Famous faces join Toyota in celebrating outstanding motorsport achievements at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Famous faces joined Toyota’s motorsport stars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ​​to celebrate recent successes and future opportunities.

The annual four-day motoring festival in the grounds of historic Goodwood House in Sussex, England, concluded yesterday (July 14) and Toyota enjoyed the opportunity to demonstrate how its carbon-reducing multi-path technology strategy is being developed further to enter the world of top-level competition.

Rowan Atkinson, the celebrated international film actor and car enthusiast, got behind the wheel of the first hydrogen-powered GR Yaris built in Europe on the Goodwood hillclimb. David Richards, Chairman of motorsport and high-technology company Prodrive and national sports body Motorsport UK, and the Duke of Richmond, owner of the Goodwood Estate, were among the guests of honour invited to experience the car from the passenger seat.

TGR-WRT was represented in large numbers with eight-time World Champion Sébastien Ogier, reigning champion Kalle Rovanperä and 2024 title contender Elfyn Evans. The team showcased both the GR YARIS Rally1 Hybrid and – new this season – Rally2 WRC cars, while the new GR Yaris – a high-performance road car developed with direct input from TGR-WRT and professional drivers – was also put through its paces.

Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala hosted the official handover of the two special editions of the new GR Yaris to Ogier and Rovanperä, and delivered a special message from Toyota Motor Corporation Chairman and Master Driver Akio Toyoda (aka ‘Morizo’), thanking them for their championship-winning contributions. Each of the drivers had a direct influence on the special editions – which were produced in very limited numbers – and tailored the cars’ handling to their personal preferences.

The multi-path technology strategy was also adopted by Toyota’s support vehicles at the event. These included the Toyota Hilux hydrogen fuel cell prototype, a new version of the iconic pick-up truck developed by a Toyota-led consortium in the UK, and the Corolla Commercial, another British-made model that has brought the efficiency benefits of hybrid power to the van market.

Giving a taste of the off-road capabilities that make it a leading contender in this year’s FIA World Rally Raid Championship, the mighty GR DKR Hilux Evo T1U competed on all three of Goodwood’s courses – hillclimb, rally stage and off-road – and was driven by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team members Seth Quintero, Dennis Zenz and Armand Monleon.