A rally programme that took the world title, a short and turbulent Formula One stint, Le Mans wins from 2018 and a NASCAR presence that grew from a Dash series start.
Toyota has competed in motorsport since 1972, winning rally world titles in the 1990s and Le Mans from 2018. Its NASCAR Cup programme produced its first driver's title in 2015, and its Formula One team never won a race.
Toyota has been involved in motorsport since the early 1970s, with major programmes in rallying, sports car racing, IndyCar and NASCAR, as well as a long Formula One chapter. Its rally team took world titles in the 1990s, and its hybrid cars have won at Le Mans since 2018. Today all of its motorsport activity is handled by Toyota Gazoo Racing.
What does Toyota compete in today?
Its current roster covers NASCAR, Super GT, Super Formula, the WRC, the WEC, the Supercars Championship, NHRA, USAC, Formula Drift, Formula Three and the Toyota Racing Series. It has also had a technical alliance with Haas F1 Team since 2024, which has since become a title partnership.
Since 2015 all of this activity has sat under one roof at Toyota Gazoo Racing, which gives the company a single point of control across its different series and manufacturers' programmes.
A brand that took rally world titles, won Le Mans outright and built a Cup Series winning machine, yet never won in Formula One.
How did Toyota's rally programme begin?
Toyota's presence in rallying goes back to late 1972, when Swedish driver Ove Andersson drove for Toyota at the RAC Rally of Great Britain. That winter Andersson formed his own team in Sweden to run a rally programme for the brand.
The Swedish base proved impractical, and Andersson moved the operation to Brussels, where it was renamed Toyota Team Europe. The first motorsport win came at the 1975 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, when Hannu Mikkola and Atso Aho won in a Toyota Corolla.
Who won Toyota's first rally world titles?
Carlos Sainz won the 1990 world drivers' title in a four-wheel drive Toyota Celica, which was Toyota's first world championship title, and he repeated the feat two years later. Toyota bought the team from Andersson in 1993 and renamed it Toyota Motorsport GmbH.
In 1993 Juha Kankkunen took the world crown, and the manufacturers' trophy went to Toyota, the first Japanese brand to lift it. The following year Didier Auriol clinched the drivers' world championship, extending the run of success.
What went wrong at the 1995 Rally Catalunya?
In 1995 Toyota was caught using illegal turbo restrictors at the Rally Catalunya, and the FIA gave it a 12-month ban. The points gained by Toyota and by Kankkunen, Auriol and Armin Schwarz were removed from the standings as well.
Kankkunen had been in contention for the drivers' title at that point, so the penalty was a serious blow. The scandal showed how quickly a leading programme could lose its standing when rules were broken.
How did the Corolla WRC era end?
Toyota came back to the top rally class with a Corolla-based car. That machine made its debut at the 1997 Rally Finland, and in 1998 Sainz came within two points of the world title after an engine failure close to the finish of the final rally in Great Britain.
Toyota quit the WRC after the 1999 season, saying that all it could achieve had been achieved. The team secured the manufacturers' title in its last season, four points ahead of Subaru, while Auriol finished third in the drivers' championship.
Why did Toyota return to the WRC in 2017?
The 2017 return used Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT and the Yaris WRC car, after seventeen years out of the series. The WRC operation sits in Finland under the direction of Tommi Makinen, a former world champion.
Toyota won the manufacturers' title in 2018, and Ott Tanak and Sebastien Ogier later won drivers' crowns with the Yaris. By 2022 Toyota had six WRC manufacturers' titles, which made it the third most successful manufacturer in the championship's history.
How did Toyota fare in IndyCar?
Toyota raced in CART from 1996 to 2002, but its early years were marked by struggles. Toyota-powered entries from All American Racers and PPI Motorsports ran near the rear of the field, and Toyota did not lead a lap until Alex Barron led 12 laps in 1998.
Juan Pablo Montoya gave Toyota its first CART win at Milwaukee in 2000. In 2002, Toyota's final year in the championship, it won the manufacturers' title and 10 races, and Cristiano da Matta took the drivers' championship on Toyota power.
Toyota moved to the IRL IndyCar Series in 2003 and supplied engines to former CART teams. Gil de Ferran won the Indianapolis 500 with Toyota power that year, and Scott Dixon won the championship. Toyota left the series after the 2005 season and stayed on only as a title sponsor for the Long Beach Grand Prix.
When did Toyota win at Le Mans?
Toyota's 24 Hours of Le Mans efforts date back to the 1980s, when Dome-prepared Group C cars were used. Toyota Team Tom's competed in Le Mans until 1994, and Toyota finished second at the 1992 race.
Toyota returned to Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship in 2012 with the TS030 Hybrid. It won the 2014 WEC manufacturers' championship, and Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi won the drivers' title in the TS040 Hybrid.
In 2016 Toyota led the Le Mans 24 Hours for 23 hours and 55 minutes before its car stopped with a mechanical failure. Porsche overtook it for the win, and the other Toyota finished second. That near miss made the 2018 result more meaningful.
