Toyota Gazoo Racing

{{Infobox brand

| name = Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR)

| logo = Toyota Gazoo Racing stacked logo.svg

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| producttype = High-performance engines and cars
Automotive sports accessories
Motorsport services

| currentowner = Toyota Motor Corporation

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| introduced = 2007

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| markets = Worldwide

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| tagline = Pushing the Limits for Better

| website = {{URL|toyotagazooracing.com}}

| module = {{Infobox company |embed=yes

| key_people = Tomoya Takahashi (President and General Manager)}}

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| footnotes = {{cite web |title=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota Europe |url=https://www.toyota-europe.com/brands-and-services/toyota-gazoo-racing}}

}}

Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) is a motorsport division of the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. Alongside competition activities, the division develops technologies for the Gazoo Racing (GR) sub-brand of Toyota's sports and performance-oriented production road cars.{{Cite web |last=CORPORATION |first=TOYOTA MOTOR |title=OUR STORY |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/our-story/ |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=トヨタ GR {{!}} About GR {{!}} トヨタ自動車WEBサイト |url=https://toyota.jp/gr/ |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=toyota.jp}}

Stylised by the manufacturer as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, TGR compete most notably as the manufacturer's entries in FIA's World Rally Championship (as TGR WRT), World Endurance Championship and World Rally-Raid Championship. Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe (TGR Europe) is a research and development facility based in Cologne, Germany, with branches in the United Kingdom and Finland.{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.tgr-europe.com/about/ |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing}}

The GR-branded performance road cars include the GR Supra, the GR Yaris, the GR86, and the GR Corolla.{{Cite web |last=CORPORATION |first=TOYOTA MOTOR |title=ROAD CARS |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/roadcars/ |access-date=2023-01-12 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |language=en}}

TGR entered Formula One with Haas F1 Team as a technical partner. The partnership includes aiming to foster the growth of young Japanese drivers, engineers, and mechanics in the sport.

History

In 2007, an in-house team consisting of student test drivers and mechanics led by Hiromu Naruse, who was a test driver of Toyota, competed in the 24 Hours Nürburgring race. Akio Toyoda, then the vice president of Toyota, who received driving instruction directly from Naruse, also participated as a driver.{{Cite web|url=http://toyotagazooracing.com/archive/gr/detail/1202994|title=ニュルブルクリンクへの挑戦 2007レース振返り | ニュルブルクリンクへの挑戦2007 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing|first=TOYOTA MOTOR|last=CORPORATION|website=toyotagazooracing.com}} At that time, he was not allowed to call the team "Works Toyota Racing". Therefore, the name Team Gazoo was used instead. "Gazoo" (from {{nihongo|画像|Gazō|lit. "image"}}) is the name of a portal site that Toyota was involved in establishing—and in public relations, the drivers were also given the nicknames "Cap" for Naruse and "Morizo" for Toyoda. Also, as there were minimal budgets, they used the Altezzas and BMW E90s, which at the time had been discontinued, as the race car project. The Gazoo website posted the activity report as an amateur race project.

File:Lexus LF-A Gazoo Racing Goodwood Festival speed.jpg Gazoo Racing at the Goodwood Festival of Speed]]

From 2002 to 2009, Toyota Motorsport GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany, which has been named Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe since April 2020, had been engineering and developing Formula One cars for their parent company Toyota to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship, the highest and the most prestigious single seater auto-racing championship in the world, within these eight years their Toyota Formula One team racing under the name Panasonic Toyota Racing, achieved very rare success with the total of thirteen podium finishes which includes five second places, three pole positions and three fastest laps recorded. Being the highest budget team in the sport with experienced drivers on the F1 grid, they failed to win a single race and withdrew from the sport at the end of the 2009 season, stating the global economic crisis which had severely affected the automotive industry to be the main reason; Toyota's main Japanese rival in the sport Honda had already departed from F1 a year before in 2008. Although Toyota had already developed their F1 car TF110 for the 2010 season but complete withdrawal from F1 activities had put an end to their time in the sport. Toyota also supplied their Formula One engines to Jordan F1 Racing, Midland F1 Racing and the Williams Formula One Team during their eight years time in the sport.

