Lee Zeltwanger completed an impressive day at Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon with victory in the first race of the weekend at the penultimate round of the Toyota 86 Trophy Series.
Lee dominated practice and qualifying at the Manawatu track before fighting off Harry Townshend by just a couple of tenths of a second in the first of the weekend’s races. Zeltwanger and his Skunkworks team are now hot favourites to win the inaugural series title.
Townshend’s strong run increased his lead in the Winter series class for Toyota GR86 runners in the Trophy Series.
Chief class rival Ajay Giddy made contact with Harry in the heat of battle for third on lap five between turns 1 and 2, swiping the tyre barriers and putting him to the back of the field. Thankfully for him, he was able to continue.
Surprise of qualifying, Nathan Grammer backed up his front row start with a podium finish for Mackenzie Motorsport, but was unable to maintain the blistering pace of the two leaders and came home four seconds behind Townshend at the flag.
CareVets Scholarship winner Corban Sprague was next up, a couple of seconds behind the impressive Grammer, and he had his mirrors full of Matt Day throughout the ten-lap race. Toby Elmiger was next up with a healthy margin over Giddy by the end.
Two more races on Sunday could see the impressive Zeltwanger take a big step towards securing the title and a pathway into the 2025-2026 Toyota GR86 Championship.
Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 3 Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon – Race 1
| Position | Car # | Driver Name | Trophy/Winter | Team |
| 1 | 22 | Lee Zeltwanger | Trophy | Skunkworks Racing |
| 2 | 73 | Harry Townshend | Winter | Mackenzie Motorsport |
| 3 | 50 | Nathan Grammar | Trophy | Mackenzie Motorsport |
| 4 | 84 | Corban Sprague | Trophy | iMac Engineering |
| 5 | 100 | Matt Day | Trophy | Dayle ITM Racing |
| 6 | 74 | Toby Elmiger | Trophy | Action Motorsport |
| 7 | 10 | Ajay Giddy | Winter | Mackenzie Motorsport |
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
