Toyota Gazoo Racing Unveils Details of TGR GT Cup 2023 E-motorsports Tournament

Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) has announced details of the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT CUP (TGR GT Cup) 2023, an exciting global esports tournament in which the TGR lineup will participate in a series of competitive races throughout the season.

Seven qualifying rounds will take place online in ‘Gran Turismo 7’ for PlayStation®5 and PlayStation®4, with the top 24 players from around the world set to allow for the grand final to be held in conjunction with the Gran Turismo World Series in November.

Now in its fifth year, the TGR GT Cup offers a golden opportunity for players to showcase their skills, develop their virtual racing experience and represent their country in international championships. TGR organizes the online cup, Toyota’s specialized arm for performance cars and motorsports, to cater to the evolving landscape of esports and virtual car racing worldwide.

The tournament seeks to harness the potential of esports further and make the thrill of virtual racing competitions easily accessible, encouraging interest from both new and seasoned motorsport fans worldwide.

TGR looks forward to welcoming drivers again this season with various exciting qualifying rounds. The opening round features a race with the AE86 (Sprinter Trueno and Corolla Levin), a popular car in the Gran Turismo series that celebrated it’s 25th-anniversary last year.

Round 3 will be a virtual version of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which marks its 100th anniversary this year. All users who enter the event will receive a GR010 Hybrid Electric Hypercar with the 2023 livery commemorating the fifth year of TGR’s e-Motorsports activities. Round 4 will also feature a Virtual GR86/BRZ Cup to be held with round partner SUBARU.

Each qualifying round will introduce a league system based on the drivers’ skill levels to make participation easier. The top-level GT1 League will be followed by the GT2 and GT3 leagues, with ranking displayed for each company to ensure even beginners can participate. TGR’s active engagement in e-Motorsports activities is part of its drive to go beyond the boundaries of countries and generations to ensure everyone can enjoy motorsports.

Kei Fujita, Chief Representative of the Middle East & Central Asia Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, commented: “This year’s edition of the Toyota Gazoo Racing GT CUP is set to attract some of the top gaming talents from around the world and create an exciting platform where their skills can truly shine. We are proud to contribute to esports’ regional and global development. We aim to continue empowering gaming athletes to challenge their capabilities while showcasing Toyota‘s innovative work in motorsports. I want to thank our customers, supporters, and the tournament’s competitors for bringing this initiative to life.”

Representing ‎Toyota’s belief that ‘the roads build the people, and the people build the cars,’ TGR highlights the role of motorsports as a fundamental pillar of Toyota‘s passion for making ‘ever-better cars’ that are fun to drive. Toyota has actively participated in numerous forms of motorsports ‎, including Formula One, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the Nürburgring 24 ‎Hours endurance race.

In recent years, TGR has found great success in these events, including winning the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race an incredible five times in succession. Harnessing years of experience gained under the extreme ‎conditions of various motorsports events, Toyota aims to forge new ‎technologies and solutions that bring the freedom, adventure, and joy of driving to everyone and ensure that no one is left behind.

The TGR GT Cup 2023 will run from April to November 2023. The outline of the Bridgestone GT Time Trial U17 by Toyota Gazoo Racing for participants aged 17 or younger is set to be announced later. Detailed information, including the circuits used in each round, will be published on the TGR GT Cup section of the TGR official website.

Qualifying Round Details

Round		Date	Car	Course
Qualifying	Rd.1	30-Apr	Sprinter Trueno / Corolla Levin (AE86) ’83	Fuji International Speedway
	Rd.2	14-May	GR Yaris ’20	Sardegna – Road Track B
	Rd.3	4-Jun	GR010 HYBRID ’21	24 Heures du Mans Racing circuit
	Rd.4	25-Jun	Virtual GR86/BRZ Cup	Autopolis
	Rd.5	16-Jul	GR Supra Race Car ’19	Nürburgring Sprint
			86 Gr.4
			（Gr.4 Select）
	Rd.6	6-Aug	MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT	Grand Valley Highway 1
			SUBARU BRZ GT300 ’21
			GR Supra Racing Concept ’18
			（Gr.3 Select）
	Rd.7	27-Aug	TBA	TBA

Grand Final Details

Date	November
Location	To be held offline in conjunction with the Gran Turismo World Series
Race Overview	The race will be conducted by inviting the top 24 drivers: 21 from among those achieving the highest four total scores in Rounds 1 – 7 online races from the five regions specified by the Gran Turismo World Series and three from the TGR allotment (regional finalists)＊3.
Driver Details	Region	Number of selected drivers
	Europe, Middle East and Africa	9
	North America	3
	Central & South America	3
	Asia	4
	Oceania	2
	TGR allotment＊	3
	Total	24

＊3 Drivers selected from TGR’s regional finals

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