I’ll preface this by saying that there are always multiple sides to any story and this is from information I have gathered solely with speaking with people close to Team Lexus. Upon speaking to them, it seems that some at Toyota Racing Development (TRD) became very interested in this project after the initial announcements were made by Lexus and were interested in taking over the project. Serious changes had been going on at TRD with their new interest in NASCAR and their moving their entire operation to the NASCAR land of North Carolina. With that, early last spring, a couple TRD employees were left behind and put in a position to oversee the build of the new Lexus ALMS project, which was not part of Team Lexus’ original contract.
Unfortunately, according to those same sources, internal “political” issues and delayed funding for the team, lead to the project falling behind schedule. However, TRD reports to Lexus lead them to believe that the team was the problem, the reason they were behind schedule and ultimately not capable of completing the project. After this continued for some time and with infighting between the team, TRD and Lexus, the project became so out of order that Chuck Goldsborough, team principal of Team Lexus, said he had enough and put an end to the project. Unfortunately, at this point, it doesn’t look like the project will be salvaged, at least under the banner of Team Lexus.
Autospies Comment:
While this is not critical to the IS350 sales success by any measure, overall the IS series will carry the Lexus performance image to the masses. Lack of proven success on the track may be a detriment in the long term, especially to the target demographic that the M series appeals to. Heritage is very important to these buyers.
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