TOYOTA GAZOO Racing announced its 2022 motorsport team setups

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) announced its 2022 motorsport team setups during an online event at the Megaweb facility in Tokyo on December 6. Attendees included “Morizo” (President Akio Toyoda), Koji Sato, President of GAZOO Racing Company, WEC and WRC team principals, and the drivers who lead TGR activities. The live broadcast featured information on new challenges for the next season and our racing team setup, in addition to the history of TGR and the significance its motorsport engagements.

Major achievements in 2021

■2022 racing team setup （World Championships）

＜FIA World Endurance Championship（WEC）＞

• In 2022, we will continue to race in the Hyper Car category (LMH class), which is the top class of the WEC.
• TGR will enter with the GR010 HYBRID, which won all races in 2021 on its way to the World Championship. This vehicle was newly developed for this category and is fitted with RACING HYBRID technology that has been advanced during WEC competition.
• Two vehicles will compete in the series with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Europe GmbH in Cologne, Germany as the base.

＜FIA World Rally Championship（WRC）＞※The following information has already been made public

• In 2022, we will participate in the Rally1 class, which is the top category of the WRC, under the new regulations in order to promote sustainable motorsports.
• TGR will race with the GR YARIS Rally1, which is based on the GR Yaris and fitted with a hybrid system. It has been developed mainly in Finland.
• With our team principal, Jari-Matti Latvala, TGR will aim to win three titles (Manufacturer, Driver, Co-driver) for the second year in a row.
• We will further promote ever-better car making by continuing to compete in various arenas and refine our vehicles.

＜Driver Development Initiatives in Japan＞※The following information has already been made public

We are continuously implementing programs aiming to cultivate and produce young drivers who can actively compete in top categories in Japan and worldwide to achieve a sustainable motorsports industry. These initiatives include identifying and cultivating talented drivers and offering continuous support for improvement.

TGR WRC Challenge Program

• Takamoto Katsuta will participate in all rounds of the 2022 WRC with the GR YARIS Rally1.
• In order to identify and cultivate young Japanese drivers who can actively compete in the WRC in addition to Katsuta, new participating drivers are currently being selected. The final selection will be held in Finland in January 2022 and the selected drivers will undergo full-scale training starting in Finland from April.

TGR WEC Challenge Program

• Future drivers for the program are being considered. Following the same process as the WRC Challenge Program, we will continuously implement programs aiming to cultivate and produce young drivers who can actively compete in top categories worldwide to achieve a sustainable motorsports industry.

※Details on TGR-DC and TGR-DC Racing School will be announced at a later date.

＜Dakar Rally＞※The following information has already been made public

• TGR will enter four cutting-edge GR Dakar Hilux T1+ vehicles built to rally raid-specifications in the Dakar Rally 2022, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2022.

【Dakar Rally 2022—TGR Team setup】

• TGR supports Team Land Cruiser/Toyota Auto Body (TLC), the rally team of Toyota Auto Body Co., Ltd., which participates in rallies with Toyota Land Cruiser 200 vehicles. In 2021, TLC achieved its eighth consecutive victory in the production car category. In 2022, it will aim for its ninth consecutive victory at Dakar.
• HINO TEAM SUGAWARA of Hino Motors, Ltd. achieved its 12th consecutive victory in the under 10-liter class truck category. It will aim for its 13th consecutive victory at the Dakar Rally 2022 with Hino’s first racing hybrid system.

【Dakar Rally 2022 TLC team setup】

【Dakar Rally 2022 HINO TEAM SUGAWARA team setup】

＜Nürburgring 24 Hours＞

• We have been actively engaged in preparations for the Nürburgring 24 hours race in 2022 after cancelling our participation in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, TGR has decided not to race in 2022 as the event date in May conflicts with other major races in Japan, which would hinder the team preparation and setup.
• TGR will participate in some races in the NLS series, which are also held at Nürburgring, and will leverage the learnings to make ever-better cars.

■2022 racing team setup （domestic championships）

＜Japanese Rally Championship＞

• In 2022, TGR will participate in the top category JN1 class with two GR Yaris vehicles, as it did in 2021.
• Employees will participate as team principal, engineers and mechanics so we can cultivate human resources while offering ever-better car manufacturing.

＜SUPER GT＞

GT500 Class

• TGR will also participate with the GR Supra GT500 in 2022.
• We will support six teams (six vehicles) through TOYOTA CUSTOMIZING & DEVELOPMENT Co., Ltd.,(TCD).
• Sena Sakaguchi and Giuliano Alesi will participate in GT500 for the first time.

GT300 Class

• Team setup of GT300 class will be announced later.

＜Japanese Super Formula Championship＞

• TRD (Toyota Racing Development) will supply 11 vehicles from six teams with two-liter four-cylinder direct injection gasoline turbo engines (TRD 01F).
• All vehicles will be equipped with tires made by Yokohama.
• Giuliano Alesi will participate for his first full season of Super Formula Championship, with the Kuo VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S team.

＜Super Taikyu series＞

• In addition to a vehicle based on Corolla Sports and utilizing a hydrogen combustion engine, ROOKIE Racing will enter the ST-Q class with a vehicle based on the new GR86 that uses biomass-derived synthetic fuel. TGR will continue to implement testing at racing events in order to explore new options to achieve carbon neutrality. At the same time, TGR will also accelerate its technological development as SUBARU plans to race with a vehicle based on the new SUBARU BRZ.
• TOM’S SPIRIT will race in the ST-4 class with the new GR86.

(All drivers are Japanese)

【Challenges with ROOKIE Racing aiming for ever-better car making using motorsport as a starting point】

• With ROOKIE Racing, a diverse range of drivers participate in races, including master drivers, professional drivers, gentleman drivers and internal assessment drivers. From 2020, it has started competing in the Super Taikyu series with the GR Supra and GR Yaris, and TGR has engaged in coordination with ROOKIE Racing aiming for ever-better car making from a starting point in motorsports.
• During the 2021 Super Taikyu series, a vehicle powered by a hydrogen combustion engine was entered instead of the GR Yaris from the third event, the FUJI SUPER TEC 24 Hours Race, and this was refined in the harsh environment of motorsports to promote the agile development of this technology. By implementing a cycle of identifying issues in each race and then making improvements before the next race, power output was improved by approximately 20% and torque by approximately 30% to achieve performance at the same level or better than a gasoline-powered engine over approximately six months from the first race. Filling time was also reduced from approximately five minutes at the initial race to within two minutes.
• Much cooperation has been received for the entry of a vehicle powered by a hydrogen combustion engine, including from the Super Taikyu Organization (STO) and circuit officials. Toyota is working together with various companies and local municipalities in initiatives to expand options for “transporting” and “using” hydrogen rather than simply “using” hydrogen. With the help of all related parties, wide networks are being expanded across industries boundaries.
• In 2022, TGR will continue to work together with ROOKIE Racing to engage in challenging initiatives to expand new options with “purposeful passion and action” to achieve carbon neutrality.