The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Championships This Year will be Paced by the 300-horsepower 2023 GR Corolla
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 25, 2022) – Toyota unveiled its turbocharged and all-wheel drive 2023 GR Corolla this past Spring, expanding its Toyota Gazoo Racing performance model lineup and rewarding enthusiasts with this rowdy, rally inspired, 300-horsepower hot hatch. Today, Toyota proudly announces the GR Corolla is the official pace car for the 2022 National Auto Sport Association (NASA) National Championships.
The GR Corolla rolls into WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey County, California, for the NASA National Championships, the organization’s marquee event. Every year, NASA race drivers from 14 regions across the country compete for the top prize on one of the nation’s most legendary road racing circuits. The Championships take place Sept. 15-18, 2022, and the GR Corolla will be the pace car for all races, including Sunday’s winner-take-all NASA championship finals.
“Last year we were honored to pace all NASA Championship races at Daytona with the all-new GR86, and it’s great to be back, this time with the first-ever GR Corolla,” said Michael Tripp, Toyota’s vice president of marketing. “This is such a great event and a perfect way to give fans and NASA competitors a chance to check out the GR Corolla in its natural environment – on the track.”
In its pace car role, the GR Corolla will wear red, white, and black graphics inspired by now familiar and winning Toyota motorsports and endurance racing liveries. The 2023 GR Corolla will set the pace and lead more than 350 entrants racing in 25 classes on the iconic circuit overlooking California’s Monterey Bay. WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca’s 11-turn, 2.238-mile natural-terrain circuit features a mix of tight corners, sweepers and elevation changes, particularly in the famous Corkscrew – officially Turns 8 and 8A – where the elevation drops a dizzying 59 feet, the equivalent of a five-and-a-half story building, in only 450 feet of track length.
As part of a continuing program put together by Toyota and NASA, every customer who buys a new 2023 Toyota GR Corolla will automatically receive a complimentary one-year NASA membership and one complimentary track day at a NASA High Performance Driving Event. This program started in 2019, as a way to give GR Supra owners performance driving experiences under the tutelage of expert instructors. The program has expanded to include all GR sports cars with the GR86 and the GR Corolla joining their GR Supra stablemate.
The 2023 GR Corolla features a turbocharged, three-cylinder engine delivering 300 hp and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. This remarkable 1.6-liter engine is mated to Toyota’s rally developed GR-Four All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) drivetrain. The GR-Four system gives drivers a choice of 60-40, 50-50 or 30-70 power distribution to the front and rear wheels.
Available exclusively with a manual gearbox to stay true to its rally-racing roots, the GR Corolla will be available in three grades, the performance ready GR Corolla Core Grade, the launch-year-only Circuit Edition and the ultra-aggressive GR Corolla MORIZO Edition. The track-oriented GR Corolla Morizo is limited to 200 units for 2023 and benefits from special enhancements specified by Akio Toyoda himself. GR engineers added an exclusive close ratio intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) and shorter gearing, increased chassis rigidity and raised torque to 295 lb.-ft. It is nearly 100 pounds lighter than the GR Corolla Circuit Edition model, further sharpening the handling of this already nimble hot hatch. Full GR Corolla media materials on all grades are available here.
“It’s great to continue our relationship with Toyota, and it’s very exciting to have the GR Corolla as the official 2022 NASA Championships pace car,” said NASA Chief Operating Officer and Vice President Jeremy Croiset. “And in addition to the many who will see it on the track, fans can also tune in online and see the very best amateur racing in the country from the comfort of home.”
More information is available at www.NASAChampionships.com.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 39,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 32 million cars and trucks at our nine manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 10th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, a quarter of the company’s 2021 U.S. sales were electrified.
To help inspire the next generation for a career in STEM-based fields, including mobility, Toyota launched its virtual education hub at www.TourToyota.com with an immersive experience and chance to virtually visit many of our U.S. manufacturing facilities. The hub also includes a series of free STEM-based lessons and curriculum through Toyota USA Foundation partners, virtual field trips and more. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
About NASA
The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) was formed in 1991 to deliver high quality motorsports events to enthusiasts at major racing venues throughout the nation. NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high-performance street-driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a safe and controlled environment. NASA offers many different programs that allows enthusiasts to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA-X and Competition Racing programs. For more information about NASA, visit www.DriveNASA.com.
For customer inquiries, please call 800-331-4331.
Note to Editors: Photos b-roll and additional specifications can be found on ToyotaNewsroom.com.
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