MOTORSPORT: Toyota going new route in WRC

Toyota is promising a unique approach under the new regulations ushering in more aggressive world rally cars next year, which will mark the Japanese brand's return to the World Rally Championship after an absence of almost two decades.

Tom Fowler, the engineering chief on the Tommi Makinen-led project developing the Yaris for competition, says the surprise will be in Toyota's aerodynamics more so than anything mechanical.

The 2017 regulations allow much greater freedom with aerodynamics and power – the cars can be wider and have much greater overhang front and back, with big rear wings – with the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine output increased to 380 horsepower, while overall weight will be reduced by 25kg.

"In the previous generation cars there was not much targeting on aerodynamics," Fowler said.

"Going to the other extreme, if you look at Formula 1 cars, they will compromise every single suspension component for a small amount of aero.

"Now that's not something that rallying has ever seen before, and it's not to say we will fully compromise everything for aero, but the balance has changed.

"The overall concept [of the Yaris WRC] is quite different.

"It's too early for me to explain where these differences are physically with the car – that would give away something we feel will be an advantage to us."

Toyota won several driver and manufacturer world rally titles during its previous 25-year participation in the sport up to the end of the 1990s.

However, in the middle of that decade it was banned for a year over an illegal system that unlocked engine power by allowing air to bypass the restrictor on its turbo – something then Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president Max Mosley called "the most ingenious thing I have seen in 30 years of motorsport".

For its return Toyota opted to have the Yaris developed in Finland by multiple world champion driver Makinen, rather than at its traditional European motorsport base in Cologne, Germany.

More than 5000km have been done in two testing programs – the first concentrating on the engine and gearbox in Finland, the other in southern Europe focused on the suspension.

"We can already tell that the performance levels of the car are really high," Fowler said.

Toyota will be up against existing WRC manufacturer participants Volkswagen, Hyundai and M-Sport, representing Ford, as well as Citroen – which has taken a "sabbatical" from full-time participation this year while it concentrates on its 2017 car.

However, the French manufacturer's one contracted driver for next year, Northern Irishman Kris Meeke, has won twice this season in a DS3 in occasional entries for privateer team PH Sport – previously known as the Citroen Junior Team.

The driver market promises to be quite active in coming weeks, with speculation about Belgian Thierry Neuville leaving Hyundai to return to Citroen.

It is not yet clear whether Toyota will go for experience – perhaps even trying to lure back a world champion, maybe record-holder Sebastien Loeb or Petter Solberg, from rallycross – or put its faith in young talent.

That may depend on talks Makinen is to have with Toyota chiefs in Japan soon about the direction they want to take – to go for instant success or adopt a longer-term plan.

"Of course, we'd like to see the podium very soon," Makinen said.

Toyota will field a two-car team initially but look to expand to three.

Makinen did a little of the early Yaris testing himself. "I just couldn't resist," he said.

Fellow Finn Juho Hanninen, one of the regular Toyota test drivers, said "the handling and balance of the car is perfect".

"The work done on the design is exceptional," he said.

"The car has been very reliable from the word go.

"We've not been held up by any major technical issues."

Molly Taylor gets winning feeling with Subaru
National rally star Molly Taylor and former policeman co-driver Bill Hayes notched the first win in their Subaru WRX STi NR4 at Tasmania's Southern Safari.

That wasn't an Australian Rally Championship event, but a one-day round of the Tasmanian Rally Series.

The Subaru had a puncture early in the day, but Taylor drove consistently against Launceston brothers Marcus and Scott Walkem, then clocked the fastest times on the final three stages to win by almost half a minute.

While the next ARC round is Rally SA on September 9-11, Hayes this weekend is co-driving a 2009 Subaru with Dean Herridge in WA tarmac rally, Targa West.

Bumper field likely for Bathurst Six-Hour
Entries for the second Bathurst Six-Hour next Easter opened on August 1 and organisers said this week they already had 32, with a prospect of a capacity grid of 72.

The first six-hour at Mt Panorama last Easter, run by James O'Brien's Yeehah Events (which previously ran the February 12-Hour until it was sold to the Supercars organisation), had a field of 50 cars.

It was won by Nathan Morcom and Chaz Mostert in a BMW 335i; there were 12 changes of lead, and the tussle for the other podium positions went down to the final 10 minutes.

"We are working towards the real possibility [next year] of a full grid in a major Bathurst endurance race for the first time in decades," O'Brien said.

The 36 entries already are from 26 different entrants in five states.

There is considerable manufacturer interest in the April 16 race, especially as many don't get to play in the Supercar or GT enduros at The Mountain – the spiritual home of Australian motorsport.

The full list of cars eligible is here.

Entries don't close until March 10.

Yeehah has pitched the six-hour as a return to "the classic Bathurst tradition of long-distance racing with the same cars you can buy on the showroom floor – production based vehicles tuned for racing but remaining true to their road-going origins" and "a true multi-class race".

Next year the six-hour race also will be a round of the Australian Production Car Series.

Aussie cops suspension in America's GT series
Expatriate Australian James Davison has been suspended from driving his Nissan GT-R for a race in the Pirelli World Challenge in North America.

The ban – and a US$5000 fine and a further three-race probation – came after a clash with McLaren 650S driver Colin Thompson in the recent round at the Mid-Ohio circuit while Davison was already on probation from earlier in the season.

While the suspension is only for one race, this weekend's round is a double-header at Utah Motorsports Campus and veteran US correspondent Marshall Preutt has said that British substitute Craig Dolby is likely to remain in the Always Evolving team's GT-R for both races.

Davison is sixth in the series points and Always Evolving has said it wants to retain him next season and perhaps hire Dolby if it expands to three cars. Its other driver, Californian Bryan Heitkotter, is eighth this season.

New F1 driver has already beaten Verstappen
Formula 1 will have a new driver when it resumes at Belgium's Spa circuit at the end of the month – and he's a teenager who beat Max Verstappen in the 2014 European Formula 3 Championship.

Esteban Ocon, a 19-year-old Frenchman, is in at the Mercedes-powered Manor team – 10th of 11 in the constructors' championship – because Indonesian rookie Rio Haryanto's money from his government has dried up after 12 races.

Like Manor's other driver, German Pascal Wehrlein, Ocon – the reigning GP3 champion – is a Mercedes protégé, although he also is in contention for a seat in Renault's factory F1 team next season.

Now it's Formula E for Engel
One-time V8 Supercar racer Maro Engel's next switch – of many – is going to be to Formula E, the international electric open-wheeler series.

Engel will race for the Monaco-owned Venturi team in the third season of Formula E due to start in October.

The German, long based in Monaco and with strong Mercedes connections, came to Australia from Germany's DTM (touring car championship) to drive a Merc for Betty Klimenko's Erebus team in 2013, but lasted only one year.

However, he has since won the FIA GT World Cup in Macau late last year and was in the winning Merc at this year's Nurburgring 24-Hour.

While he will continue in Europe's Blancpain GT series, Engel – runner-up in the British F3 Championship in 2007 – said he retained a strong fondness for open-wheelers and Formula E was "the place to be".

Venturi said it recruited him – in place of Brit Mike Conway, a Toyota sports car endurance driver – because of a sponsor request that it field a German driver.