Toyota has tested potential 2025 specification Rally1 and Rally2 cars in the last week.
The cars both ran in Croatia as part of Toyota’s wider preparations for the Zagreb-based fourth round of the World Rally Championship later this month.
The GR Yaris Rally1’s downgraded aero was obvious to onlookers in Croatia, with sources at the test confirming the cars were visibly slower without hybrid and what would be the lower power output – targeted to be 330bhp via a smaller restrictor on the turbo’s air intake.
The GR Yaris Rally2 went in the opposite direction, with more aero and more power.
The team declined to talk in detail about the test beyond confirming a ‘prototype car.’
The source told DirtFish: “It was clear for both cars something was different – not just in the look from the car, but in sound and power. Rally1 off the line was… not like normal.”
June’s World Motor Sport Council meeting is expected to deliver firm news on the direction of technical regulations for next year’s WRC. With such a limited timeline into January’s 2025 season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, the teams are in favor of retaining the current Rally1 specification for at least another season.
A WRC Commission meeting in Geneva on Tuesday offers more opportunity for discussion on the sport’s immediate future.
The findings of Toyota’s time in Croatia will, undoubtedly, be at the heart of that debate.
