Toyota 86 Racing Series :: On Track Until 2020

Grant — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 11:13:54 +0000

Way back in 2016 Toyota hatched a plan to bring the world a fun one-make series with their legendary 86 model.
The aim is to foster the talent of young up and coming drivers who do not have the dollars to race the open-wheelers circuit.

So why was I on a plane headed to Sydney? Well Toyota had arranged a special day at Sydney Motorsport Park. Everyone who attended the event was secretly hoping that Toyota would surprise us with the new Supra!
Unfortunately our dreams were not realised…

The event centered around the announcement that the Toyota 86 Racing Series was being extended until 2020!
This was great news and all thanks to a gang-buster two year program that has exceeded Toyota’s expectations.

Toyota’s 86 Racing Series started with a bang! Quickly they established the series as one of the most exciting one-make racing series Australia has ever seen!

Since 2016 the Toyota 86 Racing Series has been developing bit by bit with incremental improvements to make this series the best it can possibly be.

The affordable, grassroots motorsport series will be extended to 18 scheduled races at six tracks in four states! That’s up from the 15 races scheduled in previous years.

Neal Bates was on hand to instruct on the day and help us motorsport journalists get around the track safely. Neal has been instrumental in the setup of the 86’s suspension, handling; and full package that the drivers receive when they purchase and enter the 86 Racing Series.

So where is the new 2019 Toyota 86 hiding? No Supra? No new 86 shape? I was still hoping that Toyota would have a surprise up their sleeve.

For those who have already been racing for the last two years there is going to be no car update going forward until 2020. Toyota has confirmed that they will be staying with the 2016 shape and platform to lower the cost for entrants while keeping the playing field even.

Minor changes have been made for the 2018 season. These include a change to a Dunlop tyre that will give the cars more grip over longer races. The previous tyre they were using tended to fade quiet fast.

The other minor change is adjustable rear camber. This change was made to stop competitors complaining that some drivers seemed to have more rear camber than others.

This changes should help even up the racing and make the action even more intense! As with last year there are a host of guest drivers to keep the young ones on their toes.

These include drivers like Jonathan Webb, Leanne Tander, Warren Luff, Steve Owen and rising star Harry Bates.

This racing action will make your palms sweaty and may even give you flashbacks of the original v8 Brutes Series. One thing is for sure the racing is aggressive and fast paced.

The 2018 action starts on April 20-22 at Phillip Island and then they are off to Townsville in July. Yet the most exciting event, apart from Mount Panorama, is the awesome new race track in South Australia. This will be held at the Bend Motorsport Park at Tailem Bend in August.

The series prize pool has been increased to $150,000 with competitors finishing the year from fourth to eighth places also now sharing in the cash.

The top three will continue to receive $50,000, $30,000, and $15,000 respectively.

There are rumors on the grape vine that Toyota are running the 86 Racing Series until 2020 because that is when they may be introducing the new Toyota 86 to the world; but we will have to wait and see if this is true.

Along with the experience of driving the Racing 86 around Sydney Motorsport Park we were also given the opportunity to have some fun on the skid pan with the new 2018 86 GTS.

The Toyota 86 is truly the do anything car! Great as a daily and great on the track! It is the best choice for this one of a kind one-make series.

If you want to see more 86 Racing action make sure you keep an eye on Toyota Racing Australia for updates.
We can’t thank Toyota enough for giving us the opportunity to experience the 86 Racing Series first hand on the official 2018 press and media day for the 2018 86 Racing Series.
2018 Toyota 86 Racing Series race dates:
April 20-22 – Phillip Island
July 6-8 – Townsville
August 24-26 — Bend Motorsport Park
September 14-16 – Sandown
October 4-7 – Mount Panorama
November 23-25 – Newcastle
Thanks for reading,
Grant

#T86RS :: Sydney 500 – Last race of the season

Grant — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 11:13:02 +0000

The Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS) had its debut earlier this year and with the end of the year closing in fast it was time for the final races in the 86 Racing series for 2016.

GSS was lucky enough to be invited as a special guest of Toyota’s and get a sneaky lap around the Sydney 500 track in the 86 driven by a talented V8 Supercar driver just before the Sydney 500 was about to start.

The first thing that struck me about the track layout was its long straights that lead into small sharp corners. The Sydney 500 is basically a street course made out of concrete barriers placed around the outer perimeter of the Olympic park facility in Sydney which once held the Sydney 2000 Olympic games.

