Walkinshaw not lowering expectations with Toyota development
Ryan Walkinshaw not lowering expectations with Toyota development
Six-car Toyota fleet led by Walkinshaw Andretti United, Brad Jones Racing
New GR Supra Supercar unveiled at Bathurst launch in Sydney
Walkinshaw Andretti United co-owner Ryan Walkinshaw has declared that the expectations for his team will not change into 2026 as the Toyota GR Supra enters the Repco Supercars Championship.
Officially unveiled in Sydney at the Repco Bathurst 1000 launch event, WAU have been leading the development work on the newest Gen3 Supercar, which had a brief shakedown prior to the event with Neil Crompton at Toyota's Altona proving ground.
Now eyes towards the testing phase of the Supra development, with the completed chassis set to test around the country before being shipped to the USA for wind tunnel and AVL dyno testing.
Six Toyotas will be on the 2026 grid - two WAU entries and four from partner team Brad Jones Racing - with the Japanese make set to add an exciting element to the traditional GM vs Ford rivalry.
However, Walkinshaw wasn't drawn into making any predictions as to how the debut season for Toyota would play out.
"It's always pretty silly to make predictions when you haven't even tested a car yet," Walkinshaw told assembled media in Sydney.
"The engine's been in the dyno, and it works very, very well. It's going to have a lot more work that's going to go to ensure the reliability is there.
"Obviously with the Toyota brand and the GR brand attached to our race car, with such a long history of reliability being such a selling point for a Toyota, we need to make sure that's a real top, and it needs to be quick.
"We don't know what's going to happen in the wind tunnel, we don't know what's going to happen during testing."
Whilst he wouldn't predict what was to come in 2026, Walkinshaw remained adamant that his expectations for the team remain at being threats for both Bathurst and the championship.
For what it's worth, the team went winless through its first season running Fords in 2023, before challenging for the championship the following season.
The introduction of the Repco Supercars Finals Series could also prove a game changer for Toyota - and WAU's - quest for a Supercars title, providing a whole new cadence to a championship season.
Any early season bugs that may rear their heads for the new GR Supra can be ironed out, and a strong conclusion to a campaign could be the difference for a championship charge.
"It won't be perfect because these things aren't perfect and that's why you go through testing because you are looking to try and see if things are going to fail or if things aren't working," Walkinshaw added.
"So you can fix them before you go and race them in the season. There's no predictions other than the fact that every single year when we turn up at the first round, our plans are to go and win Bathurst and win a championship.
"And that doesn't change whether we're racing for GM, for Ford, or for Toyota. So there's no predictions because it's still a big work in progress, but the ambition is no different to any other season."
WAU will resume its 2025 campaign at the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on September 12-14.
