Toyota announces WRC plans

Toyota Gazoo Racing have now about 70 employees of which about 40 are working in Finland and the rest in Germany and England.

http://yle.fi/uutiset/tommi_makinen_...spomon/8549169


About the testing I’m quoting (and repeating)myself.

Post #809 in this thread

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Originally Posted by OldF

Keeping the headquarters in Jyväskylä has the advantage for gravel testing. By the WRC sporting regulations (http://www.fia.com/regulations/regul...lltext=&page=1 , page 51) in the country where the WRC team is registered they can test more.

66. TESTING
66.1 PERMITTED TESTING SITES
For Manufacturers or WRC Teams registered in the Championship, testing (as defined in Art. 2.20) is permitted:
66.1.1 On a permanent testing site proposed by the Manufacturer or WRC Team before its first rally of the year and notified to the FIA. The permanent testing site must be located in the country where the Manufacturer or WRC Team rally cars are registered.
66.1.2 During a calendar year, a P1 driver may use only one permanent testing site.
66.1.3 In Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and UK.

66.3.2 In the case of a Manufacturer, a maximum of 42 days in any calendar year. This clause does not apply to testing as stated in Art. 66.1.1.

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[QUOTE=AMSS;1075025]

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Originally Posted by Lundefaret

Why would Köln be a good rally base?
This is why https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktAOZpKzenM ;)

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Good cooperator under the umbrella of Toyota. For example enginedeveloping.

No problems having the team in Finland. Why shouldn´t it? If there were one idealic place everone should be there, yes? M-Sport in Cumbria? Nah. The whole bunch can´t be in Germany or France if other factors matters more, like in this case.

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Originally Posted by Simmi

Okay I'll admit it, I've never run a WRC team. But having Finnish gravel roads on your doorstep is great - if you want to set your car up for Finnish gravel roads.

There's a reason WRC teams test all over Europe, on old stages, in the region of the rally. So I think simply saying they have amazing gravel roads on their doorstep is not enough, and certainly doesn't outweigh all the positives and infrastructure TMG already has set up.

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At this regard I keep asking myself why, if TMG was not doing the job Toyoda wanted, they didn't decide to change some of the people and or managers at TMG keeping the structure and some valuable worker and maybe sending there Tommi Makkinen and some of his fellows friends.

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Originally Posted by jonkka

Testing advantage is interesting topic and I am not most qualified one to analyze it. I know that M-Sport has it's own test track next to factory and I feel that that is the way every team should go - in addition of having on-site tests on actual roads. But I believe we have more knowledgeable members who can prove me wrong in this subject.

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Finnish gravel roads ar not just "Finnish gravel roads." They have huge differences in character, just drive Ouininpuhja and You'll see that even there it changes a lot.
And Finnish gravel roads have another advantage, there are ha HUGE number of them close to the factory.

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Originally Posted by jonkka

In fact, Finnish ASN has relatively little to do with Finnish WRC Champions. Mr Jouhki has done more to this end, as Kankkunen and Makinen (4 titles each) both owe much if not everything to him.

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As I have understood it the person in question has had a big role in the Finnish WRC round, which is by far the most succesfull in the WRC. That can't be bad?
Timo Jouhki has off course been important for several Finnish Champions (but not all). But whit out the work of the Finnish ASN it would be no rally drivers to choose from. Timo Joukhi doesn't arrange rallies, get volunteers to be time keepers, arrange parking on rally events, see that there are regulations like the popular Group F that promotes rally (or ralli) as a big sport, etc etc.
Both the Finnish ASN and the organisers are very important, and they have done a really really good job.

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Originally Posted by jonkka

It was but is no longer as French have taken (or stolen) the scepter from Finns.

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Not by a mile. Finland is the only country in the World where Rally is seen as a national sport. The only two countries I can think of that actually come close is Barbados and Ireland.
Though France has had two great champions, rally by no means a competitor of bigger sports like soccer.

Finland is the rally capital of the world, and by being that, and a country that can manage huge technological engineering feats (like Nokia), Finland can be a great place to run a rally team from.

Finland the rally capital? Nokia? It's 2015, not 2004. :)

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Originally Posted by AL14

At this regard I keep asking myself why, if TMG was not doing the job Toyoda wanted, they didn't decide to change some of the people and or managers at TMG keeping the structure and some valuable worker and maybe sending there Tommi Makkinen and some of his fellows friends.

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TMG went rouge, and thats the problem.
Trough F1, LeMans they have showed that they can use huge budgets, whit out winning titles.
According to Flavio Briatore they have a huge problem in how they opperate.

The TMG rally project did not have central backing, and it was clear by several statements from Toyoda that TMG was operating against his wishes.
I think the reason that TMG was dropped also was because Toyoda wants a more hands on approach to this project, and that is very difficult with a huge organisation as TMG.

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Originally Posted by EightGear

Finland the rally capital? Nokia? It's 2015, not 2004. :)

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I think Lundefarat explained quite well why it can be considered the rally capital.

Also there's no reason to downplay Nokia. Yes, the mobile phone business went down hill and they sold the loss making phone unit to Microsoft, but they've kept the far more lucrative unit.

And the Nokia cellphone comback will happen in 2016, with Android and not Symbian OS.
Maybe also one with Sailfish OS?

Nokia will hit back hard, now that they are free from Microsoft!!!

When Toyoda wants Gazoo Rally in Finland, and not with the racing arm in Germany, he probably has his reasons.

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Originally Posted by Franky

I think Lundefarat explained quite well why it can be considered the rally capital.

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Really? I could also say that Portugal is the world capital of rally because 'Rallye de Portugal' is the greater sport event hold in our country...;)

Let's be serious: Finland is one of the greater rally nations; modern rallying is deeply linked with Finland and all those glorious drivers from the 70's and 80's made an outstanding footprint, but rally history doesn't start there and Finland never got a heavy desition power in rally world.

France still is the world capital of rally. From their heritage but also from their permanent contribution to the sport. No other country has all their manus involved in rally sport (in FIA champs or simply providing cars and services to rally costumers). It's (probably) the country with larger number of rallies per season (from regional level to WRC) and the greater degree of participation (200 entries are common in frech rally champ events). Also, no other country got CSI/FIA leadership during so long.

It's true that for some time Brits managed to get rallyworld leardership (like German are nowadays attempting) but French always kept their rulling power. I believe they will continue to.

PS: to all the Toy/Makinen critics: it's unfair to prejudge in such a negative way the team capacity before they even start rallying, and it's ridiculous to say that TMG is more capable; since F1 days they're a white elephant in Toyota's living room and probably, if they don't get a Le Mans win in a near future, they can end in a bad way...

Mery Christmans to all!

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Originally Posted by Sulland

When Toyoda wants Gazoo Rally in Finland, and not with the racing arm in Germany, he probably has his reasons.

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I genuinely think Toyoda made his decision because Tommi convinced him that his way (smaller, more hands on, family team) is better. And now we have to wait and see (and hope) that Tommi was right.