The track is fast and tight! A great circuit for the Toyota 86 Racing Series! Bringing the action closer with less margin for error while creating super close racing. This track is easy with one car but once you add 20+ cars fighting it out for the top position that’s when things get interesting.

Combining the old with the new this 86 was freshly wrapped in a classic Peter Wiliamson livery to commemorate the great history of Toyota and its racing pedigree. Toyota has been supporting Australian Motorsport since the first cars raced at Bathurst and what better way to celebrate then to put some of Peter Williamson’s famous cars on show for all the spectators at the Sydney 500. Having my own childhood memories of watching Bathurst with some of these very cars it was a great pleasure to see them up close and not behind a TV screen!

You can’t have close, competitive racing without damage; the tyre marks on the door of this 86 show exactly how close these guys are getting whilst jostling for position.

If you are a motorsport buff you will know the legendary story of this RA23 Celica and the famed axe incident at the 1981 Bathurst 1000! So great to see this piece of history in person along with many other class winning cars that Peter Williamson drove.

The 86 of Jonathon Webb was wearing the very same livery as this Peter Williamson Celica as a special tribute for the last round of the first season of the Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS).

There were plenty of things to see at the Sydney 500 including the Touring Car Masters which brings together the glory days of the Australian touring cars and an impressive line up of muscle cars.

The Sydney 500 together with Toyota Australia brings legendary drivers like Glenn Seton, Alex Davison and others to guest drive in the Toyota 86 Racing Series! One of the best things about the 86 Racing Series is the mix of old and young drivers! The mix of experience and inexperience makes for a great racing dynamic.

The Touring Car Masters event was filled with action and drama including Rusty French in the Prom Am Class blowing a power steering line just as he crossed the finish line!

There were plenty of local and international celebs doing TV spots. Kate Peck was busy interviewing an ex pro skateboarder who had made the trip all the way from America just for the Sydney 500!

The V8 Supercars were the main attraction at the Sydney 500 with the crowds eager to see the cars and big name drivers.

The street course of the Sydney 500 is rather tight and to secure a good lap time around the track most drivers nearly have to hop all the curves around the circuit.

From the pit walk along the main straight you can see how packed this event really was. Lets hope that some kids amongst the crowd catch a glimpse of the Toyota Racing Series and forge their very own way into motorsport because of this great racing series by Toyota.

“Don’t adjust your screen!” This is not some type of down hill skier that has gotten lost! It is a member of a V8 Supercar pit crew wearing head to toe safety gear.

Here you can see the mix of personality and seriousness it takes to compete in the Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS). With a concentrated look and a silly helmet you too can become a driver!

What a mess! On the first lap going into the first corner this happens… Race 2 of the weekend was abandoned with so many young and eager drivers on a tight course something was bound to happen. That’s racing! You win some and you lose some.

Exciting to watch for fans of racing but not so exciting for the teams that have to fix the damage! Racing is not cheap but this is actually one of Australia’s best entry points for up-and-coming drivers with a confirmed prize pool of $125,000.

In Race 2 there were more casualties, including Damon Strongman, who had a bit of a front end wall slap causing some damage to his steering which left him stranded on the finish line.

Guest driver Jonathon Webb; who is known for winning the Bathurst 1000 with Will Davison in 2016, was taking the drive seriously with plenty of pre-race prep before the last race of the day.

William Brown was well out in front in Race 3 and by keeping clear of the carnage and having a trouble free race he was able to easily take the win. He has been one of the most outstanding drivers in the competition running head to head with David Sieders on the overall leader board for the series.

It was a hard day at the office for some drivers with the amount of cars damaged in this round whilst also being the end of the entire first season of the Toyota 86 Racing Series.

William Brown took out the round victory at the Sydney 500 earning himself the special Peter Williamson Trophy.
The lead to an overall win for the entire Toyota Racing 86 Racing Series championship earning himself a cool $50,000 at the ripe old age of 18! He also picked up the wind for the Australian Formula 4 championship!
The Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS) is back again in 2017 and we cannot wait to see more door to door racing action from these up and coming drivers.
Confirmed racing dates (T86RS) 2017:
– (April 21–23) Phillip Island SuperSprint,
– (July 7–9) Townsville 400
– (August 18–20) Sydney SuperSprint
– (October 5–8) Bathurst 1000
– (November TBC) Newcastle 500
More info at Toyota 86 Racing Series (T86RS)
Thanks for reading ,
Grant

86 racing series – Gripshiftslide

Toyota 86 Racing Series :: On Track Until 2020

#T86RS :: Sydney 500 – Last race of the season