Feb. 25, 2005
Toyota Announces Motorsports Activities and Plans for 2005
Tokyo ― TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announced today its motorsports plans for 2005, which place competing in the top racing categories of the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1), the IRL (Indy Racing League) IndyCar Series and the Super GT World Challenge (Super GT) Series races as its three main pillars. TMC also plans to continue cultivating top drivers for the future and carrying out activities that serve to support the foundations of motorsports.
For Toyota’s fourth year of F1 participation, under the new technical regulations implemented for the 2005 season, Toyota is set to take on the competition with its new F1 car, the Toyota TF105, which has strived to attain maximum improvement in aerodynamic performance and reliability―and drivers Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. In the IRL IndyCar Series, where Toyota provides engines to six teams (for a total of 10 cars), the Toyota teams will aim to win the Indy Japan (Motegi) race and the legendary Indy 500. Toyota will continue to support teams participating in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the U.S. in which Toyota’s Tundra pickup truck has participated since last year, clocking up a total of four wins to date. Within Japan, Toyota will continue to support teams participating in the Super GT World Challenge Series.
TMC is also actively identifying new talent and providing drivers with training and experience through its Toyota Driver Development Program. The respective programs in Japan and Europe will be integrated and centrally managed.
To further support the foundations of motorsports, Toyota will contribute by sponsoring one-make races in Japan including the ESSO Formula Toyota Series and Netz Cup races (Vitz Series and Altezza Series). In the United States, Toyota will continue its active contributions including support for the CART Toyota Atlantic Series.
The Motor Sports Division of the Higashifuji Technical Center is currently in charge of Toyota’s overall motorsports activities, while Toyota Technocraft Co., Ltd./TRD in Japan, TRD-USA Inc. in the U.S. and Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in Europe serve as local hubs for regional activities.
I. Summary of Activities and Support Plans
1. FIA Formula One World Championship (F1)
2-1. IRL IndyCar Series
1. FIA Formula One World Championship (F1)
- Competing will continue as a full-constructor team in 2005, the fourth year of Toyota’s participation, for the Panasonic Toyota Racing team, with efforts focused on achieving the primary goal of obtaining a podium finish.
- Taking the new technical regulations into consideration the new Toyota TF105 is equipped with the new RVX-05 engine, which has been greatly improved both in terms of performance and durability. The new Toyota TF105 works hard to rectify and in fact improve aerodynamic performance, the deterioration of which is purposely targeted by the new regulations.
- Behind the wheel will be new drivers―Jarno Trulli (Italy) and Ralf Schumacher (Germany). The third driver will be Olivier Panis (France) and the reserve test driver will be Ricardo Zonta (Brazil).
- Beginning this year, Toyota will supply the Toyota RVX-05 engine to the Jordan Grand Prix team.
2-1. IRL IndyCar Series
- Engines will be developed and provided through Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and TRD-USA to six teams for 10 cars participating in the IRL IndyCar Series.
Teams to be provided engines and their drivers
| Team | Drivers |
| Marlboro Team Penske | Helio Castroneves (Brazil) |
| Sam Hornish Jr. (United States) | |
| Target Chip Ganassi Racing | Scott Dixon (New Zealand) |
| Darren Manning (United Kingdom) | |
| Ryan Briscoe (Australia) | |
| Red Bull Cheever Racing | Alex Barron (United States) |
| Patrick Carpentier (Canada) | |
| A.J. Foyt Enterprises | A.J. Foyt IV (United States) |
| Hemelgarn Ethanol Racing | Paul Dana (United States) |
| Vision Racing | Ed Carpenter (United States) |
2-2. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
- Toyota will support teams taking part in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series through TMS and TRD-USA.
- Participating vehicles will be units of the U.S.-market Tundra pickup truck fitted with 5.8-liter V8 engines.
