Ott Tanak, 2019 World Rally champion, has joined Toyota as a test driver to help develop the manufacturer's prototype for the 2027 World Rally Championship.
Tanak returned to a WRC car this week after announcing a sabbatical from full-time WRC competition at Rally Japan in November, and he has been added to Toyota’s testing programme. Toyota began prototype testing last year and has covered more than 2,000 km on asphalt, snow and gravel, with prior development carried out by Juho Hänninen and full-time Rally1 drivers Elfyn Evans, Oliver Solberg, Takamoto Katsuta and Sami Pajari.
Toyota is the only mainstream manufacturer known to be developing a car to the 2027 technical rules, which include a €345,000 cost cap and Rally2-based architecture with double-wishbone suspension and Rally2-derived braking and steering. Kevin Struyf, Toyota's head of engineering, described the vehicle as a prototype mule and said the team has not yet chosen which production model it will contest in 2027.
This report is based on information originally published by Motorsport.
Read the full article at Motorsport.
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