The inside story of how Toyota became Supercars’ third manufacturer in a deal kept secret for almost a year and a half

It was a deal kept so secret most of the Supercars’ staff were not even aware of the new entrant to the grid before it was announced. The story of Toyota’s entry onto the grid from 2026 onwards is ‘perhaps the best kept secret in Australian sport’.

Supercars and Toyota … oh what a story.

This is the inside story of perhaps the best kept secret in Australian sport.

Japanese car giant Toyota will join Supercars from 2026 in a major coup for the sport, which had been kept as a closely guarded secret until Tuesday.

Dubbed Project X, the plot to get Toyota on the Supercars grid has been in the works for 15 months and involved a clandestine working group, nondisclosure agreements and dealings of a Supercars commentator, which was all sparked by a throwaway line at a post-Bathurst awards night speech in 2022.

In one of the most significant announcements for the category in years, Toyota has been confirmed as the third manufacturer on the Supercars grid alongside General Motors and Ford from 2026 onwards.

Toyota will compete in its GR Supra model and Walkinshaw Andretti United, which currently campaigns in a Ford Mustang, will be the homologation team and the first squad to represent the marque.

The deal is for Toyota to have four cars on the grid in 2026, but no decision has yet been made on who the second team will be.

Despite the magnitude of the announcement for Supercars, it had remarkably remained a closely-guarded secret until Tuesday.

Supercars chief executive Shane Howard revealed the deal with Toyota had been in the works for almost a year and a half with the category’s staff sworn to secrecy.

The executive, board and members of the technical department had signed nondisclosure agreements and the rest of the Supercars’ staff were not even aware of the new entrant to the grid before an embargoed announcement on the Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon.

“To be honest, I was absolutely amazed,” Howard said of how the deal stayed quiet.

“This conversation has been going on for almost 15 months.

“We were all under NDAs and that included our board, a very small group within Supercars being the technical department and the executive and our staff were not even aware of this.

“That’s how tight it has been held.”

Four Toyotas are expected to line up on the grid in 2026. Picture: Supercars

While Supercars has long harboured ambitions of attracting Toyota to the Supercars grid, Howard said a remark from Toyota Australia’s vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley, in a speech at a motorsport awards night for the brand after Bathurst in 2022 kickstarted the discussions.

Supercars commentator and former driver Neil Crompton, the category administrator for the Toyota 86 series, also played a significant role in bringing the parties together.

“It started when I went to their awards night post-Bathurst in 2022 and Sean stood up and said how proud he was of the drivers and what they have achieved in the category and he said his dream was one day that future drivers would be able to race a Supercar in the Supercars championship,” Howard said.

“It sort of went on from there. Neil Crompton has had a close to 15 years relationship with Toyota and he has delivered the Toyota 86 program … he has got such a strong relationship and a position of trust with Toyota and they said ‘We would really like to consider entering the Supercars championship, what’s involved for us to do it?’

“Neil spoke to them in the initial stage after Sean’s comments, going ‘You can do this, you know’. He got the ball rolling.

“So Neil played a major role in working with Toyota to deliver this announcement.”

Hanley said Toyota has also long considered an entry into Supercars, but said the timing was right now in the sport’s new Gen3 era.

Toyota has long been considered as a Supercars entrant, according to Toyota Australia’s vice-president of sales, marketing and franchise operations, Sean Hanley. Picture: Supercars

“We have had so many starts at this over the years. Over the last 25 years, we have been considering V8 Supercars on a number of different occasions and we could never ever quite make it work,” Hanley said.

“But on this occasion, it just seemed right with the Gen 3 changes for the platform and the chassis, the change in the automotive industry in Australia -25 or 30 years ago it was very tribal between Ford and Holden, it was very difficult to break in.

“Things are different now and things are ripe for a third player and we believe that with Toyota GR Racing, it’s the right timing.”

Howard said the announcement of Toyota’s entry to the sport was a “significant moment” for the series, which would help lift competition, expand the category’s fan base and open the series up more to the Asian market.

“It is one of the biggest initiatives that we have had,” Howard said.

“It has taken a long time to get it done …. it means that we have three global OEMS that are now engaged in our sport, it means the competition will be lifted and that’s what we survive on, the level of competition.

“They all bring a global fan base from all their other motorsport categories and now we are very similar to NASCAR, having Toyota, Ford and GM, so I think it is a significant moment and it will excite the fan base.

Juan Pablo Montoya driving a Toyota Camry during the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen International. Picture: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“The GR brand is very strong in Asia and we have said that we would like to be there in that South East Asian region, so we hope so, that’s for sure.”

While Howard said Supercars was thrilled to have three manufacturers on the grid, he said the door was still open to more.

“Manufacturers come in for one reason and the main reason is to come in and win championships and they are all there for that,” Howard said.

“So you’ve got to consider what is the sweet spot in regard to the manufacturer having the right number of cars to have the win ratio right.

“Toyota are certainly looking to field a minimum of four cars for 2026.

“Is there an opportunity for other OEMs? Yes there is.”

Hanley said Walkinshaw Andretti United, whose drivers are Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood, was a natural fit as Toyota’s homologation team, already having a commercial relationship with the Walkinshaw Group for the right-hand conversion of its Tundra brand.

Chaz Mostert could be driving a Toyota in 2026. Picture: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

He said Toyota would unlikely make a decision on who its second team would be until mid next year.

“It just made natural sense that we could connect to Walkinshaw Andretti United Racing team because of that relationship,” Hanley said.

“They were in search of a homologation team to return them back to the series in that capacity. But they also made it very clear, and we are very supportive of their current relationship with Ford and we will do nothing at all that will diminish that relationship for that team next year.

“In fact we will work hard with Ford to make sure that they get a good, smooth transition.

“We don’t have (any thought on second team) at this stage, but we will certainly have a process that is both disciplined and transparent about how we go about that.

“We probably won’t be looking at that until mid next year. Our priority at the moment is to lock down our relationship with the Walkinshaw Andretti United team.”

Originally published as The inside story of how Toyota became Supercars’ third manufacturer in a deal kept secret for almost a year and a half