Peter Vodanovich has been crowned the champion of the 2019–’20 Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship, with the series today confirming it would declare the season complete in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Along with claiming one of the country’s most competitive titles, Vodanovich also wins a brand new Toyota 86 road car. In the end his margin to Jaylyn Robotham was a mere two points, with Jaden Ransley, Connor Adam, and Campbell Stewart rounding out the category’s top five finishers.
“I’m very excited to be declared the winner of the Toyota 86 Championship,” said Peter.
“After starting from behind due to mechanical issues in the first round, the team and I worked hard and finally took the lead after some great racing with Jaylyn and Jaden at Manfeild.
“It’s a shame the championship has had to be declared. Unfortunately all of us have had career issues with this pandemic. It has been an awesome series and an instrumental stepping stone for my career.
“The team worked tirelessly to achieve this goal, and I’m extremely grateful for the support base of my team, sponsors and family for making this possible. Thank you also to Toyota and all the competitors for the great competition. Finally, big thanks to Paul Morris and Norwell for all their assistance.”
The finale had been scheduled to run on September 5–6 at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Along with the added logistical issues of running an event under New Zealand’s Alert Level 2 conditions (which come into effect at 11.59pm this coming Sunday), series contender Robotham would have been unable to make it back into the country from his native Australia.
“It’s disappointing that the championship itself has ended early,” added category manager Geoff Short. “But we all felt it was the right call to declare the championship as the points currently stand and make the next race weekend one which will be a great opportunity for people to try the class out ahead of next year’s championship.
“We have plenty of positive news coming about that and we remain extremely positive about next year’s championship.”