Over the past three years, Toyota has dominated the World Rally Championship, clinching both drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles with remarkable prowess.
However, this year marks a new chapter for the Japanese automaker as it ventures into the Rally2 customer arena with its GR Yaris Rally2 – described as the “aggressive sibling” of the GR Yaris Rally1 by Toyota WRC team technical director Tom Fowler.
Rally2 cars in rallying are akin to GT3 and TCR cars in GT and touring car racing, offering off-the-shelf vehicles constructed to specific FIA regulations, available to those willing to invest between €200,000-€300,000.
Since its inception as the R5 category in 2012, Rally2 regulations have enjoyed immense success, with 1500 of these 1.6-liter, four-wheel-drive cars circulating the market. Rally2 serves as the foundation for numerous national championships, the top tier of the European Rally Championship, and the second tier of the WRC: WRC2.
To ensure a competitive edge against rivals such as Skoda’s Fabia RS, Citroen’s C3, M-Sport Ford’s Fiesta, and the Hyundai i20 N, Toyota dedicated 18 months to the development of the GR Yaris Rally2.
The car underwent rigorous testing, covering over 9000 miles with drivers Kalle Rovanpera, Juho Hanninen, Stephane Lefebvre, and Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala.
While Toyota’s GR Yaris Rally1 stands as the benchmark in the WRC, boasting 16 victories out of 28 rallies contested thus far, crafting a vehicle to meet defined regulations tailored for customers of varying skill levels presents a distinct challenge.
Fowler elaborates on this challenge, stating, “The biggest challenge is getting the focus of the project correct because it’s a customer project that is out for sale. It’s the first car we’ve designed like that as a company.”
“In the past, our customer was only our factory driver, so we could easily understand what the need of the project was because the drivers are there with us. Now the driver could be anyone, so we had to really understand the focus and how to approach that.”
He continues, “The regulation has been around for so long and there are lots of evolutions of all the other cars – it’s a very competitive market to come into. Everything has to work really well to match what everyone else has done as all the other cars are so good. Our first one has to be almost evo 3 or 4 straight away. That’s not just performance; it’s reliability, usability, everything has to be what everyone else has been doing for several years.”
Evidence of its Rally1 counterpart’s DNA is apparent in the GR Yaris Rally2, with Toyota successfully incorporating a scaled-down version of the Yaris’s distinctive aesthetics. Fowler notes that these “aggressive features” were essential “to be on the same level as the latest cars.”
Moreover, lessons learned from Rally1 were seamlessly integrated into the Rally2 car, and vice versa.
“There are certain components in Rally1 and Rally2 where the regulation is the same or very similar,” Fowler explains. “We were able to use a lot of the design philosophy and learning we had done for Rally1 to help with Rally2.”
He adds, “But also in the other direction, we found some improvements for Rally1 based on what we have done for Rally2. One of the big benefits from the way we structured the project to have it within the same design team as the Rally1 car was this ability to learn in both directions.”
Although the GR Yaris Rally2 demonstrated reliability, it faced challenges in terms of outright performance during its WRC debut in Monte Carlo. Despite this, it showcased promise on Swedish snow, clinching an outright stage win and securing multiple top finishes. A maiden WRC2 victory seems imminent for Rally2’s newest contender.
In terms of technical specifications, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 features a three-cylinder, 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with a five-speed sequential gearbox. Its suspension utilizes MacPherson struts, and it weighs 1230kg, including one spare tire, with a length of 3995mm.
