Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) has announced that they are not participating in the 48th edition of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring Endurance Race (“24 Hours of Nürburgring”), which is scheduled to take place September 24 to 27, 2020. Originally set to be held in May, the race was moved to September as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since their inaugural participation in 2007, Toyota Gazoo Racing has competed in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for 13 consecutive years. Toyota mechanics and engineers had intended to participate in this year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring with a Lexus LC race car they created themselves and were proceeding with the necessary preparations.

However, the global spread of COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions and the TGR team didn’t have enough opportunities to conduct driving tests in the Nürburgring on track, and this has had a substantial impact on the development of the race car.

This year, the team was planning to run a new engine and peripheral technologies in the Lexus LC. In the present circumstances, however, and given how demanding the 24 Hours of Nürburgring is for race cars, it would have proven more difficult for the team and the race car to complete the 24 hours race in a safe manner. For these reasons, Toyota Gazoo Racing has decided not to participate in this year's 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

Nevertheless, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring continues to be the root of Toyota Gazoo Racing activities, and its importance to our organization remains unchanged. With that, TGR will begin preparations early for the race in 2021 which is set to be held in June.