A four-wheel-drive powertrain was added, creating the Celica GT Four ST165 in 1988. In 1989 Juha Kankkunen won in Australia on his way to third in the championship while Carlos Sainz’s first season with TOYOTA brought three podiums.
The following year, 1990, the Spaniard swept all before him and became World Champion with the ST165; TOYOTA’s first title. In 1992 the ST185 succeeded the ST165 and, with Carlos claiming another world title, TOYOTA were the dominant force. The success story continued with Juha claiming the Drivers’ Championship
in 1993 and TOYOTA winning the Manufacturers’ title for the first time, in the process becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to win a WRC double title. A year later Didier Auriol added another Drivers’ Championship.
After the 1995 season, TOYOTA and its drivers were disqualified from the WRC standings due to a technical irregularity. The team had however scored another victory during the Safari Rally that year, making it the fourth consecutive victory at that event and the eighth in total.
Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol jumped right back into the action for TOYOTA’s WRC return in 1998, with the new Corolla WRC, claiming a number of podium places. However, in 1999 TOYOTA announced it would leave WRC in order to enter Formula 1. TOYOTA mustered all its energy and went for the best farewell imaginable. With a third Manufacturers’ title at the end of the season, TOYOTA ended a rallying era spanning nearly three decades with 140 podiums, 43 wins, four Drivers’ crowns and three Manufacturers’ titles.
44
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60