Toyota MR2: Japan’s giant-killing Bathurst champ
The second generation (W20) Toyota MR2 was successful in numerous forms of sports car racing across the globe particularly in Japan and Australia. It proved so successful at Mount Panorama - unbeatable in fact - that Toyota released a special edition to celebrate and called it the ‘MR2 Bathurst’.
Although the 1994 special edition was effectively an options pack with unique ‘Bathurst’ body decals, the fact that Toyota Australia released such a motor sport-focused model showed how highly the marketing department rated the MR2’s success on the Mountain.
Between 1991 and 1994, the diminutive mid-engine Toyota dominated its class in the annual James Hardie 12 Hour production car race. From four starts in the short-lived endurance event it claimed four straight victories in the small capacity sports car division.
Each MR2 class winner also finished well up in the overall placings, with a lowest of seventh outright in 1991 and a remarkable fourth outright in the final event held in 1994. As a result, the MR2 earned a giant-killing reputation at Bathurst, as it was only beaten by cars with much greater engine capacities and power outputs - and left many more in its wake.
Designed to win
So what made the MR2 (an acronym for Mid-engine/Rear wheel drive/2-seater) such a successful racer, particularly at Mount Panorama?
The first generation W10, released in 1984, had benefitted from input in suspension design by Lotus engineer Roger Becker and been extensively track-tested by US racing legend Dan Gurney. Its transverse mid-mounted 4A-GE 1.6 litre DOHC 16-valve engine and five-speed gearbox, MacPherson strut suspension and four-wheel disc brakes were combined in a well-balanced chassis with a 2319mm wheelbase and kerb weight of just over 1000kg.
Plans for this pocket rocket to tackle the World Rally Championship were well advanced before the shock cancellation of the fearsome Group B category in 1986 and as a result, its proposed Group S replacement for 1987.
The aborted 222D was an all-wheel drive version of the original MR2 developed by Toyota Team Europe, powered by a 2.2 litre turbocharged four producing up to 600bhp. With its lightweight construction and wild aerodynamic bodywork, just 10 prototypes were built to meet Group S requirements before the project was axed. We can only wonder what this ferocious machine could have achieved had it been let loose in the WRC.
The second generation (W20) MR2 released in 1990 was a more rounded and streamlined version of the original. It had also grown, with a 2400mm wheelbase (81mm longer), 4171mm length (221mm longer) and 200kg increase in kerb weight. However, a larger and more powerful 2.0 litre 3S-GE engine with 117kW (157bhp) resulted in a superior power to weight ratio.
In the 1990s the W20 MR2 enjoyed circuit racing success in Europe, South-East Asia and particularly on home soil in the prestigious Japanese GT Championship (aka Super GT). There it won back to back titles in the GT300 class against formidable opponents including the BMW M3, Porsche 911 and Ferrari 355.
Without doubt the wildest racing version of the MR2 was the MC8-R, designed and built by Toyota factory team SARD (Sigma Advanced Research Development). The MC8-R was a highly modified W20 designed to compete on the world stage in the FIA’s GT1 category, which included the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour race.
The MC8-R featured a longitudinally-mounted, twin-turbocharged version of Toyota’s 4.0 litre 1UZ-FE V8 (the same engine used in the Lexus LS400). On paper the MC8-R appeared to have considerable potential, but like the stillborn 220D rally prototype it was never realised. Three unsuccessful appearances at Le Mans sealed its fate.
James Hardie 12 Hour
1991: a star is born
If there was ever a race that could best showcase the MR2’s many attributes, it was the James Hardie 12 Hour production car race at Bathurst. The Japanese sports car’s enviable combination of agile handling, fantastic braking, frugal fuel consumption and renowned Toyota reliability was ideal for such an unprecedented challenge.
The sobering fact was that ‘showroom stock’ road cars had never competed over such a long distance at Mount Panorama. Indeed, sceptics were questioning if there’d be any cars still running by the time the chequered flag waved at 5.30pm on Easter Sunday!
Late announcement of the event and a preference by most car companies to see how the first race unfolded before committing to any factory involvement, ensured that the field was light on entries. However, what the inaugural line-up lacked in quantity was more than made up for with quality, in both cars and drivers across six classes.
One of those was Class S for sports cars under 2200cc - tailor-made for the latest MR2. Although there was only one entered, it was a quality effort with an excellent driving combination in race and rally champion Colin Bond, multiple Group A class winner and Toyota dealer John Smith and Bathurst veteran Bruce Stewart.
The lone MR2 was officially entered by ‘Caltex CXT Racing’ which at the time was sponsoring Bond in a Group A Ford Sierra in the Australian Touring Car Championship. The MR2’s only rival in Class S was a privately entered Honda CRX.
At the pre-dawn 5.30am kick-off there were only 24 starters overall, providing the previously unseen spectacle of cars lined up on the grid in darkness with their headlights blazing.
The MR2 was one of the stars. It easily won Class S as expected after completing 233 trouble-free laps (72 more than the annual 1000km event) over 12 hours. However, what was even more impressive was finishing sixth outright, beaten only by more powerful cars including V6 and V8 Holden Commodores, a Ford Laser TX3 Turbo 4WD and two Toyota Supra Turbos, one of which was the outright winner.
1992: 2 from 2 for the MR2
The fact that 20 of the 24 starters managed to finish the first race erased any doubts about the durability of standard road cars. Mount Panorama’s maximum starting grid capacity of 55 cars was quickly reached in 1992, featuring the same six-class structure but with Class T (turbocharged cars) expanded to incorporate all-wheel drives.
