Toyota has chosen former WRC star Mikko Hirvonen to lead the development of its 2017-spec Yaris, Motorsport.com has learned. The Japanese manufacturer, whose project is being led by four-time WRC champion Tommi Makinen, will start an extensive testing programme in March before joining the series in 2017. Hirvonen, 35, recently made his debut in the Dakar Rally with a fourth place for the X-raid Mini squad - and the Finn will spend the rest of the season developing Toyota's WRC machinery. He last competed in the series full-time in 2014 with M-Sport, having previously been a works driver for Ford, Subaru and Citroen, racking up 15 victories.  His former co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen has...
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