Jari-Matti Latvala has been named as Tommi Mäkinen’s replacement as Toyota’s World Rally Championship team principal.
The 18-time world rally winner’s face was ‘the first that came to mind’ for team chairman (and Toyota Motor Corporation president) Akio Toyoda when he thought about who should take the reins from the departing Mäkinen as Toyota brought the team in-house.
In explaining his decision, Toyoda said: “It’s been a year since we gave Jari-Matti a send-off from the team as a driver. And now, I’m very glad that I’m delivering this message again. When thinking about our new team from 2021, Jari-Matti’s face first came to my mind. That’s because there were many situations in which I empathised with him since we met.”
Toyoda has always made clear the important role Toyota fans have played in the world’s biggest carmaker’s journey back to the WRC in 2017. Three years before that return, he visited Rally Finland with Mäkinen. It was the response from fans – the positive memories of a manufacturer which had departed the WRC 15 years earlier – which helped cement the future of the Yaris WRC.
And when the new dawn arrived in 2017, Latvala was at the heart of it. It was the Töysä-born driver who took the car to second place on its Monte Carlo Rally debut, and then claimed its first win next time out in Sweden. Such moments are not lost on Toyoda.
“He always thinks of the fans and of his team-mates,” said Toyoda of Latvala. “I often saw him running up to fans as soon as he got out of the car at the service park. He cared about everybody in the team like mechanics and engineers and always talked to them. I believe this kind of attitude and character empowered the team a lot and helped lead to the manufacturers’ title.
“When I first met him, he was wearing Volkswagen overalls, but he talked to me about his old Celicas and Corollas with a huge passion. The following year, he changed his overalls to Toyota’s. He loved our Yaris WRC, took very good care of it, and made it stronger.
“As a car guy who loves cars, I still remember how happy I was to see his love for cars and love for Toyota.”
Beyond that passion for the brand and the followers of it, Toyoda says it’s Latvala’s competitive edge which makes him right for the role of team principal.
“We hate to lose. This is also what we have in common,” added Toyoda.
“When he had to retire at Rally Australia in 2017, he must have been more disappointed than anyone else, however, he came to the team members and apologised for his mistake. He has a strong sense of responsibility. I know the ‘we hate to lose’ mindset makes the team and cars stronger.
“His ability as a manager is unproven, but the attributes that we have in common between us were the deciding factors for entrusting the team to him. I believe these will bring the strength to the team.
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“I trust him to lead the new Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team and I’m looking forward to climbing up onto the roof of the Yaris WRC with him.”
Latvala understands the role he has taken on and says he’s ready to fill big shoes left by four-time World Rally Champion Mäkinen.
“I am really honored to be taking on this position with the team and by the trust that Akio Toyoda has shown in me,” said Latvala.
“I’m really excited to continue the work he started together with Tommi, having been a part of this team from the beginning as a driver.
“Now, as team principal, I have to see the bigger picture. I have to motivate everybody in the team to work together to achieve the best results. It’s a new challenge and I’m up for it.
“Tommi has done a fantastic job with the team, building it up from zero and bringing the success that he has.
“Of course, there is always room for improvement and I want to use what I have learned over the years as a driver and work together with the team directors to make this team as successful as possible.
“The 2021 season is just around the corner but the entire package is already there within the team, with a proven car and the same strong driver line-up. And everybody knows what needs to be done to prepare for Rally Monte Carlo in January.”
Working alongside Latvala will be Toyota Gazoo Racing’s sporting director Kaj Lindström, technical director Tom Fowler and project director Yuichiro Haruna.
