Toyota/Lexus Release -- Monterey Historics


TOYOTA & LEXUS BRING HISTORY, SPEED, ART AND GIFTS TO ATTENDEES
AT THE ROLEX MONTEREY HISTORIC AUTOMOBILE RACES PRESENTED BY TOYOTA

	TORRANCE, Calif. (August 15, 2006) – Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. is
bringing its most historic motorsports vehicles along with renowned
drivers, the Panasonic Toyota TF106 F1 car and an array of give-a-ways
designed to make life easier for fans attending the 33rd Rolex Monterey
Historic Automobile Races Presented by Toyota, August 18 - 20.  Lexus is
joining Toyota in bringing special opportunities for attendees with its
Art Gallery, which will feature the works of motorsports artist Hector
Bergandi.

Historic race attendees will have a rare opportunity to see a current
Formula 1 car in the garage and on the track.  Modern F1 cars are all high
tech sophistication.  They boast more technology and metallurgy than most
major aerospace programs.  There are electronics systems that govern the
brakes, fuel and gears, and more than 100 sensors and actuators control
and monitor various parts of the car.  Data is transferred from the car to
the pits and engineering crew at around four million bytes per second. 
The steering wheel alone has 120 separate items, takes about 100 hours to
construct and costs about $25,000.

In Toyota’s Working Paddock Display, fans will see the 1987 Toyota Celica
GTO originally designed and raced by Dan Gurney’s All American Racers
Team. From 1986 through 1988, the AAR Toyota Celica GTOs captured 16 IMSA
wins, eight pole positions and 21 podiums.  In 1987, Toyota became the
first Japanese nameplate to win the International Motorsports
Association’s manufacturer's and driver's (Chris Cord) championships. 
The ’87 GTO will be joined by two 1967 2000 GTs.  The 2000 GT, which
revolutionized the automotive world's view of Japan, was produced in very
limited quantities and only raced for one year.  It ran in 14 races in
1967 and was driven by Scooter Patrick and Davey Jordan, who combined for
four victories and 14 podiums.  The 2000 GT is also known for its role in
the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice.  Toyota’s display in the Expo
area of the track will include 10 past and present motorsports vehicles
including:  1975 Celica original pace car; 1978 Dan Gurney; 1981 Tony
Danza; 1993 Supra pace car; 1994 Rod Millen’s Pike’s Peak Celica; Lexus
Daytona Prototype; 2005 Patrick Dempsey Scion tC; 2006 Craftsman Truck; F1
Show Car; and a 2006 Camry Cup Car.  Lexus is also providing a GS 450h and
GS 430 for the track safety team.

Renowned Toyota drivers Rod Millen, Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, Juan Fangio
II and Ricardo Zonta will be meeting the public in Q&A Forums and
autograph sessions on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Millen, a rally and
off-road racer, still holds the Pikes Peak Hill Climb record at 10:04:06
(1994, All-Wheel-Drive Toyota Celica Turbo) as well as five Pikes Peak
overall championships and eight class championships in addition to his
three consecutive Grand National Sport truck titles.  Stewart, a desert
and stadium off-road racer, has 10 career driver’s championships, 17 Baja
500 wins, three Baja 1000 wins and four SCORE off-road championships, just
to name a few.  Fangio captured two GTP driver’s championships and two
manufacturer’s championships for Toyota as well as twice winning the
Sebring 12 hour race and garnering 21 GTP victories.  Zonta is one of the
three F1 pilots for the Panasonic Toyota F1 car and will be demonstrating
the car’s power on the track on Friday, and twice each on Saturday and
Sunday afternoon.  The Q&A Forums will be followed immediately by an
autograph session with all of these drivers plus Scooter Patrick and Davey
Jordan.

For the first time, event attendees will enjoy a shuttle service courtesy
of Toyota that will be making loops throughout the day on three routes
from the parking lots and camp grounds to the Paddock and Expo areas of
the track.  Attendees will also be receiving bottled water, canvas bags,
sun screen, ear plugs, lanyards, credential holders and posters at Toyota
Kiosks and from Toyota street team members roaming the Paddock and Expo
areas.  “Enter to Win” contests will allow spectators an opportunity to
win Laguna Seca track rides, private tours of the F1 garage plus a visit
with Ricardo Zonta and his crew, and tickets to the 2007 Monterey Historic
Automobile Races.

An exhibit of Hector Luis Bergandi’s motorsports artwork will be the
focal point of the Lexus Gallery in the Paddock area.  Bergandi, who has
been a a Road & Track contributing artist for more than 25 years, has
captured drivers like Jackie Stewart, Jack Brabham, Parnelli Jones and
Juan Manuel Fangio, in acrylics, giclees and gouache.  His work is
collected by motorsports art aficionado’s around the world.

Schedule:
„X	Toyota Working Paddock, Expo Display and Lexus Gallery:  Friday,
Saturday, Sunday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
„X	Parking lot shuttle services and “enter to win” contests:  Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m
„X	Panasonic Toyota F1 Demonstration Laps:  Friday, 12:30 p.m; Saturday,
12:45 and 3:40 p.m.; Sunday, 12:35 and 3:25 p.m.
„X	Stewart, Millen, Fangio, Zonta Q&A Forums:  Saturday, 10 a.m. and
Sunday, 9 a.m.; Lexus Gallery
„X	Stewart, Millen, Fangio, Zonta, Jordan, Patrick Autograph Sessions: 
Sat., 10:30 a.m. and Sun., 9:20 a.m.; Toyota Working Paddock

About Toyota
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. is the marketing, sales, distribution and
customer service arm of Toyota, Lexus and Scion in the United States,
marketing products and services through a network of more than 1,400
Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealers in 49 states. Established in 1957, TMS and
its subsidiaries also are involved in distribution logistics, motorsports,
and research and development. The company’s main Web site is
www.toyota.com.