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By Roger, June 19, 2011 5:00 pm

This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans packed plenty of action, but there weren't as many automakers fielding their own entries in the top-tier LMP1 category as you might think.



There was Audi, of course, which has dominated the category for years, arch-rival Peugeot, with its diesel-powered challenger, and Aston Martin, which stepped up to the big leagues after dominating just about every GT category for years. Honda Performance Development had a couple of cars in the second-tier LMP2 category, and there were plenty of factory-supported GT cars. The rest of the LMP1 field was filled by privateers running mostly Lola, Zytek, Oreca or Judd chassis, powered by a variety of engines. But the coming years could see an influx of new automakers aiming to take on Audi for the top honors.



According to the latest rumors, race organizers ACO are in discussions with a number of car manufacturers interested in entering the LMP1 category. Chief among them is reportedly Toyota, which is said to have been working on its own prototype since last year. The Toyota LMP1 is reportedly being developed with Dome – a Japanese chassis constructor that's built such racing machinery as the competition-spec Honda NSX, an aborted F1 program and several Le Mans prototypes, as well as a handful of Toyota racers in the 1980s – and incorporates a hybrid powertrain.



The last time Toyota competed at Le Mans was with the GT-One (pictured above), which raced there in 1998 and 1999 but held the lap record at La Sarthe until 2006. The new entry, according to reports, could be ready for an assault on next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/19/toyota-to-field-all-new-lmp1-at-le-mans-next-year/

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By Roger, May 12, 2011 3:24 pm

For a luxury brand to be taken seriously nowadays it is a must to go racing with its most potent family car. All the European luxury brands are heavily involved in racing series like DTM, BTCC and the FIA World Touring Car Championship, and their successes on the track are well decorated in showrooms, to show their customers what the brand is capable off.

Japanese luxury car firm Lexus has, however, been less keen on taking the IS-F to racing circuits, but that hasn’t stopped some privateer entries from making race cars out of the brand’s most powerful sedan.

The latest IS-F race car hails from Europe and is campaigned by MN Motorsports team in the Superstars International Series where it will compete alongside other RWD V8-powered monster sedans like the BMW M5, Audi RS4, Cadillac CTS-V, Mercedes C63 and even the Maserati Quattroporte and Chrysler 300C SRT8.

The team, which is owned by Mauro Nocentini will wear the number 06 and will be driven by Diego Romanini, who is a two-time Formula 3 champion.

The team has had problems at the start of the season, but we wish them all the best for the upcoming races.

http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2011/05/lexus-is-f-to-compete-in-european-superstars-international-series.html

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By Roger, March 15, 2011 2:13 pm

Toyota is putting its full backing behind the JTGrey Racing Lexus LX 570 again this year as the team looks for a repeat in the 2011 SCORE Stock Full Championship. Last year, driver Joe Bacal piloted a very similar LX 570 to the overall championship.

This version of the LX 570 proves you can turn just about anything into a SCORE truck and instantly make it 100 percent cooler. This LX sport-ute has been permanently relieved of soccer practice and Whole Foods duty, and now sports a healthy lift and 37-inch rollers to keep the vitals off the ground.

In last year's championship, Bacal drove the 5.7-liter V8-powered LX to victory at the Las Vegas 300, the San Felipe 250, the Baja 1000 Races and nabbed second in the Baja 500. Bacal's 2011 season started this past weekend at the SCORE Mastercraft San Felipe 250, but Bacal finished outside the points. The next round of the season runs from June 3-5 at the Baja 500. Hit the jump for the official press blast.

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/15/this-is-the-coolest-lexus-lx-570-period/

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By Roger, January 16, 2011 11:21 am

Our own tcmaboy from PSTOC is in Japan, and has graced us with some of his own coverage of the Tokyon Auto Salon and the vehicles on display there.

1st Installment:

WARNING: Do not expect too much information. Due to my language limitations this event was more of a photo scavenger hunt than serious research. I went out looking for things Toyota, things race car, and things just plain weird. What information I have comes from looking at the car, matching up logos, and tracking down company names. To kick things off I suppose I should start off with some Toyota-centric items. For those that follow the blog you have already seen the two IS F club racing concepts.

