After six years behind the wheel of a V8 Ute, Mike ‘Buzz’ Lightfoot has taken the plunge and will spend the 2015/16 season behind the wheel of at Toyota TR86.
Lightfoot was a multiple race winner in the V8 Ute series and also finished as high as runner up in the championship standings.
With the support of SEW-Eurodrive, Lightfoot will make his debut in the one-make series at the opening round of the series, which runs as a support class at the ITM500 V8 Supercar meeting on November 6-7.
The series then continues to Hampton Downs (Nov 28-29), Ruapuna (Jan 16-17), Teretonga (Jan 23-24), Manfeild (13-14 Feb) before finishing up at Taupo on March 26-27.
Going from a 1.8 tonne V8 Ute with an intermediate tyre to the TR86, well known for its handling capabilities as opposed to its outright power will require an adjustment of driving style but is something that has already impressed Lightfoot and he looking forward to adapting to a new style of driving.
The different vehicle dynamics also leads to a different style of racing, with Lightfoot looking forward to mixing it up with some up and coming stars of the sport.
“I’m massively excited about getting behind the wheel at Pukekohe and trying a new form of racing, it’s a really exciting opportunity,” says Lightfoot. “I’m really, really impressed with the handling of the cars, but the competition is going to be very tough with lots of great young talents to take on.”
The ITM500 sees the Toyota Finance 86 Race Series contesting qualifying on Friday, before three races across Saturday and Sunday.
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