The Formula Toyota was a spec racing series in Japan between 1991 and 2007. Many Japanese

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

drivers, like

Kazuki Nakajima is a retired Japanese professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for the Williams-Toyota team from to . In 2012 and 2014, he won the Super Formula Championship driving for TOM'S. Racing for Toyota Gazoo Racing, he won the 2018, 2019 a ...

and

Toranosuke Takagi Toranosuke "Tora" Takagi (高木虎之介; born 12 February 1974) is a Japanese former racing driver. Early career Takagi was heavily influenced by his father, a touring car driver. In the early 1980s he began racing karts, competing in his ...

, made their racing debut in the Formula Toyota. The class folded after the 2007 season when it was effectively replaced by the

Formula Challenge Japan Formula Challenge Japan was an open wheel racing series based in Japan. The first season was in 2006 and carried on from the defunct Formula Dream series. It is promoted as a young driver development project jointly by Honda, Toyota and Nissan a ...

History

The Formula Toyota held its inaugural race in 1990, this race was won by Masami Kageyama. Toyota launched their first Formula 3 engine in 1991 and won both the drivers title and engine title in the 1991

Japanese Formula Three Championship was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series pro ...

. Together with their Formula 3 engine Toyota launched their own racing class, Formula Toyota. The first generation car, the Argo-

Tom's is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Form ...

FT10, uses an

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

. The car was powered by a Toyota 4A-GE engine, which produced 140 hp. The FT10 was used until 1994 when it was replaced by a

built FT20. This car was powered by a 5-valve engine, replacing the previous 4-valve engine. In 1995 the Formula Toyota Racing School was founded and the best driver from each class won a fully funded drive in the Formula Toyota championship. Between 1991 and 1999 there were two Formula Toyota championships, Main and West. But after the fields became smaller Toyota merged the two classes into one class for the 2000 season. The championships last race was on November 25, 2007 at

Fuji International Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and n ...

. The race was won by Italian-Japanese driver

Kei Cozzolino Kei Francesco Cozzolino (born in Shinjuku, Tokyo, November 9, 1987) is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Super GT series witPACIFIC NAC CARGUY Racing Teamwith thFerrari 488 GT3 EVO. Racing career Karting Cozzolino started kar ...

. Team Le Beauset was the most successful team in Formula Toyota, their drivers won the championship six times. The series folded after the creation of the

. Nissan,

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

and Toyota joined forces and created this racing class in 2006. The Formula Challenge Japan was replaced by the

Japan Formula 4 The is a formula racing class in Japan. The class was founded in 1993 by the Japan Automobile Federation as a class above the FJ1600 and below the former All-Japan Formula Three Championship and the current Formula Regional Japanese Championship ...

after the 2013 season. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

the

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

, also known as Formula Toyota, currently uses a

Tatuus Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis. History The Tatuus c ...

built Toyota FT40. There is no relationship between the Japanese series and this one except the use of Toyota engines.

Champions

Other notable drivers

, Formula 1 driver for Tyrrell in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and Arrows in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Takashi Kogure is a Japanese racing driver. He currently competes in Super GT driving the No. 88 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo for JLOC in the GT300 class. Career Formula Three Kogure made his single-seater début in 2001, driving a Dallara F300 in the ...

, Super GT and

Formula Nippon The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

driver *

Hiroki Yoshimoto (born 2 September 1980 in Osaka) is a Japanese race car driver. He raced in the 2005 GP2 Series for the BCN Competicion team, alongside the Venezuelan E. J. Viso. For 2006 he was initially teamed with the more experienced Timo Glock of Germa ...

, former

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccles ...

driver and WTCC driver *

Kohei Hirate is a Japanese race car driver. Hirate has won the Super GT series twice. Career Hirate began karting in 1999 when he was 13. After winning the All Japan Junior Kart Championship, coming third and fifth in the All Japan Kart Championship and ...

, former GP2 Series driver and former test driver for Toyota Racing *

Keisuke Kunimoto is a Japanese/Zainichi Korean race car driver who races with Japanese racing license. His mother is Japanese. His father, Yoshihiro Ri, also known as Yoshihiro Kunimoto, is the 1983 All Japan Karting Champion and his uncle, Yoshihiko Ri, won s ...

, winner of the 2008 Macau Grand Prix

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

race *

Yuji Kunimoto is a Japanese auto racing driver. He is the younger brother of 2008 Macau Grand Prix winner Keisuke Kunimoto. As of 2021, he is racing for Team KCMG in the Super Formula Championship, and for Racing Project Bandoh in Super GT. Career highligh ...

, 2010 All-Japan Formula Three champion *

Takuto Iguchi is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as Super GT and the All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Racing career Takuto Iguchi began his motorsports career in 2000 with kart racing in his hometown of Fukuoka. Iguchi raced ...

, Super GT GT300 driver

References

External links

Official website
{{Toyota Motor Corporation Auto racing series in Japan Formula racing Formula racing series Recurring sporting events established in 1990 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2007 1990 establishments in Japan 2007 disestablishments in Japan Defunct auto racing series