Toyota GR86 racecar to make competition debut as 2024 GR Cup season opener kicks off in Townsville

The new Toyota GR86 racecar will make its competition debut this weekend as the 2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) GR CUP season hits the track in Townsville as a support category for the Supercars Championship NTI Townsville 500 event.

The three-race round that runs from 5-7 July will see a full grid of 32 GR86s competing for the chequered flag - and GR CUP points – with professional guest Supercars drivers Fabian Coulthard and Jayden Ojeda joining the grid.

This year will see 12 new drivers and teams joining the long-running one-make race series that is now in its ninth year, with rising star 15-year-old Lincoln Taylor among them.

The new drivers will have plenty of tough competition on the track with this year’s field also including the 2023 Kaizen Award winner for continual improvement Ryan Tomsett and the 2022 Series Champion Lachie Gibbons returning to line up on the grid.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo said it was great to see a mix of fresh faces and returning drivers all ready to do battle in what has become a highly-regarded circuit racing category.

“The TGRA 86 Series, now called the GR CUP reflecting the new racecar, has always been one of the premier support categories for the Supercars Championship offering a real opportunity for aspiring professional drivers to learn and hone their racecraft on some of Australia’s most iconic circuits,”

“This year, we’re seeing a whole new group of passionate drivers joining our racing community and I’d like to wish everyone the very best of luck for the season".

“With a new car in the GR86 that is lighter, faster and more agile, and expertly built by our partner Neal Bates Motorsport, we are looking forward to a full season of thrilling racing action, for drivers and fans alike.”

Mr. Naidoo

With a full grid for the GR CUP, Toyota is also running the second-tier TGRA Scholarship Series this year with competitors racing the Toyota 86 in a five-round series of races as part of state-based championships.

Three Scholarship Series rounds have already been run with the final two at Queensland Raceway in August and Sydney Motorsport Park in September before the Evaluation Day where the winner will receive a fully funded drive at Bathurst in the GR CUP.

Following this weekend’s GR CUP in Townsville, the main game then heads to Sydney Motorsport Park, Sandown and Bathurst before the season finale in Surfers Paradise as part of the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 in October.

2024 TGRA GR CUP