Toyota Outlines Motorsports Activities for 2008
10 March 2008 · posted by Staff
March 7, 2008
Tokyo — TOYOTA MOTOR
CORPORATION (TMC)
announced today that its 2008 motorsports activities would focus on
competing in the FIA Formula One World
Championship (F1), NASCAR, Super GT and
Formula Nippon, and on training drivers that can perform on the
world stage.
Toyota, competing in its seventh year of F1, will employ its new
aerodynamically stable TF108 racecar. Timo Glock has been signed as
a new driver, and together with veteran driver Jarno Trulli, the
team will aim for Toyota’s first victory.
The Toyota Camry will once again participate in the Sprint Cup
Series, the pinnacle of NASCAR racing, as
well as in the Nationwide Series. Toyota is looking for its first
overall win in the Sprint Cup Series with the promising Joe Gibbs
Racing team. Toyota will also continue to compete in the Craftsman
Truck Series with the Toyota Tundra, after having won the
manufacturers’ title last year.
In Japan, the Lexus SC430 will once again participate in the
GT500 class of the Super GT, and with a strengthened team, Toyota
will be looking for the title. At the same time, Toyota will
continue to supply engines to Formula Nippon, a premier formula
racing series in Japan.
Toyota is also committed to continuing its support for a wide
range of events and race categories—from top-class events all the
way down to the grassroots level—in order to promote motorsports in
general.
Toyota will continue to promote its Toyota Young Drivers Program
(TDP). The program cultivates young race
drivers so that they can perform on the world stage and aims to
provide a wide range of opportunities for drivers to hone their
skills through participation in such events as F1 racing, the GP2
series and F3 Euro series, as well as test driving. This year Toyota
has selected 14 drivers worldwide to participate in
TDP.
Meanwhile, Toyota is continuing initiatives in the arena of
hybrid motorsports as part of its efforts to improve the efficiency
of hybrid systems (including production vehicles) and in
consideration of the impact of motorsports on the environment.
The Motor Sports Division of the Higashifuji Technical Center is
currently in charge of Toyota’s overall motorsports activities,
while Toyota Technocraft Co., Ltd. (TRD)
in Japan, Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) in
Europe and TRD, U.S.A. Inc. (TRD-USA)
in the United States serve as local hubs for regional activities.
Outline of Toyota’s 2008 Motorsports Activities
1. FIA Formula One World Championship
(F1)
* The Panasonic Toyota Racing team, which is competing in 2008 for
its seventh consecutive year, will strive to accumulate points in
each race and aim for its first victory. * The team will compete
using a new racecar, the TF108, which features a new chassis with a
longer wheelbase than its predecessor and is designed to deliver
aerodynamic stability regardless of the racetrack or conditions. The
car’s suspension and gearbox have also been modified in an effort to
achieve greater driving performance and reliability. * This year’s
drivers will be Jarno Trulli (Italy, Car No. 11) and newly signed
Timo Glock (Germany, Car No. 12), who won the 2007 GP2 championship.
The third driver will be Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) of the Toyota Young
Drivers Program. * Toyota will also supply the
RVX-08 engine to the Williams F1 team.
2. NASCAR
Toyota will once again compete in all races of the
NASCAR National Series with the support of
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (TMS) and
TRD-USA.
Sprint Cup Series
The Sprint Cup Series is the pinnacle of the
NASCAR series. Toyota first entered the Sprint Cup Series in
2007 (then known as the Nextel Cup Series). The new racing team for
Toyota this year will be the three-time series champion, Joe Gibbs
Racing.
Supported Teams
Team Car No. Drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Tony Stewart
(Also scheduled to drive in some Nationwide Series races)
11 Denny Hamlin
(Also scheduled to drive in some Nationwide Series races)
18 Kyle Busch
(Also scheduled to drive in some Nationwide Series and Craftsman
Truck Series races)
Hall of Fame Racing 99 J.J. Yeley
Bill Davis Racing 22 Dave Blaney
27 (To be announced)
Michael Waltrip Racing 55 Michael Waltrip
44 Dale Jarrett (Up to and including the 5th race)
David Reutimann (From the 6th race onwards; also scheduled to drive
in all Nationwide Series races)
00 David Reutimann (Up to and including the 5th race)
Michael McDowel (From the 6th race onwards)
Red Bull Racing 83 Brian Vickers
(Also scheduled to drive in some Nationwide Series races)
84 AJ Allmendinger
NOTE: All drivers are American.
Nationwide Series
The Nationwide Series is the next most-popular series after the
Sprint Cup Series. Toyota first participated in the series in 2007
(known then as the Busch Series).
Team Car No. Drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Tony Stewart and others
18 Denny Hamlin and others
Michael Waltrip Racing 96 David Reutimann
Braun Racing 38 Jason Leffler
10 Brian Vickers and others
Germain Racing 7 Mike Wallace
NOTE: All drivers are American.
Craftsman Truck Series
Toyota first participated in the series in 2004.
