TGRA’s Australian Rally Championship Title Defence Begins At Rally Of Canberra In March

February 28, 2025

2024 Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500, Event 11 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Surfers Paradise, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. 27 Oct, 2024.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) is gearing up for another massive year of local motorsport action, starting with the first round of the TGRA Scholarship Series this weekend at the iconic Phillip Island circuit in Victoria.

Now in its third season, the TGRA Scholarship Series plays an important role in fostering emerging Australian motorsport talent, creating a pathway for newcomers or those graduating out of kart racing and looking to experience the high-adrenaline action of tight circuit racing in a safe environment.

The Scholarship Series grid has increased for the 2025 season with an entry list of 40 cars expected for the first round. Eleven drivers are returning after racing in the 2024 season including top-10 place-getters Wil Longmore (5^th) and Alice Buckley (7^th).

New talent to join the grid includes son of multiple V8 Ute champion David Seiders, Ashton Seiders, while five drivers are currently registered to compete in both the TGRA Scholarship Series and premier GR CUP.

The five-round Scholarship Series allows aspiring drivers to showcase their talents on some of the most iconic race tracks in the country, starting with the Phillip Island Auto Race Club (PIARC) Access event this weekend at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria.

Further races throughout the year in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia will allow competitors to test their abilities in a range of different scenarios and racetracks. At the conclusion of the season, up to five stand-out participants will be selected to compete in a one-day evaluation event at Norwell Motorplex.

The participants will undergo a series of tests based around what it takes to become a professional driver, with the winner receiving a fully funded drive in the TGRA GR CUP at arguably Australia’s most famous circuit – Mount Panorama at Bathurst.

The 2025 TGRA GR CUP season kicks off at the end of April with the season launch at Sydney Motorsport Park on April 30, before racing gets underway at the NTI Townsville 500 from July 11-13.

Following an action-packed 2024 season which saw eventual champion and concurrent Scholarship Series winner Max Geoghegan narrowly edge out competitors Bradi Owen and James Lodge, the 2025 season promises even more thrills and hard-fought racing to delight fans and onlookers.

After the debut of the new-generation GR86 GR CUP racecar in 2024 that saw faster lap times and exhilarating displays of driving, the 2025 season will continue to deliver action-packed racing across five races as a support category for select Supercars Championship rounds in the second half of the year.

Hosted by venues including Ipswich, Gold Coast, Bathurst and Sandown raceway, the TGRA GR CUP tests skills of drivers and teams in a format which is typically tight and contested, with close finishes and action aplenty.

Like the TGRA Scholarship Series, the TGRA GR CUP offers an affordable and exciting pathway for aspiring motorsport drivers and teams, evidenced by the multiple Toyota 86 racing graduates who have gone on to race in elite Australian motorsport competitions.

The two grassroots series demonstrate Toyota Australia’s dedication to fostering local motorsport talent, helping to find and develop the next generation of champion drivers.

Toyota motorsport action in 2025 is not just limited to sealed circuits, with Harry Bates and Coral Taylor looking to secure a historic three-peat in the Australian Rally Championship (ARC) following a dominant 2024 campaign.

Bates and Taylor will kick off their title defence on home soil at the Rally of Canberra from March 21-23 alongside TGRA teammates Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin, who finished the 2024 season strongly to miss out on a 1-2 driver’s championship finish by the narrowest of margins.

The TGRA stable has dominated in recent years winning the past four ARC championships – three to Harry and one to Lewis in 2022.

The 2024 season marked the debut of the new GR Yaris Rally2 cars for the TGRA team – the first factory-built Toyota rally car homologated for WRC2 competition – which will be back for the 2025 title defence.

Six rounds make up the 2025 ARC season, which travels to the furthest reaches of the country including southwestern WA, Tasmania, Gippsland, Adelaide and Queensland.

Toyota, in partnership with Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU), will also spend 2025 developing its GR Supra racecar ahead of its entry into the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship – Australia’s premier motorsport category.

Toyota will be fielding a minimum of four V8-powered GR Supra racecars, two of which will be run by Toyota’s homologation team partner WAU.

Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo said that 2025 would continue the momentum of what was an exciting and action-packed 2024.

“2024 was a huge year of motorsport for Toyota Australia, starting with the arrival of Toyota’s first factory-built rally car driven to victory by Harry Bates and Coral Taylor which also marked the fourth consecutive victory by the TGRA rally team,” Mr Naidoo said.

“We also saw the arrival of the new-generation GR86 racecar in the TGRA GR CUP series, which provided hair-raising thrills for all involved with the eventual champion decided in the very last race of the season.

“The hugely successful TGRA Scholarship Series got even more popular in its second year, providing racers with a fantastic way to progress their motorsport ambitions. And for evaluation day winner Royce Lyne, that included a fully funded race at Mount Panorama – a track that all young Australian motorsport fans dream of one day being able to drive.

“We can’t wait to see what 2025 brings across all three racing formats, and we wish our drivers and teams all the best for a successful and exciting season ahead.”