Toyota GR Yaris Gains Motorsport-bred Upgrades
GR Yaris gains smaller, redesigned steering wheel and retuned power steering
GR GTS models now fitted with high-performance Bridgestone Potenza Race tyres
Upgrades developed from motorsport competition in World Rally Championship
Enquire about the upgraded GR Yaris
We're thrilled to share that Toyota is set to launch an upgraded GR Yaris in June with minor revisions directly inspired by its motorsport programs.
Taking the learning and knowledge gained through motorsport, the upgraded GR Yaris features a smaller, redesigned steering wheel, retuned electric power steering and on GTS grades, high-performance Bridgestone®(1) Potenza Race tyres.
The steering wheel diameter has been reduced from 365mm to 360mm with a redesigned hand grip shape that fits comfortably in the palms when cornering. The steering wheel-mounted switches have also taken inspiration from motorsport and are now positioned independently with ringed illumination for easier operation.
Further enhancing the steering operation is an expanded operating range for the electric power assistance while the GTS grade is now fitted with high performance race-bred tyres designed to increase grip and confidence through corners.
Toyota Australia Vice President John Pappas said although the upgrades to the GR Yaris were relatively minor, they were clear evidence of how Toyota’s involvement in motorsport was able to deliver ongoing improvements in performance for its GR brand cars.
“When you’re racing, improvements are measured in tenths of seconds and these upgrades to the GR Yaris are designed to deliver the sort of performance enhancements that can make a difference,” Mr Pappas said.
“We see that whenever we race and earlier this month, we saw our GR Yaris finish with two spots on the podium at Rally de Portugal in the World Rally Championship, and a 1-2 finish in the second tier WRC2 in the GR Yaris Rally2.
“It was an outstanding result and Toyota continues to lead the WRC taking the top three places on the leaderboard after six rounds.
“The learning we gain from motorsport is not just about the cars, it’s also about our people and we were particularly proud to see our own Australian Rally Champion Harry Bates put in a very solid performance at his first ever run in Rally de Portugal in the GR Yaris Rally2,” he said.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia’s Bates, was in Europe driving for Sports Racing Technologies in the challenging gravel rally in Portugal with British co-driver Keaton Williams.
The pair got off to a strong start finishing Day 1 in 16th place in the WRC2 category, just 46 seconds off the pace, but after copping three punctures on the Friday and then sustaining suspension damage on the Saturday, they dropped a further six places for the finish, before ending the weekend on a high with a third in the Power Stage.
Bates, with his regular co-driver Coral Taylor, will be back on home ground to try to maintain his lead in the Australian Rally Championship when the next round of the ARC heads to Western Australia for the Forest Rally on 22 May.
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