Teams to be supported and their drivers
| Team | Drivers |
| Bill Davis Racing | Mike Skinner (United States) |
| Johnny Benson (United States) | |
| Bill Lester (United States) | |
| Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Robert Huffman (United States) |
| David Reutimann (United States) | |
| Germain Arnold Racing | Chad Chaffin (United States) |
| Shigeaki Hattori (Japan) | |
| Clean Line Motorsports | Brandon Whitt (United States) |
| Fiddleback Racing | Todd Bodine (United States) |
3. Super GT World Challenge (Super GT)
- The All-Japan GT Championship Series (JGTC) has changed its name to the Super GT World Challenge (Super GT) this year after receiving approval from the FIA as an international series. As a premier racing series in Japan, Toyota will support teams taking part in the Super GT World Challenge (Super GT), through Toyota Technocraft Co., Ltd. (TRD).
- Participating cars will be the Supra (GT500 class), powered by a 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 (3UZ-FE) engine, and the MR-S (GT300 class) and Celica, powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine (3S-GTE).
Teams to be supported and their drivers (tentative)
| Class | Team | Drivers |
| GT500 | ESSO TOYOTA Team LeMans | Juichi Wakisaka (Japan) |
| Akira Iida (Japan) | ||
| TOYOTA TEAM TOM’S | Takeshi Tsuchiya (Japan) | |
| James Courtney (Australia) | ||
| Tatsuya Kataoka (Japan) | ||
| Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) | ||
| TOYOTA TEAM Cerumo | Toranosuke Takagi (Japan) | |
| Yuji Tachikawa (Japan) | ||
| TOYOTA TEAM SaRD | Andre Couto (Portugal) | |
| Ronnie Quintarelli (Italy) | ||
| TEAM ADVAN TSUCHIYA | Manabu Orido (Japan) | |
| Dominik Schwager (Gerrmany) | ||
| KRAFT | Naoki Hattori (Japan) | |
| Shigekazu Wakisaka (Japan) | ||
| GT300 | APEX with apr (MR-S) | Minoru Tanaka (Japan) |
| T.B.N.* | ||
| TEAM RECKLESS (MR-S) | Kouta Sasaki (Japan) | |
| Tetsuya Yamano (Japan) | ||
| RACING PROJECT BANDOH (Celica) | Hiroki Kato (Japan) | |
| Nobuteru Taniguchi (Japan) | ||
| Team Takeuchi (Celica) | Hironori Takeuchi (Japan) | |
| Katsuyuki Hiranaka (Japan) |
*T.B.N.: to be nominated
4. Other Support Activities
Japan
TMC will provide support in the categories detailed below through TRD, which is in charge of the design, development and production of competition vehicles (excluding F3) and which will also provide technical support to teams using Toyota cars in various categories.
All Japan F3 Championship Series
All Japan F3 Championship Series
- Support will go to teams participating in the All Japan F3 Championship Series.
Teams to be supported and their drivers (tentative)
| Team | Drivers |
| TOM’S | Joao Paulo de OIiveira (Brazil) |
| TOM’S | Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) |
| TOM’S | Daisuke Ikeda (Japan) |
| NOW MOTORSPORTS | Taku Banba (Japan) |
| INGING | Hideto Yasuoka (Japan) |
| INGING | T.B.N.* |
| DTM | Ryo Orime (Japan) |
*T.B.N.: to be nominated
ESSO Formula Toyota Series
- The 11-race ESSO Formula Toyota Series for one-make formula races will be held.
- Attention is paid to helping drivers prepare for competition in higher categories by equipping the participating FT30 type vehicles with carbon composite chassis and 1.6-liter engines (4A-GE).
- This competition began in 2000, based on the concept of not just “watching” but “participating” in the action. So far, a total of approximately 7,300 people have competed (about 1,200 in the Altezza Series and 6,100 in the Vitz Series.)
Altezza Series
- This seven-race series covers major circuits across the country.
Vitz Series
- A total of 27 races will be held in five regions (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai and Western Japan) in this series featuring street-legal racecars.
- Regional series winners will compete in the championship race.
- Support will go to teams participating in a variety of activities (Super Endurance Series, All Japan Rally Championship, All Japan Dirt Trial Championship and others).
