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The Japanese carmaker will make a sensational entry to Supercars in 2026 using a V8-powered Supra in what is being lauded as landmark deal for the category.
Walkinshaw Andretti United will become the Toyota homologation team, with at least one other team to be added to the roster between now and 2026.
It’s no secret that Toyota has been a key target for Supercars throughout its modern era, given it has long been the top selling brand in Australia and is recognised as a global giant.
A deal finally being done has impressed former Supercars supremo Cochrane, who told SEN host Gerard Whateley that it has the potential to re-energise the category.
He also admitted to numerous campaigns to woo Toyota during his time at Supercars which all “failed miserably”.
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“[Supercars] does need re-energising, there’s no doubt about that,” said Cochrane.
“This is a massive announcement. I’m told that Neil Crompton, behind the scenes, has played a big role in pulling it off and big congrats to Neil, because I was there for 17 years and I had more meetings with Toyota than I had hot dinners, I think.
“We worked very, very hard on numerous occasions to convince Toyota to come on board and failed miserably.
“This is a tremendous fillip for the sport. They are an enormous manufacturer, one of the biggest in the world. They do everything really well, they are very, very organised, a very solid company.
“They have chosen a great team in Walkinshaw, based in Melbourne, who are already significant after builders of [Toyota Tundras] that are imported into this country, changing them from left hand to right hand drive.
“So I think the combination is really good and big hats off to everybody who was involved, because it is a big opportunity for the sport to re-energise its base.
“And it’s got to get back to the fans. It has just ignored the fans to a large degree in several areas, and it has got to fix that patch up again.”