From 2009 onwards, as the company continued to participate in their motorsports activities, they introduced and engineered the development models such as the Lexus LF-A and the FT-86 with the goal of "training people and cars at the Nürburgring, the sacred place for new car development" under the Gazoo Racing name.{{Cite web|url=http://toyotagazooracing.com/jp/nurburgring/special/2017/history/index.html|title=HISTORY 人とクルマを鍛える挑戦の軌跡 | ニュルブルクリンク24時間レース|first=TOYOTA MOTOR|last=CORPORATION|website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing}} The drivers include professional racers such as Takayuki Kinoshita, Akira Iida, and Hiroaki Ishiura, but the mechanics and engineers are selected from the employees. In 2014, the team had to play a three-class domination to honor Naruse's accidental death in June 2010.{{Cite web|url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/archive/gr/detail/3270218/|title=GAZOO Racing 3クラス制覇！ | ニュルブルクリンクへの挑戦2014 | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing|website=toyotagazooracing.com}}

After Toyoda taking office as the President of Toyota in 2009, the scope of Gazoo Racing has expanded, and it has organized several circuit events such as the "86/BRZ Race" and the "Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival", which is held every November. In addition, the sports conversion brands called "GRMN" (Gazoo Racing, tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring) and "G's/G Sports" was established in 2009 and 2010 respectively.{{Cite web|url=https://diamond.jp/articles/-/9990|title=豊田章男社長の肝煎りで始動異例の開発プロジェクトの狙い|website=ダイヤモンド・オンライン|date=8 November 2010}}

From April 2015, all motorsports activities that had been divided into "Gazoo Racing", "Toyota Racing" and "Lexus Racing" have been unified with "Gazoo Racing". Toyota and Lexus brand racing activities are under the Gazoo Racing umbrella and are called "Toyota Gazoo Racing" and "Lexus Gazoo Racing".{{Cite web|url=https://global.toyota/jp/detail/7507843|title=トヨタ自動車、GAZOO Racingによるモータースポーツ活動の強化を発表 | トヨタ自動車株式会社公式企業サイト|website=global.toyota}} From this year onwards, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) works machines use a common color scheme of red and black stripes on a white background. At the same time, the "Great Skills Training Department" has been set up to develop human resources who can participate in Gazoo Racing activities centered on rallies and Nürburgring.

In 2016, Juichi Wakisaka retired from Super GT and became an ambassador for TGR. TGR also had acquired the naming rights for the first corner of the affiliated Fuji Speedway and renamed it to "TGR Corner".{{Cite web|url=https://www.as-web.jp:443/supergt/6932|title=富士スピードウェイが4社とネーミングライツ契約。1コーナー、100Rが名称変更 | スーパーGT | autosport web|date=1 April 2016|website=AUTO SPORT web}} In addition, actor Takeru Satoh was appointed as a television advertisement character to carry out publicity activities.

In 2017, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Factory, which had been developing motorsport vehicles, was reorganized and the "Gazoo Racing Company" was established.{{Cite web|url=https://monoist.atmarkit.co.jp/mn/articles/1703/02/news039.html|title=トヨタがカンパニー制をさらに進化させる、組織改正は「オポチュニティ」|website=MONOist}} As an in-house company, it strengthened its independence and contributed to Toyota's car making by feeding back the knowledge gained in the race to road cars, and the direction to secure profitability was decided.{{Cite web|url=https://response.jp/article/2017/03/02/291451.html|title=トヨタ、GAZOOレーシングカンパニーを新設…市販車開発へ|website=レスポンス（Response.jp）|date=2 March 2017 }} The sports conversion brand was reorganized into the GR series ("GRMN", "GR", "GR Sport/GR-S" and "GR Parts"), and the "GR Garage", which is a regional base, was set up at dealers in each region.{{Cite web|url=http://global.toyota/jp/detail/18634585|title=TOYOTA、スポーツカーシリーズ「GR」を投入 | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website|first=TOYOTA MOTOR|last=CORPORATION|website=トヨタ自動車株式会社公式企業サイト}}{{Cite web|url=https://gazoo.com/car/keyperson/17/09/19/|title=GR／GR SPORTの開発責任者とマスターテストドライバーに聞く ―ここからトヨタを変えていく―|first=TOYOTA MOTOR|last=CORPORATION|website=GAZOO.com|date=19 September 2017 }}

In 2019, the GR Supra, the first GR brand-exclusive car, was released. The GR Supra shares a platform with the BMW Z4 (G29) and is produced under contract by Magna Steyr in Austria.

In 2020, the GR Yaris, the second GR-branded car, and the first produced by Toyota, was launched. It is produced at the "GR Factory" inside the Motomachi plant, a production line dedicated to GR-branded vehicles. Unlike most automobile plants, the "GR Factory" does not use a conveyor belt assembly line, instead vehicles are built at stations with more manual assembly processes.{{Cite web |title=トヨタは「自社開発のスポーツカーが欲しかった」 20年ぶりの新型スポーツ「GRヤリス」の存在意義とは |url=https://kuruma-news.jp/post/215669 |website=くるまのニュース|date=13 January 2020 }} The "GR Factory" employs experienced technicians recruited from throughout the company.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-01 |title=Heat for the Streets! Toyota Debuts First-Ever GR Corolla |url=https://pressroom.toyota.com/heat-for-the-streets-toyota-debuts-first-ever-gr-corolla/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=Toyota USA Newsroom |language=en-US}}

In 2021, the GR86, the third GR-branded car, was introduced. The vehicle is the second generation of the 86 sports car, which are jointly developed with Subaru, and produced at Subaru's Gunma assembly plant.