Team Car No. Drivers
Bill Davis Racing 5 Mike Skinner
22 Philip McGilton
23 Johnny Benson
Germain Racing 30 Todd Bodine
9 Justin Marks
Wyler Racing 60 Terry Cook
Red Horse Racing 11 David Starr
Harris Trucking 59 Ted Musgrave
Billy Ballew 51 Kyle Busch and others
NOTE: All drivers are American.
3. Super GT
As a premier racing series, Toyota will continue to support teams
taking part through Toyota Technocraft Co., Ltd. (TRD).
Scheduled to participate are the GT500-class Lexus SC430 powered by
a 4.5-liter V8 (3UZ-FE) engine, the GT300-class Lexus IS350 powered
by a 3.0-liter V8 (RV8J) engine, the Toyota MR-S powered by a
3.5-liter V6 (2GR) engine, and the Toyota Celica powered by a
2-liter in-line four-cylinder turbo engine (3S-GT).
Supported Teams
Class Team Car No. Vehicle Drivers Remarks
GT500 ENEOS TOYOTA
Team
LeMans 6 Lexus SC430 Daisuke Ito (Japan) New driver
for Toyota
Bjorn Wirdheim (Sweden)
TOYOTA TEAM
TSUCHIYA 25 Lexus SC430 Takeshi Tsuchiya
(Japan)
Hiroaki Ishiura (Japan) TDP driver
TOYOTA TEAM
KRAFT 35 Lexus SC430 Tatsuya Kataoka
(Japan)
Peter Dumbreck (Scotland)
PETRONAS TOYOTA
TEAM TOM’S 36
Lexus SC430 Juichi Wakisaka (Japan)
Andre Lotterer (Germany)
TOYOTA TEAM
CERUMO 38 Lexus SC430 Yuji Tachikawa
(Japan) New driver
for Toyota
Richard Lyons (Northern Ireland)
TOYOTA TEAM
SARD 39 Lexus SC430 Toranosuke Takagi
(Japan)
Andre Couto (Portugal)
GT300 RACING PROJECT
BANDOH 19 Lexus IS350 Manabu Orido (Japan)
Toyota
Celica up to
and including
Race 2
(To be announced)
TEAM TAKEUCHI
with
SHIF 52 Lexus IS350 Takuya Kurosawa
(Japan) Scheduled to
drive from
Race 2
onwards;
Iguchi is a
TDP driver
Takuto Iguchi (Japan)
apr 31 Toyota MR-S Kyosuke Mineo (Japan)
Yuya Sakamoto (Japan)
apr 95 Toyota MR-S Kohei Hirate (Japan) TDP
driver
Keisuke Kunimoto (Japan) TDP driver
4. Japanese Championship Formula Nippon
This is the top category of formula car races in Japan. This year,
3-liter V8 engines (Toyota RV8-J) will be provided to seven teams
(12 vehicles).
Supported Teams (Engine Support)
Team Car No. Drivers Remarks
LAWSON TEAM
IMPUL 1 Tsugio Matsuda (Japan)
2 Benoit Treluyer (France)
KONDO RACING 3
Naoki Yokomizo (Japan)
4 Joao Paulo de Oliveira (Brazil)
Team LeMans 7 Satoshi Motoyama (Japan)
8 Hiroaki Ishiura (Japan) TDP driver
(To be announced) 20 Kohei Hirate (Japan) TDP
driver
PETRONAS TEAM
TOM’S 36 Andre Lotterer (Germany)
37 Seiji Ara (Japan)
CERUMO/INGING 47 Ronnie Quintarelli
(Italy)
48 Yuji Tachikawa (Japan)
STONEMARKET·BLAAK
CERUMO/INGING 67 Roberto Streit (Brazil)
5. Other Support Activities
All-Japan F3 Championship Series
Formula Three is the first step toward F1. Toyota will provide
1AZ-FE engines to participating teams.
Supported Teams
Team Car No. Drivers (tentative) Remarks
PETRONAS TEAM
TOM’S 1 Carlo van Dam (Netherlands)
36 Keisuke Kunimoto (Japan) TDP driver
37 Takuto Iguchi (Japan) TDP driver
NOW MOTOR
SPORTS 33 Kei Cozzolino (Italy)
TDP driver
Le Beausset 62 Kohki Saga (Japan)
Formula Challenge Japan (FCJ)
This entry-class category is in its third year. All of the cars are
specially and independently designed FCJ
vehicles (FC106). This year, the FCJ has
scheduled a total of 16 different races at eight race events that
will be held at four different circuits.
Netz Cup Vitz Street-legal Series
This series features street-legal racecars. The car used is the
specially designed Toyota Vitz RS TRD
Racing, which is based on the 1.5-liter Vitz RS.
The series consists of 21 races held in five regions in Japan
(Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Kansai and Western Japan). In addition,
continuing from last year, two special races will be held at Fuji
Speedway—one special support race for the Japanese F1 Grand Prix and
the other as part of the Toyota Motorsports Festival.
Additional Support
Japan
Support will be provided to the Toyota Motor Sports Club (TMSC).
