Top British Privateer to Pilot Toyota Corolla WRC on Network Q Rally of Great Britain
Toyota (GB) PLC and Castrol have secured the entry of an additional Toyota Corolla WRC rally car on the forthcoming Network Q Rally of Great Britain in November.
The distributor-backed car will be driven by Yorkshireman Jonny Milner, who has impressed many with his strong performances in the British Rally Championship this year in a Group N Toyota Celica GT-Four rally car. Autosport magazine also recently rated Milner as the top privateer driver in its British Rally Championship rankings.
Aside from Toyota and Castrol, additional sponsorship will come from Pirelli, Team Dynamics Wheels, Snap-On/Sun Tech Systems and Pristine alloy wheel refurbishers, all of whom are key suppliers to Toyota in the UK market.
Jonny, 30, is no stranger to the Rally of Great Britain – the final round of the World Rally Championship – having competed on six previous occasions. His best result came in 1995 when he won the Group N production car class finishing a fine 12th overall.
“I’ve had excellent results in my Toyota Celica GT-Four this year, and I’m thrilled to be stepping up to the state-of-the-art Corolla WRC for this prestigious event. I’ve proved my pace in a production class car by scoring top six results in the British Championship. I’m sure I can get to grips with the additional power and traction of the mighty Corolla WRC.”
Co-driving the former British Junior Rally Champion on the 1200 km, three day event will be Duncan McMath, General Manager of Toyota (GB) PLC’s Service and Technical department.
“Duncan has been instrumental in bringing Jonny to our attention,” comments Toyota’s Marketing Director, Paul Philpott. “With his successes in the British Championship and his natural speed and maturity we are pleased to be able to reward Jonny’s commitment and loyalty to Toyota with this opportunity in a Corolla WRC. I think he could surprise a lot of people.”
The Network Q Rally of Great Britain runs from 21-23 November 1999 and is the final round of the 1999 World Rally Championship. Toyota has already won the 1999 Manufacturers’ Championship whilst the Drivers’ Championship has been won by Tommi Makinen of Finland.
TOYOTA COROLLA WRC ENTRIES ON THE NETWORK Q RALLY OF GREAT BRITAIN
- Carlos Sainz/Luis Moya (E/E)
- Didier Auriol/Denis Giraudet (F/F)
- Martin Brundle/Arne Hertz (GB/S)
- Markko Martin/Toomas Kitsing (EE/EE)
- Jesus Puras/Marc Marti (E/E)
- Abdullah Bakhashab/Michael Park (SA/GB)
- Matthias Kahle/Dieter Schneppenheim (D/D)
And of course…
- Jonny Milner/Duncan McMath (GB/GB)
ENDS
