Toyota outlines its 2001 testing plans

Toyota Motorsport GmbH, which has headquarters in Cologne, Germany, has outlined how it will approach its dress rehearsal season, as the world's third largest car producer prepares to enter the cut-throat world of F1 in 2002.

"What we expect from the drivers obviously is a big effort with this testing programme," said Toyota's team manager Ange Pasquali. "Especially Mika bringing with him all his experience from the past, which means seven years in Formula 1. Our initial plan is that Mika would concentrate on the development side of the car and Allan would run the tests to collect data on new circuits. So Mika will be spending more time than Allan at Paul Ricard."

The Paul Ricard circuit, formerly the home of the French GP until Magny-Cours took over, will be Toyota's 'home' for its new F1 initiative and a state-of-the-art workshop will be built to aid the test programme. Excelis, the company that owns Paul Ricard and is itself owned by F1 powerbroker Bernie Ecclestone, has pledged to renovate the whole facility into a specialised F1 test track.

McNish is expected to run at the majority of the Grand Prix venues in 2001, while tyre supplier Michelin will share the Japanese manufacturer's facilities at Paul Ricard. The chassis development programme at Toyota is being led by Andre de Cortanze, while Norbert Kreyer has overseen the design and build of its V10 powerplant, which has already been tested on the dyno.

Toyota will join Ferrari and Renault as the only teams in F1 to construct its own chassis and engine next season.