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Did Toyota compete in the World Rally Championship?

CanadianLoonie

CanadianLoonie

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Well, for all you WRC people, did they?
 
Well...they used to compete and won quite a few when they entered their Celica GT 4 wheel drive a few years ago. Then after tat, they continued with the Corolla. They have since pulled out of the rally scene and went F1. I dunno whether they will come back into WRC.
 
They were actually kicked out for cheating. They were kicked out in the 1995 season for violations with the Celica GT4 in Group A. I believe it had something to do with their turbo setup.

It was really a shame, the Celica GT4 made a great rally car.
 
Okay, I know Toyota entered F1 in 2002.

So exactly from when till when did Toyota competed in the WRC?

So did they ever win a Championship?
 
It's correct that Toyota had a great period in WRC, but they had to make a choice between WRC and F1.

I think, after 3-4 yrs of experience, and after they recruit a GOOD scaufeur - they'll win quite a few races :)

hasm
 
haz said:
It's correct that Toyota had a great period in WRC, but they had to make a choice between WRC and F1.
Click to expand...

Huh? :shock:

Getting booted out of WRC for cheating isn't exactly making a choice to move to F1.... They didn't leave WRC voluntarily.
 
Well, there has been many theories but I don't know the official reason. I always assumed they just wanted to change from WRC to F1. And how do you explain that they were in WRC with the Corolla several years after '95 with the Celica GT4? Can you give me some "proof" of this whole matter? (articles from the web etc..) I'm not saying I don't believe you :)
has
 
http://www.rallycars.com/Cars/Toyota_GT4/Celica2.html - here is a really great history of Toyota's history in the WRC.

I was actually mistaken when I said that their ban from WRC caused them to concentrate on F1 more. I forgot that they actually returned to WRC with the Corlla in 1998 (their ban lasted only a year). :oops:

So if they put more effort into F1 after they stopped running the Corolla (not the Celica GT4, which I was thinking about), then it would have been a voluntary choice.
 
Ok, nice to have that settled. Was worried I had my facts all screwed up...didn't quite catch that whole banned then entered again with the Corolla...
Nice page you posted :)
has
 
Don't want to warm up old stuff but... Carlos Sainz almost won the WRC Championship with a Toyota Corolla, but unfortunately a couple of hundred meters before the end of the final stage in Great Britan, which was the last rallye of the year, his car caught fire and he had to retire. That made Tommi Makinen World Champion for the year 1998, his third title in a row. Toyota withdrew not only from Rallye but sadly also from Le Mans when they decided to compete in F1. I really loved the GT-One. When I saw the GT-One that made third place in Le Mans with driver Katayama for real I was pretty impressed...also because it was so tiny :)
 
Oh boy did they ever do good too, 14th out of 16. :lol:
 
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