The Lexus RC-F GT3 is set to enter competition in Europe, following a successful 2014 campaign in the Japanese GT500 championship. The driving pairing of Andrea Caldarelli, and Daisuke Ito took victory at the opening round at Okayama, before finishing the season in second place in the championship.
The car is the result of a joint-development between Toyota Technocraft and TRD. Following the alignment of the DTM and the SuperGT championships, the car is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter, inline four engine, said to produce in the region of 500bhp. Thanks to the car’s composite body panels, the car weighs in the region 1,250kg.
In addition to its expansion in to Europe, the 2015 season will also see the Japanese LM Corsa team race the RC F GT3 in the Super GT300 championship.
In Europe, Lexus anticipates that two RC F GT3 cars will be racing in a new development programme during 2015. The first will be looked after by Farnbacher Racing, while the other will be in a co-operative campaign between Emil Frey Racing and Ring Racing. The first test sessions have been successfully completed, which means that both cars will now start in the SPX prototype class of the VLN championship. Their debut is scheduled for the second half of the 2015 season, in order to continue testing and development of the cars.
Lexus has stated that these first two cars are part of bigger plans to ‘enter the prestigious GT3 championship in Europe in 2016, a move Lexus hopes will generate a fascination for motorsport and competition among all its customers’.
