• Intense competition as Toyota Racing Series field heads for Manfeild
• Thomlinson: 2010 Championship field has raised the benchmark
• Bamber’s 2008 lap record under threat

Toyota Racing Series category manager Barrie Thomlinson says a new lap record will be the admission price for drivers hoping to win the New Zealand Grand Prix this weekend. The weekend’s patchy weather forecast, in turn, is the key to the lap record.

“If it’s fine, I think more than one of our racers will step below the lap record at Manfeild, in fact I think that is how we will see the Grand Prix title won. There’s a group of racers who will dip under the record; the winner will most likely step onto the podium from that group,” he said.

Weekend forecasts predict afternoon showers today but mainly fine for the Grand Prix at 2.20 pm tomorrow afternoon.

With Wanganui driver Earl Bamber’s 2008 benchmark of 1:03.820 unofficially smashed in early testing for this weekend’s Grand Prix, Mr Thomlinson says there are up to four racers contesting this final round of the TRS international series who can re-set the mark and put themselves in consideration for the Grand Prix win.

“The speed and intensity of competition in this year’s championship has stepped up far beyond what we have seen in previous years. Already this year we have seen lap records broken over and over, lap records set at stunning new venues like Hampton Downs, and our young racers have brought white-hot race action to every on-track session and race in the series.”

Championship leader Mitch Evans, key local rivals Earl Bamber and Andrew Waite and more recently Richie Stanaway have all pushed the pace and intensity of racing in this year’s championship, helped by the speed of international racers including NZ Motorcup winner Sten Pentus (Estonia) and Lucas Foresti.

Evans led the timesheets in the first test session yesterday, posting a 1:04.150 at the end of the session. Cars were hitting 200 km/h on the front straight, and only .658 seconds covered the whole field.

Thursday’s test sessions saw times go unofficially under the race lap record.

The first session was slow in the wet conditions, Stanaway fastest on 1:10.725. In the second test session, on a circuit drying after heavy rain, times started in the same bracket. Once the cars had created a dry line around the track, times tumbled.
Evans, Andrew Waite, Earl Bamber, Sten Pentus and Richie Stanaway all moved to the fast end of the timesheets, with Evans, Bamber and Stanaway all dipping into the 1:03 time bracket.

It was Evans, though who completed the session with a 1:03.610, Bamber close behind on 1:03.858. Bamber’s time was just .038 outside his official race lap record.

Mr Thomlinson says the Grand Prix will also crown this year’s TRS International Series winner. A new format sees the international series up for grabs at this weekend’s fourth round, while the Toyota Racing Series continues for one further round at Taupo March 19-21.

“We have worked hard on the format of the International Series this year, and as a result have attracted some seriously fast guys from overseas. In addition, our local drivers have responded to the challenge in superb style, delivering exciting, spectacular race action at every track. So the question that remains now is: will it be a Kiwi or an international driver who take the series win this year?”

Foresti is the 20th international driver to contest the Toyota Racing Series.

Today the TRS cars have back to back qualifying sessions to decide grid positions for the week’s three races. At 5.45 pm the cars are on track for the first Championship race of the weekend, the 20-lap Dan Higgins trophy.

On Sunday, the on-track action starts at 11.40 with a 12 lap race, followed in the afternoon at 2.20 pm by the New Zealand Grand Prix. By 3.00 pm the newest name to be inscribed on this historic trophy will be known.