Motor Sport
Auckland racer Connor Adam is first off the blocks in the chase for the 2018-2019 Toyota 86 Championship title and is highly motivated to put the disappointments of his last championship campaign firmly behind him and claim the top spot this time around.
Entries for the championship – expected to be the biggest so far for the Toyota 86 series – opened late last week and Adam’s entry under the International Motorsport banner was the first in.
Having started racing in karts at the age of just seven and with two seasons behind him already in the series, the Elite Motorsport Academy graduate is likely to be one of the more experienced Toyota 86 racers in the field this coming season. “This is my third year in the championship and by all accounts it’s shaping up to be the most competitive in its history and that makes it even more exciting for the team and I,” he explained.
“We led the championship last season of course, but then with incidents and one or two other things outside of our control, we eventually finished third. So it’s very much unfinished business. This time we are aiming to make it all stick for the full calendar and mount a very serious title challenge. That’s the goal, pure and simple. The more quality drivers we have to race the better quite frankly.”
Adam has already been testing his Post Haste, Perry Engineering and Phoenix Medcare-backed racer, running the North Island Endurance Championship one hour race at Manfeild recently and also enjoying a highly productive test day at Pukekohe Park.
“We’ve still got more work to do, but the test at Pukekohe was very productive for us. That’s important in a championship where the driver level is so competitive and there is data sharing. It’s very hard to gain any significant advantage so it’s all down to driving ability and race craft. We’ll be ready.”
The championship blasts off on November 2-4 over the V8 Supercar weekend at Pukekohe Park, includes a round at Cromwell’s Highlands Motorsport Park for the first time since 2013 and is expected to attract at least 17 of the country’s best up and coming racers. A full field of 20 cars remains a distinct possibility.
The full schedule for the Toyota 86 Championship is as follows:
- November 2-4 Pukekohe (with Supercars)
- December 7-9 Pukekohe short track (no back straight chicane)
- January 11-13 Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell (with Castrol Toyota Racing Series)
- January 18-20 Teretonga Park, Invercargill (with Castrol Toyota Racing Series)
- February 8-10 NZ Grand Prix at Manfeild, Manawatu (with Castrol Toyota Racing Series)
- March 9-10 Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, North Waikato