Zoom Cregan moving on, Marquardt to take role

Toyota announced this morning that Team Manager Richard Cregan will leave his position at the end of November.

Cregan, 48, has decided to move on and take a new role elsewhere within motorsport, ending his stay at Toyota some 24 years after joining as a rally mechanic.

He became operations manager for Toyota's programmes in the World Rally Championship and Le Mans 24 Hours. When the Formula One project was announced he assisted Ove Andersson in making the plan a reality and became General Manager F1 Operation in 2002 before stepping up to Team Manager in 2004.

Cregan will be replaced as Team Manager by Jens Marquardt, who has been at Toyota Motorsport GmbH since 2000, working in the engine engineering department.

Marquardt played a key role in developing Toyota's first Formula One engines and became Group Leader Engine Track Test Engineering in 2003. He was also a significant figure in the smooth start-up of Toyota's engine supply to Williams and has been Manager Engine Customer Supply since August 2006.

"We are very sad to be losing a team member of Richard's qualities but we understand his reasons and we wish him the very best of luck in his new challenge," stated Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina.

E.A. © CAPSIS International