From 'punch in the guts' to five in the 10: Behind Toyota's crazy debut

Walkinshaw TWG Racing CEO Bruce Stewart has shed light on what proved to be a wild weekend of highs and lows for the Toyota project's long awaited Supercars debut.

The DUNLOP Sydney 500 ended in joy for Toyota, with both WTWGR and all three Brad Jones Racing Supras finishing inside the top 10.

It was a far cry from how the week started, with Ryan Wood last on the time sheets in practice after the five Toyotas filled out the bottom five rungs of the testing mileage charts.

For every step forward, it seemed there was a step back. Andre Heimgartner starred in Race 1, only to be wiped out early in Race 2 with an engine issue.

Wood and Chaz Mostert were nowhere on Friday after taking two tyres to their rivals' four, before the reigning champion climbed through the field on Saturday. The next morning, news of Mostert's disqualification rocked the Sydney Motorsport Park paddock.

The rollercoaster continued through Sunday, with all Toyotas 16th or lower. Then, the rain arrived, bringing with it chaos and unpredictability. Through 52 frantic laps, Mostert and Wood were fourth and fifth, Hill seventh, Heimgartner ninth and Macauley Jones 10th.

While the Supra quintet were short of trophies, they weren't short of pride, even if they needed Lady Luck to shine on them through Sunday's gloomy skies.

"I know we didn't podium, we didn't win, and in any other year, any other time, you'd be sort of like, how could we do better? You're always reviewing hard and not really enjoying the pack up," Stewart said on the Cool Down Lap presented by Equip Super.

"So, you know, it's been a tough weekend. Friday was… Friday was a punch in the guts. And then, Saturday’s result was like, okay, there’s a bit of a sign, seventh and 11th.

“[Then] the DQ... I thought I'm down for the count here. But credit to the team, just such great guys and girls, everyone put it behind them and focused.

“[Sunday’s] race went a little bit for us… man, haven’t had a race where moments happen and roll for you so positively like that, and that was great."

Staff from WTWGR and BJR were in each other's pockets all week, with Stewart and WTWGR Team Principal Carl Faux floating between both garages.

Stewart found himself cheering on the BJR cars too, while also praying that Mostert and Wood brought their new cars home unscathed.

The only real damage across the five cars was to Heimgartner's engine, and to Jones' car after an off-track excursion early in Race 2.

Thankfully, both teams avoided long nights repairing cars. Rather, Saturday night saw both teams work into the early hours completing engine changes, given the limited experience with the engines and the reduced working area in the front of the Supra.

Toyota staff were there every step of the way, and the efforts of all parties weren't lost on Stewart. Notably, Heimgartner's Friday result was celebrated by Toyota and BJR staff like a win.

WTWGR and BJR needed to be patient, but also put in the work. Per Supercars data analyst Scott Sinclair, Toyotas were on average 0.55 seconds a lap slower than the Fords in Race 1; by Race 3, that gap had been cut to 0.21 seconds.

“The amount the people have sacrificed — weekends, birthdays, anniversaries — it’s not just the team members, it's their partners, it's their family, their kids, and all that is huge," Stewart added.

"You just can't repay that time in any way, shape or form. Money is not enough. The only thing that you can do to reward them is momentum, success, and the part of something.

“These are little green shoots. But wow, that's a bloody spark because she was getting tough. I'm not saying we would ever give up. Everyone's resilient, but that's just bloody nice."

Wood is lead Toyota in the drivers' standings heading to Melbourne on March 5-8.