24 HOURS OF NÜRBURGRING
PAST SEASONS
THE TOUGHER THE RACE,
THE FURTHER WE PUSH OURSELVES
TO MAKE EVER BETTER CARS.
Since 2007, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team has competed in the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race, considered one of the world's most demanding motor sports events. Our goal is to test the limits of our people and our cars. Want to see the results? Check out our track record at Nürburgring over the past decade.
PART 1
GAZOO Racing PROJECTLAUNCH
2007-2009
The Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race is known as the world’s greatest amateur race. In 2007, GAZOO Racing (now TOYOTA GAZOO Racing) ran two vehicles and eight drivers. All team members—both drivers and mechanics—were Toyota people. Many were rank amateurs, lacking in any racing experience whatsoever.
2007
TRAINING PEOPLE TO EXCEL—AND PERFECTING THE AUTOMOBILE
We’re Toyota. Cars are our profession. But even with no racing experience, why would we enter one of the world’s toughest endurance events? It's simple. Our objective is to develop ever-better cars. By operating at the most extreme demands of motor sports and braving the world’s most treacherous course, we have a rare opportunity: a chance to train our people and put our cars to the ultimate challenge—to learn how to make them better than ever. Racing is a transformative experience. Immersed in the raw essence of the automobile—human and machine— sharing a passion. That's where the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing philosophy was born.
For its first Nürburgring race, Toyota chose to enter two Altezza RS200s. It was part of the seat-of-the-pants vision for GAZOO. The whole project was a struggle, by design. No one on the team—not the drivers, not the mechanics—had any racing experience. But all the team members pulled together, carrying out their roles to perfection. And both Altezzas ran for the full 24 hours. Our first endeavor was a success, confirming what the team coach loved to repeat, "Competition is the best training."
2008
GAZOO Racing got a bigger response than expected on its first go. In fact, it was such a hit, we've made the Nürburgring 24 an annual tradition ever since. In 2008, we decided upon the theme “seeking the very essence of the automobile,” as we entered the VLN4 four-hour endurance race. All our vehicles were stock Lexus IS 250 models, with no modifications aside from safety systems. We also entered a preproduction Lexus LF-A in the 24-hour event, catching the eye of numerous motorsport enthusiasts.
2009
2009
HEARTY APPLAUSE FROM OUR RIVALS
In 2009, GAZOO Racing's third year of competing in the Nürburgring 24-Hour endurance race, the company entered an IS-F sport sedan and two preproduction LF-A vehicles. Unfortunately, and with a big crowd looking on, one LF-A stalled right after the start. Team mechanics, tools in hand, ran to the car and replaced parts at trackside. After further repairs and a pit-stop inspection, the LF-A was reinstated, but five hours had elapsed.
The team’s relentless efforts got a big round of applause in the pit from Team Aston Martin, competing in the same class. People got a bit emotional. It's the kind of thing that can happen Nürburgring. It was a tough year. One LF-A placed fourth in class, the other was retired. The IS-F finished third in class. It's fair to say that we got schooled at Nürburgring, and we had some homework to do.
PART 2
SHIFT TO COMPETITIVE RACING
2010-2014
In 2010, people were starting to say that Nürburgring had changed. A lot more cars were competing. More carmaker teams were vying for titles like "all-around champion" and "best-in-class." The number of teams who were in just for the fun of it—groups of families and friends—was declining. Winning this endurance race, on the world’s toughest circuit, was becoming a platform for showcasing racecars—based on production models—to auto enthusiasts around the world. Sure, the Nürburgring 24-Hour endurance race was as magnificent as ever. But it had made a dramatic shift from an amateur event to a take no prisoners battle royal among manufacturers.
2010
SETTING A VERY HIGH BAR
The GAZOO Racing team had set lofty goals for 2010 at Nürburgring. That autumn the first Lexus LF-A vehicles were delivered. The team arrived at Nürburgring intent on getting their first win in the SP8 class with the LF-A, and placing in the top 20 overall. The SP8 class was packed with formidable opponents such as Aston Martin and Corvette—brands with deep racing pedigrees. For the overall title, we were up against extensively remodeled “racing machines” including three-time consecutive winner Porsche, as well as the Audi R8. No doubt, the team had set its sights quite high.
In competitions like Nürburgring, teams looking to place will turn to racecar mechanics. Not GAZOO. From the very first year, we assigned Toyota mechanics—employees of the company—to the task. The first year, half of our mechanics had no experience at all. Even in 2010, some had only three years of experience. It was not an idea scenario for a team hoping to be a front-runner. But at Toyota, this predicament is at the very heart of the GAZOO project: The greater the struggle, the more valuable the experience.