- The Vitz one-make rally TRD Vitz Challenge (with a total of six races) will be held, making it possible for even beginners with a B-class license to compete.
- Support will go to the Toyota Motor Sports Club (TMSC)
United States
In addition to competing in IRL and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the following support activities will be conducted, mainly through TMS and TRD-USA.
Toyota Atlantic Championship Series
- Participation will come in the form of being the title sponsor for the 17th year and by supplying one-make-specification 1.6-liter engines (4A-GE).
Grand America Cup Sports Touring (Grand Am)
- Support will go to Target Chip Ganassi Racing and five other teams participating in the Rolex Sports Car Series, in the form of 4.35-liter V8 engine supply.
Other
- Support will go to Toyota vehicles participating in the CORR (Championship Off Road Racing) and NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Drag Racing.
- In the CART Championship Series, Toyota will sponsor the first race―the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach―for the 31st time since 1975.
- Toyota will also sponsor the IRL IndyCar Series opening race at Homestead Miami Speedway and the 17th race at Fontana, California.
- Toyota will also sponsor the 16th race of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Nashville.
Europe
- Support will go to the Team Land Cruiser TOYOTA AUTO BODY participating in the Dakar Rally.
Team Land Cruiser TOYOTA AUTO BODY took away all three spots on the winner’s podium for the “unmodified production class” of the Dakar 2005 rally held in January this year.
II. Toyota Driver Development Program
Basic Concept
- This program is aimed at cultivating drivers to be able to compete in the top racing categories, both in Japan and in the rest of the world. It is dedicated to identifying new talent and to providing drivers with training and experience that will allow them to steadily move up the ranks.
- In a bid to strengthen the link between the program in Japan―Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS), and the program in Europe―Toyota Drivers Academy (TDA), the two programs will be integrated this year under the name Toyota Young Driver Program (TDP), allowing centralized management of activities.
Toyota/Yamaha Step Up System
- Support will go to the Racing KART Project promoted by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and excellent drivers will be invited to attend the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS).
Formula Toyota Scholarships
- Support for competing in the ESSO Formula Toyota Series will continue to go to two drivers―Kazuya Ohshima (17) and Yuuhi Sekiguchi (17)―selected last year from the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) for top racing KART and introductory Formula Series drivers (for competitors around the age of 18), and to two new drivers―Hideki Yamauchi (16) and Keisuke Kunimoto (16).
Toyota F3 Scholarships
- Support in the form of a Toyota F3 Scholarship will go to ESSO Formula Toyota Series champion Hideo Yasuoka (21) selected through trial and assessment of the series’ top drivers in 2004, to compete in the All Japan F3 Championship.
- Support in the form of Toyota F3 Scholarships will continue to Kazuki Nakajima (20), Taku Banba (22) and Daisuke Ikeda (22) to compete in the All Japan F3 Championship.
Formula Renault Scholarships
- Support to Kamui Kobayashi (18) will continue in the form of a Formula Renault Scholarship for drivers selected from the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) and top racing ESSO Formula Toyota Series drivers.
F3 Euro Series Scholarships
- Support will go to Franck Perera of France (19) and Kouhei Hirate of Japan (18) in the form of F3 Euro Series Scholarships for top racing introductory Formula Series and ESSO Formula Toyota Series drivers and for drivers selected from the Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS)
Toyota Racing School
- The Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS), under the lead of Masanori Sekiya, will be held 4 times during the middle of the year.
- Training programs for scholarship recipients will be held to provide a wide variety of options including basic knowledge of racecars, driving theory, mental and physical training, etc.
- Several 1-day hands-on courses are scheduled for this year.
Support to Drivers Competing in the World’s Top Categories
- Support will go to Ryan Briscoe of Australia (23) for competing in the IRL IndyCar Series.
Reference
About Fuji Speedway
- Overall remodeling of the international racecourse and related facilities has been completed, with a formal announcement to be made on Monday, Feb. 28. The grand opening is scheduled for Sunday, April 10.
