It was a challenge that was not easy for anyone. Not for Carlos Sainz, on the first leg of his sports career, and not for Repsol which was making a significant bid. Neither was it easy for Toyota to face up to a brand like Lancia which was just cresting the wave of its success. At that time this Italian giant had a team comprising renowned drivers, as well as top of the range cars including the Lancia Delta Integrales, plus highly qualified mechanics with the experience of a thousand and one battles behind them.

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For the second time in a row, Toyota aspired to dethrone the Italians in the World Rally Championship, using a model equipped with the latest technology, the Celica GT-Four, which had been unveiled nine months previously. It was the first vehicle from this Japanese company to have four motorized wheels. The company was finally leaving the slower vehicles behind, which although reliable and robust for events such as the Safari Rally, were unrealistic in terms of European competitions.��

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Carlos Sainz was well aware of all of this. However, it was a unique opportunity: to compete in seven races at the wheel of a theoretically competitive vehicle, in the company of a world champion such as the Finn, Juha Kankkunen. Even though the Spaniard was considered a �fish out of water�, he would soon demonstrate his desire to learn by working from dawn to dusk if necessary.

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Sainz�s talent became patently obvious from the very first stretch of the Monte Carlo Rally, a race in which he shadowed Kankkunen until he was put out of the race as a result of a risky choice of tyres.

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In the following asphalt event, in Portugal, the Spaniard led the race until defeated by a puncture, however, he later recovered lost ground, positioning himself in second place, right behind the twice champion, Massimo Biasion (Lancia), before beginning the terrain races. Later on, he would be forced off the track by too much pressure in his tyres, a fact that would reduce both his and Toyota�s score sheets to zero once again, following the drop out of both Kankkunen and Bjorn Waldegaard. The former due to engine failure, and the latter as a result of an accident. Waldegaard, from then on would concentrate his efforts on winning the Safari Rally yet again.

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On the asphalt tracks of Corsica, Sainz, after working long and hard on the front suspension of the Toyota, kept ahead of Kankkunen, who finished in third place, before a small screw got trapped in the engine with fatal consequences. The Spaniard�s progress continued in Greece where he prevented Lancia�s sports manager, Claudio Lombardi, from giving team instructions to his drivers during the race. Nevertheless, and in spite of the millions of weldings which the chassis of the Japanese car had received, it was not up to the Greek terrain which caused the axle shaft to literally drop from the engine, leaving Sainz, Kankkunen and Eriksson on the edge of the track yet again.

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Fortunately the situation completely turned round in Finland during the second half of the season. The speed imposed by the Repsol driver in the first stretches, throwing himself into the competition with the Alen, Vatanen or his colleague� Kankkunen, was a forewarning of what was to come just one year later. In spite of some transmission problems, Sainz managed to gain first place to the general amazement of both spectators and particularly the Northern drivers. A simple twist was all he needed to evade the attacks from the Swede, Kenneth Eriksson, in his Mitsubishi Galant VR4, finally ending the race in third place .

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San Remo was the scene of the second act of this incredible end of the season, when Sainz held an advantage of more than a minute and a half over the Lancia of Alex Fiorio and Miki Biaison coming into the last stage, having already demonstrated the competitiveness of the Toyota team on terrain tracks. Only at the very end did the greater power of the Lancias win out, with Sainz finishing in third place, just twenty-five seconds behind Biasion.

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Victory slipped from the hands of Carlos Sainz again and again to his utter dismay. However, the saddest moment was in the English RAC Rally, when Sainz, having gained an undisputable leadership that should have led him to glory, watched his winning streak disappear just three laps from the end thanks to a broken transmission shaft. He did, however, reach second place, his best result of the year.�

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The progress of the Toyota Celica GT-Four was apparent throughout the season, almost completely as a result of the Spanish driver�s desire to work and his excellent technical knowledge. However, it must be admitted that the engine was hardly one of its strongest points. An excessively small interchanger certainly had an effect on the engine�s power, in spite of its four valves per cylinder. Added to this was the excess weight of roughly 100 kilos compared to that of rival engines. All of these elements combined explained the weak performance of the Japanese vehicles, at least on asphalt tracks, throughout the year. On terrain tracks, the excellent suspension and the fact that horsepower was not a key element, made the Toyota at least comparable to the Lancia.

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Another factor to negatively affect the Ove Andersson team was the lack of reliability in terms of vehicle preparation. The breakage of the chassis in Greece was surprising even for a team accustomed to successfully overcoming hard African trials. They were also unable to compete on a pneumatics level, particularly in Monte Carlo and Greece.

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Despite the many obstacles, the Japanese team was at least able to console its sponsors with the Juha Kankkunen victory in Australia, in precisely the same moment in which the Finn signed a contract agreeing to return to the Lancia team. A return provoked by the frequent breakdowns and lack of reliability, which plagued the Toyota team. His departure left the position of first driver open to someone who had proven himself to be more than a simple promising talent by becoming a good bet for the world championship, this driver was Carlos Sainz.