Lightning McQueen came home 13th in his first race in the Japanese Super GT-300 Championship, one place ahead of new rival, Speed Racer Mach Go Go Go.

The rookie, who looks suspiciously like last year's Team Toy Story APR Toyota MR-S, has apparently been lured away from The Piston Cup by a company that makes products under license of Pixar and Disney. No matter, my three-year-old was beside himself with joy when he saw number 95 hit the track, and I suspect he was not alone.

14th pace finisher, the Mach Go VEMAC 320R (below), is far from new to Super GT's 300hp class, but may get a little more attention internationally once Speed Racer is released Stateside.

Kachow! Lightning McQueen 13th in first race, just ahead of Mach 5 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.