In 2018 the No. 8 TS050 Hybrid won Le Mans, and Toyota also won the three races that followed. In 2022 it secured a fifth consecutive win at Le Mans.
How did Toyota's NASCAR programme start?
Toyota's first factory-supported move into NASCAR came with the V6 Celica Goody's Dash programme in 2000. Robert Huffman helped make Toyota a title contender and won the Goody's Dash title in 2003.
Travis Kvapil gave Toyota its first national NASCAR win, the 2004 Line-X 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Todd Bodine then gave Toyota its first NASCAR championship in the 2006 Truck Series.
Jason Leffler gave Toyota its first Busch Series win on July 28, 2007. Kyle Busch won the 2009 Xfinity Series driver's title, and Daniel Suarez won the title in 2016.
How did Toyota's Cup Series years go?
Toyota moved to the Cup Series with the Camry in 2007. The first season was hard, with two poles in 36 races. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hall of Fame Racing joined the Camry lineup, and Kyle Busch gave Toyota its first Cup win at Atlanta on March 9, 2008.
Toyota had 10 Cup victories in 2008 and 10 more in 2009. Denny Hamlin won a series-high eight races in 2010 and held the points lead into the final race, but an incident cost him the title that year.
The 2012 season brought an engine programme merger with Joe Gibbs Racing, which gave the top Toyota teams shared resources. Matt Kenseth joined JGR in 2013 and won a series-high seven races. Toyota won 14 Cup races that year, its best NASCAR season.
The 2014 campaign was harder. After engine reliability problems, Toyota backed down the performance of its TRD engines, and its drivers faced a horsepower deficit. Kyle Busch won Toyota's first Cup driver's title in 2015, after Hamlin's win at Martinsville had ended a long drought.
In 2015 Furniture Row Racing switched from Chevrolet to Toyota and allied with JGR. Martin Truex Jr. won the 2017 Cup title for Toyota, and Busch won his second title in 2019. After Leavine Family Racing folded, its alliance was replaced by 23XI Racing.
What happened in Formula One?
Toyota started racing in Formula One in 2002 with Toyota Motorsport GmbH in Cologne. Mike Gascoyne was hired in 2004 to improve the team, and in 2005 Toyota finished fourth in the constructors' championship with 88 points and five podium finishes.
Gascoyne was released in April 2006, and the team's competitiveness fell. Toyota also supplied engines to Jordan Grand Prix from 2005 and to Williams from 2007, but it did not win a single Formula One race.
In 2009 Toyota's TF109 used the double diffuser design and was among the fastest cars in the early races. Toyota qualified one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix, but it announced its withdrawal on 4 November 2009, and the team never won a race.
The Toyota name returned to the sport on 11 October 2024, when Toyota Gazoo Racing was announced as a technical partner for Haas F1 Team. The team will compete as TGR Haas F1 Team from 2026.
How did Toyota do in sports prototypes and Argentina?
In the 1980s Toyota ran Celica cars in the IMSA GT Championship. It later moved into the GTP class with prototypes and won the 1992 and 1993 drivers and manufacturers titles.
In Argentina, Toyota Gazoo Racing Argentina competes in TC2000 and other series. Norberto Fontana won the TC2000 title for Toyota in 2002, and Matias Rossi added titles in 2011, 2013 and 2020.
What are the key results at a glance?
| Year | Series | Driver or team | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Rally | Hannu Mikkola | First motorsport win at the 1000 Lakes Rally |
| 1990 | WRC | Carlos Sainz | Drivers' world title in a four-wheel drive Celica |
| 1993 | WRC | Juha Kankkunen | World title and manufacturers' title |
| 1999 | WRC | Toyota team | Final manufacturers' title before quitting the WRC |
| 2002 | CART | Cristiano da Matta | Drivers' championship on Toyota power |
| 2003 | IRL | Gil de Ferran | Indianapolis 500 win |
| 2014 | WEC | Davidson and Buemi | Drivers' title and manufacturers' title |
| 2018 | Le Mans | No. 8 TS050 Hybrid | Outright win at Le Mans |
| 2008 | NASCAR Cup | Kyle Busch | First Toyota Cup win at Atlanta |
| 2013 | NASCAR Cup | Matt Kenseth | Series-high seven wins for Toyota |
| 2015 | NASCAR Cup | Kyle Busch | First Toyota Cup driver's title |
| 2022 | Le Mans | Toyota team | Fifth consecutive win |
Why does Toyota's motorsport record matter?
Toyota's record matters because it shows how a manufacturer can build a rally dynasty, move through open-wheel and endurance racing and then become a NASCAR regular winner. Its results also show the cost of a rule breach and the value of an engine programme that is run well.
The Formula One chapter is a reminder that money alone does not guarantee wins. Toyota spent heavily over several seasons and never won a race, but its later partnerships and its endurance results show a company that keeps returning to the track.
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