Toyota Racing Series
Encyclopedia
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New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's premier "open-wheeler" motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. The cars are also the category for the New Zealand Grand Prix
New Zealand Grand Prix
The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand first run in 1950. Currently it is the signature race of the Toyota Racing Series. It is one of only two current national Grand Prix events that are not part...
- one of only two races in the world with FIA approval to use the Grand Prix nomenclature outside Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
.
Summary
The Toyota Racing Series is an incubator and showcase for the next generations of New Zealand racing talent, the Series offers emerging drivers the chance to gain valuable experience with carbon-fibre composite chassis, aerodynamics and slick tyres.The Series has the full endorsement of Motorsport New Zealand, the sport's governing body.
Previously, the country's leading drivers had to go offshore to step up to this level. High profile graduates from the series to date includes Brendon Hartley
Brendon Hartley
Brendon Hartley is a New Zealand race car driver.-Career:Hartley was born in a family well integrated within motorsport. His father, Bryan, had raced in many forms of motorsport, most notably Formula Atlantic. At the age of six, Hartley began his motor racing career in kart racing, following his...
, now signed to race Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
for the respected Carlin Motorsport
Carlin Motorsport
Carlin, formerly Carlin Motorsport, is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It competes in four championships — British Formula Three Championship, GP3 Series, World Series by Renault and GP2 Series.-History:...
team in the UK and Earl Bamber
Earl Bamber
Earl Anderson Bamber is a motor racing driver and commentator from New Zealand.-Career:Bamber is a young rookie driver with a reputation for suffering from bouts of red mist but has demonstrated race driving talent when progressing through karts and minor single seater series, and in 2008 was...
.
For 2008, the series has also gone "green". Fuels for all cars racing in the series are now an E85 biofuel blend of 85 per cent ethanol made from whey, a dairy industry by-product; and petrol. Reduced emissions, reduced carbon "footprint" and reduced use of fossil fuels are all being showcased in this unique New Zealand programme. The 2008 New Zealand Grand Prix
New Zealand Grand Prix
The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand first run in 1950. Currently it is the signature race of the Toyota Racing Series. It is one of only two current national Grand Prix events that are not part...
thus becomes the first ever biofuel grand prix in the world.
Circuits
The current championship consists of five rounds, each comprising three races. The circuits include:- LevelsTimaru International Motor RacewayTimaru International Motor Raceway is a motor racing circuit situated about 10 minutes or outside of Timaru, New Zealand. The circuit is accessible from either the Main South Highway or Timaru-Pleasant Point Highway. It is often called Levels because of its previous name Levels Raceway...
- TeretongaTeretonga ParkTeretonga is a motor racing circuit situated south-west of Invercargill, New Zealand. It is home of the Southland Sports Car Club. The circuit was established in 1957 and said to be the southern most race track in the world...
- TaupoTaupo Motorsport ParkTaupo Motorsport Park is a motorsports circuit located in Broadlands Road, Taupo, New Zealand. It is owned and operated by MIT Development Ltd....
- ManfeildManfeild AutocourseThe Manfeild Autocourse was built by the in 1973 as a purpose built course. In 1990 extra land was acquired and the circuit extension built, bringing Manfeild up to international standards...
- Hampton Downs
Car
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to full FIA F3 specification. The cars use Michelin S308 tyres (Front 20x54x13, Rear 24x57x13) and weigh approximately 480 kg.
Points system
Each championship round consists of three races, one on Saturday afternoon, one on Sunday morning and the final on Sunday afternoon.| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 75 | 67 | 60 | 54 | 49 | 45 | 42 | 39 | 36 | 33 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Position | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th |
| Points | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
International Drivers
The Toyota Racing Series has featured international drivers since the first season when Austrian driver Walter Grubmuller came out to New Zealand. Grubmuller was competing in the Italian Formula Renault class before joining the Toyota Series.Since the first season there have been sixteen other drivers follow in Grubuller's footsteps and traveled out to New Zealand to race in the series, most of which coming from Australia.
