The headquarters of Toyota’s WRC team is currently located in Jyskä, Jyväskylä. Last year, the team revealed plans for a new technology centre near the village of Leppävesi, on the border between Jyväskylä and Laukaa.
The environmental permit application submitted by Toyota reveals intriguing details about the team’s major project. The site will feature a test track, including an 800-metre tarmac straight and a gravel section approximately 1.2 kilometres long. Additionally, a service building will be constructed in the track area.
Next to the tarmac straight, a second road section about 200 metres long with a jump will be built. A water splash will also be dug at the midpoint of the gravel track.
The test track is primarily intended for testing Toyota’s Rally1 cars. The team competes with these cars in the top class of the WRC.
Toyota plans to use the test track for up to 88 days a year, with an estimated 53-58 days being dedicated to rally cars. During the season, the track will be used for so-called shakedown runs of race and test cars to ensure their functionality. The track area will also be used for car development, events, and possibly driver training.
Outside the track area, a separate factory will be built for the team to construct Rally2 cars for customers. Each customer car will be tested on the track before delivery. In the future, Toyota may also build Rally3 cars.
Toyota presented the project at a community meeting held for local residents last autumn. Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala emphasised the significance of the project during the event.
“This is hugely significant, even on a national level. They (Toyota) are investing tens of millions of euros in building this technology centre. We’re talking about an area of 150 hectares. This isn’t something that starts with a small amount of money,” Latvala told RallyJournal.com.
“When a car manufacturer like this wants to invest here in Central Finland, we have to remember that there are many other places in the world they could choose. I think this is a fantastic project, especially at the national level for the whole of Finland.”
Toyota’s environmental permit will become legally binding if no appeals are made by 19 June.
