Jun. 30, 2000

Toyota Fires Up for 2002 F1 Debut

TMC Racing subsidiary confirms Formula One start date

Tokyo―TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) confirmed its entry in the Formula One World Championship Racing (F1) in 2002.

With the FIA confirmation for the 12th and final F1 slot, TMC accelerated its research and development through its German based motorsport subsidiary Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), who are now putting all their efforts into going racing as soon as possible.

TMC Senior Managing Director Akihiko Saito, chairman of TMC's Motorsports Committee, said: "The 2002 competition is sure to be a fierce fight to the finish among the world's top automakers and we plan to deliver to motorsports fans thrills galore right from the very start."

Speaking from Cologne, Germany, TMG President Ove Andersson said, "We set our original engineering programme to race in 2002. We are now well on schedule and can confirm we will hit this target. With the full support of the FIA, we are making an all-out effort in our development and we are all very pleased with initial progress. It was always clear this was going to be a huge task but we are still totally focused, and eagerly looking forward, to getting behind the wheel in actual competition."

Aiming for works status with an all-Toyota engine and chassis

Toyota is independently developing its own engine and racecar chassis to qualify as an F1 Grand Prix works team. This year's agenda includes developing new hydraulic and electrical systems by using the Toyota GT-One sportscar, which ended up only a tyre puncture away from first place in last year's Le Mans 24-hour Endurance Race. Full-scale testing of Toyota's first F1 machine will start in the spring of 2001 in preparation for a place on the 2002 starting grid.