Wednesday October 30th, 2002

Toyota Motor Corporation have appointed Briton John Howett as new president of Toyota Motorsport GmbH starting in January 2003, the Japanese manufacturer announced today.

Howett will be in charge of managing the day-to-day operations of Toyota's motorsports subsidiary as well as leading the 550-plus employees of their Cologne factory, where the Formula One team are based.

Ove Andersson will assume the position of Vice-Chairman but he will still keep his position as team principal. Under the new structure, Andersson will be able to concentrate all his efforts in the Formula One team.

"During Toyota's F1 debut year, I combined the race-related management at Grand Prix and the general management of TMG," said Andersson. "I have now come to the conclusion that I should focus on the race activities and the negotiations with our partners and other stakeholders in the F1 world.

"I warmly welcome John to TMG and am sure I can count on him to manage the company in Cologne."

50-year-old Howett has 25 years experience with Toyota and the Toyota Team Europe (TTE), co-ordinating the rally team's service and preparation operations from 1977 to 1980.

"The F1 project is extremely important for Toyota. It is an honour for me to take up the challenge to be the president of the company that is playing the key role in the development of this project," said Howett.

Published at 09:40:43 GMT