TOYOTA Australia has introduced it can take part within the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026, taking the combat to Chevrolet and Ford utilizing a locally-developed GEN3 GR Supra.
The corporate says it plans to area no less than 4 GEN3 GR Supra race automobiles, confirming the primary two can be operated by homologation companion Walkinshaw Andretti United (WUA) and piloted by drivers Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wooden.
Toyota Australia says it has already begun preliminary design work on the GR Supra race automobile by way of its in-house staff at Altona in Melbourne, utilizing CAD and VR know-how to provide a scale clay mannequin.
The corporate will dispose of the BMW straight-six, opting as an alternative to make use of its personal 2UR-GSE V8 – the identical quad-cam unit that powered the HiLux to a Dakar win in 2019.
Vp of gross sales, advertising and franchise operations at Toyota, Sean Hanley, mentioned the model’s participation in Supercars was a dream come true – visibly excited as he introduced the Supra’s participation to the media.
“We’ve been toying with the thought of competing in Supercars for greater than 20 years and now with the proper automobile, the proper staff, and a really sturdy partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship, the time is unquestionably proper,” Mr Hanley mentioned.
“My goodness, what number of instances over what number of years have you ever seen the hypothesis about Toyota going into Supercars? And it wasn’t all the time unfounded. Simply earlier than the flip of the century, I can let you know from my very own expertise, we severely thought of Supercars as we ready to launch Avalon.
“Finally, although, and I can recollect this vividly, we determined the class again then was only a bit too tribal,” he mentioned, referring to the hardcore Ford and Holden followers who on the time may not have taken kindly to a Japanese entrant.
Becoming a member of Toyota Australia in its Supercars quest is established participant Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU), bringing seven Bathurst 1000 wins, six Drivers Championships, and 191 Championship race wins to the desk.
“To announce our future with Toyota Australia, because it enters the Supercars Championship from 2026, is a unbelievable honour and privilege for everybody at Walkinshaw Andretti United,” mentioned WAU director, Ryan Walkinshaw.
“We’ve developed a unbelievable relationship with Toyota Australia by way of the Walkinshaw Group, and we’re delighted to increase that partnership into Walkinshaw Andretti United – we will’t wait to share success collectively in 2026 and past.”
As Mr Hanley identified in the course of the announcement, Toyota’s lengthy and storied involvement in Australian motorsport dates again to 1957 when it competed in its first worldwide occasion – getting into a Toyopet Crown within the cross-country Mobilgas Rally.
“Motorsport informs every little thing from high quality and reliability, to efficiency and effectivity, and we have been the primary Japanese automobile producer to enter worldwide motorsport, contesting the round Australia trial approach again in 1957,” he mentioned.
“That is why many individuals inside our organisation think about Australia to be the birthplace of Toyota motorsport and now, 67 years later, the aim for competing stays the identical.”
The producer noticed vital native motorsport success within the many years that adopted its humble debut within the Mobilgas Rally, with a category win within the Hardie-Ferodo 500 – the forerunner to the Bathurst 1000 – in 1968 and several other wins within the Australian Touring Automotive Championship by way of the late ‘80s.
“Toyota has been a fixture in Australian motorsport for many years,” Mr Hanley mentioned.
“We had a number of class victories at Bathurst, we set data within the Australian Touring Automotive championships, and we have seen Supra win the Australian Manufacturing Automotive Championship in 1989 and, after all, the inaugural Bathurst 12 Hour in 1991.”
Today, the corporate’s native motorsport involvement contains the favored one-make GR Cup and factory-backed groups within the Australian Rally Championship (ARC), however for the primary time it can take part within the pinnacle of Australian motorsport – the Supercars Championship.
Whereas Toyota Australia’s scale clay mannequin of the brand new Supra race automobile was proven in particular person for the announcement, a full-size instance can be rolled out on the Bathurst 1000 race subsequent month.
