The sleeping giant has awakened, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) has officially entered the 2026 American Rally Association (ARA) National Championship, ending years of speculation and setting the stage for a titanic manufacturer war with Subaru..
Leading the charge is American phenom Seth Quintero. Transitioning from his dominant tenure in Dakar and T3 lightweight prototypes, Quintero brings a "maximum attack" philosophy to the cockpit. Beside him sits veteran Finnish co-driver Topi Luhtinen, whose clinical European experience and "ice-in-the-veins" delivery are designed to temper Quintero’s raw desert-bred speed with the discipline required for technical forest stages.
The weapon of choice is a specially homologated Toyota GR Yaris Rally2. Optimized for the high-speed gravel sweeps of the Pacific Northwest and the punishing bedrock of the Ozarks, the car features a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine paired with a sophisticated five-speed sequential gearbox. While its footprint is smaller than the competition, its nimble chassis and TGR’s world-class dampers make it a surgical instrument on tight, technical stages.
The path to the podium, however, is blocked by the gold standard of American rallying: Travis Pastrana and the Vermont SportsCar Subaru powerhouse. Quintero faces a steep learning curve; while he possesses world-class car control, he must now battle Pastrana’s decades of "reading" the changing grip levels of North American forests. The Subaru WRX remains a refined beast, and Pastrana’s psychological edge in the ARA is immense. For TGR, the 2026 season isn't just a debut; it is a high-stakes baptism by fire against an icon who knows every crest and jump on the calendar. The battle for North American supremacy will open on round 2 of the ARA Championship, 100AW in March.
Report: Neil McDaid
