• Latest
  • Trending

Baypark Sprint Car up-and-comer sets sights on 2023 Toyota 86 Championship

December 27, 2022

Michelin Tyres for the New Zealand Porsche Championship

August 18, 2025

Chris White confirms highly anticipated 2025–26 Toyota GR86 campaign

August 18, 2025

SVG’s oval growth continues as he battles from P27 to P14, matching his best oval finish in the Cup Series

August 18, 2025

SS Cup celebrates 10 years since its revival — A decade of grassroots motorsport thrills

August 15, 2025
2025 - Repco Supercars Championship - QR

Hodson shows pace but battles through in tough Super2 Ipswich weekend

August 15, 2025

Bryn Jones secures first International Rally drive with PT Racing in Portugal

August 15, 2025

Wolfbrook Foundation opens 2025/26 Toyota GR86 Scholarship

August 15, 2025

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

August 15, 2025

Douglas ends season with podium, Manson scores top five in Portland USF Pro 2000 finale

August 14, 2025
2025 NEXTGEN, ROUND 2, TAUPO, NEW ZEALAND.
WORLD COPYRIGHT: TAYLER BURKE
_SAT6446.CR3

Tim Miles Memorial Trophy added to key New Zealand Formula Atlantic event

August 14, 2025

North Island Rally Series contenders ready to tackle the Dayle ITM Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel

August 14, 2025
Monday, August 18, 2025
VelocityNews
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time updates on Kiwi drivers, events and much more!
Subscribe to New Alerts
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Baypark Sprint Car up-and-comer sets sights on 2023 Toyota 86 Championship

by Matthew Sampson
December 27, 2022
in Toyota GR86 Championship
0

Sprint car up-and-comer Ayrton Hodson is in for a busy 2023 as he adds the Toyota 86 Championship to his CV.

Hodson is a familiar face at Bay Park having worked his way through the ranks from Ministocks, to Six Shooters then on to the ferocious Sprint Cars.

The youngster will be in action at Bay Park tonight with the “Bay International Superstars” event where he’ll face off against the likes of Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, NZ speedway icon Michael Pickens and American star Jonathan Allard.

Katikati-based Hodson is excited for the cross-category switch come 2023 but realises the change will present a challenge.

“Yep, it’s certainly something new but I’ve had my eye on it for a while and it appeals because of how competitive it is,” he explained as he got to grips with his Action Motorsport run TR86 during the recent Hampton Downs test days. “We’re under no illusions as to how tough this will be with most of the competitors having run Karts or other forms of circuit racing already.”

“Of course the Toyota 86 is a complete contrast to the oval cars I have driven and particularly the Sprint Cars. Those cars have absolutely loads of power (800bhp+) and limited grip but the Toyota has limited power and absolutely heaps of grip. That’s a new process for me and I’m really enjoying learning it.

“The Sprint Car is almost instinctive in terms of lines but there’s definitely a fast way and a slow way around the circuit in the 86. The engineering side is also very different because of course we cannot really get any track data out of the sprint car and an in-car camera is as far as you can go when it comes to collecting any information.

“Everyone has been really helpful getting me up to speed on that side of things and it’s exciting knowing exactly where you can be quicker in the 86 and whether you have the right braking points, throttle level and things like that. It’s really interesting for me and I can’t wait for the season to get underway.

“I’m really aiming to get up to speed as quickly as possible, aim for the occasional good result and have one eye on being the top Rookie but that’s a long way down the road.”

Hodson, who also represented New Zealand in age-group Ultimate Frisbee in Poland for the World Youth Ultimate Championships, will carry sponsors from his speedway backing into Toyota 86.

He’ll first be in action in Round 1 at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell over the weekend of January 13-15.

Tags: Ayrton HodsonBaypark SpeedwaySuper Sprint MotorSport New Zealand ChampionshipToyota 86 Championship

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.