Teacher accused of using rented Toyota Supra for land-speed record attempt

A US high school teacher is facing legal action – and $US4000 ($AU6000) in costs – after being accused of renting a turbocharged Toyota Supra performance coupe from a car-sharing service and using the vehicle in a racing competition without the owner’s knowledge.

The high-school teacher from Illinois – and his team of female mechanic students – were on their way to compete in the 2023 U.S. Mile land-speed trials in Texas last month.

The girls and their teacher had built a high-performance Chevrolet S10 pick-up for the ‘Texas Mile’ – a competition which sees vehicles try to achieve the highest possible speed from a standing start within one-mile (1.6km) on a runway.

However, the 1997 Chevrolet S-10 ute suffered a mechanical failure on the way to the event.

Due to the hard work put in to make the 1800km journey between the two states, the teacher felt he could recover the team's morale by substituting the conked-out pick-up with another car.

US news outlet Fox 32 reported the all-female student group was from Naperville North High School – west of Chicago – and their automotive engineering teacher was Gregory Ditch.

After searching online, Mr Ditch has been accused of sourcing a 2021 Toyota Supra on Turo – a car-sharing platform which allows users to rent out their private vehicles – located in San Antonio, approximately two hours' drive from the land-speed event.

The owner of the Toyota Supra, Geovanni Morales, told Fox 32 he initially trusted Mr Ditch because he was a fellow teacher, though when the car was returned three days later, he discovered its tyres and brakes were showing wear and tear beyond what could have been expected from the short loan.

In a post on the Texas Mile Facebook page, Mr Morales reportedly discovered an image of a Toyota Supra identical to his own which had been used by the group of students in the top-speed competition, showing the car’s driver had achieved a top speed of 160mph (257km/h).

While the Texas Mile’s Facebook post claims the Toyota Supra was sourced by a sponsor of the team, Mr Ditch told Fox 32 the sports car came from a dealer – despite images circulated on social media displaying the same number plates as Mr Morales’ vehicle.

Mr Morales claims the team caused almost $US4000 ($AU6000) in damages to the car’s tyres and brakes during the event, which Fox 32 reports has resulted in the car-owner taking his case to Turo for compensation from Mr Ditch.

Speaking to Fox 32, Mr Ditch strongly denied the Toyota Supra which his team of students used in the Texas Mile competition came from Mr Morales or Turo.

"I borrowed the vehicle from, we ended up with the vehicle from, it didn't come from Toyota, so I started making some phone calls and I got it from a dealer," Mr Ditch said when asked by Fox 32 about where the Supra was sourced.

"We borrowed it, it's legitimate, so I don't know who he is or what the full story is with him, but that's not at all what happened.”

The car-sharing service released a statement to the news publication, announcing it is still investigating Mr Morales’ claims.

"We are saddened that this experience didn’t meet the high standards we expect from our community. Our team is in contact with both parties and is actively investigating,” a Turo spokesperson told Fox 32.

Fox 32 shared a video of its news report – including its interviews with Mr Ditch and Mr Morales – to YouTube, which you can watch below.