12
W
hen thinking about
motorsports in New
Zealand, the first thoughts
are for Bruce McLaren and
Denny Hulme, two men
who held their nation’s
banner very high in racing since the sixties. In
more recent times, with the exception of Scott
Dixon, the Pacific country struggled in
delivering new fresh drivers able to establish
their names at the top of the motorsports
panorama. In order to turn the situation around,
in 2005 the New Zealand federation decided to
start the Toyota Racing Series, the first single‐
make championship for young local drivers
coming from karting. The promoter decided to
join forces with Tatuus, as it was already
involved at international level with the Formula
Renault 2.0 project, for the design of a
developmental racecar respecting the FIA
Formula 3 standards. The package was then
completed by the 2zz‐GE Toyota engine, coupled
with a Sadev gearbox, and by Michelin tires. The
first TRS seasons, mainly featuring local drivers,
delivered young talents like Van Gisbergen,
currently racing in V8 Supercars, Hartley and
Van Der Drift, who then enjoyed successful
stints in Europe. In more recent times, despite
some alternate fortunes, Bamber and Stanaway
also made their way in racing. In the last three
years, the Toyota Racing Series changed its
character, becoming a training ground for
drivers aiming to keep themselves in shape in
January and February by taking advantage of the
southern summer. With low running costs and a
five‐race schedule covering five weeks and some
pretty intense weekends (each featuring five
practice sessione, a qualifying session and three
races), the “user base” also included Asia and
Europe. Many drivers joined the TRS as regulars
including Lynn, Auer, Bonifacio and Serralles, in
addition to Kvyat nel 2011, Van Asseldonk, King
and Marciello nel 2012, and Schothorst, Derani
and Mardenborough in 2013. Despite the
increasingly international nature of the
championship, the Kiwi banner was held high by
Evans and Cassidy, who won two titles each in
the last four season.
Past winners
2005 - Brent Collins (BC Motorsport)
2006 - Daniel Gaunt (International Motorsport)
2007 - Daniel Gaunt (International Motorsport)
2008 - Andy Knight (Knight Motorsport)
2009 - Mitch Cunningham (Giles Motorsport)
2010 - Mitch Evans (Giles Motorsport)
2011 - Mitch Evans (Giles Motorsport)
2012 - Nick Cassidy (Giles Motorsport)
2013 - Nick Cassidy (M2 Motorsport)
Egor Orudzhev
Steijn Schothorst
