Toyota are apparently on course to make their first WRC return in 13 years after the Japanese company’s Motorsport president Yoshiaki Kinoshita pinpointed 2014 as the year that will most likely see Toyota back.
“We hope we are ready by 2014” said Toyota Motorsport GmbH president Kinoshita.
“Our target is the World Rally Championship, but we need to make several steps because we stopped Rallying in 1999, there’s no know-how inside the company”.
Kinoshita then added: “What we need is to prepare engines, and build up our knowledge again.”
Toyota is currently in a three-year Endurance-race program, but Kinoshita did not rule out the possibility of running a WRC program on a Yaris-based car as well.
“We need to prepare the Rally project. If we have a very good situation, we can do both.”
Toyota won 43 WRC rounds between 1990 and 1999, in addition to taking the drivers’ title four times and the manufacturers’ three times.