The new GR Supra won the championship at its debut, and Han Lichao won the overall championship of the SRO GT Cup

From March 21st to 23rd, the first race in the history of the SRO GT Cup was held at the Shanghai International Circuit. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China set out with a four-car lineup, sending four powerful drivers, Han Lichao, Cao Qikuan, Wang Hao, and Yu Rao, to meet the challenge. In the second round of the race on Sunday, Han Lichao, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China driver who was at the helm of the new Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO II, won the victory with an excellent performance, ushering in a good start for the 2025 season!

During the official practice session on Friday, Han Lichao, the main driver representing TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China, showed strong potential and ranked first in the field with excellent single-lap speed. Entering the qualifying on Saturday, Han Lichao continued his extreme competitive state, running his personal fastest lap of 2:10.518 and the second fastest lap of 2:10.801 in the limited track time, and won the third place in both rounds of the race. Cao Qikuan, who drove the No. 803 GR Supra EVO car in the Am group, also performed well. In the qualifying, he won the eighth place in both rounds and the top three in the Am group with his steady speed.

Due to his excellent lap time in qualifying, Han Lichao, who was supposed to be an AM driver, was temporarily promoted to participate in the Silver category. However, Han Lichao performed steadily in the first round of the race on Saturday. After the start, he continued to follow the team in the front camp. Even though he was affected by the safety car stage during the race, he still maintained an excellent long-distance rhythm. In the end, the No. 33 car crossed the finish line in fourth place. Cao Qikuan fought hard in the fiercely competitive Am category and won the runner-up in the Am category on behalf of the No. 803 car.

In the second round of the race on Sunday, Han Lichao, who started from the third place, rose to the second place in the opening stage and continued to narrow the time gap with the leading driver in the first half of the race. Halfway through the race, Han Lichao had reduced the lead of his opponent to less than 0.4 seconds, and then the TOYOTA GAZOO RACING driver successfully took the lead and quickly established a lead of more than 8 seconds. Cao Qikuan maintained a strong race speed in the second round, running steadily in the top six of the field and the top three of the Am group, while leaving the cars behind him far behind.

As the checkered flag waved, Han Lichao successfully won the championship and stood on the highest podium in the second round of the SRO GT Cup Shanghai, bringing back the first championship trophy for the newly upgraded Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO II car! At the same time, Cao Qikuan successfully won the third place in the Am category and stood on the podium for two consecutive rounds!

Wang Hao experienced a challenging race weekend. After two excellent practice sessions, the No. 21 car he was driving was hit by another car in the qualifying session. He failed to make a valid time and was forced to start from the last position in the two rounds. However, due to the excellent lap time in practice, the race committee upgraded him from the AM group to the Silver group, which also made Wang Hao's journey to the race face greater challenges.

At the beginning of the first round, the No. 21 GR SUPRA GT4 EVO car was unfortunately rear-ended at Turn 14, and Wang Hao retired due to serious damage to the car; in the second round, Wang Hao fought back with all his strength, catching up with the car after starting from a low position, and finally won the fourth place in the Silver category.

Yu Rao showed outstanding stability in the two rounds of the race, crossing the finish line of the two rounds of the race in the sixth and fourth place in the Am group respectively, earning valuable points.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China SRO GT Cup won the first battle. Official driver Han Lichao won the championship with a stunning performance. Cao Qikuan showed his outstanding strength and achieved a double-platform victory in a week. We would like to extend our sincerest congratulations to TOYOTA GAZOO Racing China! We also look forward to this powerful team bringing more exciting events in the future!