Toyota will join the Supercars grid in 2026, pitting its GR Supra against the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.
Walkinshaw Andretti United will be Toyota’s homologation team, the first time it’s enjoyed that status since it competed as the Holden Racing Team in 2016.
At least one other team will join the Toyota stable, with the Japanese brand expecting to field at least four cars during its five-year commitment to the series.
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Toyota will be the first new manufacturer to enter the sport since Nissan partnered with Kelly Racing under the then-new ‘car of the future’ regulations of 2013.
“This is truly a historic moment,” said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations.
“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.
“With our strong and ever-growing partnerships with Walkinshaw Andretti United and Supercars, we are in it to win it.”
The Supercars-spec GR Supra will be powered by the brand’s 2UR-GSE 5.0 litre V8, the same engine that propelled Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel’s Toyota HiLux to victory at the 2019 Dakar Rally.
Toyota has already begun designing its car in Altona, in Melbourne’s west. Development work will now continue with homologation team Walkinshaw Andretti United.
“Next year’s going to be very, very busy because we’ve got ambitions to win the championship this year and also the championship next year while we’re still racing Mustangs, but behind the scenes we’re also going to be developing a race car for Toyota for 2026,” team director Ryan Walkinshaw said. “An enormous amount of work, an enormous amount of resource and investment is going to have to go into it, but it’s a really, really exciting challenge and one that we embrace and can’t wait to get stuck into.”
Toyota will be WAU’s third Supercars manufacturer in five years. The team is most closely associated with General Motors, having been founded as the Holden Racing Team more than 30 years ago, but pulled the trigger on a shock switch to Ford last year for the beginning of the Gen3 era.
Partnering with Toyota will restore WAU to the prestige of homologation status, with the destiny of its car back in its own hands.
“It’s probably the biggest news in our race team’s history since becoming the Holden Racing Team back in 1990,” Walkinshaw added. “I think that probably goes back to the sport as well. There aren’t many announcements that are more significant than bringing the leading manufacturer in Australia into your category to come and race alongside Ford and Chevrolet.
“It’s enormous news for our race team and enormous news for our sport. It’s a massive moment for the Australian motorsport community.
Co-owner Michael Andretti was excited to the see the team assume homologation status after what will be a decade operating as a customer entry.
“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,’ he said. “We can’t thank Toyota Australia enough for its belief in us.”
Toyota’s induction into the category is a big tick for the Gen3 chassis, which was designed to accommodate diverse car bodies to make the series more attractive to more manufacturers.
The introduction of the GR Supra in 2026 has been tipped to coincide with a new Chevrolet model on the grid, with the production Camaro having been discontinued at the end of last year.
“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,” co-owner Zak Brown said.
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Supercars CEO Shane Howard said he was honoured to have the Japanese giant join the sport.
“I’ve been with the company over 20 years, and this is at the top level,’ he said. “There have been numerous efforts over 20 years to really bring Toyota in, but to finally get it done is a massive milestone for the sport, and we couldn’t be more excited.
“It’s an incredible moment, and to have Toyota, GM and Ford on the grid in 2026 will be absolutely unbelievable.
“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.”
Toyota last competed for the Australian Touring Car Championship between 1985 and 1990 as Toyota Team Australia, a stint that yielded several class victories.
But the Japanese brand is better recognised for its long-running association with the Australian Rally Championship, having switched away from circuit racing in the early 1990s.
It won three successive titles in the Toyota Celica GT-Four in 1993–95. Three consecutive titles followed for the Toyota Corolla in 2006–08.
The last four ARC titles have been won in a Toyota Yaris, which is also leading this year’s standings in the hands of Harry Bates and Coral Taylor.
It wasn’t until more recently that Toyota re-established itself in Australia’s circuit-racing scene, founding the youth-oriented Toyota 86 series in 2015.
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Hanley said Toyota’s Supercars entry would tie its grassroots involvement together with the premier class of Australian motorsport.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Chevrolet outnumbers Ford 14-10 on the current grid.
WAU’s defection could see that number drop to eight or even as low as six depending on which other team joins Toyota and whether Ford can coax any General Motors squads to switch camps.
Ford remains the most successful manufacturer in Australian Touring Car Championship history, with 27 titles to General Motors’s 25. Jaguar and Nissan have three apiece, BMW has two, and Mazda and Volvo each has one.
Triple Eight Race Engineering leads the 2024 championship on behalf of General Motors with a 1075-point lead over Tickford. WAU is third in the standings and 1082 adrift of the lead.
Will Brown leads the drivers championship with a 189-point advantage over WAU’s Chaz Mostert, with Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney down by 222 points.
Source Agencies
