TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Activation To Excite Fans Over Four Days Of Bathurst 1000

October 15, 2024

2023 Repco Bathurst 1000, Event 10 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. 8 Oct, 2023.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia’s (TGRA) biggest-ever Bathurst 1000 will offer fans exciting, interactive experiences and the opportunity to see a full-size clay model of the new GEN3 GR Supra racecar, which will enter the Supercars Championship for the 2026 season.

There will be plenty of action on the track as well with the penultimate round of the 2024 TGRA GR CUP that will see racers battling it out at Australia’s most famous racing circuit.

Joining the GR CUP grid in a career-enhancing opportunity will be up-and-coming young driver Royce Lyne who won a fully funded drive in the recent TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) 2024 Scholarship Series evaluation day.

Back on pit lane, the clay model GEN3 GR Supra racecar will preview the real version that will be developed in partnership with Toyota’s homologation team Walkinshaw Andretti United.

The GR Supra racecar has been designed and developed by the Toyota Design Australia team, using CAD and VR technology to develop the clay model, which Bathurst 1000 attendees will be able to see up close and personal.

Location will be in Harris Park, behind grandstand 10 along the main straight, the TGR Activation Zone will provide even more exciting and interactive experiences for race-goers and motorsport fans, with three TGR racing simulators set up to let attendees simulate driving a GR86 on the Mount Panorama circuit.

The TGR Activation Zone will be open across all four race days from October 10-13, with fan lap times on the simulator to be recorded. Those participants with the fastest time at the end of each day will win a $100 gift card and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing-branded cap.

The Toyota GR86 racecar run in the one-make TGRA GR CUP will also be on display at the TGR Activation Zone as the fourth round of the 2024 season hits the track at Bathurst as a support category for the Supercars endurance race.

The 2024 TGRA GR CUP is heating up with two rounds left of the five round season. Current championship leader Matthew Hillyer has hit the front after two dominant performances at the Sandown 500 and Sydney SuperNight, closely followed by Bradi Owen who started the season with a clean sweep of the opening round at NTI Townsville 500 and has performed strongly ever since.

The TGRA Scholarship Series evaluation day winner, 17-year-old Royce Lyne, will also be hoping to be among the front runners in the three-race round at Bathurst.

Royce competed against three other young up-and-coming drivers racing in the 2024 TGRA Scholarship Series at the evaluation day held at Norwell Motorplex – 16-year-old Toby Dvorak, 19-year-old Jr-Lung Hay-Bartlem and 22-year-old Wil Longmore – in a series of challenges that tested the skills needed to become a professional driver.

The four drivers that competed in the evaluation day were chosen not necessarily for winning the most races, but because they demonstrated the potential to become a professional racing driver in the future.

After being judged the winner by an esteemed panel of motorsport professionals, Royce scored a fully funded drive at the Bathurst 1000, fulfilling the dream of any young Australian motorsport enthusiast.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo congratulated Royce Lyne for winning the evaluation day and looked forward to seeing him race at Bathurst.

“The TGRA Scholarship Series was created to help foster emerging talent in Australian motorsport and has given many young drivers their first taste of production car-based racing,” Mr Naidoo said.

“Royce’s win at the evaluation day is thoroughly deserved – he performed strongly in all five tests – and on behalf of Toyota Australia I’d like to wish him the best for his upcoming debut in the TGRA GR CUP at Bathurst,” he said.

The evaluation day put the four finalists through five different challenges including on-track performance, car control, fitness and conditioning, media performance and general knowledge of the sport’s rules and technicalities.

Royce performed strongly in all five categories but stood out particularly with his excellent fitness and on-track driving ability.

He first caught the eye of the evaluation day judges with his performances at this year’s TGRA Scholarship Series races, consistently placing in the top 10 across the five-race season including fourth in race 1 and 2 at the Phillip Island Super Sprint in June.

The three-judge panel consisted of Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars Team Principal Bruce Stewart, Supercar driver Jayden Ojeda and Super2 Series driver and former TGRA 86 Series driver Jarrod Hughes.

Mr Stewart said he was impressed by the performance of the four drivers who all showed potential to become professional racers in the future.

“The day for the scholarship series winners was a fantastic experience for everyone concerned,” he said.

“All of them had individual attributes which created a very enticing driver option for any racing team who might be looking for an upcoming talent.

“Importantly, all of them had great attitudes, and displayed tenacity in both the challenges they were proficient in and the ones they needed to improve in, so in that respect I walked away thinking it was a great result for everyone concerned.

“Royce Lyne was lucky enough to win the drive at Bathurst which is a fantastic opportunity for a young driver who’s on the way up,” he said.

The Bathurst 1000 takes place from October 10-13.