TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents 2024 WRC and WEC Activity Team Setups and new-look cars

TORONTO, Ontario – December 14, 2023 – After winning all the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) world titles in 2023, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) is renewing its commitment to these championships for 2024. TGR has unveiled the new livery for the cars that will compete in WRC and WEC in the 2024 season. 

There are two concepts for the all-new matt black livery for the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID and the GR010 HYBRID, which compete in the respective FIA World Championships. One of the concepts is "Speed" representing our spirit, "Hate to lose". The other one is the “Prototype” which represents making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and to keep evolving.

The new livery will be used not only in the WRC and the WEC, but also in other competitions in which TOYOTA GAZOO Racing participates.

In the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), TGR will continue to work with the drivers and co-drivers with whom it has built relationships of mutual trust to take on the challenge of securing the Manufacturers’, Drivers’, and Co-drivers’ triple.

In the Hypercar category of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Nyck de Vries will join the team as a new driver of car #7 for the 2024 season which will see a number of new rivals participate. Under the leadership of Team Principal Kamui Kobayashi, the team will aim to secure both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ double for a sixth year in succession.

FIA World Rally Championship (WRC)

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team is pleased to confirm its star-studded driver line-up for the 2024 FIA World Rally Championship season, when it will aim to once more win the manufacturers’, drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles.

Kalle Rovanperä this year became the youngest ever winner of back-to-back WRC drivers’ titles, aged 23, and has signed a new multi-year contract with TGR-WRT. Following his remarkable rise to the very top of the sport, Rovanperä will take part in a selected programme of rallies in 2024 alongside co-driver Jonne Halttunen. This will allow him some time away from the intense demands of competing for world championship titles and to enjoy driving across different disciplines including drifting, further enhancing his skills and experience behind the wheel.

Eight-time world champion Sébastien Ogier achieved the last of his titles with TGR-WRT in 2020 and ’21 before stepping back from full-time competition. He remains a key player in the team, having claimed victories in Monte Carlo, Mexico and Kenya during 2023, and will again contest a partial programme next season together with co-driver Vincent Landais.

The team is also excited to continue its relationship with Elfyn Evans for further seasons. Since joining TGR-WRT, Evans has established himself as a regular championship contender, finishing runner-up three times in four years – including in 2023, when he scored rally wins in Croatia, Finland and Japan. Looking to build on the progress of this season, he and co-driver Scott Martin will enter 2024 with their sights set on competing for their first world championship titles.

Takamoto Katsuta will also again form part of the team’s line-up and drive a full season in the GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID with co-driver Aaron Johnston. A product of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program, Katsuta stepped up to join the team’s main line-up in 2023 and contributed to its manufacturers’ championship success with an excellent podium finish at Rally Finland.

Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal):

"We are very happy to be keeping our winning driver line-up together for the future. It’s great to know that we have such a strong squad of drivers who feel at home in our car and our team and want to continue working with us. Kalle’s programme will be a bit different in 2024 but the important thing for us is that he is a Toyota driver and he wants to stay with the team and keep enjoying his passion for rallying. Even though he is young, he has been driving rally cars at a serious level for a long time and he feels a part-campaign would be best for him now so that we can look forward to more full seasons together in the future. It’s also great that Seb continues with us, and it means that together with Kalle, we will have two multiple world champions as strong assets in our defence of the manufacturers’ championship. Elfyn has shown us again this year that he can win rallies and compete for championships, and we know he will give his best efforts in every rally. Taka proved at Rally Finland this year that he can be up there in the fastest rallies and hopefully we can see him as a contender for podiums in almost every rally next season."

FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)

In 2024, we will continue to race in the Hypercar category (LMH class), which is the top class of the WEC, with a two-vehicle team as we aim to win the championship. TGR will enter with the GR010 HYBRID, fitted with RACING HYBRID technology that has been advanced during WEC competition. The team will be based at TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH (TGR-E) in Cologne, Germany.

The driver lineup will include Nyck de Vries as the new driver of car #7. Nyck was a test and reserve driver for the TGR WEC team from 2020-2022. Having continued to gain experience in a variety of categories, Nyck will join us again as an even stronger driver. José María López, who has competed in the WEC for many years with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing since 2017, will switch from the Hypercar class from the 2024 season to compete in the WEC LMGT3 class with Team Akkodis ASP.This activity is TGR's support for Team Akkodis ASP as part of customer motorsports to achieve sustainable motorsports. He will be responsible for team and car development and will support young and gentleman drivers. He will make use of the many years of experience he has gained in the Hypercar class and continue to aim to achieve sustainable motorsports as a member of the TGR family.

Alongside Nyck de Vries in the No. 7 car, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing retains Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, who is also Team Principal. On the No. 8 car, the driver team is unchanged with Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa.

Next year, the reserve driver will be Ritomo Miyata, who won both the Japanese Super Formula Championship (SF) and SUPER GT500 class in the 2023 season.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal)

"In motorsport, things are constantly evolving and it’s the same with driver line-ups. On car #7, Mike, José and me drove together since 2017, which is a really long time in any category. We enjoyed some amazing moments together, but also some tough times, particularly at Le Mans. I would like to thank José for his massive contribution, as a driver and a team-mate. He will always be a part of our TOYOTA GAZOO Racing family. At the same time, it is exciting to welcome Nyck back to the team as part of the #7 crew. We know from his time as our Test and Reserve Driver, plus his other racing, how quick and consistent he is. Next season again we have a top driver line-up in both cars, and this will be important when we face even more competitors in Hypercar. I am sure we will grow stronger together as a team over the winter, ready for the new challenge."

TGR will continue its practice of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars and pursuing activities to enhance the appeal and sustainability of motorsports.

About Toyota Canada Inc.

Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) is the exclusive Canadian distributor of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota has sold over six million vehicles in Canada through a national network of 287 Toyota and Lexus dealerships. Toyota is dedicated to bringing safety, quality, dependability and reliability to the vehicles Canadians drive and the service they receive. TCI’s head office is in Toronto, with regional offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax, and parts distribution centres in Clarington and Vancouver. Toyota also operates two manufacturing facilities in Canada. Having produced more than nine million vehicles, popular Canadian models built at these facilities include Toyota RAV4, Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Lexus RX 350 and RX 450h hybrid, as well as Lexus NX 250, NX 350 and NX 350h hybrid. The company has sold more than 20 million electrified vehicles worldwide and is the number one seller of electrified vehicles in Canada.