Kiwi rising star Ben Stewart made an encouraging debut in the Australian Toyota GR Cup over the weekend, showing speed, race craft and resilience across three tightly fought races at the Townsville 500 Supercars event.
Contesting Round 1 of the newly renamed Toyota GR Cup (formerly the Toyota GR86 Racing Series), Stewart lined up with the 99 Motorsport team for his first taste of Australian competition on the challenging Reid Park Street Circuit.
Stewart’s campaign got off to a tough start on Friday, with drama striking early in the opening practice session. Bent shocks limited his pace and compromised his ability to get a clean run in qualifying.
The result saw him start his first race from 21st on the grid in a bumper 33-car field.
Pole position for Race 1 went to Lachlan Evennett, with Oliver Wickham alongside. Behind them were some of Australia’s top young talents, including Declan Fraser, James Lodge, and Max Walton.
Race 1:
Despite starting on the 11th row, Stewart wasted no time getting stuck in. After slipping to 23rd in the opening corners, the young Kiwi clawed his way back through the field, making a series of impressive overtakes, including on Alice Buckley and William Seal, to climb to 16th by the chequered flag.
It was a drive full of promise, showing composure and aggression in equal measure. At the front, Fraser took the opening race win after a decisive move on Evennett, with Wickham finishing second and Evennett completing the podium.
Race 2:
Lining up 15th for Race 2 after his strong Race 1 recovery, Stewart again found himself in the thick of the action. The early laps were chaotic, with a four-wide scrap through Turns 1 and 2 and a safety car intervention after incidents involving Hugo Simpson and Byron Lutelu.
Once racing resumed, Stewart pushed forward with confidence. In the final 10 minutes, he gained positions in quick succession, working his way up to 13th after overtaking William Seal, Kade Davey, Lachlan Gibbons, and Joshua Anderson.
At the front, Fraser continued his dominance, winning Race 2 by over two seconds from Wickham and Jett Murray.
Race 3:
Starting from his best grid position of the weekend in 11th, Stewart entered the final race with momentum. However, Race 3 proved to be the most chaotic of the weekend.
Multiple incidents, including a heavy crash involving Jack Szewczuk and Shane Roberts and a separate wall-slap from Buckley, brought out the safety car and reshuffled the order.
After the restart, Stewart ran as high as 12th before being passed by Anderson and later Lincoln Taylor in the closing stages. He ultimately brought the car home in 14th, capping off a clean, hard-fought debut round.
Up front, it was James Lodge who took the race win, holding off Fraser and Wickham to seal victory in a dramatic conclusion to the weekend.
Across three races, Stewart improved on his qualifying position every time and gained valuable experience in the ultra-competitive Toyota one-make series. From a troubled start in practice to consistent forward progress in racing, his debut showed plenty of potential.
“It was a tough start to the season for me, we started on the back foot on Friday, having a difficult practice which led into a challenging qualifying where I ended up much further down the order than I expected,” said Stewart.
“Saturday was more positive. My start in the first race was a bit rusty, as I hadn’t raced in 11 months, but after that, I quickly climbed the field, making up a lot of positions.
“Race 2 was a lot like race 1, moving my way up the field, and the car had a lot of pace, and in the end, I was just outside the top 10. Going into race 3, my goal was to get well inside the top 10, but unfortunately, we struggled with pace and got shuffled back a couple of positions.
“Overall, it was a damage limitation weekend after the poor qualifying. I learnt a lot over the weekend, and it was awesome to race on a street circuit for the first time. I’m excited to head to Queensland Raceway in a few weeks, and hopefully, I can have a successful weekend like last year.
The Toyota GR Cup returns for Round 2 on August 8–10, supporting the Supercars Ipswich Super 440 at Queensland Raceway, and with his first weekend now behind him, Ben Stewart will no doubt be aiming to push even further up the grid.
Header Image: David James
