CareVets Scholarship driver Taylor Mitchell will be back with his team for a season in the Bridgestone GR86 Championship after a champion’s drive in the final race of the weekend at Manfeild secured him the 2026 Toyota 86 Trophy Series.
Nathan Grammer won an excellent race with Mitchell in second and Josh Hill third. Main title rival Nieko Scoles fought as hard as he could but his sixth place at the flag wasn’t enough to deny Mitchell the title spoils.
“I’m speechless,” said Taylor afterwards. “I knew what I had to do and I drove as hard as I could and to get second overall in that race after the last two races was more than I had hoped.
“It’s just great to win the Trophy and I am excited about what is to come with the team and a season in the main championship.”
As the Trophy Series winner Taylor secures a ride in the CareVets Scholarship GR86 for the 2026-2027 Bridgestone GR86 Championship with the car, engineer and mechanic costs all taken care off. He also receives a $10K cash injection from Crème Insurance.
The race itself was another thriller as Elmiger made the best job of the first lap to emerge in the lead. He was closely followed by Grammer, another to make a good getaway.
Pole position holder Hill was next up, but the big mover had been Mitchell who moved from seventh to fourth ahead of both Riley Boswell and Scoles during the opening lap.
While Grammer and Elmiger cleared off at the front of the field, all eyes were on the battle for the Trophy title behind. Hill held on to a solid third until the sixth lap when some serious moves amongst the pack at the first turn saw Mitchell come through to third, ahead of Hill, Boswell and Scoles.
It all settled down somewhat until Elmiger ran wide at the infield hairpin on the ninth lap and was delayed long enough to let the title battlers through. He was able to rejoin in fifth. The way was clear for both Grammer and Mitchell to come home first and second.
There was some consolation for Scoles who won the Winter Series class, but the big prize went to Mitchell.
Carevets Scholarship boss Keith Houston was first to congratulate him and already looking forward to being part of the next stage of Taylor’s motorsport career, commenting: “It’s nice having Taylor going from this rung of the ladder to the next.
“He’s done very well indeed today and we’re all looking forward to seeing how he goes in the Rookie class of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship next season. It was very close today, Nieko ran some brilliant races, and it was an exciting race.”
Runner up in the Trophy Series as well as winner of the Winter Series, it wasn’t a bad day’s haul for Scoles. He secures a lease car for the Bridgestone GR86 Championship while third place Boswell wins the prize of GR86 entry fee and tyres for the season.
For the top three Winter Series runners, all secure tyres for Bridgestone GR86 Championship campaigns. Three sets to the winner, two for the runner up and a set for third place.
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