| Category | Single seaters |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1990 |
| Folded | 2007 |
| Constructors | Argo-Tom's (1990–1994) Tom's (1995–2001) Toyota (2002–2007) |
| Engine suppliers | Toyota |
| Tyre suppliers | Bridgestone (2002–2007) |
| Last Drivers' champion | |
| Last Teams' champion | |
| Official website | Formula Toyota |
Formula Toyota was aspec racing series inJapan between 1991 and 2007. Many JapaneseFormula One drivers, likeKazuki Nakajima andToranosuke Takagi, made their racing debut in the Formula Toyota. The class folded after the 2007 season when it was effectively replaced by theFormula Challenge Japan.
The Formula Toyota held its inaugural race in 1990, this race was won byMasami Kageyama. Toyota launched their firstFormula 3 engine in 1991 and won both the drivers title and engine title in the 1991Japanese Formula Three Championship.[1] Together with their Formula 3 engine Toyota launched their own racing class, Formula Toyota. The first generation car, theArgo-Tom's FT10, uses analuminiummonocoque. The car was powered by aToyota 4A-GE engine, which produced 140hp. The FT10 was used until 1994 when it was replaced by a Tom's 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 atFuji International Speedway. The race was won by Italian-Japanese driverKei Cozzolino. 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 theFormula Challenge Japan.Nissan,Honda and Toyota joined forces and created this racing class in 2006. The Formula Challenge Japan was replaced by theJapan Formula 4 after the 2013 season. InNew Zealand theToyota Racing Series, also known as Formula Toyota, currently uses aTatuus built Toyota FT40. There is no relationship between the Japanese series and this one except the use of Toyota engines.
| Year | Championship | Car | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Argo-Tom's FT10 | ||
| Main | West | ||
| 1991 | Argo-Tom's FT10 | ||
| 1992 | Argo-Tom's FT10 | ||
| 1993 | Argo-Tom's FT10 | ||
| 1994 | Argo-Tom's FT10 | ||
| 1995 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 1996 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 1997 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 1998 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 1999 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| Championship | |||
| 2000 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 2001 | Tom's FT20 | ||
| 2002 | FT30 | ||
| 2003 | FT30 | ||
| 2004 | FT30 | ||
| 2005 | FT30 | ||
| 2006 | FT30 | ||
| 2007 | FT30 | ||