2015.01.30

Toyota announces its 2015 motorsports activity overview. Continues to field six LEXUS RC F to reclaim GT500 crown!

On January 30, Toyota Motor Corporation announced its "Toyota motorsports activities for 2015." In SUPER GT, 2015-model LEXUS RC F will be fielded in the GT500 class. The maker will keep the six-car squad from last year for its endeavor to reclaim the title. In the GT300 class, newly developed FIA-GT3 specification LEXUS RC F GT3 is planned to compete in the series alongside the TOYOTA PRIUS GT.

"We will continue our relentless challenge with our solid focus in motorsports which we have set out as 'Making ever-better cars' and 'Creating more car fans'" said President Akio Toyoda in his opening address and expressed that the company will proactively support motorsports including SUPER GT to create more "car fans." In addition to the company's domestic and overseas racing activities, it was also announced that the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing FESTIVAL, which now has become a staple event for the car enthusiasts and car fans where not only the motorsports fans but also a wide variety of cars from racing cars to one's dearest personal car gather to mark the end of a season, is scheduled to be held in November again this year at Fuji Speedway and that the automaker is planning to compete in the World Rally Championship from 2017 with Yaris WRC built based on Yaris (known as Vitz in Japan).

In SUPER GT, the squad will continue with a six-car fleet from last year for the 2015 season, and for No.6 car of LEXUS TEAM LeMans ENEOS (Kazuya Oshima / Yuji Kunimoto) and No.19 car of LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH (Juichi Wakisaka / Yuhi Sekiguchi) even the driver combination is staying unchanged. In No.36 car of LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM'S, Daisuke Ito, who fought for the championship until the end in No.37 cars last year and consequently finished the season at second place, has joined the team to form a new combination with James Rossiter. Andrea Caldarelli, who contended for the title in the combination with Ito last year, has been promoted to the ace driver of No.37 car of LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM'S, and Ryo Hirakawa has been chosen to be his partner. No.38 car of LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO will continue to have Yuji Tachikawa as its ace driver and added Hiroaki Ishiura, who served the ace driver of No.39 car last year, to team up with Tachikawa. In the No.39 car, Kohei Hirate, who shared the wheel with Tachikawa up until last year, has moved in as the ace driver. Hirate's partner is unknown at this point of time. Five cars of No.6, No.36, No.37, No.38, and No.39 wearing Bridgestone and No.19 car using Yokohama Tire are the same story as last year.

 

 

In the GT300 class, TOYOTA PRIUS GT mounted with a hybrid system will continue to enter the series. The car will be fielded by apr as No.31 car, and Koki Saga, who brought in the first pole position to Prius, has been promoted to the ace of the team, replacing Morio Nitta with the most GT300 winning record, and newly added Yuichi Nakayama is going to be his partner. The team has changed the tire supplier to Bridgestone to accomplish its goal of clinching long-awaited title.

In addition to above, a new competitor is expected to appear in the series. RC F GT3 developed based on LEXUS RC F is anticipated to make its debut in the racing world as a part of the initiative under a theme of to promote the customer motorsports and raise LEXUS' sporting image. A total of three cars are planned to be supplied in Japan and Europe in the inaugural year, and, in SUPER GT, LM corsa is planned to compete in the GT300 class with an RC F GT3.

 

 

 

Class	Team	Vehicle	Car No.	Driver	Tires*
GT 500	LEXUS TEAM LeMans ENEOS	ENEOS SUSTINA RC F	6	Kazuya Oshima (Japan)	BS
				Yuji Kunimoto (Japan)
	LEXUS TEAM WedsSport BANDOH	WedsSport ADVAN RC F	19	Juichi Wakisaka (Japan)	YH
				Yuhi Sekiguchi (Japan)
	LEXUS TEAM PETRONAS TOM'S	PETRONAS TOM'S RC F	36	Daisuke Ito (Japan)	BS
				James Rossiter (U.K.)
	LEXUS TEAM KeePer TOM'S	KeePer TOM'S RC F	37	Andrea Caldarelli (Italy)	BS
				Ryo Hirakawa (Japan)
	LEXUS TEAM ZENT CERUMO	ZENT CERUMO RC F	38	Yuji Tachikawa (Japan)	BS
				Hiroaki Ishiura (Japan)
	LEXUS TEAM SARD	DENSO KOBELCO　SARD RC F	39	Kohei Hirate (Japan)	BS
				(undecided)
GT 300	apr	TOYOTA PRIUS apr GT	31	Koki Saga (Japan)	BS
				Yuichi Nakayama (Japan)
*BS = Bridgestone; YH = Yokohama Tire

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