Toyota performance division to simply be known as Gazoo Racing

The Toyota Motor Corporation is making a few changes to its performance and motorsport division.

Set to finish transition by 2027, Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) will simply be known as Gazoo Racing (GR). The Japanese manufacturer states that the name revert marks a return to its founding principles to further strengthen its motorsports-bred making of ever-better cars and the fostering of talent.

The Gazoo Racing name traces its origins back to 2007, when Akio Toyoda (then executive vice president) competed in the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race alongside the late driving mentor and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) Master Driver Hiromu Naruse and several other colleagues.

At the time, because competing in the race was not recognized by TMC as an official company activity, the team was not permitted to use "Toyota" in its name, and thus entered under the name "Team Gazoo". Furthermore, as Toyoda's intention to drive in the race was unable to gain much understanding, his only choice was to compete under the driver name "Morizo", which became Toyoda’s pseudonym whenever he entered motorsport races.

It was in April 2015 when Toyota Motor Corporation finally consolidated its in-house motorsports activities under the name Toyota Gazoo Racing. The transition to TGR also marked Toyota’s return to the WRC, where the GR Yaris was developed and eventually turned into a production model.

In 2025, the GR GT, GR GT3, and the LFA Concept premiered, which was the next challenge in conducting a true Shikinen Sengu, or the passing of in-house traditions and skills in sports car manufacturing after the LFA project in 2010.

Furthermore, TMC's research and development center in Cologne, Germany, called Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe, will now be known under the new name "Toyota Racing". This involves Toyota’s motorsports activities in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), where they race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Toyota says Toyota Racing is to specialize in motorsports activities through its advanced development technologies, promoting long-term technological development in engine development and other areas. The technologies that it develops are to continue to be introduced in various motorsports scenarios, including the world's top on-track races as well as rallies, in the pursuit of further improvement.

Lastly, TGRR (Toyota Gazoo Rookie Racing) is to continue its current activities. As an entity that bears in its name the "T" of Toyota Racing and the "G" of Gazoo Racing, it intends to serve as a bridge between the two, honing in motorsports as a racing team the products and technologies each develops, while also functioning as a practical training ground (dojo) that fosters talent.