Lee Zeltwanger will be hoping for a drama-free weekend as the clock counts down to the final round of the inaugural Toyota 86 Trophy Series at Taupo International Motorsport Park this Saturday and Sunday.
Zeltwanger has been the revelation of the four-round winter series, not only matching the pace of more senior Toyota GR86 Championship runners Harry Townshend and Ajay Giddy but also leading the points battle for series honours overall with just two races remaining this Sunday.
He has a 60-point lead over his nearest challenger in the race for the highly desirable prize pool. The winner will secure not only a free lease of a GR86, supported by CareVets, but also free support from a race and championship-winning engineer and mechanic.
Second place in the championship will secure a free lease of a car from TGRNZ. Both first and second places will be responsible for other season costs. The third-placed driver will secure entry fees and tyres for a season in the 2024-25 Toyota GR86 Championship.
Corban Sprague will be aiming to sign off his winter season in style with a debut win, having improved with each outing in his CareVets Scholarship car, while Matt Day has impressed many with his speed in the TR86 and is in a well-deserved third overall in the Trophy Series points.
All of the young guns will need to have their eyes out this weekend for both Townshend and Giddy. Both have taken wins and multiple podium places in the three rounds so far and will be on the pace again this coming weekend.
They can’t win the Trophy Series prizes, which are exclusively for TR86 rookies, but they can certainly add to their tally of wins, and that is what both will be aiming to do.
Mitch Vye makes his TR86 debut this weekend at Taupo too, and it will be the first appearance in the winter series for the Right Karts Academy, which ran three cars so strongly in its debut Toyota GR86 Championship campaign last season.
If Mitch matches the form of the summer series drivers, he could be a dark horse for this final weekend.
Nathan Grammer and Toby Elmiger complete the runners and will both be hoping to finish their campaigns for Mackenzie Motorsport and Action Motorsport on a high.
Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Points after Round 3
| Position | Car # | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 22 | Lee Zeltwanger | 447 |
| 2 | 84 | Corban Sprague | 387 |
| 3 | 100 | Matt Day | 352 |
| 4 | 50 | Nathan Grammer | 315 |
| 5 | 74 | Toby Elmiger | 298 |
| 6 | 88 | Noel Simpson | 201 |
| 7 | 92 | Antal Sabo | 108 |
| 8 | 19 | Kyan Davie | 90 |
| 9 | 18 | Conley Webley | 81 |
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
