The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team will begin the new era in the FIA World Rally Championship when the 2022 season begins and the GR YARIS Rally1 debuts on the legendary Rally Monte-Carlo from January 20-23 2022.
The GR YARIS Rally1 is the successor to the all-conquering Yaris WRC, which claimed a clean sweep of the manufacturers’, drivers’ and co-drivers’ in the 2021 season that concluded just eight weeks ago at Monza in Italy.
Rally1 cars feature several significant changes compared to their predecessors, headlined by the arrival of hybrid technology to the highest level of rallying for the first time. Each car’s hybrid unit comprises a 3.9kWh battery and a motor-generator unit (MGU), delivering an additional 100 kW (134 PS) under acceleration.
The GR YARIS Rally1 combines with the proven 1.6-litre turbocharged engine from the Yaris WRC to provide the drivers with over 500 PS (490bhp). The engine will run on a 100 per cent sustainable fuel: The first of its kind to be used in an FIA world championship.
The GR YARIS Rally1 is built around a dedicated spaceframe chassis offering increased safety protection for drivers and co-drivers. Other transformations required by the regulations include:
- Less complex aerodynamics.
- A return to a mechanical gearshift.
- The active centre differential removal.
These changes will increase the focus on the drivers’ skills, who will also need to adapt to the demands around regenerating and deploying the hybrid energy on the stages while working with their engineers to optimise the performance and drivability within these new parameters.
