GAZOO RACING & GROCERY RUNS

The Toyota GR Corolla is the daily driving track weapon you've been waiting for

- By Kap Maceda Aguila

GAZOO RACING (or, more commonly, GR) has found a solid footing as a sportier, aspirational sub-brand in the ambit of Toyota — a marque successfully conveying heightened performance values that the now-familiar logo stands for.

GR complements Toyota Racing Development (which is retained for truck/ off-road products) to enshrine the leading automaker's elevated intentions. Here in the country, in addition to the GR Supra, GR 86, and GR Yaris, Toyota has deployed the moniker as a suffix in so-called "GR-S" editions of its more mainstream vehicle models reflecting the same sportier ethos through aesthetic touches.

Last week, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) celebrated the GR-prefixed models through a "GR Track Day" at the Clark International Speedway in Angeles, Pampanga attended by invitees from car clubs and, later, media and content creators who were able to reasonably push and experience the dynamic driving proffered by the vehicles including the highly modified Toyota Tamaraw OMR (one-make race) examples set to wage battle next year at the Toyota Gazoo Racing Philippine Cup.

The undoubted star of the show was the newest GR product set to formally enter TMP showrooms tomorrow, Dec. 23. We had limited seat time behind the wheel and in the second row of the alpha version of Toyota's iconic nameplate that is the Corolla.