Toyota: no testing after November 15th

The Toyota Formula One team will stop testing on November 15, thus settling the dispute which has put them under fire after claiming they would test until the end of 2001.

The Japanese team, who are due to make their official racing debut next season, had claimed they would take advantage of a loophole in the FIA regulations to test until the end of the year, while the other Formula One teams were unable to run their cars on track from the end of the season in October until New Year's day.

However, following complaints from some team bosses, Toyota will play by the rules and stop testing on November, according to team manager Ange Pasquali.

"We have now accepted a compromise where we will stop testing on November 15, the date where Toyota will officially become a competitor in the 2002 Formula One Championship," Pasquali told Eurosport.

"At the end of last year we received a fax from the President of the FIA, Max Mosley, which stated that we could test when we wanted and where we wanted until the moment that Toyota was not considered as an official competitor. Now there has been an evolution and we will have to compromise."

-Toyota