It's been quite a busy few months. Between moving back to Michigan, returning to Toyota R&D, and becoming a first-time dad, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for motorsports lately.
My FR-S is still around, but with winter in full swing here in Michigan, it'll be several more months before I'll have an opportunity to get back out on track. And with a newborn at home, I'm sure my track schedule is going to look a little different going forward.
That doesn't mean my interest in motorsports has gone anywhere, though.
Over the years, I've spent a considerable amount of time developing my driving skills through track days, instruction, and time trial competition. I've always enjoyed the process of learning and improving, and I've been thinking about what the next step in that journey might look like.
One possibility that's been on my mind is wheel-to-wheel racing. It's something I've wanted to explore for a while, but as anyone involved in motorsports knows, getting into racing isn't exactly a small undertaking. Between the car, equipment, licensing, transportation, and ongoing operating costs, there's quite a bit involved.
As it turns out, an interesting opportunity presented itself right at work.
The Supra arrives in Michigan, ready for the next chapter with Team Toyota R&D Racing.
From TAPG Motorsports to Toyota R&D Racing
Some of you may be familiar with TAPG Motorsports, an employee racing team originally established by a group of Toyota engineers and enthusiasts at the Toyota Arizona Proving Grounds.
I had actually met some of the guys from TAPG Motorsports a few years earlier while working at TRD, so I was already somewhat familiar with their program.
What started as an employee motorsports initiative had grown into a competitive endurance racing effort, with the team campaigning a Scion FR-S and eventually an A90 Toyota GR Supra in events organized by NASA and the World Racing League (WRL).
Toward the end of 2022, I learned that plans were underway to relocate the program's racing assets from Arizona to Toyota R&D in Michigan. The idea was to assemble a new group of passionate motorsports enthusiasts, build upon what the Arizona team had already established, and continue the program under a new name: Team Toyota R&D Racing.
Naturally, I was interested.
I attended the very first team meeting, where we began discussing what the new program would look like, how we would organize ourselves, and what we wanted to accomplish.
A closer look at the Supra’s wheel, brakes, and front aero.
More Than Just an Employee Racing Team
One of the interesting things about the program is that it serves several purposes.
From Toyota's perspective, the team provides an opportunity for employees to develop skills outside their normal day-to-day responsibilities. Motorsports offers a rather unique environment for engineering, teamwork, problem-solving, project management, and decision-making.
Unlike a typical engineering development project, racing introduces a very real deadline. When race weekend arrives, the car either is or isn't ready. There are no extensions, and the competition certainly isn't going to wait for you.
And once the green flag drops, everything from vehicle reliability and performance to pit-stop execution and race strategy becomes part of the equation.
There's plenty to learn from that environment, and many of those lessons translate directly into the work we do as engineers.
But while employee development is an important part of the program, our ambitions go beyond simply participating in motorsports.
We want to build a serious, competitive endurance racing team.
The objective isn't just to get employees out on track and give everyone a chance to experience racing. We want to prepare a competitive car, develop an effective team, execute well on race weekends, and ultimately fight for wins.
That's what makes the program particularly appealing to me.
Our Race Car: The A90 Toyota GR Supra
Our starting point: the A90 Toyota GR Supra endurance race car inherited from TAPG Motorsports.
Fortunately, we aren't starting entirely from scratch.
As part of the transition from TAPG Motorsports, we're inheriting their A90 Toyota GR Supra endurance race car. The car was originally built and developed by the Arizona team and has already seen competition in NASA and WRL events throughout 2020 and 2021.
For those unfamiliar with the current-generation Supra, the A90 features a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine driving the rear wheels. It's an interesting platform for endurance racing, combining a relatively compact chassis with a strong powertrain and considerable performance potential.
Of course, building a car capable of setting a quick lap time is one thing. Building one capable of surviving an entire endurance race while remaining competitive is something else entirely.
Reliability, serviceability, fuel consumption, tire management, and consistency all become important considerations. It's not necessarily about extracting the absolute maximum performance from every component, but finding the right balance between speed and durability.
Having an existing race car gives us a valuable starting point. Rather than having to design and build everything from the ground up, we can focus on understanding the car, evaluating its strengths and weaknesses, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of work ahead, but that's part of the appeal.
Building the Team
Getting acquainted with the Supra as the new team begins to take shape.
One of our first major milestones was simply getting the Supra and the associated racing equipment transported from Arizona to Michigan.
In February, the car finally arrived.
Seeing the Supra in person was an exciting moment. Up until then, much of the program had consisted of meetings, discussions, and planning. Now we had an actual race car sitting in front of us, and the project was beginning to feel real.
From there, the focus shifted toward assembling the team and preparing for the upcoming season.
We've been identifying employees interested in participating, organizing workdays, discussing the improvements we'd like to make to the car, and evaluating which events we want to target in 2023.
There is quite a bit involved in operating an endurance racing team beyond simply preparing the vehicle. Transportation, equipment, spare parts, scheduling, race entries, personnel, and logistics all need to come together.
My involvement will be primarily on the team management and operational side, helping coordinate activities, organize preparations, and support the team during race weekends.
It's a different side of motorsports from what I'm accustomed to with my own track activities, but one that I'm looking forward to experiencing.
And, of course, I'm hoping there might eventually be an opportunity to get behind the wheel.
Looking Ahead to 2023
While I've enjoyed time trials and the pursuit of faster lap times, wheel-to-wheel racing has always been something I've wanted to experience.
There's a different dimension to racing when you're sharing the track with other competitors, managing traffic, making passes, and thinking about the race beyond simply finding the fastest way around a circuit.
Endurance racing adds another layer to that challenge. It's as much about consistency, discipline, and working together as it is about outright speed.
Whether that opportunity comes through this program remains to be seen, but being involved with a competitive endurance racing team should provide plenty of opportunities to learn.
In the meantime, we've got a race car to prepare and a new team to establish.
Our immediate focus is getting everything organized and ready for the 2023 season. There are still plenty of decisions to make, workdays to schedule, and improvements to complete before we can roll the Supra onto the grid.
It's going to be interesting seeing how everything comes together.
Here's to a new chapter in motorsports with Team Toyota R&D Racing.
A new home for the Supra, and a new chapter for Team Toyota R&D Racing.