United States
* Toyota will provide 5.0-liter V8 (redesigned 3UZ) engines to the
Grand American Road Racing (Grand Am) Series. In January 2008, a
racecar equipped with that engine, employed by the Chip Ganassi
Racing team, won first place in the curtain raiser 24-hour race at
Daytona for the third consecutive year, which is a new record. *
Toyota will provide engines to the Midget Series, Sprint Series and
Silver Crown Series of the United States Auto Club (USAC).
Other * Support will go to Toyota vehicles participating in
Championship Off Road Racing (CORR) and
National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag
races. * Toyota will sponsor the Long Beach Grand Prix, the first
race in the Champ Car World Series, marking the 34th time since 1975
for Toyota to sponsor the race. * Toyota will sponsor Race 11
(Milwaukee) and Race 15 (Nashville) of the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series and Race 16 (Infineon Raceway) of the Sprint
Cup Series.
Europe, etc.
Support will be provided to TOYOTA
AUTO BODY, which
is participating in the Dakar Rally in Toyota Land Cruisers.
6. Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP)
Basic Concept
This program is aimed at cultivating drivers who hope to compete in
top racing categories, both in Japan and the rest of the world. It
is dedicated to identifying new talent and allows each participant
to improve in line with his or her own abilities. The program is
being offered in Europe and Japan, as listed below.
List of Trainee TDP Drivers for 2008
Drivers Category Team Remarks / Last Year’s
Results
Europe Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) F1 World
Championship AT&T Williams
(United Kingdom) AT&T Williams
Test driver, race driver
(10th, Brazil F1 GP)
GP2 (5th overall in series;
highest placing for rookie)
Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) GP2 series
GP2 Asia series DAMS (France) F3 Euro
series
(1 win, 4th overall in series)
F1 World
Championship Panasonic Toyota Racing
(Third driver)
Kazuya Oshima (Japan) F3 Euro series Manor Motorsport
(United Kingdom) All Japan F3 Championship
(6 wins, series champion)
Super GT300 class
(2 wins, driver champion)
Henkie Waldschmidt
(Netherlands) F3 Euro series SG Formula
(France) Formula Renault
Euro Cup (7th)
Italian Series (7th)
Andrea Caldarelli (Italy) Formula Renault
Eurocup
Western European
Series SG Formula
(France) Formula Renault
Euro Cup (24th)
Italian Series (12th)
Japan Kohei Hirate (Japan) Super GT (GT300) apr GP2 (19th overall in
series)
Formula Nippon (To be announced)
Hiroaki Ishiura (Japan) Super GT (GT500) TOYOTA
TEAM
TSUCHIYA All Japan F3 Championship
(2 wins, 4th overall in series)
Super GT300 class
(2 wins, driver champion)
Formula Nippon Team Le Mans
Keisuke Kunimoto (Japan) Super GT (GT300) apr FCJ
(3 wins, series champion)
Formula Toyota
(2 wins, 2nd overall in series)
All Japan F3
Championship PETRONAS
TEAM TOM’S
Takuto Iguchi (Japan) Super GT (GT300) TEAM
TAKAUCHI
with SHIFT FCJ
(1 win, 6th overall in series)
Formula Toyota
(1 win, 3rd overall in series)
All Japan F3
Championship PETRONAS
TEAM TOM’S
Kei Cozzolino (Italy) All Japan F3
Championship NOW MOTOR
SPORTS FCJ
(1 win, 9th overall in series)
Formula Toyota
(3 wins, series champion)
Hideki Yamauchi (Japan) F3 National Class TOM’S
SPIRIT FCJ
(1 win, 7th overall in series)
Yuji Kunimoto (Japan) FCJ
FCJ
(3 wins, 4th overall in series)
Formula Toyota
(10th overall in series)
Naoya Gamou (Japan) FCJ Kart M4 Series
(4th overall in series)
Yuichi Nakayama (Japan) FCJ All Japan Kart
Championship
Series FA Class
(3rd overall in series)
CIK-FIA
Asia-Pacific KF2
Championship
(7th overall in series)
Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS)
The Formula Toyota Racing School (FTRS) is
held at Fuji Speedway, employing Formula Toyota vehicles.
FTRS is a two-night, three-day course
that covers everything from the basics to participation in
non-sanctioned races. Try-outs will be held for outstanding
participants who have a promising future, and the final drivers
selected will be given a scholarship for the following year.
First course: July 30 – August 1; Second course: August 12 – 14;
Third course: August 18 – 20.
7. Hybrid Car Motorsports
* Toyota has been racing hybrid cars since 2006, with the aim of
improving hybrid technology for production vehicles and in
consideration of the impact of motorsports on the environment. *
Last year, Toyota raced the Toyota Supra HV-R, fitted with a
racing-specific hybrid system, in the Tokachi 24-hour Race, and
achieved an overall victory. (This was the first time anywhere in
the world for a hybrid car to win a quasi-international race.) *
Toyota will not enter the race this year and will instead focus on
further developing its hybrid system.
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Toyota
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