The two Toyota vehicles in competition were LF-As. After a smooth start, one LF-A made an emergency pit stop at 11 pm, eight hours into the race. There was a foreign substance in the oil and the engine had to be switched out. Our novice mechanics worked through the night, restoring the car to the course within 11 hours. In the end the vehicle was disqualified, having run too few laps, but it was still cheered on from the pit. The other LF-A kept a steady pace and completed the required laps, finishing top-in-class and 19th overall. There were tears of joy, but also tears of disappointment. The 2010 competition was a mixture of glory and frustration.
2012
2011
2012
YEAR FIVE:CONCRETE GAINS
You want tough? We got it. Nürburgring’s competition intensified in 2011. Starting with the preliminary VLN series, there were some serious challenges. BMW was going for two consecutive wins. Mercedes wanted a win its first time out. Ferrari joined the fray for the first time with its 458. Porsche and Audi were in the mix. This lineup pushed the average lap time much lower, making for a fast—and tough—24 hours.
Both LF-As ran into bad luck, requiring long pit stops. But our mechanics did great work to get both cars back onto the course. Though GAZOO only finished third and eighth, the BMW team's race-trained mechanics congratulated our greenhorn mechanics on a job well done. The team had learned much through competition, applying the philosophy of the late Hiromu Naruse, who had led the team the previous year.
2013
FIRST-EVER FORFEIT,
BEST-EVER PERFORMANCE
The weather was terrible in 2013. Heavy rain delayed the race by nine hours. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing entered one LF-A and two 86 vehicles for this race, as in 2012, but an 86 crashed in the preliminary heat. The driver escaped injury, but the vehicle had to be retired due to extensive damage. This left an extra mechanic to maintain the other 86 and help it complete the race. The entire team pushed on together for 24 hours.
2014
In 2014, joining the 86 and the Lexus LF-A, an advanced Lexus LF-A Code X was specially approved and entered in the SP-PRO class category. All cars won “best-in-class” awards—a remarkable achievement. In its maiden race, the Lexus LF-A Code X marked an all-time record for total points, to place 11th. This race was a validation of eight hard years training our team and perfecting our cars.
PART 3
BACK TO BASICS AND ON TO NEW CHALLENGES.
2015-2016
Though all three cars took best-in-class in 2014, an all-time record for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the team refused to rest. We went back to basics, tuning our cars and honing our skills. This was our mindset when we returned to Nürburgring in 2015.
2015
PASSING THE CULTURE OF "MAKING GREAT CARS"
ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION
Though all three cars took best-in-class in 2014, an all-time record for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, the team refused to rest. We went back to basics, tuning our cars and honing our skills. This was our mindset when we returned to Nürburgring in 2015.
Our Lexus LF-A Code X returned in 2015, along with the Lexus RC. Both cars are used for development testing. At that time the RC featured a powertrain that had not yet been installed in commercial models. The average age of the six mechanics assigned to each of the two vehicles was only 20.
Preparing these new vehicles for the extreme conditions at Nürburgring, these team members, all working in new car development at Toyota, learned a ton. Most importantly, they got a hands-on lesson of what it means to build great cars. That's the whole point of competing at Nürburgring. It's a return to basics. Despite minor difficulties, both cars completed the race in 2015, successfully passing the baton of "making great cars" to the next generation.
2016
MAKING GREAT CARS: A CHALLENGE THAT NEVER ENDS
In 2016, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing entered three cars: the Lexus RC, the Lexus RC F and the preproduction Toyota C-HR Racing, a small SUV specially tuned for the race. The race would offer important feedback for the design of the production C-HR. At first all three vehicles ran well despite rough weather conditions.
Then, at midnight, the RC was forced to make an emergency pit stop. The team worked through the night to identify the issue. The RC was eventually reinstated, but ran into more problems about 90 minutes from the finish line. The other two vehicles overcame problems, completed the required laps and met up at the finish. The results were mixed. But the team had new experiences to apply toward making ever better cars in the future.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
THE CHALLENGE CONTINUES
We have more than 10 years of Nürburgring 24 Hour races under our belt. Looking back, every year has thrown a new challenge our way. And every year our team rose to the occasion to overcome countless difficulties. Though we have made remarkable progress in the past decade, our main objective remains unchanged: testing the limits of our people and the cars they make.
At Toyota, we are committed to the ongoing challenge of making ever better cars.