According to information from the specialist rally media DirtFish, Toyota is working on a new Yaris to enter the Rally3 category, only represented by Ford today with its Fiesta. There have been several rumors in recent months, but the brand seems to have started to work.
As reported by this outlet, the Jyväskylä-based team will prioritize the development of a new car over the Rally2 machine, which has also been on the table for the past few months. They go further, reporting that “Toyota is eager to expand its rally car range”.
The Japanese brand made a strong return to the World Rally Championship in 2017, building a brand new Yaris WRC. They started well from the first round, Monte Carlo, with a podium from Latvala, and a few weeks later, the same Finnish driver took the victory in Rally Sweden.
The basis for the possible new machine will be centered in Jyväskylä, which will help speed up the design and construction process of the new cars. Latvala, current Team Principal, has admitted that they have opted for Rally3 (also with four-wheel drive, turbo and with more than 200 hp) rather than Rally2.
The Finn explains the team’s decision based on the following: “For Rally2 we are waiting for some decisions on the technical regulations. Hybrids are close in this category and we need to understand everything before we can start a project”.
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Finally, also in statements to DirtFish, Latvala has denied that the construction process of the new Rally3 has begun: “We have not reached that point. We have analyzed the details and regulations of this car and we continue to do so. Hopefully we have some details for confirm soon, but so far nothing has been resolved”.
