Toyota GR86 Championship R5: Allen lucks in to win Race 1 at Hampton Downs

Justin Allen became the only driver in this year’s inaugural Toyota GR86 Championship to clock up three wins so far with a fortunate win after race leader Josh Bethune hit problems late on.

Cooper Barnes finished just over a second behind after a quiet race for the top three, while Bethune recovered to take the final step of the podium.

There was some consolation for the rapid Right Karts By M2 Competition driver, however, as his third place closed the gap on championship leaders Hayden Bakkerus and Hugo Allan.

At the start, Justin Allen got away best and held the lead for much of the first lap until Bethune sped by over the start-finish line to begin the second lap.

Hugo Allan – second in the championship – made a good initial getaway but slowed momentarily and was swamped by the first few cars, settling down into sixth. Crucially for his championship challenge though, he was still ahead of series leader Bakkerus, who sat in eighth.

There was plenty of early action as the drivers hustled for positions, but it was quieter amongst the leaders. Barnes had settled into third, while Zach Blincoe had made a good getaway to take fourth ahead of Harry Townshend. 

Harry’s top five was short-lived, though, as Allan found a way by lap four to get himself back into the leading group and increase the numbers between him and Bakkerus. Mason Potter was proving to be a thorn in the side of Hayden’s progress, going very well in seventh and closing on the cars ahead.

Further back, Cameron Hill did very well in recovering from significant contact with the wall on the exit of the first turn after he and Thomas Mallard touched during their battle for 17th.  Townshend then suffered a setback on the seventh lap when he hit gearbox problems and dropped back to 13th, promoting Potter and Bakkerus to sixth and seventh, respectively.

At the front, patient Bethune increased his lead to almost a second, and it looked like Allen could do nothing. On the last lap, though, Bethune went for a gear that wasn’t there and was quickly passed by both Allen and Barnes. 

On the podium, Allen acknowledged Bethune had the measure of him. Still, he was delighted to take the race win after a tough month rebuilding the NAPA Autoparts car after it was heavily damaged at the previous round at Highlands.

“I’ll take that any day of the week,” he said.

“Huge thanks to the team and all the sponsors. It’s very important to thank them after a race like that. It’s been a tough month to get here to get the car immaculate again, and it’s great to get the win. That one’s for all of them.”

Allan cemented a solid recovery after his bad start with fourth, closing the gap on Hayden Bakkerus to just 31 points.  Potter bagged one of his best season results with fifth after passing Blincoe. Zach was sixth ahead of Bakkerus, Arthur Broughan, Chris White, and Jett Murray in the top ten.

2024-2025 Toyota GR86 Championship – Round 5 Hampton Downs Race 1

Header Image: Jessica Barnes/Blissful Photography