TOYOTA TO UNVEIL RALLY2 CAR IN JAPAN

Next week’s FORUM8 Rally Japan (10 – 13 November) is going to be a very special fixture for WRC manufacturers’ champions Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Not only will the GR Yaris squad compete on home soil – it will also lift the curtain on a brand-new Rally2-specification concept car. 

The GR Yaris Rally2, while still being developed, will run within WRC2 – the FIA World Rally Championship’s premier support category. 

The basic specification, in line with regulations, will likely include a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine and five-speed sequential gearbox with power delivered through all four wheels.

It’s expected to hit the stages in 2024 and marks Toyota Gazoo Racing’s first foray into the top level of customer motorsports in rallying. Four-time world champion Juha Kankkunen will drive Okazaki – SS13 next Saturday – prior to the rally competitors. 

On the same stage, Tommi Mäkinen – himself a four-time WRC titleist and former team principal – will drive the hydrogen-powered GR Yaris H2. 

The car previously appeared at Ypres Rally Belgium with Toyota president Akio Toyoda at the wheel and is an experimental concept using hydrogen to fuel a combustion engine.