Toyota 2008 Annual Report Download - page 52

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Formula Nippon
Formula One World Championship (F1)
SUPER GT NASCAR
Courtesy of Toyota Motorsports
F1
• 2008 marked Toyota’s seventh year of F1 championship
racing, and saw the introduction of a new TF108 car with
improved aerodynamics, piloted by Jarno Trulli and Timo
Glock, the 2007 GP2 Series Champion. As in 2007, we also
supplied the Williams F1 Team with engines for its cars.
NASCAR
• Toyota Camrys participated again this year in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series, and
Toyota Tundras again contested the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series. Enjoying a historic victory in only our second
year of Sprint Cup Series, we won the fourth Sprint Cup
race held in March 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.
SUPER GT
• On the domestic racing scene, Toyota Technocraft, Co.,
Ltd. (TRD), supported teams running the Lexus SC430 in
the top GT500 class. In addition, we provided support for
four teams racing Lexus IS350 and Toyota MR-S cars in the
GT300 class.
Formula Nippon
• In Formula Nippon, Japan’s premier formula racing
category, we supplied RV8-J V8 3-liter engines for 12 cars
driven by seven teams.
Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP)
• TDP again continued its work of training young drivers for
F1, GP2, and F3 racing. For 2008, the program has placed
14 promising young candidates worldwide.
At Toyota, motorsports activities are a vital part of
our efforts to maximize the joy of driving for
everyone. By striving for the highest level of
human and technological performance, we want to
help people everywhere realize their dreams
and share in the boundless excitement that
motorsports offer.
In 2007, Toyota participated in Formula One World
Championship (F1) races around the globe, National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) races
in the United States, and SUPER GT and Formula
Nippon series races in Japan. We also continued to
develop racing-oriented hybrid car technologies, and
fostered the development of young drivers through the
Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP) and support for
entry-level motorsports activities.
2008 Motorsports Activities
In 2008, Toyota continued to participate in F1,
NASCAR, SUPER GT, and Formula Nippon races, and
to promote motorsports through the TDP for emerging
young talents.
Kamui Kobayashi of TDP in GP2 (middle)
Motorsports Activities
50 TOYOTA •Annual Report 2008 •
Business Overview