Exton takes control of qualifying at Hampton Downs

William Exton left the rest in his wake as he grabbed pole position for the first race at the penultimate round of the Toyota 86 Championship at Hampton Downs this morning.

In a hugely competitive qualifying session with the top twenty cars covered by a second, there were a few surprises but Exton maintained his good run of form to take pole position.

Third in the title chase, Exton will start ahead of Jackson Rooney in second and Hayden Bakkerus in his best qualifying position of the championship so far in third.

Championship leader Hunter Robb will start on the outside of the second row in fourth, just a couple of tenths of a second away from Exton’s pole position lap time.

A surprise in fifth is Australian racer Tyler Collins on his first visit to the North Waikato circuit and competing in the New Zealand specification Toyota 86 for the first time too. Alongside him on the third row for this afternoon’s race will be Justin Allen.

Championship challenger Tom Bewley left himself plenty to do in the race with seventh fastest time only, but Bewley’s race pace has been startling on occasion this season and he can be expected to make progress in the afternoon’s race.

Harry Townshend lines up alongside Bewley on the fourth row of the grid while William Morton maintained his strong testing form to bag a top ten spot in ninth alongside Tayler Bryant.

Further back Alice Buckley was top woman in 13th ahead of a returning Breanna Morris in 16th, Christina Orr-West in 17th and Summer Rintoule in 19th. John Penny – fastest of all in Friday testing – could only manage 15th in qualifying.

2023/24 Toyota 86 Championship – Round 5 Hampton Downs – Qualifying