Neil Crompton turns historic first Toyota Supercar laps
Neil Crompton turns first Toyota GR Supra Supercar laps
Toyota will enter the Repco Supercars Championship in 2026
Supercars Hall of Famer Crompton was instrumental in Toyota
Supercars legend Neil Crompton had the honour of steering the first ever Toyota GR Supra Supercar laps, it has been revealed.
Toyota will enter the Repco Supercars Championship in 2026, with six cars from Walkinshaw Andretti United and Brad Jones Racing.
Nearly a year after the program was announced, Toyota unveiled the first GR Supra at Monday night’s Repco Bathurst 1000 launch in Sydney.
The new car is set to undertake a testing program before it travels to the United States for wind tunnel testing.
The car has already hit the tarmac, though, at the hands of Supercars Hall of Famer Crompton.
Crompton, the doyen of Supercars commentary for four decades, got behind the wheel at Toyota’s Altona base in Melbourne.
WAU Director Ryan Walkinshaw explained that, because Crompton was instrumental in Toyota joining Supercars, was duly rewarded with the unique moment.
“It was only a few laps, so there's not really much to say. It's a pretty short story,” Walkinshaw said.
“End of that story was that it went on the track in one piece and came off the track in one piece.
“Neil's been a close friend of the team for a long time, and he was instrumental in making this entire program come to life. So, we felt it was fitting that he was the first person to steer the car.”
Crompton's last steer of a Supercar came aboard a WAU Holden Commodore at Sandown in March 2021.
He made his touring car debut in the 1987 enduros, and completed his first Australian Touring Car Championship campaign in 1993.
Crompton's first full season came with Bob Forbes Racing, before he spent four years with Wayne Gardner Racing, before switching to Glenn Seton’s Ford team in 1998.
He then stepped back to a co-driver role with Craig Lowndes as Gibson Motorsport shifted to Ford in 2001.
The GR Supra Supercar will make its competitive debut in the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship.