The previous year’s winner John Smith was official entrant of the next short-odds Class S favourite; an MR2 armed with special brake pads which could go 12 hours without a pad change. Other class entries included another MR2, two Honda CRXs and a lone Nissan NX coupe.
Despite the increase in competitors, no one was surprised to see an MR2 race away to another class win. The John Smith car shared by Geoff Morgan/Keith Carling/Rick Bates completed 10 more laps than the 1991 winner and finished a staggering 21 laps ahead of the second-placed Nissan NX coupe. The other MR2 and both of the speedy Honda CRX entries failed to finish (cause not known).
And although the size of the grid more than doubled, the Class S-winning MR2 finished seventh outright, again beaten only by more powerful machinery including a pair of V8 Commodores and several works entries comprising two Mazda RX-7 twin turbos (first and fifth), a BMW M5 (second) and a turbocharged Saab 9000 (third). Behind the MR2 were 32 finishers and 15 retirements. Another mighty performance - but the best was yet to come!
1993: a ‘fang’ with Fangio
The third running of the Bathurst 12 Hour attracted another capacity entry. Some of the six classes saw some minor revisions, but Class S for sports cars under 2200cc was unchanged.
After two years of MR2 dominance, there was nothing in the entry list which suggested that was going to change. It appeared to be a case of if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em with four MR2s facing one Nissan NX coupe and a Honda CRX.
The short-priced favourite this time was the semi-works MR2 entered by Neal Bates Motorsport. Bates, who was spearheading Toyota’s Australian Rally Championship campaign at the time, assembled a strong driver line-up comprising his brother Rick, journalist/racer Peter McKay and top Toyota racer Juan Manuel Fangio II.
The Argentinian ace, nephew of the legendary five-time world drivers’ champion, was at the time a major star in IMSA sports car racing in the US driving for Dan Gurney’s Toyota-backed All American Racers. Securing the services of a top shelf international factory driver was something of a coup for the event and Toyota Australia, which milked it for all it was worth in a pre-race publicity blitz greatly appreciated by race organisers.
Not surprisingly, the Bates/McKay/Fangio entry trounced Class S in another dominant display by the MR2, winning by five laps and completing 245 in total (two more than 1992) followed by MR2s in second and third.
And in finishing sixth outright, the class-winning Toyota was beaten only by two works Mazda RX-7 twin turbos (first and second), a Honda NSX (third), R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R (fourth) and an EB Falcon XR6 (fifth).
1994: the final and finest win
The fourth and final James Hardie is perhaps best remembered for Mazda’s three-peat of class and outright wins from three starts, but Toyota also had plenty to celebrate with four wins from four starts for the mighty MR2.
The class structures for the capacity field had again been revised, with six classes growing to seven and Class S raising its capacity limit from 2200cc to 2500cc. This change attracted some new challengers for the three MR2s entered, with two Honda VTiR Integras and a Toyota Celica ZR joining the ubiquitous Honda CRX.
However, the inter-brand MR2 rivalry had never been stronger, with reigning champs Rick Bates and Juan Manuel Fangio II (in his second visit to Australia) being joined by Neal Bates. However, 1991 class winner John Smith was also hungry to win back his title. He entered his own MR2, sharing driving duties with Scott Bargwanna and his brother Jason who was destined to win the Bathurst 1000 six years later in a V8 Supercar.
The 1994 race was a close and entertaining class battle with the two top Toyota crews pushing each other to the limit, but after 12 hours of pressure driving and slick pit work the Bates Bros/Fangio entry came out on top, finishing a full lap ahead of the Smith/Bargwanna Bros car.
The hot pace saw the winning MR2 not only complete four more laps than the previous year (249 in total) but also claim an amazing fourth outright; the MR2’s highest-placed finish and beaten only by the outright-winning works Mazda RX-7 twin turbo and two factory-backed 968 CS Porsches. It was a remarkable performance.
AGTPCC: can’t keep a good car down
The untimely demise of the James Hardie 12 Hour in 1994 also brought the MR2’s Bathurst dominance to an end. However, further proof of the Japanese sports car’s enduring competitiveness came several years after its last Bathurst victory, as the MR2 also won its class in the 1998 and 1999 Australian GT Production Car Championships.
The 1998 title, conducted over eight rounds in four states, featured five competing classes.The MR2 was in Class D (Production Cars 1851-2500cc) where it faced numerous potent rivals including the BMW 323i, Mazda 626, Honda Civic VTiR and Peugeot 405 Mi16. However, Ric Shaw in his Osborne Motorsport-entered MR2 Bathurst outclassed them all to win Class D by a healthy 30-point margin.
The classes were revised for 1999 with the MR2 moving to a new division called Class S for Sports & Performance Cars. The BMW 323i, which finished runner-up in 1998, also made the move to Class S along with the popular Mazda MX-5. However, reigning class champion Ric Shaw and his Osborne Motorsport MR2 again proved too strong, winning back to back titles and with a much larger point margin over his rivals.
Given the MR2’s enviable record of motor sport success, particularly in showroom-based production car racing, it’s no surprise Toyota’s big-hearted little sports car is revered by enthusiasts today and an increasingly desirable classic. Its quartet of faultless Bathurst 12 Hour performances will always be remembered as those of a true giant killer.