First out of the blocks of the major OEMs to confirm a Hypercar programme to the LMH ruleset, Toyota Gazoo Racing has had both the opportunity to test the waters in the new class, but also the significant challenges of having to substantially change their design and performance parameters as the ruleset matured.
Couple with that the cancellation of the parallel road car programme very early in the competitive life of the GR010 and the very real probability of their competition learning substantial lessons from the travails of the programme and there’s little surprise that the GR010 is likely to have a shorter than planned shelf life!
Our friends at Endurance Info recently ran a story suggesting there would be a new Toyota for the 2023 season and whilst that is far from confirmed, it is still a possibility.
Sources close to the programme however have told DSC that a new Toyota is likely, though the continued impacts of global supply chain issues, exacerbated by the fact that many advanced materials used in motorsport are also in heavy demand from military suppliers, may well mean that a new Toyota is green-lit later than the team might have preferred.
That might finally put the tin lid on another prospect, DSC understands that the fine folks at Lexus North America looked very hard indeed at running a Lexus-badged GR010 in IMSA.
That prospect though seems highly unlikely now for multiple reasons, budget, the likely replacement of the car in any case, and the attraction to the brand of IMSA’s GTD Pro class (with the potential for customer cars in GTD) presented with the forthcoming replacement of the Lexus RC F GT3.
That car is looking increasingly likely to be badged as a Lexus, though it may remain a Toyota Gazoo Racing badged car in some markets.
Perhaps significantly though, Lexus (USA) are still actively involved in the Hypercar/ GTP convergence process.
As for the replacement for the GR010, little is yet known other than the fact that the car is almost certain to use the GR010’s powertrain, the LMH rules make it clear that a major OEM is effectively wedded to the hybrid 4wd configuration.
