John Penny wins Toyota 86 race in a drag race to the finish line

John Penny won the final Toyota 86 race of the day at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, in a drag race to the finish line. 

Series rookie Dion Pitt had been leading the race despite the pressure Penny was putting on him. Penny was able to get a run out of the final corner to make a drag race to the flag, denying Pitt his first win in the category. 

“We have had a good car all weekend,” Penny said after the race. 

“I tried to cool the tyres and then was able to attack for the last three laps and thankfully it came off in the race to the line. One for the old boys!”

Zac Stichbury was on pole position for the top-ten reverse grid race with Pitt alongside on the front row of the grid. Pitt got a better start off the line, the pair heading into turn one side by side, with Pitt exiting the corner in the lead. 

Penny moved into second by turn two, with Brock Gilchrist moving into third soon after. The three drivers built a gap back to the rest of the pack. 

By the end of the opening lap it was Pitt ahead of Penny, Gilchrist, then Stichbury, Marco Giltrap, Simon Evans who made quick progress through the pack, then Justin Allen, Hugo Allan and race one winner Rowan Shepherd.

After starting near the back of the top ten Evans quickly move through the field, moving into fifth behind Stichbury, with Shepheard not far behind in seventh. 

By the halfway mark there was an intense midfield battle pack, with a five-car train behind Evans, with Shepherd, Allan, Allen and Stichbury all fighting for position. 

The pack saw numerous passes and side by side racing before Evans built a small gap over the remainder of the pack late in the race. 

Pitt held a lead of a few car lengths over Penny for the majority of the race. 

Penny exited the final corner on the last lap with more momentum than Pitt letting him get the nose of the car slightly ahead at the finish line. 

“The car went off a bit on the last few laps and there wasn’t much I could do about it to be honest,” Pitt said. 

Shepherd found his way past Evans on the final lap to move into fourth behind Gilcrest in third, while Evans would cross the line in fifth. 

Hugo Allan finished sixth with Justin Allen in seventh, Marco Giltrap eighth, Stichbury ninth, and Ronan Murphy fighting back to finish tenth after starting from the back of the pack. 

The Toyota 86 field will be back out on track for two more races on Sunday.

2022 TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 – HAMPTON DOWNS – RACE 2