Toyota will have an upgraded engine on track today. Image: Speedcafe
The Japanese marque’s first season in the sport has been blighted by repeated failures of its 5.2-litre 2UR-GSE engine.
Toyota homologation team Walkinshaw TWG partnered with UK-based Swindon Powertrains to develop the bespoke version of the V8.
A series of valvetrain failures have been experienced since the first Supra hit the track last September.
The parties have been working on a ‘B-spec’ engine for months in order to have the reliability woes solved by October’s Bathurst 1000.
Speedcafe has learned the first upgraded engine arrived at Wanneroo on Friday, having already passed through Supercars’ Brisbane dyno.
It was installed into Chaz Mostert’s #1 Supra following Sunday’s Perth Super440 finale ahead of a passenger ride day on Monday.
Walkinshaw is eager to make the most of the Monday running ahead of a full test for the engine at The Bend this Friday.
If all goes to plan, Walkinshaw TWG Racing and Brad Jones Racing will both have a new-spec engine available for the next round of the championship at Ipswich.
A full rollout across the five Supras could occur as soon as the following round; the Enduro Cup opener at The Bend in September.
Walkinshaw TWG team principal Carl Faux was absent from the Perth Super440 amid feverish work on the engine.
The Brit was pivotal in putting the Swindon program together, having previously worked with the company in the British Touring Car Championship.
Walkinshaw has all four of its drivers on hand for Monday’s rides, with co-drivers Fabian Coulthard and Jaxon Evans joining Chaz Mostert and Ryan Wood.
The team will, though, have just one car on track following an engine failure in car #2 on Sunday that prevented Ryan Wood from starting the 200km race.
Unreliability has left Mostert and Wood eighth and ninth in the championship after Perth, leaving little margin for issues in the remaining three rounds before the Finals.
‘It’s on us’: Walkinshaw takes blame for latest Toyota failure