TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand has added another crucial stepping stone on the international career path for young Kiwi racers, announcing earlier this week it will provide two GR Supra GT4 EVO cars for use in New Zealand.
The cars will complete a pathway that starts with the new Toyota 86 Trophy Series and then takes the young driving talent through the new GR86 Championship.
The best of the talent will then have the opportunity to step aboard the ultra-successful GR Supra GT4 EVO and further develop their skills.
“We know there is a huge amount of talented young racers in New Zealand, and we believe this pathway could put them on the radar for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s LMPh World Endurance Championship programme and the GT3 programme coming in 2025,” explained TGRNZ Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol.
“It’s a well-trodden path for other manufacturers, and we believe it can work for New Zealand as well, as the GR Supra GT4 EVO has proved it is an excellent car for continuing driver development.”
The team running the cars will be confirmed soon, but the GR Supra GT4s will benefit from TGRNZ factory technical support and access to parts.
The news comes hot on the heels of the second trip to the ADAC GT4 Germany Championship for the best drivers in the Toyota 86 Championship. Last year, Brock Gilchrist and Rylan Gray showed their skills at the Nürburgring, and last week, it was the turn of 2024 champion Tom Bewley and William Exton.
“The performance of all of those young drivers has convinced us that GT4 is a natural progression, and of course, we want to support this talent as much as we can all the way through to representing Toyota on the world stage and hopefully achieving great success.”
Tom Bewley and William Exton raced a GR Supra GT4 EVO as recently as last weekend at the Nürburgring, and both reckon the car will go well on New Zealand’s unique selection of tracks.
“It’s really good under brakes,” said Toyota 86 Champion Bewley. “ it’s going to be very strong in that regard and also keeping the tyre alive and being strong even when the tyre is past its best. On top of that, the controls are very easy, and for the driver, it is a simple car, not too complex.”
“It’s definitely a cool car to drive,” added Exton. “Around New Zealand, it would be a very competitive car in the GT4 class. Like Tom, I think it isn’t just fast and easy to drive, but the brakes are very, very good, and that would give it some real advantages on our tracks in New Zealand.”
The next generation of GR Supra GT4 car was announced this week, with the EVO2 confirmed by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing. This will also be available to new customers in New Zealand from the start of 2025. The two first-generation EVO cars being imported to New Zealand will also be upgraded to the latest EVO 2 specification.
“It’s great that another performance product from GR is going to be in the NZ marketplace,” said Toyota Vice President of Mobility Andrew Davis. “We like our performance cars to be fun to drive, and adding the GR Supra GT4 EVO into the mix in this popular NZ motorsport category definitely takes that philosophy to the next level. It’s also an important step in the overall programme of extending the racing element of the GR brand to a wider customer base.”
Advancing its “driver-first car-making” approach for leveraging such insights into development, TGR will introduce the GR Supra GT4 EVO2 – which features improved performance, reliability, and operability – at the start of the 2025 season.
“TGR-E is always looking for new avenues to foster young talent, and the pathways that TGRNZ have developed are a world-class example,” said Dane Berry – TGR-E Customer Motorsport.
“The last two years, we have had the pleasure to work with TGRNZ to bring young talent over to Europe, and now we are excited to bring the GR Supra GT4 EVO to New Zealand and support the next generation of Kiwi drivers.
“The introduction of the GR Supra GT4 EVO2 to New Zealand and Australia for 2025 is sure to leave an impression, and we are excited to work with our customer teams to put our cars on the top step of the podium on both sides of the Tasman.”
