JULY 24, 2000
New Chairman for Toyota Motorsport
TOYOTA has appointed Mr. Tsutomu Tomita as Chairman of Toyota Motorsport GmbH, the motorsport subsidiary responsible for the Toyota F1 program which will make its competition debut at the start of the 2002 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
"With around 18 months until out entry, I can feel the pressure and responsibility building in TMG," he said this week. "However, I am fully committed and will devote myself to the maximum to this new and exciting challenge.
"Already TMG, a truly international team of 23 nationalities, have achieved numerous motorsport victories and seven World Championship titles. We will start testing our Toyota F1 car next year. We know there will be many hurdles to clear and have set our sights on long term, rather than short term, goals."
Mr. Tomita started his career with Toyota in 1969 and in 1987 took charge of engine development in Toyota Motorsports Division, working on projects such as the V8 and V10 engines for Le Mans and the 3S-GT engine for the World Rally Championship.
It is now also clear that the new F1 car will race under Toyota branding rather than adopting the upmarket Lexus badging which, although highly visible in Europe and North America, is not actually used for the Japanese market.