WRC driver, but this is just the starting line of my rally career, so I’m excited to keep learning and improving.”

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