Toyota 86 Pro-Am could go global

Ever wanted to race on the same tracks on the same days as the V8 Supercars? Toyota is giving Joe Public the chance with a one-make race series kicking off next year – and interest levels are sky-high.

The Toyota 86 is the vehicle of choice and with more than 13,000 already sold Down Under – making Australia one of the top three global markets for the car – there was always scope for something like this.

Although specifics of the Pro-Am (professional and amateur) one-make series are still being worked out, Toyota Australia public relations manager Mike Breen told motoring.com.au that there are already hundreds of interested parties – both professional and amateur.

"We've had 311 expressions of interest so far," said Breen, who explained that the series would have a grid density of 32 vehicles.

One-make race series haven't always been successful in Australia, but Toyota has signed up for three years and potentially for more if there's continued interest.

The idea, says Breen, is to develop a grass-roots racing category that's affordable and provides entertainment for both drivers and spectators.

And as we reported after driving it, the race-spec Toyota 86 is a lot of fun and should cost around $40,000 on top of the price of a second-hand vehicle, which as you can see at carsales.com.au start in the low $20,000 bracket.

"We're slowly putting the plans together, doing the contractual obligations with CAMS and the V8 Supercar people -- that's what's taking the time," says Breen.

"The actual spec of the vehicle that Neal Bates has been looking after, it's pretty much there."

Because the one-make series will be linked exclusively with the V8 Supercars Championship, there's scope for the Toyota 86 to tackle high-speed circuits like Phillip Island and even Mount Panorama.

And there's likely to be live broadcasts on free-to-air and pay TV too.

Tony Cramb, Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing, said the enthusiasm for the one-make series is real.

"We've got category sponsorship, category managers appointed. It's moving along, it's on track. We're oversubscribed at that level."

"We want to connect directly with the motorsport community. It's not a marketing exercise, it's about wanting to go racing, having some fun," said Cramb.

If everything goes well – and there's no reason it won't given the backing of Australia's most popular car brand and the tie-up with Australia's biggest motorsport category -- the series could go global.

Breen noted that the Toyota 86's chief engineer, Tetsuya Tada, was agitating for an international competition that could bring together entrants from other 86 one-make series around the world, such as Japan, New Zealand and Germany.

"We're committed to a three-year program. We'll see how it goes, and who knows what could happen next?" said Breen.

"I know Tada-san would like to have an international race. There's various splinters of this idea around the world -- he'd love to see an international comp.

"Who knows where these things end up, but we're excited by the prospect of it," said Breen.