Toyota 86 Racing Series sets brown on track for racing career
Feb 27, 2017 By Toyota Australia.
Just one year after its inception the Toyota 86 Racing Series has proven
its potential as a breeding ground for Australian motorsport talent, with
2016 season champion Will Brown securing a drive in the Dunlop Super2
series.
The Toowoomba teen will make his debut in Super2 for leading team Eggleston
Motorsport at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, and has the Virgin Australia
Supercars Championship firmly in his sights.
Underpinned by a straightforward and relatively affordable technical spec,
the Toyota 86 Racing Series provides the perfect platform for competitors
to develop their skills and gain exposure in the hope of progressing up the
motorsport ladder ? to Supercars or an international career.
Brown?s successful 2016 also included a Formula 4 Championship and being
runner-up in another top level open-wheel formula. Since accepting his 86
Racing Series championship trophy, Brown scored a class win with team mates
Keith Kassulke and Rod Salmon in the MARC category at the 2017 Bathurst 12
Hour.
Brown credited his upwards trajectory to the one-make series.
?I?m really excited about this move. It?s what I?ve always wanted to do.
?The Toyota 86 Racing Series is a one-of-a-kind. I have told anyone who?s
asked how good it is. It?s an affordable championship and it?s on the
Supercars calendar. It?s a great category to help you step up to a
professional drive and has great exposure.
?My overall goal is to race V8 Supercars. It?s hard to make it in
motorsport. You have to do something to stand out these days. With such a
large grid you really notice who is up front, and with pro-drivers in the
field it boosts awareness of the class of driver in the 86 series.?
Will?s father Shane said the series was instrumental to Will securing his
opportunity with Eggleston Motorsport in Dunlop Super2.
?Without the Toyota 86 Racing Series I doubt we would have got to Super2.
It gave Will access to the world stage. When the series raced at Bathurst
and Will was doing well, I started getting phone calls. That?s where the
Egglestons first contacted us.?
?There?s no other category like it in Australia. Previously there was a
real lack of a class like this. It?s professional, credible and it?s on the
world stage. If you do a good job you will get recognised.?
The five-round 2017 Toyota 86 Racing Series begins with the Phillip Island
SuperSprint from April 21 to 23.
The Toyota 86 Racing Series
The Toyota 86 Racing Series is designed to provide an entry point and
training ground for up-and-coming drivers, offering a confirmed prize pool
of $125,000.
Open to variants of Toyota?s cult-classic sports car, the series is part of
the support program at selected rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars
Championship.
In 2017 the Toyota 86 Racing Series will run over five events: Phillip
Island SuperSprint (April 21?23), Townsville 400 (July 7?9), Sydney
SuperSprint (August 18?20), Bathurst 1000 (October 5?8) and Newcastle 500
(November 24?26).
For regular updates and more information go to
toyota.com.au/86/racing-series.
Toyota motorsport:
In 2017, Toyota marks the 60th anniversary of its first international
motorsport entry (and the first by a Japanese car manufacturer), when it
contested the 1957 Round Australia Trial. This is why many people consider
Australia to be the birthplace of Toyota motorsport. Today, Toyota contests
the FIA-sanctioned World Rally Championship (WRC), World Endurance
Championship (WEC) which features the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the
gruelling Dakar Rally. Closer to home, the Toyota 86 Racing Series seeks to
develop the talent of tomorrow as Australia?s premier grassroots
circuit-racing category.