Toyota’s Supercars entrance is ‘the top of the tree’
By Auto Action
Date posted: 18 September 2024
The signing of Toyota is surely a feather in Shane Howard’s cap as the current CEO of Supercars is the first in a long line of bosses who have successfully courted the world’s largest car manufacturer.
At yesterday’s launch of the new program on the Gold Coast, Howard agreed that this was exciting news for Supercars and puts it back on the world stage.- Auto Action was on hand for the bombshell news as it broke.
“It’s right at the top of the tree,” he told AUTO ACTION regarding the magnitude.
“We’ve been trying to entice Toyota to join our championship circuit for 20 years. To get the moment when that’s actually delivered is one of the most exciting opportunities that we’ve ever been presented with.“I think Gen3, we had a few issues when we rolled it out, and we’ve changed so much now. But if you look at the overarching philosophy, it was to have a chassis and a platform that OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) could use to adapt their current model cars and provide a racing version of what they sell in the showroom with Mustang and Camaro.
“The look and feel of the cars is sensational, and I think it has worked. It’s always timing with these opportunities. As Sean (Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley) said, they’ve invested significantly in their GR86 program.
“At Bathurst, he spoke about how it was a dream of his that one of those young drivers coming out of that category would race in a Supercar and win Bathurst. Now, they can do it in a Toyota. They’re developing great young drivers and seeing them go off and jump into Ford and GM products. His passion was that he wanted them in a Toyota Supercar, and it kicked off from there.”
Toyota will enter the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026 with its GR Supra (computer-generated image)
Howard said the elevated parity testing program will make it easier for Toyota to slot into the series without either advantage or disadvantage.
“With the Windshear wind tunnel program and then the AVL program in Detroit that we’re still working through, the knowledge and information that we have obtained from that has set us up very, very strongly to ensure that we have applied best practices and created equal opportunity,” the Supercars CEO said.
“I think what that does now with Toyota coming in is that there’ll be a very defined parity window in which they have the boundaries to operate.
“As they further develop the car regarding aero and the engine, they’ll have clear parameters of what they need to achieve under our parity formula.”
The arrival of Toyota in the series is big news that will be felt in mainstream Australia and motorsport globally. It is just the kind of tick the series has been looking for since Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises took over the sport a couple of years back.
Toyota will enter the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026 with its GR Supra (computer-generated image)
“It opens up an enormous opportunity. Toyota is the biggest OEM globally, and they’ve got a very solid racing pedigree worldwide. Joining that will generate enormous interest through their supporter base, their fan base, and their dealer principals.
“I think you’re going to have three very, very strong manufacturers on our grid and it just enhances the competition. All OEMs want to be fighting against the best, and there’s no one at Ford or GM who is not going, ‘This is a good idea’. They’re going to go, ‘we want to fight against them’.”
The GR Supra will use Toyota’s 2UR-GSE all-aluminium, quad-cam V8 that has featured in a range of performance production cars, as well as the 2019 Dakar-winning HiLux, as its baseline engine.
Toyota is committed to racing in the Supercars Championship for five years, and it said it will field four cars in the 2026 Supercars Championship and has nominated Walkinshaw Andretti United as its homologation team.
array (
0 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 11,
'name' => 'Latest News',
'slug' => 'latest-news',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 11,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 15512,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 11,
'category_count' => 15512,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'Latest News',
'category_nicename' => 'latest-news',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
1 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 38,
'name' => 'Supercars',
'slug' => 'supercars',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 38,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 5235,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 38,
'category_count' => 5235,
'category_description' => 'The Supercars Championship, currently known as the Repco Supercars Championship, is the premier motorsport category in Australasia and one of Australia\'s biggest sports. It originated from the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC), which held its first race in 1960 at Gnoo-Blas in Orange, New South Wales. The ATCC evolved over the years, and in 1997, it was rebranded as the V8 Supercars Championship, eventually becoming the Supercars Championship we know today.
Some of the leading drivers in the history of the Supercars Championship include Peter Brock, who is often referred to as the "King of the Mountain" for his nine victories at the Bathurst 1000, a race that is considered one of the biggest in the series. Other notable drivers include Dick Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Jamie Whincup, who holds the record for the most championship titles, and Mark Skaife, who has also been a dominant force in the series.
The Bathurst 1000, held at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, is arguably the most famous race in the Supercars calendar. Other significant races include the Sandown 500 and the Adelaide 500, which are known for their challenging circuits and thrilling competitions.
The Supercars Championship has grown to become a globally recognized series, known for its competitive racing and passionate fan base. It continues to be a major part of Australia\'s motorsport culture, attracting top drivers and teams from around the world.',
'cat_name' => 'Supercars',
'category_nicename' => 'supercars',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
2 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 2029,
'name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
'slug' => 'email',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 2029,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 2031,
'count' => 6101,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2029,
'category_count' => 6101,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-Email',
'category_nicename' => 'email',
'category_parent' => 2031,
)),
3 =>
WP_Term::__set_state(array(
'term_id' => 2031,
'name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
'slug' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
'term_group' => 0,
'term_taxonomy_id' => 2031,
'taxonomy' => 'category',
'description' => '',
'parent' => 0,
'count' => 5470,
'filter' => 'raw',
'cat_ID' => 2031,
'category_count' => 5470,
'category_description' => '',
'cat_name' => 'ZZZ-RSSFeeds',
'category_nicename' => 'zzz-rssfeeds',
'category_parent' => 0,
)),
)
