TOYOTA WRC MILESTONES
1973 Walter Boyce secures Toyota’s first victory, driving an Andersson Motorsport–prepared Corolla on the Press-onregardless Rally in the US
1975 TTE’S first victory comes at Finland’s Rally of the 1000 Lakes with future champion Hannu Mikkola driving a Corolla Levin
1984 First win on the Safari Rally of Kenya with
Björn Waldegård driving a Celica Twin-cam Turbo. It is the first of a hat-trick of Safari wins for Toyota and drivers Waldegård and Juha Kankkunen between 1984 and 1986 1988 Introduction of the 4WD Celica Gt-four, which would go on to win 29 WRC rallies and six world-championship titles (two constructors’ and four drivers’) in its ST165, ST185, and ST205 guises
1989 Constructors’ runners-up; Carlos Sainz makes his Toyota debut, taking three podiums from seven starts
1990 Sainz becomes Toyota’s first Drivers’ World Champion at the wheel of a Celica Gt-four (ST165); Toyota is runner-up in the constructors’ contest
1992 Sainz takes his second drivers’ title driving a Celica Gt-four ST185; Toyota is again runner-up in the constructors’ contest 1993 With seven victories, Toyota becomes the first Japanese company to win the WRC constructors’ title; Kankkunen adds the drivers’ crown
1994 Toyota wins the constructors’ title again, with Didier Auriol taking the drivers’ title. TTE is renamed ‘Toyota Motorsport Gmbh’ (TMG) after Toyota Motor Corporation takes ownership
1995 Third in constructors’ championship but later disqualified for 12 months for fitting an illegal system that unlocked engine power by allowing air to bypass the air restrictor on the turbo
1996–’97 Maintains a presence in the WRC by supporting private teams
1998 Returns to the WRC with the Celica’s replacement, the Corolla World Rally Car, and driver line-up of Sainz and Auriol, who come second in both the drivers’ and the constructors’ championship
1999 Constructors’ champions for the third time; announces withdrawal from the WRC to prepare for a switch to Formula 1 in 2002
2015 Announces it will return to the WRC in 2017 with a Yaris World Rally Car