2017 Toyota 86 Racing Series: Why is This Not in the United States Yet?
Toyota 86 Racing Series showcases Australian embrace of the 86.
Toyota of Australia sponsors the Toyota 86 Racing Series, a fantastic showcase of what the 86 can do, and was made to do. Why this doesn’t exist in the States is beyond me. So, what is T86RS?
This is a spec racing series, which means all cars are built identically. Quoting Toyota of Australia, the T86RS cars use modified FA20 engines with a custom oil pan, MOTEC ECU, and a full exhaust from the headers back. Power figures aren’t quoted, but it should be good for about 230 horsepower. From there, T86RS-spec springs and shocks and paired with larger sway bars, an AP Racing big brake kit and 18″ OZ Racing wheels shod in relatively narrow 225/40R18 Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec tires. Keen readers will notice that those are road-ready, 200-treadwear “Extreme Performance” Summer tires. Of course, a specification roll cage is required for safety while racing wheel-to-wheel.
So, the cars feature common track day upgrades, run road tires and are quoted as costing “less than $70,000AUD (~$55,000USD), ready to race.” This is like Spec Miata for the next generation, but even more relatable. Also like Spec Miata, the racing is close, and contact is a reality. A full race features 38 drivers out there battling it out. 35 of those drivers are up and coming racers, alongside 3 professional drivers brought in by Toyota to coach the rest of the field. The series is a blast to watch as drivers extract every single ounce out of the 86.
The video above features Race #1 from the Phillip Island Grand Prix race. Let’s break it down. After some nasty contact, the winner from the first T86RS race of the 2017 season, Cameron Hill, got knocked out of contention. The race announcers were keen to point out that Cameron had set the fastest lap time of race #1, showing serious potential. It wrapped up with Aaron Seton taking the first place spot. Following him was Jimmy Vernon in second place, with a 0.144 second time differential, talk about close racing. Trailing Vernon was third place finisher Trent Grubel.
Below is Race #2. The short 20 minute sprints are a blast to watch and easy to follow.
The in-car video is the absolute best, because you can see how close these drivers get. About 8:30 in to race #2, we get in-car of the cars launching off the line. Drivers go door-to-door and a mirror gets bashed in, and that’s just the first 15 seconds of the race. However, that’s nothing compared to 15 minutes in when trying to round the left-hander on to the front straight. At the top of 4th gear, drivers are sliding around the corner at almost 100MPH. Two drivers go off, hold full throttle, drifting through the gravel and slip back onto the track as if nothing happened. This balls to the walls racing!
Race #2 concludes violently, with car #24 taking a brutal crash on the final lap. The action starts around the 24 minute mark, and must be seen. From there Jimmy Vernon took the first place spot, professional race Warran Luff behind him in second and Damon Strongman in third. Over the 10 lap, 22 minute race, the total time split between these three racers is less than 1.4 seconds.
That brings us on to the final race at the Phillip Island GP: race #3.
If the still image didn’t give it away: there is contact, everywhere. At the 4:30 mark, the contact gets real with multiple cars involved and two going airborne! 10 cars ended up getting collected into the fray and it is a total disaster. To see more than 1/4 of the field taken out in one corner was shocking.
As the safety car is out, we get some delightful behind the scenes context. The announcers actually do a live interview with one of the Toyota of Australia pro drivers, Jason Bargwanna, as he’s running the track behind the pace car. The interview is surprisingly in-depth for a guy driving a race car on track. There is some precedent for hilarious in-car racing interviews in Australia, going way back.
This bad wreck ended up curtailing the third race. After some yellow flag action, it was all over. Race #3 ends up with Warren Luff in first, Jimmy Vernon in second and Dylan Thomas in third. Notice that Vernon has been all over pro driver Luff through out all three races. Way to shake up the establishment! After all three races are over, Jimmy Vernon ended up in the top spot! Right behind him is the Toyota of Australia pro driver Warren Luff. Third place belonged to Dylan Thomas. Talk abut some close racing!
The next race weekend is August 18th-20th at Sydney Motorsport Park in New South Wales. Dubbed the Sydney Supersprint, it looks to be a much tighter, more aggressive circuit. It seems a certainty that the racing will be equally tight.
