Toyota 86 Trophy Series R2 Taupō: Giddy storms to Race 1 victory

Qualifying:

Ajay Giddy started from pole position for the first race of the second round of the Toyota 86 Trophy Series at Taupo today, but it was newbie Antal Sabo who caught the eye with a superb front row starting spot on debut.

Giddy – who swapped cars after some problems with his regular chassis on Saturday – hit the front after the drivers had completed their first flying laps, his 1 minute 42.491 a full eight tenths and more head of fellow Toyota GR86 Championship rival Harry Townshend.

Ajay was quickest in the very cold first practice session of the morning with a very fast lap in the low 1-minute 42-second bracket before going even quicker in qualifying.

He was immediately put under pressure, however, by series debutant Antal Sabo, who went 1 minute 42.07 to briefly go fastest before Giddy stopped the clocks at 1 minute 41.977.

The youngster was delighted to be fastest overall and for the Winter class, although Sabo heads the Trophy class heading into the first race later this morning.

“It wasn’t ideal swapping over cars, but this one is very quick, and the team did a great job to get us up to speed quickly from the start of practice. It’s always good to get pole position,” Giddy said afterwards. It was his first pole position in Toyota 86 racing.

Round one sensation Lee Zeltwanger left his run until late in the qualifying session and recorded a 1 minute 42.266 – a tenth off Sabo – to take the inside slot on the second row of the grid.

Townshend bagged a personal best on his second flying lap with a low 1-minute 42-second lap, but it wasn’t enough to shift Giddy and the impressive Sabo from the front row.

CareVets Scholarship winner Corban Sprague was next up in fifth ahead of Nathan Grammer, with Matt Day and Toby Elmiger locking out the fourth row of the grid, leaving Noel Simpson at the back, though the experienced racer had missed Saturday’s two practice runs.

Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Qualifying:

Race 1:

Ajay Giddy converted pole position to his first race win in a Toyota 86 this morning at the second round of the Toyota 86 Trophy Series at Taupo, but he didn’t have it all his own way.

Giddy was beaten off the line by series newcomer Antal Sabo, who started alongside him on the front row of the grid.

Antal made the best start in his RaceLab Academy entry and led confidently around the first lap, but Ajay had him under pressure quickly, and Sabo’s lack of race experience showed when he went into Turn One too quickly on the defensive line, went wide on the exit and allowed the front runners through.

Giddy never looked back and raced away from a chasing Harry Townshend and Lee Zeltwanger to score maximum points in the Winter class for drivers who raced in the main Toyota GR86 Championship, while Zeltwanger extended his Trophy class lead with another classy podium result.

Townshend put in a solid drive for another second place, resisting pressure from Zeltwanger before edging away by a few car lengths in the final couple of laps.

Race victory, however, belonged to Giddy, who remains not only the youngest driver in Toyota 86 racing in NZ and the youngest to win a race but also one of the country’s youngest and most promising rising stars.

“That’s great to get the first win, and after Antal made his mistake, it was just a question of me not making any either. The car was very good, though,” said a delighted Giddy afterwards.

Sabo showed plenty of speed, but a similar mistake at turn one later in the race, defending his fourth position, pushed him back to sixth in the overall results behind CareVets Scholarship racer Corban Sprague and DAYLE ITM driver Matt Day.

Action Motorsport duo Toby Elmiger and Noel Simpson finished seventh and eighth, while Nathan Grammer completed the runners in ninth – making it to the chequered flag despite having a slow puncture.

Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Race 1:

Header Image: Bruce Jenkins