Toyota will debut two new GR Yaris Rally2 cars in this year’s Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship.
After a successful debut overseas in recent months, the two new cars will arrive in the country shortly, with the first to be ready for the season opening round, the Rally of Canberra in April. The second will arrive in time for round three, this year’s Rally Queensland.
The new GR Yaris Rally2 car is Toyota’s first factory-built rally car homologated for WRC2 competition and available for customers across the world to buy and compete with in both WRC2 and national championships.
The two new Toyotas will replace the successful ARC winning Toyota GR Yaris AP4 machines, steered by Harry Bates and Lewis Bates – alongside their respective co-drivers, Coral Taylor and Anthony McLoughlin.
Harry will take to the opening round in the first of the GR Yaris Rally 2 machinery, while Lewis will steer the second chassis on its arrival into Australia.
“Right from the start, we knew we had a winning car but a COVID-interrupted season that first year meant no championship was awarded. But we came back blitzing the field in 2022 with Lewis and Anthony taking the ARC title ahead of myself and Coral in the final round, before we turned the tables on them last year to take the season win,” Harry said.
“With the new factory GR Yaris Rally2 car, we’re confident we’ll be able to maintain that edge.
“We’ve watched how the car has performed since its first outing in the second-tier World Rally Championship (WRC2) at Monte Carlo in January and in Sweden this month and can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the new car in our home-town rally in Canberra in April.”
The Neal Bates Motorsport team will again prepare and run the Toyota machinery as the factory-backed Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Rally Team in 2024.
