TOYOTA TO JOIN SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2026 WITH GR SUPRA
Toyota Australia is set to shake up the Repco Supercars Championship when it enters Australia’s premier motorsport category in 2026 with its GR Supra.
Toyota will field a minimum of four GEN3 GR Supras. Two will be run by Toyota’s homologation team partner Walkinshaw Andretti United with Supercars drivers Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood behind the wheel. The brand’s entry into the Supercars Championship significantly extends its commitment to supporting Australian motorsport that already includes its one-make grassroots TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) Scholarship Series and GR CUP, and the TGRA Rally Team alongside Neal Bates Motorsport, that currently leads the Australian Rally Championship.
Toyota Australia Vice President Sales, Marketing and Franchise Operations Sean Hanley said Toyota’s participation in Supercars was a dream come true that would provide both a showcase for its GR performance cars and an extended career opportunity for talented drivers and the design and engineering crews that support them.
“At Toyota, we have been toying with the idea of competing in Supercars for more than 20 years and now with the right car, the right team, and a very strong partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship, the time is definitely right,” Mr Hanley said.
“This is truly an historic moment!”
“Our GR brand and performance cars were built on the knowledge that we gain from participating in top-level motorsport and our entry into the Supercars Championship will cement that connection and give us the opportunity to showcase TOYOTA GAZOO Racing excitement to a wide audience of passionate fans,” Mr Hanley said.
“It will also provide an opportunity for a continuous career pathway for drivers and teams that we first established when we launched the one-make Toyota 86 Series nine years ago as an affordable grassroots circuit-racing category run as a support series at select Supercars Championship events around the country.
“It has been the perfect environment for up-and-coming drivers to learn and hone their racecraft, and such has been its success, that it is well recognised as a career pathway into the top tier of Australian motorsport.
“For proof, you only need to look at this year’s Supercars grid with Broc Feeney, Will Brown and Cameron Hill all having cut their racing teeth in Toyota 86s, with many more 86 alumni racing in Super2.
“With our entry-level Scholarship Series, and what is now branded the TGRA GR CUP continuing as a support category for Supercars, our joining the Supercars Championship was a natural extension of our support for Australian motorsport at all levels.
“And with our strong and ever-growing partnerships with Walkinshaw Andretti United and Supercars, we are in it, to win it,” he said.
Repco Supercars Championship CEO Shane Howard said he welcomed Toyota’s announcement that would bring a new level of competition to Australia’s premier motorsport category.
“This is an incredible honour, to welcome Toyota to the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026,” Howard said.
“This is a landmark moment for Supercars, solidifying an iconic global automotive brand on our grid from 2026.
“It’s a testament to the immense popularity and international appeal of our sport that a powerhouse like Toyota has chosen to join our grid.
"We congratulate Toyota on its commitment to Supercars and are proud to be in such esteemed company as it continues its global motorsport legacy.
"There couldn’t be a more fitting time to make this historic announcement than in the lead-up to the Repco Bathurst 1000, our premier event that captures the attention of fans around the world.”
As a team that brings together support from some of the biggest names in global motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has a long and successful history in Supercars with seven Bathurst 1000 wins, six Drivers Championships, and 191 Championship race wins.
Team directors Ryan Walkinshaw, Zak Brown and Michael Andretti said they were thrilled to partner with Toyota as its homologation team and build on the growing partnership.
WAU Director Ryan Walkinshaw said: “To announce our future with Toyota Australia, as it enters the Supercars Championship from 2026, is a fantastic honour and privilege for everyone at Walkinshaw Andretti United.
“Toyota’s commitment to our team and to the sport is a historic moment, and one that shouldn’t be underestimated.
“We have developed a fantastic relationship with Toyota Australia through the Walkinshaw Group, and we are delighted to extend that partnership into Walkinshaw Andretti United – we can’t wait to share success together in 2026 and beyond.
“While the future is certainly exciting, our immediate focus is on the remainder of 2024 and the 2025 seasons, winning races, and sending off our relationship with Ford the right way.”
Zak Brown, Director of WAU and CEO of United Autosports said: “Today is a huge day for Walkinshaw Andretti United and for Supercars, and we are delighted to be partnering with Toyota Australia as it enters the sport in 2026.
“To have a third OEM enter into Supercars shows the strength of the sport now and into the future, and it’s going to be pretty special to see all three manufacturers battle it out.
“We’ve got some races to win with Ford before that, they have been fantastic to work with and we are fully committed to finishing that relationship the best way.”
WAU Director Michael Andretti said: “We are incredibly excited to announce our future with Toyota Australia, and it’s a great honour to be the homologation team working with it and Supercars to bring it to life.
“Being a homologation team is huge part of our DNA and history, so this next chapter ahead of us is enormous, not only for us, but for the sport. We can’t thank Toyota Australia enough for its belief in us.
“Having said that, we also need to acknowledge Ford, and thank it for its partnership to date, we are all committed to ending on a high note.”
Toyota Australia has already begun initial design work on the GR Supra racecar through its own in-house design team, based at Altona, with the design team using CAD and VR technology to produce a scale clay model.
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.
Further details on the racecar will be announced in due course.
In addition to providing opportunities for Australian motorsport enthusiasts, Toyota’s participation in Supercars will provide valuable knowledge for the further development of its GR road cars.
Underpinning the brand’s GR performance arm is a philosophy that takes the learnings from its motorsport activities to develop its exciting range of GR performance cars including the GR86, GR Yaris, GR Corolla and GR Supra.
The development of these cars has been underscored by Toyota’s participation in major international and national series including the World Endurance Championship (WEC), the World Rally Championship (WRC), the Dakar Rally, NASCAR in the US and a raft of national GT, rally, and circuit racing series in countries around the world.
