It’s funny how Toyota has changed so radically over the last few years, under the helm of Akio Toyoda. They went from a company that was obsessed with beige interiors and the bottom lines, priding themselves on production efficiency at the cost of image and driving pleasure at times, to a company that has a vested interest in the world of motorsports.
This is strikingly similar to Honda, back in their hey-days of racing. Naturally,, like most other companies, they had to cut back their spending during recessions and economic downturns, but they too are slowly clawing back their way to the world of motorsport. Honda had the belief that all of their engineers, at some point, would need to have worked as part of one of their racing teams (F1 being the ideal case when Honda had an F1 team).
It’s no surprise then that Akio Toyoda, being a race fan and petrol head himself, gave the green light for two production engineers to partake in the One Lap of America Endurance Race. It’s a motorsport event that truly challenges both man and machine, as it involves a lap around the states in a week, with 10 racetrack event stops along the way, without a service crew.
Anthony Magagnoli and Stephen Byington, will participate in the One Lap of America Race, May 2-9, in a specially built TRD Scion FR-S (a.k.a. the Toyota 86). They are supported by an additional 10 PE Team Members and Co-Ops all working together to prepare the vehicle for the race.
