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Marton Pettendy12 Feb 2015
NEWS

Lexus Oz weighs V8s or GT racing

Lexus Australia has set a mid-2015 deadline to choose between 2017 V8 Supercars, GT racing... Or neither

Lexus Australia will decide its motorsport future by July (2015). That's the timeline the brand has set for the completion of a study on whether to enter V8 Supercars, go GT3 sports car racing or give racing a miss altogether.

Toyota's luxury division has been in talks with V8 Supercars organisers since as early as 2010 and was one of 10 brands mooted to take part in the restructured 2017 championship late last year. Now the brand says it needs to formalise 2017 plans asap.

Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley said last year the brand was "open to the concept, especially if the series allows coupes, with the imminent launch of the RC F".

Since then, Hanley has made no secret of his enthusiasm for V8 Supercars and the Japanese luxury brand signed a two-year deal to supply safety, course and medical cars for the touring car series in 2015 and 2016, with the newly released RC F coupe taking pride of place.

Speaking at this week's RC F launch at Mount Panorama, Lexus Australia Corporate Manager Adrian Weimers told motoring.com.au it was a coincidence that the two-year deal exists neatly between now and the 2017 V8SC season, and said reports Lexus had already decided to go V8 racing were wrong.

Instead, he confirmed a feasibility study of local motorsport options will be completed by mid-year. This is to allow an 18-month preparation phase prior to any potential racing assault in 2017.

Weimers said that Lexus could choose to enter either the new-look V8 Supercar Championship (which will allow sedans and coupes with at least four seats and any engines as long as they're front-mounted and drive the rear wheels) or instead contest the mooted expanded Australian GT Championship.

The latter option would allow Lexus Australia to leverage its parent company's GT3 race program. Although the new RCF GT3 is yet to race, Lexus is expected to campaign the car in important international GT series including a proposed world championship in 2016.

A GT focus would also allow Lexus to run in races like the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Either way, if the Toyota Australia board signs off a plan for Lexus Australia to go racing, the new RC F will form the basis of its first high-level motorsport assault.

"The tipping point is the RC F," Weimers told motoring.com.au.

"We haven't started the study yet, but there's serendipity in all of this... The number of people looking at the RC F pace car at the V8 test day was astounding – all kinds of people," he explained.

But Weimers cautioned the decision would not be based on the "success of the pace car deal" as the timeline for the decision is too tight. He said Lexus would not have clear stats on the impact of the pace car promotion within the timeframe.

Weimers said a V8 Supercars entry would be of necessity in partnership with an existing team. If the "numbers" [audience and television exposure] worked on the expanded Australian GT Championship, Lexus could form its own squad and leverage international assets.

"There are five key questions [about a V8 Supercars entry]," Weimers posited.

"Does it make sense for the brand? Technically how do we do it? Which team do we partner with to be competitive? How much will the damn thing cost and how do we leverage our involvement?"

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