| Driver | Class before TRS | Class after TRS | Current Class |
|---|---|---|---|
 Walter GrubmüllerWalter Grubmüller -Karting:Beginning his karting career in his native Austria in 2000, Grubmüller did not move up into the major international series until 2002, with an appearance at the South Garda Winter Cup. Competing in the ICA Junior class in 2003, Grubmüller finished seventh in the European Championship, and... |
Italian Formula Renault | Formula Renault Formula Renault Formula Renault is a class of formula racing founded in 1971. It is popular in Europe and other countries. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it is a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to Formula Three, World Series by Renault, GP2 or... |
British Formula Three |
 Hamad Al FardanHamad Al Fardan Hamad Al Fardan is a Bahraini racing driver. He is the first Bahraini to drive at GP2 Series level.-Formula BMW:... |
Formula V6 Asia Formula V6 Asia Formula Asia V6 Renault, renamed Formula V6 Asia in 2007 by Motorsport Asia, was launched in 2006 and regulated by Motorsport Asia. It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also World Series by Renault and the former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup.... |
British Formula Three | ATS Formel 3 Cup |
 Michael JohnsonMichael ryan johnson Michael Ryan Johnson is a racing driver born in Dallas, Texas.His racing career began at the age of twelve at North Texas Kartway in Denton. Johnson moved up through the karting ranks to a national level winning five United States karting national championships in the IKF and KART... |
Star Mazda Series Star Mazda Series The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is an open-wheel racecar driver development series in North America. Competitors use spec Formula Mazda race cars built by Star Race Cars. The original series, using first-generation tube-frame cars started in the early 1990s, with the current,... |
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| Jay Howard Jay Howard Jay Howard is an English professional race car driver who competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 U.S... |
US Formula Ford Formula Ford Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing.... |
Indy Pro Series Indy Pro Series Firestone Indy Lights is a developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar. Previously, another series named Indy Lights filled the same role for CART and ran from 1986 to 1993 as the American Racing Series and Dayton Indy Lights from 1991 to 2001... |
IndyCar Series IndyCar Series The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and... |
 Steffen Moller |
Formula Renault 2.0 Netherlands | Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup The Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup is a Formula Renault 2.0 championship held on Northern Europe... |
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| Ben Clucas Ben Clucas Ben Clucas is a British racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula 3 Euro Series, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Three Championship. Clucas won the 2006 Australian Drivers' Championship for Team BRM and the GT Light class of the Spanish GT Championship in 2009 with... |
British Formula Three | Australian Formula Three | Spanish GT Championship Spanish GT Championship The Spanish GT Championship is a Spanish auto racing series founded in 1999 and organised by the GT Sport Organización. The series runs multiple classes of grand tourer cars in events around Spain and Portugal... |
 Lucas Dumbrell |
Australian Formula Ford Championship Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series... |
Australian Formula Ford Championship Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series... |
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| Barton Mawer |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
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 Edoardo PiscopoEdoardo Piscopo - Formula BMW :After previously competing in karting, Piscopo began his single seater career in Formula BMW USA in 2005, where he finished fifth with three wins for EuroInternational.- Formula Renault :... |
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 is a Formula Renault 2.0 championship with a presence of many Formula Renault championships drivers. It serves as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault.... |
Formula 3 Euroseries | Champ Car Atlantic / A1GP |
| Leanne Tander Leanne Tander -Leanne Tander is an Australian racecar driver having raced cars such as Formula Ford, Formula 3 and V8 Supercars.- Career :... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
Australian Drivers' Championship Australian Drivers' Championship The Australian Drivers' Championship is a motor racing championship which has been contested annually since 1957 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport. Since 2005 this category has been Formula... |
| Tim Slade Tim Slade Tim Slade in Hornsby NSW is an Australian V8 Supercar racing driver.-Early career:Slade first appeared at a national level racing Formula 3. During the 2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship Slade in his rookie season with Team BRM he won his first race with the team making a one-off appearance at... |
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series | Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series | |
| Nathan Antunes Nathan Antunes Nathan Antunes in Sydney, Australia is best known as an Australian race car driver. Educated at Trinity Grammar School in Sydney, he has raced in a variety of classes throughout the world.-Racing career:-Junior Karting:... |
German Formula Three Championship German Formula Three Championship The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2... |