In 2022, the GR Corolla, the fourth GR-branded car, and the second produced by Toyota, was unveiled. Built mainly for the North American market, the GR Corolla is produced at the "GR Factory" alongside the GR Yaris, which is not sold in North America.

Motorsport

= World Rally Championship =

File:Esapekka Lappi Rally Finland 2022 Rannankylä.jpg with the GR Yaris Rally1 at Rally Finland 2022]]

The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team (TGR WRT) is based in Jyväskylä, Finland. The team was established and operated by an independent company, Tommi Mäkinen Racing, upon request of Toyota for their return to the championship in 2017. TGR Europe later purchased Tommi Mäkinen Racing and its assets in 2020, bringing the team under the manufacturer's control.

The TGR WRT operated Yaris WRC cars between 2017 and 2021, winning the championship for manufacturers twice in 2018 and 2021, and the drivers and co-driver champion titles in 2019 for Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja; and Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia in 2020 and 2021. Since 2022, the team has operated hybrid GR Yaris Rally1 cars, winning a third manufacturer's championship in the cars first year, along with the driver and co-driver championship titles for Kalle Rovanperä and Jonne Halttunen.

Former rally drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Juha Kankkunen are the team principals.

= Sportscar racing =

File:2022 24 Hours of Le Mans (52176249085).png at the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans]]

== FIA World Endurance Championship ==

Toyota Gazoo Racing's entry in FIA World Endurance Championship is operated by TGR Europe and is operated from the company's headquarters in Cologne, Germany. TGR Europe was formerly known as Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) prior to 2016.

Racing under the Toyota Gazoo Racing name since 2016, the team have won the World Endurance Championship four times, with wins at Le Mans three times with its LMP1 class TS050 Hybrid, and twice with the LMH GR010 Hybrid.

TGR Europe also enters the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race.

== Super GT ==

Toyota Gazoo Racing announced the use of the Toyota Supra in the Japanese Super GT racing series from 2020 onward.{{Cite press release |title=GR SUPRA {{!}} GT500 |publisher=Toyota |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/gr/supra/gt500/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |work=Toyota Gazoo Racing}}{{Cite web |date=11 September 2019 |title=Toyota reveals wild Supra race car for 2020 Super GT season |url=https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1125001_toyota-reveals-wild-supra-race-car-for-2020-super-gt-season |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Motor Authority |language=en}} TGR partners with multiple race teams in the series, including TGR Team au TOM'S, TGR Team SARD, TGR Team WedsSport Bandoh, TGR Team KeePer TOM'S, TGR Team Wako's ROOKIE, and TGR Team ZENT Cerumo.

TGR Team au TOM'S has won the Super GT championship in the GT500 class three times, in 2021, 2023, and 2024.{{Cite press release |title=GR Supra GT500 TGR TEAM au TOM'S #36 {{!}} CAR LINEUP {{!}} 東京オートサロン |publisher=Toyota |location=Japan |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/jp/eventexhibition/tokyoautosalon/lineup/car010/ |language=Japanese |access-date=2022-05-16 |work=Toyota Gazoo Racing}}{{Cite web |title=2023 AUTOBACS SUPER GT シリーズチャンピオン会見 {{!}} SUPER GT OFFICIAL WEBSITE |url=https://supergt.net/news/single/23096 |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=supergt.net}}{{Cite web |title=Rd.5 決勝GT500：連覇のau TOM'S GR Supraが苦戦ながらも最終戦をポール・トゥ・ウインで締める！ {{!}} SUPER GT OFFICIAL WEBSITE |url=https://supergt.net/news/single/23873 |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=supergt.net}}

= Rally-raid =

Entries in both the Dakar Rally and FIA World Rally-Raid Championship under the global TGR name are operated by Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, an alias for independent local company, Hallspeed.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-21 |title=Behind The Doors Of Hallspeed: Winners Of The 2019 Dakar Rally |url=http://www.speedhunters.com/2019/02/behind-the-doors-of-hallspeed-winners-of-the-2019-dakar-rally/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Speedhunters |language=en-US}} The company entered rally-raids at home and internationally under the direction of Toyota South Africa from 2012 until 2019 when Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel won the car class outright.{{Cite web |title=Profil of NASSER AL-ATTIYAH - TOYOTA GAZOO RACING SA - Dakar |url=https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/301 |access-date=2023-03-04 |language=en |archive-date=12 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312135529/https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/301 |url-status=bot: unknown }}{{Cite web |last=CORPORATION |first=TOYOTA MOTOR |title=ABOUT｜2018 {{!}} DAKAR RALLY |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/dakar/about/2018/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |language=en}} Since 2020, the entry has been under the global Toyota Gazoo Racing name, with more support from the parent company. TGR also won Dakar in 2022 and 2023, with the inaugural World Rally-Raid Championship title in 2022 also.

