Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has confirmed it will cease its relationship with Ford at the end of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship and begin a new homologation partnership with Toyota Australia.
Toyota Australia will field at least four Gen3 GR Supra models in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship.
WAU will run two GR Supras in 2026, with Supercar drivers Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood behind the wheel.
Toyota Australia has begun initial design work on the GR Supra race car through its in-house design team, based at Altona, with the design team using CAD and VR technology to produce a scale clay model.
The GR Supra will use Toyota’s 2UR-GSE all-aluminium, quad-cam V8 used in a range of performance production cars, as well as the 2019 Dakar-winning HiLux, as its baseline engine.
Toyota is committed to racing in the Supercars Championship for five years.
Toyota Australia spokesperson Sean Hanley says Toyota’s participation in Supercars would showcase its GR performance cars and extend career opportunities for talented drivers and the design and engineering crews that support them.
“At Toyota, we have been toying with the idea of competing in Supercars for more than 20 years, and now, with the right car, the right team, and a powerful partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship, the time is right,” Hanley says.
“Our GR brand and performance cars were built on the knowledge that we gain from participating in top-level motorsport, and our entry into the Supercars Championship will cement that connection and allow us to showcase Toyota Gazoo Racing to a wide audience,” Hanley says.
“It will also provide an opportunity for a continuous career pathway for drivers and teams that we established when we launched the one-make Toyota 86 Series nine years ago as a support series at select Supercars Championship events nationwide.
“For proof, you only need to look at this year’s Supercars grid with Broc Feeney, Will Brown and Cameron Hill all cutting their racing teeth in Toyota 86s, with many more 86 alumni racing in Super2.
“With our entry-level Scholarship Series, and what is now branded the TGRA GR CUP continuing as a support category for Supercars, our joining the Supercars Championship was a natural extension of our support for Australian motorsport at all levels.
“And with our strong and ever-growing partnerships with Walkinshaw Andretti United and Supercars, we are in it to win it,” he says.
Repco Supercars Championship chief executive Shane Howard welcomed Toyota’s announcement that would bring a new level of competition to Australia’s premier motorsport category.
“This is an incredible honour to welcome Toyota to the Repco Supercars Championship from 2026,” Howard says.
“There couldn’t be a more fitting time to make this historic announcement than in the lead-up to the Repco Bathurst 1000, our premier event that captures the attention of fans worldwide,” he says.
Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) has a successful history in Supercars with seven Bathurst 1000 wins, six Drivers Championships, and 191 Championship race wins.
Team directors Ryan Walkinshaw, Zak Brown and Michael Andretti are thrilled to partner with Toyota as its homologation team and build on the growing partnership.
“To announce our future with Toyota Australia, as it enters the Supercars Championship from 2026, is a fantastic honour and privilege for everyone at Walkinshaw Andretti United,” Walkinshaw says.
“Toyota’s commitment to our team and the sport is a historic moment that shouldn’t be underestimated.
“We have developed a fantastic relationship with Toyota Australia through the Walkinshaw Group, and we are delighted to extend that partnership into Walkinshaw Andretti United – we can’t wait to share success in 2026 and beyond.
“While the future is certainly exciting, our immediate focus is on the remainder of 2024 and the 2025 seasons, winning races, and sending off our relationship with Ford the right way,” he says.
“Today is a massive day for Walkinshaw Andretti United and Supercars, and we are delighted to partner with Toyota Australia as it enters the sport in 2026,” Brown says.
“To have a third OEM enter into Supercars shows the strength of the sport now and into the future, and it’s going to be pretty special to see all three manufacturers battle it out.
“We’ve got some races to win with Ford before that; they have been fantastic to work with, and we are fully committed to finishing that relationship the best way,” he says.
