What events established the dominance of Toyota in Motorsports?
- FIA World Endurance Championship
- World Rally Championship
- British Touring Car Championship
Toyota has made a mark in the world of motorsports to cement their name as one of the top manufacturers of any sport that involves and engine and wheels. Toyota has been known to compete in a multitude of racing events.
Toyota Motors Philippines hosts the Vios cup which aims to increase the number of racing talent in the country. Internationally, they’re known as a championship winning brand. With the likes of Hannu Mikkola and Carlos Sainz Sr. behind the wheel of championship winning rally cars of the 70s and 90s to the blisteringly quick World Endurance Championship cars with world renowned drivers such as Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Buemi at the reins.
There’s no doubt that Toyota has been flexing their muscles in any motorsport they compete in.
FIA World Endurance Championship
Toyota’s World Endurance Championship appearance was dated during the 1980s. But it was only until 1992 when Toyota’s name became more significant, when they managed to achieve a 2nd place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with drivers Masanori Sekiya, Pierre-Henri Raphanel, and Kenny Acheson. In 1998, Toyota hired ex-Formula 1 drivers Martin Brundle, Ukyo Katayama, and Thierry Boutsen to drive the Toyota GT-One for the World Endurance Championship.
It was during the 1999 season where Toyota and their drivers stunned the crowed. They were the fastest car on the field and after hours of narrowing down the lead against Team BMW Motorsport, the chance for a top step on the podium was taken away by a tire failure during the final hour of the race. They managed to finish a dramatic 2nd place during that event.
The following FIA World Endurance where Toyota claimed victory was at the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship with drivers Anthony Davidson and Sebastian Buemi taking the car to a manufacturers championship and claiming the driver’s title for the season. Their next victory at the FIA World Championship was at 2018 with the now former Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso showing his excellent driving ability behind the Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050 Hybrid. Alongside the Spaniard was Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastian Buemi.
World Rally Championship
Toyota’s first World Rally Championship win was at 1975 at the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, where rally veteran Hannu Mikkola and co-driver Atso Aho held off the competition with a Corolla. But when you talk about rallying and Toyota, you can never skip the era of the fire-spitting Celica GT4 with Carlos Sainz Sr. behind the wheel.
He claimed his first driver’s title in 1990 with the GT4 ahead of the Italian rally giants, Lancia. After 18 years of absence, Toyota came back to the WRC with 4 time rally champion and a legend of the sport, Tommi Makkinen behind the helm. They debuted a 4-wheel-drive 1.6 liter turbocharged Yaris in the 2017 WRC. They got their first win in 2017 at the rally stage of Sweden. The following year, Toyota managed to take home the manufacturers title.
British Touring Car Championship
Brand new Toyota cars for sale in the Philippines has seen a lot of technological advancements that stemmed from the brand’s motorsport development. The world of touring car racing has influenced manufacturers to apply some motorsport enhancements to their passenger vehicles. Toyota is no stranger to this discipline of racing and has formed their passenger cars over the development of their racing cars from touring championships.
Back in the day, the Toyota Corolla was the star of the show in the 1986 and 1987 British Touring Car Championship. They have slain the European giants at the time. Today, Toyota’s BTCC car the Toyota Avensis has stunned the crowd with hair-raising performances from British driver Tom Ingram. He managed to finish the 2017 season with a 3rd place position and the 2018 season with an overall position of 2nd place. During the 2018 season Tom Ingram managed to take home 3 victories, with 9 podium finishes.
Key Takeaway
The world’s biggest automotive brand name is not just known for selling the best brand new cars. Toyota Philippines’ sales in the country continues to grow by the minute. What makes these cars so great is the fact that their build with the best technologies and developments from their racing counterparts. The dominance of Toyota in motorsports has proven to the world that the best-selling automotive brand produces cars with great heritage and pedigree.
