Supercars powerhouse and championship leaders Triple Eight Race Engineering have joined with the Tony Quinn Foundation to provide the next champion of New Zealand’s Toyota 86 series with a Supercars test drive.
This incentive is the one of the most significant prizes ever offered to New Zealand motorsport competitors and a real boost for the Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship, which is about to enter its ninth season
“It’s going to be an awesome experience for the winner,” said Tony Quinn. “They will see how a top team works from the engineering and technical side to the driving side of things and of course they will have a golden opportunity to catch the eye of those in the team and learn from the best.”
In Australia, a similar series has already led Will Brown from winning the 2016 T86 championship to a full-time drive in V8 Supercars.
Roland Dane, Triple Eight Managing Director and Team Principal, said they were only too happy to assist when asked to support the Tony Quinn Foundation.
“New Zealand has a disproportionately high number of world-class drivers and it’s excellent to see so many of them enjoying success around the world in a broad range of categories. Tony’s considerable support of motorsport and the foundations of young driver development in particular is admirable and we’re very happy to support his passion through Triple Eight,” said Dane.
Dane’s star driver and current championship leader, Shane van Gisbergen, is full of praise for the initiative, himself a benefactor of a New Zealand scholarship and support from Tony Quinn along the way.
“It’s really cool to see TQ helping young Kiwi drivers with the Foundation. He’s given me a lot of support over the years and he’s an awesome person to have in your corner, so the drivers who get to be part of the Foundation are very lucky”.
“I’m stoked that Triple Eight is offering a test day to the Toyota 86 winner, I’ll definitely be there on the day to help the driver learn the car and understand the data so that they can make the most of the opportunity. I think it’s an awesome initiative,” said van Gisbergen.
The prize offer looks certain to boost the field of New Zealand’s Best Bars Toyota 86 series said Toyota New Zealand General Manager of Marketing Andrew Davis.
“We have always been focused on providing opportunities to find our next world champion and believe that the Toyota 86 category is an essential pathway in New Zealand so it’s great to have this support from the TQ Foundation.”
For New Zealand circuits owner Tony Quinn, the test with Triple Eight Race Engineering is an extension to the recently announced Hampton Downs NZ Racing Academy, which offers financial support for a driver to enter the Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship, with another package of assisted entry into the Toyota Racing Series for the FT-60 single-seater cars.
Current class title holder Rowan Shepherd says the Triple Eight test prize will be an awesome opportunity for the next Best Bars Toyota 86 class champion.
By Grant McDonald Photo Edge Photographics
