ELEVEN YEARS AGO, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) presented a one-make series that was envisioned to not just safely scratch the itch of a burgeoning group of weekend racers, but to provide access to the spectacle for fans of all ages as well.
That was the Vios Cup, starring the bulletproof sedan product of Toyota that is still being assembled here in TMP’s Santa Rosa, Laguna plant. The ubiquitous car, stripped-down and fortified for on-track use, epitomized not only the durability of the Japan-headquartered car maker’s vehicles but an earnest desire to promote grassroots motorsports.
The beginnings of what would be Toyota’s performance and tuning division, Gazoo Racing, were playing out as future Toyota Motor President (now Chairman) Akio Toyoda raced Celicas in the mid ’70s. Together with the late legendary chief test driver Hiromu Naruse, Mr. Toyoda was logging hours behind the wheel of Toyotas entered into events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and others. To assume a lower profile, the Toyota executive used the alias “Morizo,” and substituted “Team Gazoo” for Toyota. Gazoo means “image” or “picture.”
Today, the images evoked when one hears of Gazoo Racing or GR are surely the exciting races of all manner that Toyota participates in — races that have served as the forge to make “ever-better cars.” The company stated that “roads build people and cars.” It is not wrong. And, it continued, “Toyota refines every aspect of its cars on the world’s roads and unsparingly applies the knowledge and technology gained in this way as feedback.”
Gazoo Racing is now a full-fledged sub-brand within Toyota. Its unmistakable decal now symbolizes increased performance and, yes, desirability — particularly in the case of “GR”-prefixed offerings: the GR Supra, GR Yaris, GR Corolla, and GR 86. “Motorsports initiatives have given Toyota broad perspective and deep experience, which the company has applied to the development of numerous production cars. Some of these model lineups are ideally suited for passing on the special motorsports DNA, particularly Toyota’s GR Series… Packed with technologies and pumping with the passion of motorsports.”
Here in the Philippines, even as the GR branding is certainly being driven home and given the prominence it deserves, TMP has also established a section presently under the Marketing Services Division to work on everything related to GR.
We asked TMP Assistant Vice-President Andy Ty what exactly falls under the ambit of this section. “So right now, we have four members, and everything related to GR falls under our purview — any GR-related events, GR vehicles as well whether it’s GR models or GR Sport models, everything.” He added that the section also deals with digital activations. But because it’s presently a four-person operation, they “can only do so much.”
Mr. Ty revealed, “This is why, as part of our direction and also aligning with TMC (Toyota Motor Corp.), Toyota’s head office, and some of the other distributors, we definitely would want to grow our section more. The expansion of Toyota Gazoo Racing is a major focus, especially from the direction of Akio Toyoda. We are definitely aligned in terms of that expansion. So eventually we will grow. Slowly but surely, that’s what we plan.”
The executive did express gratitude to TMP for the support of people outside the section, but the ideal for the long term is to set up a GR “task force” to include members of other departments as well.
Responding to the same question, TMP President Masando Hashimoto added that, in the case of Toyota Thailand, there’s a marketing division within a GR scope. “They are handling as well GR products and variants.” TMP is looking to “cut and paste” organizational functions from other countries into its territory, with respect to product planning and dealership input. “They are the gateway of this brand,” he said of dealerships. “Sometimes, customer service, after-sales service (can be) more important for race organization, for the scrutineering. We are kind of the task force team to develop for making this kind of event or activities happen.”
In 2021, the Vios Cup name was changed to Toyota Gazoo Vios Cup; just last year, it became Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup — ostensibly to reflect the growing girth of the multi-race-weekend event to include models aside from the Vios. We’re seeing a closer affinity for the all-new Tamaraw, for instance.
The just-concluded 2025 season was extra memorable for a number of reasons. “When we went to Villar City for our street race, we gathered a record-breaking crowd witnessing our exciting races,” shared TMP Marketing Services Vice-President Elvin Luciano in a separate interview with media. He, of course, also pointed to the inclusion henceforward of the Tamaraw in the series. The come-backing workhorse model will have its own one-make race, as with the Vios.
He continued, “When we launched the next-generation Tamaraw, one of the key features (we wanted to highlight) is the versatility and the flexibility of this vehicle. What better way to exhibit these than to try them on racetrack?”
Mr. Luciano also touched on a crucial aspect of what TGR (Toyota Gazoo Racing) is all about. “Toyota Gazoo Racing has always been about community. So, we are building racing communities, the car culture in the country. We are very happy to attract more and more fans into our races, whether here at the Clark International Speedway or in our street race venues,” he maintained. “That’s something that we have always been aspiring for; for TGR to be a venue, not just for Toyota fans or Toyota customers to enjoy, but also to gather like-minded people and to have that one venue for all the race enthusiasts in the country to feel that they belong and it’s something that they can pursue, and the dream of being a racecar driver is closer to their reality.”
That’s perhaps the lingering “gazoo” that people will come away with.
