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Toyota to Decide Tomorrow on TF105B

Toyota will decide tomorrow whether or not to race the TF105B car in the final three Grands Prix of the season, the team's technical director Mike Gascoyne told Autosport-Atlas

The modified 2005 car was scheduled to make its debut at the Italian Grand Prix, but the team ran into problems during pre-event testing, and it appeared the car would not be used in a race this year.

However, Toyota's Gascoyne said today the team have identified the problems and he believes they would be able to solve the issues before next weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.

"It all depends on how well it goes with this test," Gascoyne told Autosport-Atlas. "We will have two cars ready and we intend to race the two cars for the next three races. I think we are on top of the problems.

"[Before the Italian Grand Prix,] it was a power steering - not suspension - related problem. In fact, it was the hydraulics system. So far we have not had any problems here [at Silverstone], and we will make our final decision tomorrow. Ralf [Schumacher] will take over tomorrow and see, and so far it looks good. How good, we are now trying to find out now."

Gascoyne said, however, that Toyota will not race with the B-spec car if it was not significantly more competitive than the current car and emphasized they would also not attempt to race the existing car with some parts from the B-spec car.

"If there was no benefit, we will not try to bring that into the race with limited parts," Gascoyne said. "It would be a risk, so we will factor into that."

He added that the car will be used in all three races, if used at all: "Since the freight goes from here to Brazil, Suzuka and then Shanghai, it works out better to treat it as a package of three, so although we are limited for time, if we are to introduce it at all (this year), we have to do that in Brazil.

"I think it is wroth introducing if only for the last flyaway races, but we will decide tomorrow. We will then have two B cars and 2 standard cars as spares."

Toyota's test driver Olivier Panis has been testing the car at Silverstone since yesterday. This morning, he stopped on track after his second lap due to an electrical problem.

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