FORMULA 3 SCHOOL OF FUTURE CHAMPIONS

Toyota was one of the first car manufacturers to recognise the value and importance of Formula 3. Initially, it re-imported engines that were race-tuned by Novamotor in Italy, but gradually Japanese tuning specialists, including TOM’S, started to participate.

In 1976 and 1977, Toyota power dominated the European Formula 3 scene and in 1978 it proved practically unbeatable in the new and agile Ralt RT-1 chassis. The Toyota-Ralt combination was shown off to its best effect in the hands of Nelson Piquet, emphatic winner of the 1978 British championship. Piquet and his British title rival Derek Warwick between them won 21 of the season’s 27 races with Toyota power.

The strength of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine used for Formula 3 endured for many years, with highlights including Ayrton Senna’s victory in the first Macau F3 GP in 1983, the same year the Brazilian and Martin Brundle battled for the British title, again both with Toyota engines. Senna won the ultimate prize, while Toyota powered to victory in every race of the season.

JJ Lehto, another future Formula 1 star, was another ‘Toyota’ F3 champion in Britain in 1988, while Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve also contested the series with Toyota-powered cars.

Toyota has the record for the largest number of victories at Macau, courtesy of Senna, Martin Donnelly (1987), Rickard Rydell (1992), Peter Dumbreck (1997) and Darren Manning (1999). In 1997, Tom Coronel won the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort, an event rated as the second most important Formula 3 race in the world.