Toyota Wins Arc Manufacturers’ Title After Adelaide Hills Victory

October 16, 2023

© Copyright: Jack Martin Photography Captured at 2023 Powerplay Adelaide Hills Rally on 20231015 by Jack Martin Photography.

Toyota has won the Manufacturers’ Championship title in the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) following a 1-2 victory by the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) Rally Team in the penultimate round in Adelaide over the weekend.

Lewis Bates and co-driver Anthony Mcloughlin narrowly took the win in the Adelaide Hills Rally ahead of teammates Harry Bates and Coral Taylor to clinch the Manufacturer’s title for Toyota.

The final round of the 2023 ARC season will again be a thrilling battle of the brothers for the driver’s championship title with reigning champion Lewis going into the season closer just 23 points ahead of Harry.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo, congratulated the Bates brothers, their co-drivers and the whole team at Neal Bates Motorsport that runs the TGRA ARC campaign on what has been a sensational season.

“We were always confident that the GR Yaris AP4 was a championship-winning car and much of that credit goes to Neal Bates and his team for taking what was a superb platform to start with, and building it into an outstanding race car,” Mr Naidoo said.

“I’d like to thank and congratulate the whole team – and especially Lewis, Harry, Anthony and Coral – on delivering winning results, round after round, that has enabled us to win the 2023 ARC Manufacturers’ Championship.

“And just like last year, I’m looking forward to a final thrilling battle between the two drivers and co-drivers next month in Canberra to see who takes the flag in the driver’s and co-driver’s championship,” he said.

Since the introduction of the Toyota Yaris AP4 rally car in 2018, followed by the GR Yaris AP4  in 2021, Toyota has won three manufacturers’ ARC titles in 2019, 2022, and 2023 (no manufacturers’ titles were awarded during COVID-affected seasons in 2020 and 2021).

The 2023 ARC Manufacturers’ title win follows Toyota’s Manufacturers’ Championship win in the World Rally Championship (WRC) after a strong finish in the Rally Chile earlier this month.

As in Australia, Toyota drivers also lead the WRC with Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans in the top two positions going into the final two rounds in central Europe and Japan.