Boxer Match: Toyota 86 Racing Series Kicks Off Down Under

by Steph Willems

May 23rd, 2016 12:18 PM

boxer match toyota 86 racing series kicks off down under

It beats hooning your mom’s Honda Odyssey.

A teenager took the top spot in the first three races of the Toyota 86 Racing Series this past weekend, beating back the 38 entrants in the fledgling event.

Former kart champion Cameron Hill’s win is exactly what Toyota had in mind when it crafted the three-year series. Designed as an entry point for up-and-coming drivers, the series pits up to five professional drivers against a field of amateurs, with training being top of mind. (Though a $125,000 prize pool sweetens the deal).

The Australia-only series (part of the support program at various rounds of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship) fields manual transmission [s]Scion FR-S[/s] Scion (remember them?) got the axe, as Toyota sold the “Toyobaru” as the 86 in overseas markets since the get-go.

In North America, the Scion FR-S badging hits the dumpster this August.

#Aftermarket #Australia #Performance #Racing #Toyota #Toyota86 #Toyota86RacingSeries

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Threeer on May 23, 2016

So maybe 20 years from now we'll be watching clips of these on our Visu-Implants instead of the VW Rabbit racers running around on that Youtube clip a few days back. And I'm guessing that any hope of civility and self-moderation on TTAC has now officially gone out the window...

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- Art Vandelay on May 23, 2016
  
  Dude I'm on my 5th Old Fashioned in a Hot Tub in Romania so My civility is long gone.
  
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- Art Vandelay on May 23, 2016
  
  @Art Vandelay And if anyone is going to ban me I demand the old school Dunce cap avatar as I have been here long enough that I think I'm entitled to it!
  
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- 5280thinair on May 23, 2016
  
  "The TTAC Law" as stated in this site's FAQ ("First to get rude loses the argument") is more honour'd in the breach than the observance by some, sadly.
  
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- 05lgt on May 23, 2016
  
  @Art Vandelay Quick, before you get banned; tell us a drunken Romanian Hot Tub tale of tails.
  
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NeilM on May 23, 2016

Some of the most entertaining racing around involves relatively slow cars, such as Spec Miata.

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- Big Al from Oz on May 23, 2016
  
  NeilM, Especially if the formula is quite strict. It will be talent that wins, not just dollars.
  
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RobertRyan on May 23, 2016

Getting back to the actual article, before all the trolling takes you from it. Toyota 86 one make series started in New Zealand, now getting traction in Australia. They outsell the Mazda MX-5 in Australia by a considerable margin

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- Big Al from Oz on May 23, 2016
  
  RobertRyan, At work we have around 4 sitting in the car park of around 100 vehicles. The complex where I work has at least 15-20 of these vehicles, both Scoobie Do's and Tee'ota's. I only have seen a few MX5s/Miatas. Young guys seem to own the 86'es and older farts drive the Mazdaratti's.
  
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Big Al from Oz on May 23, 2016

The formula should provide for some tight racing among the newcomers. I do think the 86 would be an ideal cheap toy/race car for a small twisty track. On top of the 70 grand you will have to have cash to attend the meets. So this is still out of range for the average Billy Bloggs on the street unless he can find a sponsor.

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