I was lucky enough to be at Pukekohe two weeks ago for the first round of the Best Bars Toyota 86 championships and several other great New Zealand championships. It was a superb weekend of racing live on Sky Sport. While it ended with a rain-curtailed V8 race, it really was a great showcase for the past, present and future of New Zealand motorsport .
The Enzed Central Muscle cars was a vivid look at the racing of yesteryear, with Angus Fogg gleely hooning around the track at ease in his 1970’s Back and Gold Ford Mustang dominating the weekend and winning one of the four races by over 15 seconds.
In the first round of the Toyota 86s, we were treated to a trans-Tasman tussle that may rage on all season between two great young drivers. Friends, for now, teammates Jaydon Ransley from Christchurch and Jaylyn Robotham of Victoria, Australia.
Both 17-year-olds raced hard and fair all weekend with a craft beyond their years. When they weren’t in the cars, they could be seen running around the paddock throwing a rugby ball to each other and generally having fun, setting up what should be a great season ahead for them both and for those of us watching.
Then there was the Formula First championship. An absolute joy to be around and some brilliant four and five-way finishes by the up and coming stars of New Zealand motorsport. I can understand now why so many great professional racing drivers have come from this special series, which has a great culture of nurturing young talent and allowing them to grow into mature racers at such a young age.
So it was somewhat poignant and fortuitous that I finished my weekend with an interview with a young man who epitomizes all the above and is very much a product of this nurturing New Zealand motorsport culture.
Liam Lawson was home after a very important and successful year abroad, racing in two championships and finishing his year with an excellent rookie appearance at the Macau Grand Prix. One of the most challenging and prestigious races for aspiring F1 hopefuls.
When he left New Zealand in February, he had just turned 17-years-old. He’d won the 2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series and the New Zealand Grand Prix in his first attempt and was rewarded with a chance to become a member of the prestigious Red Bull Junior team. He then headed to Europe to compete in the FIA F3 and the Euroformula Open Championships. He scored two podiums in F3 and was runner up and top rookie in the Euroformula Open.
All this has made him the top-rated 17-year-old driver in the world according to driver database.com.
Now he was back home at a race track in New Zealand for some well-earned R&R and to pick up the supreme Sportsperson of the year at a gala event in Counties Manukau that evening.
When we met, I’d just watched another barn-storming Formula First race with a four-way battle all the way to the line between several teenagers about the same age as Liam.
LAWSON:
“It’s really really cool to come home and watch as it’s the first time I’ve been back to Pukekohe since leaving, so it nice to see all my old friends who I used to race against here who are all still competing. Especially in Formula First, as its some of the best wheel to wheel racing you’ll see in any class.”
Despite his excellent year, Liam was quite self-critical of his own final race of the year at Macau where he was seventh in his rookie attempt at the Grand Prix. His teammate at MP Motorsport and fellow New Zealand Grand Prix winner, Richard Vershoor, taking out the win.
LAWSON :
“MP as a team had a much better weekend at Macau and Richard obviously did a great job. I’m really happy for him, but for us, we had the speed all weekend but we didn’t quite convert it into results. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying where I had one clear lap to deliver and didn’t quite do it while on the other laps I just hit traffic.
“The main race was good and we got in the top ten, but Macau is all about qualifying well and while it was a good experience, it’s really nice to be home. I hope to give it a go again next year.
“It’s been a whirlwind year, that’s for sure, as it all came together late. To be signed by Red Bull was incredible for me, but then I was thrown into the deep end a bit with two championships. I definitely learned a lot this year and it has been a really good experience.
“It looks like we will do another season of FIA F3 but I’m not sure which team. Stuff like that we are still working on but I’d love to have another crack at it.”
So now he’s home, the obvious question would be whether he is defending his Castrol Toyota Racing Series title?
He smiled but wouldn’t be drawn on it.
Lawson:
“I’m not sure yet, we are still working on it, but I’d love to race at home again. Obviously it would be really really cool. Even if I’m not racing I’ll be at most rounds to watch.
“It’s going to be really exciting with the new car (FT60) and a really strong grid from Europe. With more Super License points up for grabs, it’s going to be very competitive. Also, with New Zealand teams pairing up with European teams, it should be a really strong championship.
“The car is a really big deal as the chassis is used in four or five different championships around the world and that’s what has attracted such a strong field.
One thing I’m sure of, is that if Liam does race and defend his title it will have a huge impact on the series and an even bigger impact for New Zealand motorsport.
The audacious motto for the series Is “Finding New Zealand’s next World Champion.” It is a bold statement for any company or series to put out, but one that is already starting to look not just plausible, but achievable.
Putting Bamber’s and Hartley’s achievements aside as world endurance champions, the hope is for a future Formula One title winner.
In Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson, that possibility of finding New Zealand’s next World Champion is very real. Marcus is well on his way as both a Ferrari Academy driver and now one step away from Formula One with the top F2 team ART Grand Prix. Marcus has had an excellent year funishing runner up in the FIA F3 Championship for Prema.
He is really showing strong signs of being the next George Russell or Alex Albon. His Macau weekend was not helped by a crash in qualifying when he was certainly on form to be one of the favorites to win. That said, he kept his head down and foot flat and still finished in the top ten.
Since then, a F2 test at Abu Dhabi has marked him out as a contender for the 2020 championship when compared to the rivals he’ll be racing which includes Mick Schumacher and Dan Ticktum.
As for Liam Lawson, if he does take up the mantle of defending his TRS title in a few weeks time, then I urge you to head to one of the five race weekends or tune in live on Sky Sport.
Liam was stunning to watch last year in the series and this season he returns as confident, accomplished and a very fast teenager with Red Bull behind him. He’s racing for international FIA Super License points and a chance in the next two years to qualify to race or test for the Toro Rosso team and eventually Red Bull F1 Racing itself. High stakes indeed, but there is nothing in his meteoric rise that makes me doubt that he and Marcus can make it all the way and fulfill Toyota’s mantra.
So get out this summer and come join us on the North and South Island circuits starting at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell 18/19 January. Come and watch both the TRS and TR86 championships. You just might see a future world champion and who knows, he or she could well be a Kiwi.
See you there.
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