Japanese racer gets courtesy Toyota Corolla GR Sport, first time with an automatic!



Professional racing drivers who make a career of out motor racing require plenty of training and participation in various categories. With the UK having a large motorsports industry, many drivers who wish to get the most exposure in racing and presence move there to build their profession.

Toyota UK recently provided Japanese female racer Miki Koyama with a Toyota Corolla GR Sport Hybrid. The 23-year old currently competes with the number 54 under Sirin Racing in the all-female W Series championship.

Taking delivery of her new Corolla GR Sport, provided by Toyota Financial Services (UK), she said: “It’s a very cool car and I can’t wait to start driving it. It will also be a new experience for me, as I haven’t driven an automatic before!

A racing driver that has not driven an automatic car before! That’s quite a surprise given their busy schedules of travelling, meeting up with sponsors and others which require a lot of movement and rental of vehicles.

Photo from Miki Koyama’s Twitter page

Koyama has her sights set on becoming Japan’s first female Formula 1 driver, having progressed from karts to single-seater F4 competition and winning Japan’s all-female Kyojo Championship two years running before entering the W Series in 2019.

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At this season’s opening race in Austria, the 23-year-old from Sagamihara, near Tokyo, put in a strong performance moving up from 13th on the grid to finish in fifth place. Yesterday’s Race 2 meanwhile did not go so well for Koyama, finishing 18th after a series of mechanical issues that hampered her driving all weekend.  

Photo from Miki Koyama’s Twitter page

The W Series forms as a support race for this year’s Formula 1 season with eight rounds scheduled, starting in Austria and ending in Mexico.

As for Koyama’s new Toyota Corolla GR Sport, it has a sportier front grille, side skirts and a rear diffuser to separate it from the regular Corolla hatchback. The GR Sport also has dedicated 18-inch machined alloy wheels, two-tone paintwork and LED headlights.

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Inside, the cabin features sports seats in combination fabric-leather materials with red-on-black stitching on the steering wheel, shift lever and dashboard. The Corolla GR Sport is available in either a 1.8-litre or 2.0-litre self-charging hybrid powertrain delivering 122 hp and 184 hp respectively. The clever powertrain that does not have any physical gears is rather new to Koyama, surprising considering Toyota hybrid models are incredibly popular in Japan.

The Toyota Corolla GR Sport is also available in Thailand and Taiwan, and all three models are developed independently to meet the local taste and price points.


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