Four scholarship cars confirmed for Toyota 86 this season
Four up and coming racers will benefit from scholarship programmes being run in the forthcoming Toyota 86 Championship.
The two CareVets Scholarship sponsored cars will be back for the 2020 Toyota 86 Championship and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand will add their support for up and coming racers by providing two further scholarship cars.
Drivers will be tested on track and off at the annual test, which this year takes place at Pukekohe Park on October 30th. At the end of the day the four winners will be confirmed.
Each winner will receive a season-long lease on one of the Toyota 86s, worth $20,000 plus GST. In the case of the CareVets Scholarship cars, additional equipment like trailers and pit lane equipment are also included in the package.
With both programmes providing a good portion of the racing budget, the four drives available are likely to be amongst the most sought after drives in New Zealand motorsport. Both offer an excellent chance of success for the drivers involved. Last season young gun Callum Hedge secured one of the CareVets drives and went on to win a closely-fought championship. Hedge was the third CareVets driver in a row to secure the title and there have been plenty of other successes for rookie drivers in the team over recent seasons.
“The CareVets programme - an initiative of company owner and motorsport enthusiast Dr Keith Houston - is one of the sport's biggest annual scholarships and also one of the longest running. With the addition of the two cars supplied by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand, opportunities for young drivers in the series ahead of next season have never been greater,” commented category manager Geoff Short.
The team driver selection for the 2019-2020 Toyota 86 Championship will be made after entrants are put through their paces on a testing and assessment day at Pukekohe that will include car set-up, timed laps and a fitness test.
The six round championship begins in Pukekohe before heading to the South Island for rounds at Highlands Motorsport Park and Invercargill’s Teretonga Park. It then moves to the North Island for the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild - Circuit Chris Amon and then onto Hampton Downs before concluding at the Virgin Australia Supercars event at Pukekohe Park in April.
Anyone interested in entering will need to send a driver CV and entry fee to Geoff Short at geoff@toyotaracing.co.nz or contact him on 021 825 911.
