Elmiger again in Taupo

An eventful and closely fought race saw Toby Elmiger take his second win in the Toyota 86 Trophy Series after a dominant drive around Taupo Motorsport Park’s challenging shorter national layout.

Elmiger assumed control of the race from the start and led throughout but was never able to shake off the attentions of pole position holder Taylor Mitchell, who finished just over four tenths of a second down on the race winner after 14 laps.

A great start by Mark Mallard saw him jump from the third row to be in third place at the end of the first lap, but he couldn’t hold off a charging Riley Boswell in the closing stages, and it was Boswell who completed the podium.

In the early stages, leaders Elmiger and Mitchell traded fastest lap times as they edged out a small lead ahead of Mallard, who had his mirrors full of Nieko Scoles.

Mallard responded well to pressure from the youngster and, over the course of the fourth and fifth lap, was able to edge a few tenths ahead of the young gun.  Scoles, though, is a genuine charger, and fought back lap after lap to keep the pressure on the experienced Toyota 86 racer ahead.

At the front, Elmiger had built up a small but important margin ahead of Mitchell of half a second by the race’s halfway mark and was in control of the race.

Boswell was well into his stride by this stage too, despite a poor start that saw him drop from third on the grid to fifth at the end of the first lap. Ahead was Scoles in fourth and behind, Nathan Grammer in sixth. 

In the second half of the race, Boswell was the man on the move and the man to watch on track. He started his charge with the race’s fastest lap on lap 7 to pass Scoles and move into fourth place. Scoles also fell behind Grammer in the heat of the battle but was back past him a lap later.

Boswell’s pace was enough to get him past Mallard for third on the tenth lap and continue an eye-catching recovery drive after a poor start to the race – but his pace wasn’t quite enough to make inroads into the two leaders, who by now were three and a half seconds to the good.

At the flag, it was Elmiger, Mitchell, Boswell, an impressive Mallard, Scoles and Grammer.

Josh Hill made progress in the race too, working his way from the back past Marcel Bartley and Mitch Vye. There wasn’t too much he could do about Grammer ahead, however, and he came home just under three seconds behind.

Unfortunately for Mallard, a technical infringement led to a disqualification, elevating Scoles, Grammer, Hill and the rest up one place in the final results.

2026 Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Motorsport Park – Race 1

Header Image: Bruce Jenkins