Toyota withdraws from F1

toyotageek · **Posted:** Wed Nov 04, 2009 11:12 pm

Some people will cry, most will probably ask what took so long...
official news here.

RoadsterViking · **Posted:** Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:09 am

Can't honestly say I'm especially upset.Not just beacuse they weren't doing that well,but also (and perhaps mostly) because I just don't find F1 racing very exciting.Now,the WRC days with Carloz and Juha,those were the days! The whole idea that Toyota was trying to make a statement about who they are as a car manufacturer by participating in F1 and then not have any sportscars for the public to purchase always seemed more than a little silly and pointless to me. "Look at us! Going fast is in our blood!" "Great,do you have a fast going car that I can buy?" "Uh,no.We don't actually do that.They're not profitable.Have an SUV instead." Dropping out of F1 doesn't mean that they're all of a sudden going to have buckets of money avaliable that'll be used to develop new and exciting cars for the enthusiast driver,but the hopeless optimists among us can hope... :wink:

Lincoln Stax · **Posted:** Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:06 am

Several years of effort at several hundred million dollars each year, and they don't have a single win to show for it. It's no surprise they dropped out. The timing seems a bit ironic now that the LF-A and FT-86 are coming to market.

So, any bets on Renault dropping out of F1?

RoadsterViking · **Posted:** Thu Nov 05, 2009 6:09 am

Lincoln Stax wrote:

Several years of effort at several hundred million dollars each year, and they don't have a single win to show for it. It's no surprise they dropped out. The timing seems a bit ironic now that the LF-A and FT-86 are coming to market.

So, any bets on Renault dropping out of F1?

Oh,I hope Renault stays in F1.If for no other reason that it's the only French car in the world that works somewhat reliably. ZING! :lol:

RoadsterViking · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:01 am

With several teams leaving F1 and tyre manufacturer Bridgestone also saying bye-bye I've had a look into my crystal ball to see what the 2011-season will be like:

Lincoln Stax · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:33 pm

I think Toyota should drop out of NASCAR while they're at it. They can use the money they save from not running NASCAR and F1 to enter the WRC and FIA GT racing. Now those are two series that would mean something in terms of marketing, as well as satisfy racing fans. Come on, Toyota. You know you want to race FIA GT. Do you really want Nissan's GT-R to steal all the glory from your LF-A? Taunt, taunt...

toyotageek · **Posted:** Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:13 pm

Totally agree with you.

Even though I'm not a big racing fan, I like racing - but I don't sit & watch it every weekend. I always felt Toyota being in F1 was a big waste of time and money. It took away from Toyota's other (global) racing efforts. I was even more disgusted when Toyota got into NASCAR. In my opinion NASCAR is the most boring racing form there is. BUT, it's what 90% of American racing fans want to watch. I guess one reason Toyota got into NASCAR was so they could get into the hearts of millions more Americans - do good in NASCAR and you gain some Yankee respect. I dunno, that's just the way I see it.

For whatever reason rally racing has never made it big in the US. Don't ask me why not. Compared to NASCAR, I love WRC and would love to see Toyota get back into it.

I've enjoyed following the JGTC and the SUPER GT, and I'd love to see Toyota get into the FIA GT also.

January will bring the Dakar rally, from South America. Toyota was there with some Land Cruisers in 2009. Hopefully Toyota will take part in the 2010 race. I'll be cheering them on if they do!

I think Toyota needs to get back into the global aspect of racing. It's unlikely they'll pull out of NASCAR, but maybe we'll see some changes in the near future... maybe Toyota Motorsports will once again be what it used to be. :roll:

RoadsterViking · **Posted:** Sat Nov 07, 2009 3:42 am

Excellent points,both of you! I'm not a NASCAR fan either and it seemed like a clumsy attempt to "suck up" to those American car buyers who don't care for Japanese cars.The LFA participating in the FIA GT class,now that idea I like! And with Toyota's strong tradition with 4x4 vehicles a stronger presence in Dakar would make perfect sense,and I feel like a could write a book on why I think they should return to the WRC.
As I've said before;this forums is populated by some really bright heads! :tu:

KresSlyda180 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:01 am

RoadsterViking wrote:

Lincoln Stax wrote:

Several years of effort at several hundred million dollars each year, and they don't have a single win to show for it. It's no surprise they dropped out. The timing seems a bit ironic now that the LF-A and FT-86 are coming to market.

So, any bets on Renault dropping out of F1?

Oh,I hope Renault stays in F1.If for no other reason that it's the only French car in the world that works somewhat reliably. ZING! :lol:

I'm glad you Europeans got the more reliable Renaults... we got the crappy Le Car and Medallion, a couple of the reasons Renault isn't in the US anymore.

Toyota withdraws from F1

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