Gazoo Racing 86 Ready for 24 Hours of Nurburgring

[ichitaka05]

http://jonsibal.com/blog/2012/04/gaz...-for-the-ring/

Gazoo Racing ready for the ‘ring

6 April 2012 No Comment
For the 6th time, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) will be going back and participating in the 40th ADAC 24-hr of Nürburgring scheduled from May 17th to the 20th.

GAZOO Racing team have prepared 3 GAZOO Racing cars shown sporting the new team livery.

The 500HP GAZOO Racing Lexus LF-A will be racing in the Division 1 SP8 category.

It will be driven by Takayuki Kinoshita, Akira Iida, and Juichi Wakisaka
And the two 200 hp GAZOO Racing 86 will be racing in the Division 1 SP3.

The first 86 will be driven by Masahiko Kageyama, Yoshinobu Katsumata and Kumi Sato.

The 2nd 86 car will be driven by Hiroaki Ishiura, Kazuya Oshima, Takuto Iguchi and Takagi Real.
And just like in previous years, the driver and crew will be a combination of Professional Toyota racing drivers and employees of Toyota Motor Corporation, in order to nurture human resources within the company.
For 2012, the slogan “I Love Cars!” will be used for GAZOO activities to encourage car enthusiasts to connect with each other through motor sports and at various events.

GAZOO RACING PRESS RELEASE:
Toyota City, Japan, April 6, 2012—Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) today announced its 2012 GAZOO activity plans, which are aimed at broadening the appeal of car racing and fostering more car enthusiasts. To successfully reach and support a new generation of car enthusiasts around the world, TMC is striving to make ever-better cars that satisfy drivers and promote the joy of cars in ways that transcend the role of a typical car manufacturer.
As part of initiatives to develop ever-better cars, the GAZOO Racing team has been competing in the 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race since 2007 and has launched “GAZOO Racing tuned by MN”1 (GRMN), “G Sports”2(G’s) and other models to give car enthusiasts a taste of the thrill of racing and to help develop human resources capable of “automotive seasoning”.
To promote the enjoyment of cars, TMC has hosted various events across Japan, such as GAZOO Racing “Waku Doki” circuit events, which give drivers with no racing experience an easy opportunity to safely drive their car on a racetrack.
This year, TMC will use its “86″ sports car to promote the allure of cars and foster new ranks of car enthusiasts by entering the vehicle together with the Lexus “LFA” in the 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race held in Germany from May 17 to 20. Scenes from the race will also be webcast. To promote grass-roots motor sports in Japan, TMC will also sponsor teams competing with the 86 in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series and All-Japan Rally Championship, both of which serve as goals for amateur drivers aspiring to the next level of racing.
For 2012, the slogan “I Love Cars!” will be used for GAZOO activities to encourage car enthusiasts to connect with each other through motor sports and at various events.

In addition to the Nurburgring race cars, they also will be racing their 86 Rally car next week in the Japan Rally Championship.
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More photos of the GAZOO Racing 86 rally car HERE.

[Turbowned]

That LF-A is naaaaaasty. If they charged $375,000 for that car, I could justify the cost!

86's ain't bad, either

[ZetaVI]

Hell yeah, I love it all.

[keiri]

The new livery is fantastic!

I absolutely love that Gazoo is taking these girls to 24 Hours.

[ft86Fan]

Very nice. I actually prefer the looks of the FR-S more than the LFA. I love small cars.

[swift996]

This will be a good test to the new platform. Can't wait to watch!

[RRnold]

SWEET!

From this angle, these look like a set of RC cars!

[denkigrve]

I really don't like the color scheme they chose for the car. It hides the lines of the body of the 86.

[Grateful Dave]

Originally Posted by denkigrve

I really don't like the color scheme they chose for the car. It hides the lines of the body of the 86.

I like it better than the the Greddy scheme.

[Bristecom]

I wonder what engine they will use. They obviously can't use the stock NA FA20... It would be rediculously slow.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

I wonder what engine they will use. They obviously can't use the stock NA FA20... It would be rediculously slow.

Yes, they're using the "ridiculously" NA FA20 engine

[Bristecom]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

Yes, they're using the "ridiculously" NA FA20 engine

Well no offense but it's just going to get in everyone's way then. It might get a little better fuel economy though.

[denkigrve]

Originally Posted by Grateful Dave

I like it better than the the Greddy scheme.

Touché...

[Dark]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

Well no offense but it's just going to get in everyone's way then. It might get a little better fuel economy though.

SP3 class is 1.7L to 2.0L NA engine. I don't think any car in the class are "much" more competitive than GT86, well, except for S2000.