Panasonic Toyota Racing officially kicked off its 2006 Formula campaign with a special event for the world's media at the Toyota manufacturing facility in Valenciennes, France on Saturday.

The impressive factory is the home of the corporation's top-selling Yaris car and was chosen as the venue for the event to underline the close links between the Formula 1 team and the production car side of Toyota.

Panasonic Toyota Racing has adopted a unique approach to its 2006 racing season and chose to veer away from the more established 'car launch' as its TF106 race car has already completed substantial test mileage since its inaugural run at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona on 29 November last year.

A huge effort by the entire team to ready the new car in record time resulted in that unprecedented early rollout, which formed a key part of the team's push for success in 2006, a year that sees special challenges as the entire field adopt new V8 engines and Toyota joins forces with its new tyre partner, Bridgestone.

Toyota's aggressive development programme is a clear sign of its intentions in Formula 1. Having introduced the podium and pole-scoring TF105B for the final two races of 2005, the TF106 hit the track just six weeks later, stunning rival teams.

"We feel that the concept of holding a new car launch at the beginning of each year, just for the sake of it, is outdated," explains Technical Director Chassis Mike Gascoyne. "We are updating more major elements on an increasingly frequent basis. Although this can be a difficult process to manage it does mean that we can ensure resources are being spent in areas that make the car go quicker, as and when it is required, and not simply on redesigning existing components jus because we feel that we have to. Consequently, we have moved to a process of continuous evolution, hence the smooth transition from TF105 to TF105B and to the early completion of TF106."

That ongoing process will continue with the introduction of the TF106B – currently scheduled for the seventh race of 2006, the Monaco GP. The policy of continuous improvement reflects the philosophy of kaizen, a key element of the Toyota Way, the set of principles that guides the company at every level, even within its Formula 1 programme!

Work at Toyota Motorsport's Cologne-based factory is increasingly benefiting from the use of Toyota Way thinking, and in particular the Toyota Production System (TPS) techniques that it encompasses. TPS has been used to improve efficiency in departments such as composites and engine production, helping to speed up the introduction of new developments.

"Toyota Production System is part of the Toyota Way and enables us to increase efficiency in all areas of the corporation by eliminating waste through a continuous improvement approach," comments Chairman of Toyota Motorsport and Team Principal of Panasonic Toyota Racing Tsutomu Tomita. "TPS has been expanded to all areas of the Toyota Corporation, including Toyota Motorsport and our Formula activities."

"Every day we can see and feel the benefits that TPS brings us," adds President John Howett. "We have created a special TPS group in Cologne and by infusing TPS throughout the factory we have been able to cut down lead times, reduce costs, increase overall efficiency and positively impact all areas of the team with notable examples in CNC and Composites. It is an ongoing process, one which we encourage all team members to live by and embrace. There is no end to the improvement cycle and one major part of TPS is to promote the active involvement and feedback of the individuals doing the job, rather than simply dictate from above."