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I think that the last time that TMG and TRD worked togther was with the Supra Hybrid car--it was an old Super GT GT500 car (TRD's part of the deal), and TMG supplied the hybrid system.
As far as I can tell, TRD is responsible for Super GT, Formula Nippon, and NASCAR. TMG is currently only responsible for the WEC/LM program. Also, TMG ran the F1 team, while TRD had very little to do with it. Only thing that I can see as a TRD/TMG collaboration is if the next gen Super GT car is a hybrid, since TMG are charged with Toyota Racing's hybrid technology.
To connect to Audi, there is only one Audi motorsports program, which is Audi Sport, which does the sportscar stuff and DTM. In that way, I see it as slightly odd that Toyota uses two motorsports groups for it's programs (though not when it comes to geography).
The only knock that I'd give TMG is not to them, but the structure that they had to work under in F1, the corporate structure that many Japanese efforts worked under that was roundly criticized in recent years.
But to steer this back to Audi, if Duval is to end up at Audi for the WEC, could it be that he's not a "full-fledged" Toyota factory driver, or is there some provision on his contract that might stipulate such a deal as being TRD vs TMG, as they are separate entities? After all, Toyota Racing is TMG under a different name as it's structured now, and TRD and TMG are Toyota owned, so from that stand point, Duval, being hooked to Toyota/TRD though Super GT would be odd.
It's not like when Lotterer was driving for Audi under Toyota contracts in Super GT and FN--and that was when Toyota were rumored to be coming back.
If Duval drives for Audi this year in the endurance races, I wonder how it will be explained by Audi and Toyota, but his seat at Audi hasn't even been confirmed, and someone else can very well end up there. But we'll have to wait at least a week to find out.
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