In the wake of Group C, Toyota went GT racing.
They fielded a number of increasingly wild vehicles as the mid 1990s progressed, moving from heavily modified Supras through to the MC8-R. Their most focused effort however, would be the Toyota GT-One.
Toyota were so focused on building the GT-One that they opted to skip the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans altogether, and look towards 1998. When the race arrived the three GT-One entrants looked very promising in practice and qualifying, however was marred with issues during the race. #28 would be removed from the race following an accident, and #29 (pictured) would be forced to retire with transmission issues whilst fighting within the top 10 during the closing hours. The final car, #27, would finish 9th. The Porsche 911 GT1 won comfortably.
The Toyota GT-One’s debut was not a success, nor would be it’s return to Le Mans in 1999 – where all three entrants would be classed as DNF. The Toyota GT-One was a very fast GT car – driven by Martin Brundle it was on the pole for the 1999 event, with Thierry Bousten right behind him in another, it also took the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately, everything else was against it – excess fuel consumption, accidents and mechanical failures prevented the GT-One from becoming the champion car it may have been.
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