Title the focus for Gilchrist
Experienced Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship racer Brock Gilchrist believes his fourth campaign in the highly competitive category in 2021-2022 will be his strongest yet.
Gilchrist – still just 18 - has made steady improvements since he entered the category as a youngster three years ago and has finished fifth, sixth and fourth respectively in his previous three championship campaigns.
Last season, however, saw him take a breakthrough win at the final round at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo and the Auckland racer says winning more races and challenging for the title is all that he is focussed on.
The unprecedented prize package that also includes a V8 Supercar test with Triple Eight Race Engineering courtesy of the Tony Quinn Foundation is only adding to his desire to win.
“My goal this year is to try to grab as many race wins as possible and to take out the championship and win the dream Supercars test,” he said. “It’s a clear pathway and I’m sure every driver in the championship can sense the opportunity.
“My confidence in both my team and car has grown, which allows me to drive the car harder. I also attended the NZ Elite Motorsport Academy this year and that has helped me to understand the other aspects of the sport, like recognizing and appreciating the importance of nutrition.
“Knowing all the tracks and having a strong relationship with my engineer will also both be advantages, so overall yes, I think we can have our strongest ever push for the title.”
Brock’s championship challenge for 2021-2022 will be supported by CareVets, Nexus Logistics, Sentinel Homes, Albany ITM, RFL - Reliable Foundations and he will be back in the car in which he won his debut race at Taupo.
The 2021-2022 Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship begins at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park over the weekend of November 12-14 before a short trip to Pukekohe Park three weeks later over the weekend of December 3-5.
After the Christmas break the teams and drivers will head south to Cromwell for the Highlands weekend on January 14-16 and then move 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 before the season finale at the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park, Taupo on March 25-27.
