In the Spotlight: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK

3rd December 2024

The curtain has fallen on another season for the Speedworks Motorsport-run TOYOTA GAZOO Racing UK team with multiple wins in the locker – double its 2023 tally.

The reshuffle of drivers and the decision to run two cars, with Speedworks running the other Toyota Corolla GR Sport-driven team in LKQ Euro Car Parts with SYNETIQ, brought an exciting element to the Cheshire-based team.

Bringing a calm pair of hands to the team was 2012 World Touring Car Champion (WTCC) Rob Huff, who was making a full-time return to the series 20 years after his last. Partnering the touring car household name was none other than 2023 Jack Sears Trophy (JST) winner Andrew Watson, looking to improve with the backing of a manufacturer/constructor.

Despite the same amount of podiums scored from one season ago, improvements were made in both the #11 and #12 machines. In 2024, Toyota scored 61 more points in the Manufacturers/Constructors' Championship than it had achieved in the year prior.

Huff took his first victory since his return at the same circuit of his last triumph 20 years previous, Snetterton, leading a Toyota podium lockout at only the third event of this driver and team combination. The #12 would go on to take another rostrum-finishing performance with some extraordinary racing with fellow Toyota Corolla GR Sport driver Josh Cook for the lead at Croft three events later.

The team’s next triumphant moment would then come at Knockhill as the former WTCC would fend off 2022 Champion Tom Ingram with impeccable defensive driving. The top step of the podium would be Huff and the squad’s second time spearheading the results, a feat the Speedworks-run outfit only managed once in 2023.

It would not only be positive on the #12 side of the garage but also the #11 side. Watson, in his second full-time season in the BTCC, would further his JST win one year on scoring 30% more points than in his debut season. Saturday was also a strong point for the Belfast-born driver with two ‘Quick Six’ appearances and qualifying inside the top ten in six of the ten events.

After a season of improvement across the board, the Cheshire-Based team will be looking to take a further step toward the front runners in 2025.

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