My journey so far

In 2023, I did my first full season in TimeAttack (www.timeattack.se), driving a 2022 GR Yaris MK1 in the Club class and finishing 3rd overall.

Prior to this I had been doing track day driving for a few years, which meant I had some experience driving a car on the track. I also competed in one event as a wild card in 2022, but 2023 marked the true beginning of my Time Attack journey. And it was so much fun. 🙂

For 2024, I planned to compete in the Challenge class with a new BMW M2 (G87). Unfortunately, the car didn’t meet the regulations for that class, and I had to race in ProStreet instead. As the heaviest car with the least power, pitted against GT3s and tuned GT-Rs, I had no chance of winning, which was disappointing. This wasn’t the season I had in mind.

The M2 is an awesome car, and its weight wasn’t a major drawback. I felt the chassis was well-designed to handle it and performed well on the track. The engine and brakes were also bulletproof, with no mechanical issues. Still, it was frustrating to always finish near the back of the ProStreet class.

At first, I accepted this and planned a Stage 2 tune to boost the power of the car to around 650 hp—the maximum allowed in ProStreet—along with other upgrades. This might have improved my odds. However, my original goal with the M2 was to race in the Challenge class with minimal modifications, keeping things simple. Over Christmas, I reflected on my plans and realized that continuing down this path would be too extreme for my taste. Plus, the M2 felt overly luxurious for me. I prefer simpler cars, and the M2’s twin-turbo setup—with dual air filters, catalytic converters, and more—combined with features like brake-by-wire, added complexities I didn’t need.

The M2 is also a fairly large car. It handled the track well, but I found it too big to enjoy on my local back roads, where its weight and wide tires didn’t help. It wasn’t suited for ice racing either, an activity I really enjoyed with the GR Yaris.

Looking back at my time with the simpler, smaller, and lighter GR Yaris, I realized the M2 wasn’t quite right for me. Then, in 2024, Toyota released an updated GR Yaris that fixed all my issues with the MK1 and added several upgrades. The new interior is great—simple and functional—with a mechanical handbrake still included. It now has an oil cooler for the engine and a sturdier front strut tower design. Not to mention, it’s 500 kg lighter than the M2, fits perfectly in the less extreme Challenge class, and is ideal for winter ice racing. With a few simple modifications, it’ll be really competitive in Challenge.

So, I decided to sell the M2 and have ordered the new GR Yaris for the 2025 season.