Toyota Korea's first customer-participation rally program

Participants drive roughly 70 km course, complete pace-note missions

Participants pose for a group photo at TGR Rally Play, a customer-participation rally program held Saturday at Aju University of Automotive Technology in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, and surrounding areas. [Toyota Korea]
Participants pose for a group photo at TGR Rally Play, a customer-participation rally program held Saturday at Aju University of Automotive Technology in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, and surrounding areas. [Toyota Korea]

Toyota Korea announced Monday that its customer-participation rally program, TGR Rally Play, concluded successfully Saturday at Aju University of Automotive Technology in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, and the surrounding area.

The event marked the first time Toyota Korea has opened a rally program to general customers. Over roughly four hours, participants drove approximately 70 kilometers around Boryeong, following pace notes and completing various missions while experiencing the region's tourism and cultural offerings alongside the thrill of rally driving.

A total of 69 teams and 181 participants took part — 57 teams in the Open Class, designed for families and general customers, and 12 teams in the Advanced Class, aimed at motorsport enthusiasts. Of those, 57 teams completed the full rally course.

Instead of navigation systems, participants followed pace notes to make their way around Boryeong, locating checkpoints along the route and completing assigned missions. Drivers focused on safe driving while co-drivers tracked the route and missions, with both checking signs and structures at various points along the course.

The program wove motorsport together with Boryeong's tourism and cultural content into a single journey. Participants encountered the city's natural scenery, cultural heritage, farms and local attractions firsthand — going beyond simply driving toward a destination to discover the region's varied charms through the act of driving itself.

At the venue, a drift show run, TGR simulators and a heritage exhibition were among the additional programs on offer, giving participants and visitors a hands-on taste of motorsport in forms ranging from rally to gymkhana.

Advanced Class participants said the rally offered the satisfaction of working in sync with a partner to complete the course, while gymkhana brought a different kind of excitement — pushing personal limits by controlling the vehicle directly. "What struck me most was experiencing both rally and gymkhana in a single day and realizing that motorsport is closer than you think and something anyone can enjoy," they said.

Toyota Korea President Manabu Konyama said TGR operates under the philosophy that "roads make people, and people make cars," developing better vehicles by driving diverse roads alongside many people. "I hope TGR Rally Play gave participants a special experience — discovering Boryeong's varied roads and new places, and sharing the joy that cars and motorsport bring with family and friends," he said.

Toyota Korea runs a range of motorsport programs, including official naming sponsorship of the Toyota Gazoo Racing 6000 Class, a Prius PHEV one-make race, TGR Racing Class — where GR model owners experience circuit driving firsthand — TGR Kids Super Race School for children, and TGR Experience Day for families.

Meanwhile, the all-new RAV4, an urban crossover SUV launched this year, adds a GR Sport trim to the lineup for the first time. The vehicle combines the practicality Toyota has built over the years with driving expertise the electrification TGR program has accumulated on the motorsport circuit, along with the distinctive GR character.


eyre@heraldcorp.com