The new two-door, four-wheel drive Yaris replaces the Imperial Toyota Auris in which driver Giniel de Villiers has been contesting the premier S2000 class alongside Toyota Motorsport teammates Johnny Gemmell and Leeroy Poulter since the middle of last year.
"We're delighted to be able to put Giniel and Greg into the latest Toyota rally car," said Imperial Toyota CEO Andrew Miller. "Giniel has been flying the Imperial flag high in this exciting and popular form of motorsport, just as he has done for the past two years in the Dakar Rally. We wish him and Greg every success in the remaining events this season."
The rally Yaris is a first for South Africa and Toyota Motorsport, who helped pioneer the introduction of the S2000 class in South Africa in 2006 with the uniquely South African Corolla-based RunX rally car and its successor in 2008, the Auris. It is the first Yaris to contest a national rally championship anywhere in the world.
