Harry and Lewis Bates welcomed a major boost ahead of next year’s RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship (ARC) season with Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia unveiling its new set of wheels for the 2021 season.
With Neal Bates Motorsport a key contributor in the development and creation of the new generation GR Yaris AP4 rally car, both Bates brothers alongside co-drivers John McCarthy and Anthony McLoughlin will tackle the 2021 ARC campaign in the brand new car.
Based on the new all-new GR Yaris,, the two cars were designed, engineered and fabricated by Toyota’s Product Planning and Development team in Port Melbourne, having begun the car’s development in March this year.
The process saw Neal Bates Motorsport and Toyota collaborate together using state of the art technology to create the body design concepts, such as virtual reality technology before spending the rest of the year putting the car together.
Armed to begin his championship defence in his new set of wheels, Harry was thrilled with how the GR Yaris AP4 turned out.
“I’m very excited to get into the new GR Yaris AP4 and see how it goes as a rally car,” Harry said.
“This is a game changer, the first of its kind in Australia and I can see how it’s going to give me the edge, and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel.”
Finishing just behind his older brother in the 2019 ARC season, Lewis took to social media to announce the news.
“Super excited to be driving this beast next year for Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia. Bring on 2021 in the all new GR Yaris,” Lewis wrote.
The 2021 RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship begins with the Netier National Capital Rally in Canberra on 26-28 March.