Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Toyota mourns Andersson

Toyota mourns Andersson

Toyota Motorsport was on Wednesday mourning the death of founder Ove Andersson.
Andersson, aged 70, was killed in an accident while competing in the Milligan Vintage Trial in South Africa when the classic car he was driving suffered a frontal collision around a blind corner.

Toyota Motorsport chairman Tadashi Yamashina said: "Everyone at Toyota is extremely shocked and truly saddened at this terrible news.

"Ove was an inspiration to our team and to many in motorsport. His passion for motorsport was legendary and he is a great loss to our sport."

Andersson was instrumental in the founding of Toyota Team Europe, which grew out of his own Andersson Motorsport squad.

Toyota Team Europe later relocated to Cologne, and became Toyota Motorsport in 1993.

Under his leadership, Toyota successfully competed in the World Rally Championship, winning four drivers' and three manufacturers' titles, also taking second place at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Andersson then led Panasonic Toyota Racing into Formula One in 2002 before retiring as team principal in 2003 to work as a consultant for the team.

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