Toyota makes Supercars history with breakthrough win at Taupō

It took more than 20 years for Toyota to commit to Supercars racing,  but just nine races to score its first win.

The landmark event came at Taupo in New Zealand on Saturday when youngster Ryan Wood drove his Toyota Supra to victory, with his team-mate Chaz Mostert backing him up in third place.

The Supra drivers were consistent front-runners at the third leg of this year’s Supercars series, with Wood taking pole position with the quickest qualifying lap for Race 9.

They were able to best a tough field of race rivals in Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros.

“This is a great thing for the sport,” said Neil Crompton, who helped drive the Toyota project from a good idea to the chequered flag. The long-time television commentator was relieved of his broadcast duties at the start of the season but has rebounded with a new role as motorsport advisor for Toyota Australia.

“What a moment, what an incredible moment. Three years … a lot of hard work,” said Crompton as he led the celebrations.

“The last six months have been challenging, and I battled and knocked away cancer a few years ago, and I set myself a goal to not look back, be positive and make good things happen.”

Ironically, the team leading the Supra charge is Walkinshaw TWG Racing, which was the long-time operator of the Holden Racing Team. It also fielded Mustangs and took Mostert to last year’s Supercars title before the switch to the Supra.

In another irony, the Supra is no longer in Australian showrooms. It went out of production last year, although Toyota admits it has plans for a revived model of the two-door coupe, most likely from 2028.

But it’s not alone, as the Camaro fielded in Supercars is also out of production.

The Toyota crew celebrated in style after the Taupo win, but – in another irony – the man who led development of the race car, Carl Faux, was on holiday in Vietnam to recover from the massive workload and pressure involved in getting the Supra into Supercars.

This year’s Supercars series is led by Brodie Kostecki, who scored another win in New Zealand for Dick Johnson Racing as the team prepares to celebrate its 1100th start in touring car racing next weekend at the Ruapuna circuit near Christchurch.