Australian Jaylyn Robotham is just two points off the lead in the 2019/20 Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship with maybe one round left to play. And that’s a big ‘maybe’. Jaylyn’s problem is that he lives in Australia and that New Zealand’s borders are closed to non-Kiwis. Is this Hobson’s Choice for the 17-year-old?
The phrase, Hobson’s choice, is attributed to a Thomas Hobson who was a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England. He would offer customers the choice of either taking the horse in his stall nearest the door or taking nothing at all. Robotham may only have one choice, to sit at home in Australia while the championship is decided in NZ.
At this stage we don’t know what will unfold, whether the championship will be called, or will it have another round sometime before the 2020/21 season gets underway?
Will the borders be opened between NZ and Australia? If so, Robotham may be caught between a rock and a hard place having to not make the journey and settling for second of third overall, or making the journey and facing the potential of sitting out two weeks of quarantine before a final round.
“We’re hoping there is going to be another round as the championship is so close for the top three,” Robotham said to Talkmotorsport. “If I have to quarantine for two weeks I probably would, but hopefully there is no border restrictions and hopefully the last round goes ahead!”
At the last round held at the NZ Grand Prix meeting at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon, his rival and overall points leader Peter Vodanovich had a dominant win in Saturday’s race and a fighting second to Robotham in the Sunday morning race. In the final feature race, Vodanovich fought a race long battle with Robotham and went on to win for at second time that weekend.
We now head into possibly one final round with three title contenders. If Vodanovich faulters and Robotham stays in Australia, Christchurch’s Jaden Ransley is poised to take the opportunity for the 2019/20 title.
First we need a confirmed date for one final round. Then Robotham needs the NZ border restrictions to be relaxed, otherwise it is Hobson’s Choice for the Australian.
Overall Points – Best Bars TR86 Championship (Top 10)
Pos. Driver Pts
1/ Peter Vodanovich 819
2/ Jaylyn Robotham 817
3/ Jaden Ransley 741
4/ Connor Adam 613
5/ Campbell Stewart 567
6/ Brock Gilchrist 489
7/ Justin Allen 474
8/ Richard Peasey 427
9/ James Wilkins 415
10/ Ryan Wood 404
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