Toyota Motorsports Festival 2008 at Fuji Speedway! 25.11.2008

The annual “Toyota Motorsports Festival (TMSF)” was held under clear skies at Fuji Speedway on November 23 (Sunday, national holiday). Nearly 30,000 fans showed up at the circuit to enjoy the performance of Toyota racing cars that play an active role in the global motorsport scene.

After a Welcoming Ceremony attended by all participating drivers, the TSMF got off to a spectacular start with Kamui Kobayashi’s opening performance in his F1 car.

While various Toyota racing machines were powerfully sprinting around the course, Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock, Kamui Kobayashi, and Kazuki Nakajima, a TDP (Toyota Young Drivers Program) driver and Williams F1 team member, held an F1 drivers’ talk show on the event stage located at the rear of the main grandstand.

“Overall the 2008 season was a good one,” said Jarno and Timo. Reflecting on the GPs in which they stood on the podium, the Round 8 French GP where Jarno placed third and the Round 11 Hungarian GP where Timo finished second, both drivers emphasized the evolution of the team. This was the first time for the TMSF to have both Toyota F1 team racing drivers in attendance.

In the afternoon, Jarno, Timo and Kamui participated in the “Circuit Taxi” event, driving the LEXUS IS F on the course with fans on board. Jarno and Timo demonstrated drifting, much to the pleasure of the passengers as well as the fans that drew losing numbers.

The audience was also excited by the “Racing Car Shuffle” event, where the drivers drove cars that were not from their usual categories. Jarno, Timo and Kamui drove the PETRONAS TOM’s SC430, No. 36 car in the SUPER GT500 class, the TS020, which took 2nd place overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, and the No. 95 Lightning McQueen apr MR-2 in the SUPER GT 300 class, respectively. They drove two laps and Timo in the TS020 took the checkered flag.

In the “iQ Gymkhana (Autocross) Battle,” the drivers competed in the iQ, Toyota’s ultra high–efficiency compact car. Kamui, on a team with SUPER GT drivers, Daisuke Ito and Kohei Hirate, engaged in a close battle against Kazuki Nakajima, who formed a team with SUPER GT drivers, Juichi Wakisaka and Hiroaki Ishiura, but Kamui fell short of a victory by a narrow margin.

The TMSF, where drivers and fans gather together in the morning to enjoy a day of all sorts of events, drew to a close with the “Toyota F1 Car Special Run” featuring Jarno and Timo. The two drivers, participating for the first time in the TMSF, drove around the course twice, dueling brilliantly. The drivers wound up the event by demonstrating a donut turn as they entered the home straight, boldly setting their tires smoking.