So, what hasn't appeared on the front page? What has Tom been up to all these years? Apparently making Lexus Parts. On display was a LS 460 with some very subtle body parts and an exhaust system.

Goodyear had a MK X on display all done up complete with booth girl (you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get pictures of the car when the girls are around). The MK X is the successor to the MK II, and shares a platform with the GS. The resemblance to a NASCARed Camry is a bit scary (must be the Goodyear effect).

Gazoo Racing was the primary Toyota representative, and they brought a few shiny toys to show off. Among them were race cars, mini vans, and even an iQ. Packing a giant shoe horn they some how they managed to squeeze an intercooled super charger under the hood of the already cramped iQ.

Continuing down the path of tiny cars was this EV sports concept. It is powered by twin DC motors and a lithium ion battery pack. In a rather interesting twist rather than using the differential to send power to the wheels, a diff was employed to send power from the twin motors to the transmission.

To top things off was this T Sports Concept. I am sure all were excited by the promise of the FT 86 as a return of the small rear drive sports car. This little guy looks equally exciting (though the snowball would have to survive hell first). Front engine, rear drive with a 108 HP engine backed by a 5 speed. While 108 HP doesn't sound like much it should be plenty of fun with a weight target just shy of 2000 lbs. For comparison the AE 86 was several hundred pounds heavier with the 4AG putting out similar HP. Over the years the gold has faded to beige for Toyota, and all I can say is please Toyota polish things up and bring back the golden years.

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By Roger, November 11, 2010 10:49 am

When you think of Scion and racing, chances are you think of trends like Drifting and Time Attack. It may surprise you to learn, however, that over the year Scion has been involved in good old fashioned road racing too. The two car DG-Spec team competed all year in the SCCA’s World Challenge Touring Car class and in just their first year the team posted unbelievable results, absolutely dominating the field.

In summary, the DG-Spec/Scion/Lucas Oil/TRD Scion tC team took the Team Championship and Manufacturers’ Championship, while 18-year-old Robert Stout piloted his No. 18 car to the Drivers’ Championship while also taking the GameStreamer Rookie-of-the-Year award.

See the video recap of Scion’s 2010 Season after the jump:

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By Roger, September 23, 2010 12:40 pm

In just their first year of off-road competition, Joe Bacal and his Lexus LX 570 have dominated their class, winning this year’s SCORE championship:

…an unbroken streak of wins and podium finishes that on Saturday culminated in their first off-road championship with a dominant Stock Full-class win at the SCORE Terrible’s Las Vegas Primm 300.
 
It has also helped to have a driver with the grit and determination that Bacal—a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma survivor—has brought to the racing program.  Thus far he has driven every mile of every race, including the 2009 Baja 1000.  Then just days ago, Bacal was preparing for the Primm 300 when he took a wrong step off his trailer and cut his knee almost to the bone, requiring 25 stitches to repair.  But the idea of not racing never occurred to Bacal.

With one race left on the SCORE 2010 calendar, Bacal has managed to secure 249 points in the Stock Full class with 3 wins and 1 second place finish.  His nearest challenger has 85 points but cannot score enough to surpass Bacal this year, giving Bacal enough of an edge to claim the class championship.

A stunning achievement, and one that’s moved Bacal’s JTGrey Racing to a full Lexus factory-supported program through 2011. A big congratulations to everyone involved!

(The final race, which just so happens to be the famous Baja 1000, starts off on November 17.)

http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/09/23/joel-bacal-lexus-lx-570-take-off-road-championship/

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By Roger, September 6, 2010 8:44 am

Akio Toyoda may want to bring driving excitement back to Toyota, but he and his team have two major hurdles to overcome: The brands's limited enthusiast base and the fact that Japan's youth have very little interest in cars.

To combat both fronts, Toyota plans to launch a new line of budget-oriented vehicles that offer a modicum of sport. But so far, things don't look too promising.

Despite debuting an FT-86-based concept at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, Toyota's G Sports line of products have mainly focused on the Voxy and Noah minivans, while a "sports" version of the Prius is apparently in the works.

