The sky is the limit for Toyota 86 racer Dion Pitt, who continues to punch out strong results to sit third in the series heading into next weekend’s final round at Hampton Downs.
It’s been a breakthrough season for the 25-year-old Race Lab driver, who got off to a flying start in the season-opening round at Highlands in January, finishing second in both Races 2 and 3. He’s since gone on to win a round at Teretonga and a win at Manfeild, also featuring on the podium countless times along the way.
Now just one round remains, a shot at redemption at Hampton Downs following a challenging outing there earlier this season.
“Just much the same as Manfeild really,” Pitt said when asked by Velocity News how he would approach the round. “We’ve worked so hard during the middle of this season to get back to where we were at the start of the season. We had a bit of a bad round at Round 3, and we realised there were a lot of areas where we still needed to improve.
“I’ve worked hard on my mindset, and from Practice 1, we’re just going to be on it and show the pace. I want to win more races. The goal would be another round win for sure.”
“We’ve just worked away at it this season and have had a few ups and downs, but we’ve also had some huge highs. We’re looking to finish this season off strong.”
His successes this year have come as little surprise to many, Pitt having narrowly missed out on his maiden series win throughout the entire 2021/22 season. It was only a matter of time before that first win came, and when it did he was sure to make it memorable.
“My breakthrough win was at the non-championship Supercar round at Pukekohe last September,” he says. “That was my breakthrough. Last year I was beating around the bush of getting a win, but things didn’t quite go my way; there were a few issues, but getting that win at a Supercars round was incredible.
“It was massive, the number of people there. It was a bit nerve-wracking, coming over the hill every lap and seeing the sea of people. I’d never raced at an event so big; it was pretty cool, that’s for sure.”
“That was my first race meet with Race Lab, so that was mega; our first race meet together to have success just showed what we were about and what we were trying to do together as a team.
The future is bright for the Aucklander, who has shown resilience time and again to emerge near the top of one of New Zealand’s premier development competitions, following a three-year journey racing in the BMW E30 Series.
“I karted for about five years and then, due to finances, stopped for about five years. When I was 20, back in 2018, I really wanted to get back into motorsport, but I wanted to race cars.
“With more resources, I went and brought a BMW E30 to learn in the E30 series, and from there, it just progressed. I did three seasons of that and did pretty well, finishing in the top five pretty much every season.
“I’d always thought I’d wanted to do Toyota 86 because it’s a good way to progress in motorsport, and from there, I decided to step into the 86 last season,” he continued. “It went pretty well; I qualified third and got third in my first race; at that time, I was the only rookie to place on the podium on debut.”
“I got four podiums over the season and progressed. There were a few mechanical issues that didn’t really go my way, they hurt us in the championship, but taking all those lessons from last year into this year, we’ve been able to put a much more solid season together and be picked up by Race Lab as well, for their first time in 86. It’s been a big learning curve for them as well.”
Having Pitt onboard has also worked wonders for Race Lab, their driver immediately showcasing the opportunities on offer through the Race Lab Drivers Academy.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure, having Dion on the team for his first season as a driver in the Race Lab Drivers Academy,” says team Marketing Manager Levi Gould. “Dion stood out to us with his determination and ambition from the beginning.
“Throughout the season, Dion has done nothing but continue to make us proud, taking the trials and tribulations of racing into his stride and using the challenges that come with it all to grow and motivate him further. He’s shown incredible growth in both his driving skills and mindset through the guidance of his driving coaches and engineers in the Academy.
“Dion has a particular gift, like a diamond in the rough, where his passion and eagerness to learn more and consistently improve are traits that we believe will take him further than he could ever imagine. He is truly one to watch.”
It’s widely known that the cost of motorsport is no easy challenge to overcome, with Pitt having had to stretch the budget to make it to the last round at Manfeild. The same issue is presented again for the final round at Hampton Downs. However, the team are confident additional support will be found in time.
From there, Pitt plans to move forward into a national GT series, with the scene appealing to him through the range of opportunities available.
“Either the Endurance or GT New Zealand Championship is what I’d be targeting,” Pitt says. “To get that experience in those sorts of cars and then look past that to see if I can move overseas to race, that’s the pathway I want to take, and that’s the pathway Race Lab intends to take. That’s the whole point of them starting this driving academy that they did at the start of the season, which was to help create young talent profiles to move forward in their motorsport career.
“Having these GT cars in New Zealand is definitely a good step from 86 to get that experience.”
While still in its early days, the Race Lab Drivers Academy is well on the way to introducing some of New Zealand’s stars of tomorrow into the wider world of motorsport by bridging the gap between developmental and established classes.
“Our goal with the academy is to offer incredible drivers like Dion a platform to help them further pursue their dreams in Motorsport,” says Gould. “We want to provide drivers with strong team support to guide them towards accomplishing their goals and to assist with building the foundations that will later open doors to further opportunities throughout their careers.”
“The plan is to continue to grow the Academy by bringing more up-and-coming drivers on board in the seasons ahead. There is so much talent out there that deserves the opportunity to achieve their dreams, and we look forward to being able to continue playing a part in making that happen.”
The final round of the Toyota 86 Championship takes place at Hampton Downs on May 5-7.
