TOYOTA WRC27 DEVELOPMENT: OTT TÄNAK EXPLAINS TOYOTA'S PREPARATION FOR THE NEW WRC ERA

ESTONIAN STAR TO DRIVE ZERO CAR IN ROME AS TOYOTA COLLECTS DATA FOR ITS FUTURE WRC27 PROJECT

Ott Tänak will return to rally action this weekend at Rally di Roma Capitale, taking on zero-car duties as Toyota continues preparations for the FIA World Rally Championship's next generation of regulations.

The 2019 World Rally Champion and co-driver Martin Järveoja will drive a Toyota Yaris Rally2 ahead of the competing crews. Although they will not score championship points, the outing forms part of Toyota's ongoing WRC27 development programme.

According to Tänak, Toyota's objective is to gather information from the Italian asphalt event, which could become part of the FIA World Rally Championship calendar in the future.

"The main objective of the project is to gather information because Rally di Roma Capitale could become a World Rally Championship event in the future. It's important for Toyota to understand what the rally is like." – Ott Tänak

The programme will allow Toyota to collect data on tyre wear, suspension performance and overall vehicle behaviour across the demanding asphalt stages. Toyota team principal Juha Kankkunen believes Tänak's experience makes him well suited to development work.

Toyota is currently the only existing Rally1 manufacturer actively developing a car for the WRC27 regulations, which are scheduled to come into force in 2027.

"As we know, Toyota takes everything very seriously. The same applies to this project." – Ott Tänak

"The technical changes are huge and almost everything is still new. There's a lot of development work still to do." – Ott Tänak

WRC'S FUTURE REMAINS UNCERTAIN

While Toyota continues work on its future rally car, the wider picture for the championship remains undecided.

The FIA has approved the use of Rally2 cars equipped with the Rally2-WRC Kit in the championship's top category during the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The package adds specified components to existing Rally2 cars and is subject to a maximum cost of €7,500.

M-Sport has announced plans to build a Rally2-WRC Kit car for the transition period, while Hyundai has yet to confirm its long-term direction. Škoda has already confirmed it will not develop a Rally2-WRC Kit package.

Tänak believes there is still uncertainty about how the championship will look under the new regulations.

"Everything is still quite open and a little confusing. At the moment it looks as though three different categories of car could be competing together. Time will tell what the final picture looks like. It's still very difficult to predict." – Ott Tänak

The Estonian also said he does not yet know whether he will take part in further Toyota development activities later this season.

"Toyota's strategy group will decide what they want to do. A lot will also depend on what next year's WRC calendar eventually looks like." – Ott Tänak

Key Points

• Ott Tänak will drive the zero car at Rally di Roma Capitale.

• Tänak and Martin Järveoja will use a Toyota Yaris Rally2.

• The outing supports Toyota's ongoing WRC27 development programme.

• Toyota aims to gather data on tyre wear and suspension performance.

• Rally di Roma Capitale could become a future WRC event, according to current plans referenced by Tänak.

• Toyota is currently the only existing Rally1 manufacturer actively developing a WRC27 car.

• The FIA has approved Rally2-WRC Kit cars for the championship's top category in 2027 and 2028.

• Tänak says the future structure of the WRC remains uncertain.