More interestingly, the Mainichi Daily News reports that a version of the GRMN sports car concept has been given the greenlight, meaning a mid-engined hybrid successor to the MR2 is in the works.

All these developments come after Toyota established a sports vehicle management division in January, which now has a hand in the brand's overall product planning. We should get a look at the fruits of their labors during next year's auto show season and could see this new breed of budget sports vehicles on the market – at least in Japan – within the next few years.

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/05/report-toyota-plans-budget-sports-car-line/

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By Roger, March 18, 2010 3:13 pm

Continuing his success at off-road race events, LX 570 owner Joe Bacal has scored another victory in Mexico this past weekend at the 24th Annual MasterCraft Safety Tecate SCORE San Felipe 250., where he won the Stock Full class. Here’s a description of how the LX 570 performed:

As with all of the races Bacal has run thus far, the San Felipe 250 course was rough and challenging. Deep sand and silt beds can consume otherwise tough off-road racers but it was relatively easy going for Bacal’s Lexus which ran trouble free for the entire event. Bacal and co-driver Bob Ditner even stopped to help a stuck Class 7 racer at about ¾ race distance. “The guy was in sand up to his axles, so Bob and I yanked him out quick with a tow strap. I think he went on to finish second in his class.”

Bacal credits his early 2010 season success with on-going development, careful vehicle preparation and the durability of his Lexus. “The LX is getting faster and easier to drive with every race which gives me confidence to push harder,” noted Bacal. “I’ve also done a lot of prep work recently and it has a similar effect on confidence. The Long Beach Racers deserve credit, too, for their outstanding race support work.”

 

http://lexusenthusiast.com/2010/03/17/lexus-lx-570-wins-san-felipe-250-race/

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By Roger, March 14, 2010 6:05 pm

Imagine the unlikeliest candidate in the world for a soup-up job. No, try harder: something even dafter than a Merc G-Wagen AMG. Meet the factory-tuner version of the iQ, Toyota's tiny cube-shaped premium city car aimed at people who don't have the slightest interest in driving.

And yet I'm finding it very hard to give it the kicking you'd expect.

The iQ Gazoo Racing Tuned By MN has an interesting background. Gazoo Racing is the outfit that took the Lexus LF-A to the Nürburgring 24-hour race. Two of the drivers were not-very-mysterious characters called Morizo, and Hiromu Naruse, Toyota's chief test driver who is, by all accounts, a certified turbo nutter. They're the M and the N in the car's absurdly long name. Morizo is actually Akio Toyoda, another full-on petrolhead, in the moments when he's not being the sober-suited CEO of this, the world's biggest car company. He uses the pseudonym, he says, because then he's free to be rude about Toyota's duller cars on the Gazoo blog.

Gazoo itself is a giant Japanese Toyota owners' community website. "Gazoo Racing," Toyoda told me earnestly but mildly obliquely, "is not a racing team. It's all about providing a forum where people can talk about cars, and share the love. It's about increasing the number of car-loving people."

And so far, the iQ GR MN is little more than a conversation piece. The production run is only 100, it's for Japan only, and they're all sold. Even odder, the one element a performance car needs – performance – has simply been ignored. A body kit does not a faster car make. The iQ GR MN has a bog-standard iQ drivetrain. Its 1.3-litre engine feels lazy, hampered by gearing so ridiculously long that you hit top speed in fourth, with two more still to go.

Now the fun: the wheels are no bigger than standard, but they have sticky tyres, and with new springs and dampers and bushes, you suddenly get a car that just loves to dive into corners. Not much roll, just directness and quite a bit of feel. It's made all the more hilarious by the fact that it's so utterly unlikely. And if you brake while you turn, the diddy wheelbase means the back begins to squirm before the ESP kicks in. And oddly enough, the ride, though its frequency is shorter than normal, doesn't feel too bad. The fun is in thrashing it. I had even more funin a leftover 1.0-litre prototype they let me try, because the smaller engine is lighter and sweeter and happier to be pasted.

Toyota's UK boss, another gearhead, told me to say it needs a turbo. It does. And it might get one. Morizo has already done an (experi)mental turbo Yaris.

http://www.topgear.com/uk/toyota/iq/road-test/gazoo-racing-tuned-by-mn