Toyota’s First Etios Motor Racing Exhibition Race in Chennai

Toyota set in motion the motorsport careers of 25 promising young racers at the highly anticipated Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Exhibition Race being held at the Madras Motor Race Track, Chennai on the 4th and 5th of August, 2012.

Apart from a Grand Opening Ceremony, there were a host of exciting activities to engage all age groups including Celebrity Races, Dealer/ Media Races, SUV Zone, Karting Zone, Children’s Learning Zone, ‘Design your EMR Car’, and much more. Toyota also invited two internationally acclaimed guest drivers, Akira Iida- ace Japanese driver and Ben Collins, formerly known as the Stig, to enthrall the spectators with their driving prowess in the EMR cars.

The EMR Exhibition Race is being held close on the heels of the launch of the Company’s new brand campaign called ‘Waku-Doki’, meaning excitement, joy and fun. Putting this into context, Mr. Hiroshi Nakagawa, Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “In line with our international theme of Waku-Doki we introduced EMR to connect with the Indian youth through the sheer joy and excitement that it brings. We are very happy that EMR is seen as an ideal grass-roots category for young drivers to learn and make their way up in the motorsport ladder. With EMR we are committed to contributing to Indian motorsports for years to come.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vikram Kirloskar, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “With EMR, we are happy to carry forward Toyota’s glorious global motorsport heritage. The overwhelming response we got for the EMR driver selection is a proof that today more and more Indian girls and boys are working towards a career in motorsport, and Toyota is looking forward to being a part of their training and growth in the sport.”

Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director-Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “The Exhibition Race this weekend is one of our many efforts to take the Toyota Brand closer to its customers and motorsport enthusiasts. The EMR Exhibition Race will not only mark the debut of the final EMR driver line-up for 2012-’13 but is also a first-of-kind event for motorsport enthusiasts and their families with a host of activities on and off the race track.

It has been an untiring journey so far, right from the Auto Expo in Delhi early this year, to 14 cities and 24 dealerships across the country to rigorous testing of the EMR cars that will be driven by our top 25 young drivers who have been chosen by a team of experts.”

Also present at the occasion, Mr. Taro Hishida, Director, Toyota Technocraft (TRD), said, “TRD has been conducting one- make races in Japan and other parts of the world for many years now and has also been instrumental in supporting the development of racing cars. We have also successfully completed the design of the recently launched Liva TRD Sportivo and are honored to support the development of the Etios Motor Racing series, here in India. We would like to support TKM continually through EMR racing activity and TRD Sportivo products, hoping many customers in India will feel the excitement of “Wakudoki”.

After the Exhibition Race this weekend, in the offing is the Second Exhibition Race in the first weekend of October, 2012 in Delhi, and a number of interesting events based around EMR before the single-make series begins in the second half of 2013.