CXC Global Racing/CGR Performance driver Dylan Thomas has maintained his top-three position in the Toyota 86 Racing Series despite a challenging weekend in the second round of the series at Townsville.
Thomas qualified 21st and improved to 19th in Race 4 of the series, before sustaining significant damage in a multi-car incident on the opening lap of Race 5.
Fortunately the race was declared a non-event and the CGR Performance team worked hard to rebuild the front of the Toyota 86 in time for Race 6.
Thomas returned to the track and went on the attack, improving from 19th on the grid to 11th at the chequered flag.
“It took longer than we had hoped to find the right combination of car setup and driving technique to be competitive, and it wasn’t until the last race that we moved towards where we needed to be,” Thomas said.
“In the final race, I went on the attack as I knew I needed to score a good points haul to protect our top-three position in the series, and I was able to overtake a number of cars.
“I’m looking forward to heading to the next round at Sydney Motorsport Park, a circuit where we have a lot of experience.”
In the team’s second car, Toyota 86 Series debutant Jacob Andrews qualified 28th and improved to 24th in Race 4, but retired with engine dramas in Race 6. Nevertheless, he was still satisfied with the weekend.
“It was really good experience racing at such a high profile race meeting, and I learned a lot,” Andrews said.
“Every session I picked up something new and was able to improve, so overall it was an enjoyable weekend.”
The next round of the Toyota 86 Racing Series will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park, 18-20 August.
Toyota 86 Series – Top 10 Points
- Jimmy Vernon – 470
- Cameron Hill – 334
- Dylan Thomas – 324
- Luke King – 322
- Tim Brook – 320
- Damon Strongman – 316
- Liam McAdam – 298
- Trent Grubel – 294
- Ben Grice – 288
- Warren Luff – 272