Lithuanian driver Benediktas Vanagas and Estonian co-driver Kuldar Sikk also compete internationally under the name of Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics with support from the local Toyota dealer.{{Cite web |title=Profile of BENEDIKTAS VANAGAS - TOYOTA GAZOO RACING BALTICS - Dakar |url=https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/214 |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=www.dakar.com |language=en}}

= National =

In the UK, Speedworks Motorsport operate the British Touring Car Championship entries of Toyota Gazoo Racing UK.{{Cite web |title=Log in to Facebook |url=https://en-gb.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fen-gb.facebook.com%2FSpeedworksMS%2F |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Facebook |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Speedworks confirms GT4 entry and new TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK Young Driver Programme |url=https://www.britishgt.com/news/695/speedworks-confirms-gt4-entry-and-new-toyota-gazoo-racing-uk-young-driver-programme |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Speedworks confirms GT4 entry and new TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK Young Driver Programme}} In Argentina, Toyota Gazoo Racing Argentina enter various Argentine Championships.

= Formula One =

File:2025 Japan GP - Haas VF-25 Show Car - 2.jpg rear wing]]

On 11 October 2024, Toyota and Haas F1 Team announced a technical partnership whereby TGR will provide design, technical and manufacturing services whereas Haas will provide technical expertise and commercial benefits including TGR’s branding on the Haas cars.{{Cite web |last=Noble |first=Jonathan |date=11 October 2024 |title=Haas F1 team agrees technical partnership with Toyota |url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/haas-f1-team-agrees-technical-partnership-with-toyota/10661925/ |access-date=11 October 2024 |website=Motorsport.com |language=}} In the announcement, Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda stressed that the company is not making a comeback to the sport but to provide opportunities for its engineers, staff and drivers to experience Formula One.{{Cite web |last=Noble |first=Jonathan |date=11 October 2024 |title=Why Toyota's Haas deal is not an F1 comeback |url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-toyotas-haas-deal-is-not-an-f1-comeback/10662020/ |access-date=12 October 2024 |website=Motorsport.com |language=}} A few months later in January 2025, TGR director of global motorsport Masaya Kaji said that Toyota is looking into returning into Formula One.{{Cite web |last1=Kalinauckas |first1=Alex |last2=Tanaka |first2=Ken |date=11 January 2025 |title=Toyota "gradually moving" towards full-scale F1 return |url=https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/toyota-gradually-moving-towards-full-scale-f1-return/10687965/ |access-date=11 January 2025 |website=Motorsport.com |language=en}} Toyota previously competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2009 as a factory team.

= Sim racing =

Toyota Gazoo Racing uses Gran Turismo 7 as a platform for virtual motorsports through the Gran Turismo World Series, and the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup.{{Cite web |last=CORPORATION |first=TOYOTA MOTOR |title=MOTORSPORTS |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/motorsports/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=CORPORATION |first=TOYOTA MOTOR |title=e-Motorsports |url=https://toyotagazooracing.com/e-motorsports/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=TOYOTA GAZOO Racing |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Gran Turismo World Series 2025 Overview |url=https://www.gran-turismo.com/us/gt7/championships/2025/overview/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=gran-turismo.com |language=en}}

Models

Gazoo Racing is involved in the creation of vehicles in three categories. GR models are bespoke vehicles, GR Sport models are more entry-level conversions of existing models, and GRMN (Gazoo Racing, tuned by the Meister of the Nürburgring) models are the top-of-the-line, limited production conversions of existing models, including GR vehicles.

= GR series =

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"

bgcolor="#d0d0d0"

! colspan=2 | Model

! Introduced

! Market(s)

150x150px

| GR86

| 2021

| Global

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| {{Nowrap|GR Corolla}}

| 2022

| North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Indonesia

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| GR Supra

| 2019

| Global

Toyota Gazoo Racing

History

Motorsport

= World Rally Championship =

= Sportscar racing =

== FIA World Endurance Championship ==

== Super GT ==

= Rally-raid =

= National =

= Formula One =

= Sim racing =

Models

= GR series =

= GRMN series =

= GR Sport (GR-S) series =

See also

References

External links