Lexus Returning to Nurburgring 24 With a New LFA Racer

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03-16-2010, 09:54 AM

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Lexus Returning to Nurburgring 24 With a New LFA Racer

"For the third straight year in a row Lexus will compete at the Nurburgring 24 Hour race, once again using one of its LFA supercars. And much like the past two years, the team will be operated by Gazoo Racing, which fields Lexus race cars in Jaan’s Super GT series.

There’s no word from Lexus yet on what class the LFA will run in but judging from the pictures it seems like a more track-focused model than the past pre-production models. Lexus also isn’t messing around when it comes to racing talent, fielding a team of six Japanese and German drivers with some very impressive resumes. Included among them are six-time Super Taikyu Endurance Series champion Takayuki Kinoshita, 2002 JGTC GT500 winner Akira Iida and 2008 Nürburgring 24 Hour second place finisher Jochen Krumbach.

This year’s Nürburgring 24 Hour races takes place from May 13 to 16th and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on Lexus’ efforts."
Source Autoguide.com

Press Release:
TMC Outlines Motor-sports Activities for 2010
-Grass-roots Motor-sports Activities to be Enhanced-
Tokyo-TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC), which views motor sports as an ideal medium for conveying the dreams and excitement associated with motor vehicles, announces that it will continue to promote motor-sports activities as a key means of bringing more joy to people through automobiles. TMC’s effort this year will not only reinforce its support for motor sports, but also bolster its grass-roots motor-sports activities, thereby creating more opportunities for people to easily experience the joy that motor vehicles can offer.

Motor Sports
In Japan, TMC will seek to win its second consecutive title in the Super GT GT500 class with the Lexus “SC430″, following its victory last year in both the driver and team categories. TMC will also continue to supply engines to the Japanese championship Formula Nippon, the top category of formula car racing in Japan, with the goal of recapturing the title with a Toyota-powered car.

In the United States, meanwhile, TMC will race the Toyota “Camry” in the NASCAR pinnacle Sprint Cup Series. TMC will also aim to win the Nationwide Series, where it has won the manufacturer’s title two times in a row along with winning its first driver title last year. This year TMC will again race its Toyota “Tundra” in the Camping World Truck Series, hoping to extend its winning streak after having already won the manufacturer’s title for four consecutive years.

Grass-roots Motor Sports
TMC will enhance its support of consumer-participation motor sports through its GAZOO Racing1 activities, which are designed to spread the joy and dreams that motor vehicles offer. A number of programs will be held at the Fujispeedway Motorsports Dream 2010 in late March, and TMC will incorporate feedback from participants to improve the programs and increase opportunities for even more people to participate. In addition, TMC will enter the Lexus “LFA” in the 24 Hours Nürburgring endurance race2 for the third time. Competing in this grueling race directly will allow TMC to toughen its vehicles, while the hands-on participation of TMC personnel will also help foster the caliber of personnel needed to create outstanding vehicles.

TMC will also continue the Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP), which aims to train the world-class drivers of the future. This year the program will assist eight drivers, including Kamui Kobayashi, who is expected to make great progress this season.

Furthermore, to promote environmentally friendly motor sports and to improve the efficiency of hybrid systems (including those for production vehicles), TMC will continue developing hybrid systems for motor sports.