A1GP Team Australia rookie A1 Team Australia A1 Team Australia is the Australian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.- Management :The team chairman is former-Formula One world champion Alan Jones, backed by general manager and former NASCAR driver Peter Nolan... |
Toyota Racing Series |
 Kristjan EinarKristján Einar Kristján Einar Kristjánsson is a racing driver.Kristján started kart racing at 14, the age when Icelandic law allows young drivers to start racing and training in karts.... |
British Formula Three | British Formula Three | |
| Scott Pye Scott Pye Scott Robert Pye is an Australian racing driver. He won the 2010 British Formula Ford Championship.-Australia:... |
Australian Formula Ford Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series... |
Australian Formula Ford Australian Formula Ford Championship The Australian Formula Ford Championship is a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title for drivers of Formula Ford racing cars. It has been held annually since 1970, originally as a national series, and later as the 'Driver-to-Europe' series... |
Toyota Racing Series |
| William Buller William Buller (racing driver) William Buller is a British racing driver.-T Cars:After successful spells in both karting and mini stocks, Buller made his circuit racing debut in the 2007 T Cars championship; the series designed for aspiring racing drivers between fourteen and seventeen years of age... |
Formula BMW Europe 2008 Formula BMW Europe season The 2008 Formula BMW Europe season was the first season of a new open wheel racing series that resulted by the merging of the Formula BMW Germany and Formula BMW UK championships... |
Toyota Racing Series | |
| Will Stevens Will Stevens William Stevens, known as Will Stevens, is a British racing driver. He is a part of the Mercedes GP Young Driver Programme. He has competed in such series as Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championship.-External links:* *... |
Toyota Racing Series | ||
 Adderly FongAdderly Fong Adderly Fong Chun-Yu, , born March 2, 1990, is a Hong Kong Chinese racing driver. His career started in 2004.He is currently competing in the British Formula Three Championship with Sino Vision Racing.... |
Formula V6 Asia Formula V6 Asia Formula Asia V6 Renault, renamed Formula V6 Asia in 2007 by Motorsport Asia, was launched in 2006 and regulated by Motorsport Asia. It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also World Series by Renault and the former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup.... |
A1GP China rookie | A1GP China rookie |
Champions
Source:| Season | Champion | Team Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 2005 Toyota Racing Series The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier "open-wheeler" motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy... |
 Brent Collins |
Brent Collins Motorsport |
| 2005–06 | Daniel Gaunt Daniel Gaunt Daniel Gaunt, born 27 February 1985, in Auckland, is a New Zealand racing driver.-Formula Racing:After rising through the ranks of New Zealand Formula Ford, which included a third place finish in the 2002 New Zealand Grand Prix, Gaunt moved to Australia, competing in the Formula 4000 category and... |
International Motorsport |
| 2006–07 2006–07 Toyota Racing Series The 2006–07 Toyota Racing Series was the third Toyota Racing Series season. It began on 4 November 2006 at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand and ended on 22 April 2007, also at Pukekohe.-Teams and drivers:... |
Daniel Gaunt Daniel Gaunt Daniel Gaunt, born 27 February 1985, in Auckland, is a New Zealand racing driver.-Formula Racing:After rising through the ranks of New Zealand Formula Ford, which included a third place finish in the 2002 New Zealand Grand Prix, Gaunt moved to Australia, competing in the Formula 4000 category and... |
International Motorsport |
| 2007–08 2007–08 Toyota Racing Series The 2007–08 Toyota Racing Series was the fourth running of the Toyota Racing Series. The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier open-wheeler motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny... |
Andy Knight |
Knight Motorsport |
| 2008–09 2008–09 Toyota Racing Series The 2008–09 Toyota Racing Series was the fifth running of the Toyota Racing Series. The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier open-wheeler motorsport category. The Series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny... |
Mitch Cunningham Mitch Cunningham Mitchell Cunningham , known as Mitch Cunningham, is a New Zealand racing driver. He is the younger brother of Indy Lights champion Wade Cunningham.... |
Giles Motorsport |
| 2010 2010 Toyota Racing Series The 2010 Toyota Racing Series was the sixth running of the Toyota Racing Series. The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier open-wheeler motorsport category. The Series included races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme... |
Mitch Evans Mitch Evans Mitchell Evans , is a motor racing driver from New Zealand who won the 2010 and 2011 Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand and was runner up in the 2010 Australian Drivers' Championship despite missing three races... |
Giles Motorsport |
| 2011 2011 Toyota Racing Series The 2011 Toyota Racing Series was the seventh running of the Toyota Racing Series. The Toyota Racing Series is New Zealand's premier open-wheeler motorsport category.... |
Mitch Evans Mitch Evans Mitchell Evans , is a motor racing driver from New Zealand who won the 2010 and 2011 Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand and was runner up in the 2010 Australian Drivers' Championship despite missing three races... |
Giles Motorsport |