TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT

[bluuford]

interesting finding.. since 30th July 2020 the Tommi Mäkinen Racing Oü (Estonian side company) has third management board member, an Estonian lawyer. So something is clearly happening, why else would they bring a lawyer to the management..

This lawyer has formerly worked as company liquidator...

[meh]

This lawyer has formerly worked as company liquidator...

This "liquidator" role can be just because you have closed one of your companies in registry. I have the same role for one of the company which I closed and never been doing any "liquidator" activities.

[doubled1978]

From the article they say that this move was the intention all along, that being the case it is a justification that the job has been done well in the eyes of Toyota.
It actually makes sense that they used TMR to establish the rally team, and now that has been done bring it inside the Toyota factory umbrella.
It may have nothing to do with it, but the timing is suspicious, is that with the move from LMP1 Hybrid to Hypercar for the WEC programme, there should be a decent chunk of budget possible to use elsewhere as the projected budgets to run a programme are massively less for Hypercar compared with LMP1 Hybrid.

[Tarmop]

Where`s the logic with the WEC budget. If anything, running their own operation would have been cheaper than buying it from third parties.
Also i find it hard to believe that a succesful TMGbh, winners of the past WRC events, with big options, couldn`t arrange some engineers like Fowler for instance, in their German base. Could be wrong ofc, but imho there is something more behind it, than the "original plan".

Maybe a polite and respectful way to reduce expenses, as COVID hit everything hard, they have the capability of running the show themselves, hire those people, hence no need to pay a lot extra.

[Rally Power]

This is a surprising 180º turn and no matter the nice words it sounds suspicious. Just like in 2015, when Makinen was appointed Toyota’s WRC chief (getting the program from TMG), no proper motive is mentioned on the PR, making one wondering why is now Mr. Toyoda splitting up with Makinen.

Btw, moving the WRC program back to TMG (now called TGR Europe) will probably make Finland and Estonian bases redundant; it's not hard to imagine all TGR WRC operations gathered in Cologne state-of-the-art facilities on a near future.

[EstWRC]

not a surprise at all....


all i know for sure, N.O.T will be now happier whereever he is at the moment

[Rally Power]

not a surprise at all....

Why isn't it a surprise for you?

[dimviii]

somebody doesnt tell the truth.Hard to believe thatMakinen will used to

'' such as the development of motorsports-bred GR vehicles, strategic planning of motorsport activities, and driver talent development''

[AnttiL]

Well it says Toyota basically bought TMR so on a business level this could have been a jackpot for Tommi

TMR will stay with me, TMR will remain and continue contracted directly with TMC. It’s going to work in motorsport and some other areas. There might be quite a lot of decent topics, but more or less I’m working directly with TMC and Akio [Toyoda, TMC president].

https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/exclu...ota-departure/

This is sort of like if Ford started to run their own WRC program and bought all the WRC development from M-Sport (and hired Wilson as some advisor), but M-Sport would still remain doing all the other business they've been doing.

[AnttiL]

https://www.rallit.fi/onko-tassa-toy...seuraajakseen/

Mäkinen has recommended Kaj Lindström as his successor as a team boss