24h race plays key role in final development as LFA moves to production
■Gazoo Racing team personnel gain valuable experience in ultra-competitive, highly emotional racing environment■Collective learning will benefit future Toyota and Lexus products
Playing a key role in helping to finalise the development of the LFA before it enters production in December, the gruelling 24h race offers Lexus and Gazoo Racing the unique opportunity to not only foster the peerless quality, durability and reliability by pushing cutting-edge technology to the extremes of mechanical endurance but also to hone the technical skills of the personnel involved in the development of future Lexus and Toyota production vehicles.
Furthermore, by participating in the 24 Hours Endurance Race Lexus and Toyota aim to showcase their dedication through Gazoo Racing to produce more emotional cars and becoming more attractive and desirable to a wider range of customers.
This year’s race marks the third consecutive entry of the Lexus LFA and, significantly, the first participation of the car in standard production guise.
Competing in the SP8 (‘Near production’) class, the race version of the LFA does not differ substantially from the road car, particularly with regard to construction, engine and transmission. Mandatory safety equipment has been installed and other modifications such as a refined aero package including a fixed rear wing and a larger fuel tank are made to reflect the format of the 24h race and the Nürburgring circuit.
Led by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC)’s master test driver Hiromu Naruse, the Gazoo Racing team will make its fourth appearance at the Nürburging 24h race. It is a team comprised of engineers and technicians from TMC, and, whilst they’ve regularly come together over recent months to support the LFA in the build-up to the 24h race, their ‘day-jobs’ are within the TMC engineering community. This kind of virtual organisation ensures that the collective learning is transmitted directly back into the core of the engineering activity.
The driver line-up includes four Japanese and three German pilots with outstanding endurance and GT racing credentials, including three champions from the Japanese Super GT series.
As part of the preparation of the cars and the drivers, Gazoo Racing entered the first three VLN races of 2010. Consistently finishing in leading positions in its SP8 class, the LFA has also demonstrated its competitiveness against track-prepared specialist racing cars, with a best finish of 17th overall in VLN2.
Gazoo Racing team for 38th 24 Hours Nürburgring
Team Name Gazoo Racing Vehicles Lexus LFA (2 units) (No. # 50 & # 51) Team Manager Hiromu Naruse (Toyota master test driver) Mechanics & Engineers TMC personnel Cars LFA race car – Number 50
- driven by Kinoshita, Iida, Ohshima, Wakisaka
LFA race car – Number 51
- driven by Hahne, Krumbach, Lotterer
Gazoo Racing drivers for 38th 24 Hours Nürburgring
Name (Nationality) Results Armin Hahne
(Germany) - Winner of the 1982 and 1983 Total 24 Hours of Spa race
- Winner of Nürburgring 24 Hours 1991Jochen Krumbach (Germany) - Second in overall 2008 24 Hours Nürburgring in 2008 Andre Lotterer
(Germany) - Champion of Formula BMW ADAC 1999
- German F3 2000, 1 win / Rookie of the year
- Champion of 2006 and 2009 Super GT GT500-class with Lexus SC430, together with his team mate, Juichi WakisakaTakayuki Kinoshita
(Japan) - repeated participation in the 24 Hours Nürburgring races marking the highest (5th overall) place
- Sixfold series champion of Super Taikyu Endurance SeriesAkira Iida
(Japan) - Champion of 2002 JGTC GT500-class race
- Overall winner of the 1995 and 2007 Tokachi 24 Hours Race
- Participation in Le Mans 24Hours (1994/1996/2000) Juichi Wakisaka
(Japan) - Champion of the 1996 Japanese F3 Championship
- Jordan MUGEN F1 Team Test Driver in 1998
- Champion of the 2002 JGTC* race (* former name of SUPER GT)
- Champion of 2006 and 2009 SUPER GT GT500-class with Lexus SC430Kazuya Ohshima
(Japan) - Champion of the 2007 Japanese F3 Championship
- Champion of 2007 Super GT GT300-class races
- F3 Euro Series 2008, 1 win
- Driver of Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP)
Specifications of Lexus LFA for 38th 24 Hours Nürburgring
Vehicle Lexus LFA (racing specs) Entry category/class Division 2 / SP8 Engine Type V10 Displacement 4,805cc Maximum output Over 367kW (500PS) Body Total length 4,455mm Total width 1,950mm Total height 1,200mm Wheelbase 2,605mm Material Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) Vehicle layout Front-mid-engine, rear-mid-transaxle, rear radiator Transmission Paddle-shift sequential manual transmission Tyres Front / Rear size 330/40R18 Type Bridgestone racing tyres
Results for Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA in 2010 VLN races
VLN Car Number Drivers Qualifying Finish Fastest Lap Date Round SP8 Overall SP8 Overall Time Avg. km/h 27-Mar 1 127 IidaWakisakaOhshima 1 52 1 28 8'44"074 167.397 10-Apr 2 128 HahneOhshimaKrumbach 1 24 1 17 8'38"593 169.166 10-Apr 2 127 KinoshitaWakisaka 2 47 5 105 8'44"067 167.399 24-Apr 3 128 NaruseKinoshita 1 25 2 28 8'38"841 169.085
About Gazoo Racing
Gazoo Racing is about communicating pleasure, passion, and dream of the automobile to a new generation. Various programs are prepared to showcase the appeal of automobiles, split into three themes that reflect different facets of the sport.
1. The pride and pleasure of ownership: Introducing the process in which cars are honed and refined through race participation and other tests.
2. The joy and excitement of driving: Communicating the joy through the thrills and excitement of the racing circuit.
3. Talking cars and sharing passion: Providing a forum for car fans to gather and talk about their passion
