Pitt brings Toyota field to 20
Former karter and BMW E30 competitor Dion Pitt is the latest young Kiwi racer to sign up for the Toyota 86 Championship and brings the impressive field to 20 cars so far.
The promising 24 year old Auckland racer was runner up in the E30 series last season and is targeting rookie honours with Action Motorsport in the biggest ever Toyota 86 Championship.
Pitt started karting in 2009 at 11 years old and raced at national level until the end of 2013. In 2018 he decided to return to the sport and to try his hand at circuit racing. In three years in the BMW series he has finished in seventh, third and second place overall. That impressive run included wins, podiums and lap records in the competitive class.
“I had always dreamt of giving circuit racing a go and it was great to get back into motorsport after five years away,” he said. “I have always followed the Toyota 86 Championship quite closely and knew it would be a good opportunity to step up from club racing to a national championship that is quite cost effective for the exposure involved. What caught my eye is the how competitive the championship is and I love close racing.”
Dion has not been able to test the Toyota 86 due to Covid restrictions, but is keen to get some serious mileage in when the championship contenders converge on Hampton Downs for the championship’s official media day, followed by official testing over the weekend of December 18-19.
“It’s going to be a busy weekend but I’ll be fully focussed on getting the most out of it,” he added.
“I want to come away from the season with the rookie championship and a top three overall placing. It’s going to be challenging as the deal to race came together late on and I’ll have to learn both of the South Island tracks but I’m going to give it my best shot, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Dion’s campaign when the season begins in January will be supported by Ultra Interiors, Capri Construction, Timberworld, Robert Cunningham Construction, Trade Direct, Korok, Auckland Insulation and his grandparents!
After the Highlands Motorsport Park opener on January 14-16, the championship moves to Christchurch for the Ruapuna weekend on January 21-23. Three weekends later it’s back to Hampton Downs on February 11-13 for the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting. Pukekohe now shifts from its early December date to March 4-6 to become Round 4 before the category heads to the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo on March 25-27. The season concludes at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park over the weekend of April 22-24.
