DownLow_Iss05

The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

2018

Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Champion

The fight for the Championship was brought down to the last race, last lap of the
New Zealand Grand Prix. The Russian ace, Robert Shwartzman, is the 2018
Castrol Toyota Racing Series Champion.

Issue 05—February 2018

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Content

Stories of Round 05

Bob McMurray, Toyota Racing New Zealand Ambas-

.sador, tells us the stories from the Paddock

Behind the Scene

Meet with the Toyota Racing New Zealand
Crew.

Behind the Scene

Meet with the Giles Motorsport Crew.

Round 05 Results

Points and Standings after Round 05

Trophy and Track

All about the New Zealand Grand Prix
History

Best Shot of the Week

Bruce Jenkins, Official Castrol Toyota
Series Photographer, provides his best
Shots of the Week

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Stories of U

Bob McMurray, Toyota Racing New Zealand Ambassado

~ Thursday ~

We have a new member joining the Castrol Toyota Racing
Series for the New Zealand Grand Prix weekend.

Perhaps the word ‘new’ is a bit of an exaggeration as the
name is known to just about everybody in the sport and most
people outside of it. Kenneth James Smith MBE is here to com-
pete in his forty seventh New Zealand Grand Prix and with eve-
ry intention of making that number fifty before he hangs up his
helmet.

An icon of the sport, Kenny is no less eager to compete
than he was at his first NZGP decades ago when he lined up
with the great names of the sport at the time, Moss, Clark,
Stewart, Brabham, McLaren, Kenny raced against them all and
now he is racing potential future Formula One drivers one fifth
of his age.

You really cannot keep a good man down.

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Uncle Bob

or, tells us the stories from the Paddock during the Race

~ Qualifying ~

A damp start to qualifying but with a slim dry line.
That line expanded rapidly to be a pretty dry track as long as the driver did not stray
too far off line.

Richard Verschoor took out the pole position for both race #1 and Race #3, the
New Zealand Grand Prix. He maintained that the conditions were very tricky at the
beginning of session #1with a damp track. Didn't seem to make much difference to
him though at a track on which he loves to drive.

All of that adds up to a pretty unpredictable series of races over both today
and, perhaps more importantly, tomorrow. In the first race both Shwarzman and
Armstrong are both out of position compared to normal and with Charles Milesi sit-
ting on the front row. I am not sure where Milesi got his speed from but clearly it
was no fluke as he also managed to get third position for the Grand Prix event.

With one eye on the championship and the other firmly set on the NZGP title,
the leading championship contenders will have to be well aware of the cars and race
strategy.

~ Saturday ~

Race 1

At the start Charles Milesi, sitting on the front row with clear track ahead of
him, promptly stalled the car and sat, arms waving, in the line of fire for the entire
grid rushing past him. Skills and awareness allowed all of the cars to miss him and
after the last car had passed him he managed to get the thing restarted and got
away to join the back of the pack.

Richard Verschoor got away from pole and was never headed while Marcus
Armstrong managed to leap up to fourth in the first two or three corners on the first
lap. Fighting with Brendon Leitch, he managed to pass him but Leitch fought back
and Armstrong, despite trying time after time, had to follow him home.

Novalak was hampered at the start by the stalling of Milesi and slowed momen-
tarily as he saw the yellow flags and subsequently, he says, lost second place.

Once again good battles throughout the field and the podium for race one, for
the first time this year, did not include Marcus Armstrong.

Winner Richard Verschoor won the Dan Higgins Trophy and a cheque for
$2500, second place man Robert Shwartzman was the recipient of $1500 and third
place man Clement Novalak also picked up a cheque for $1000. All cheques courtesy
of the Higgins family.

The points situation changed quite a bit wit Armstrong, still leading, now with
810 points but Shwartzman with his second place now just 15 points behind on 795
with Verschoor creeping ever closer, now with 776 points. 34 points now seperate
the top three in the championship with two races to go.

To top it off Verschoor pulled the #4 marble from the hat, I think for the first
time, meaning Leitch is now on pole for race #2 with Novalak beside him on the
front row. Shwartzman and Verschoor sit on the second row with Armstrong in fifth
position on the third.

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Behind th

Meet with Toyota Ra

More than 35 people are at the track to get the Series running. From the manage
technical check and assistance, all those people behind the scene are passionate a

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

he Scene

acing New Zealand

ement to the merchandising, electronics, carbon work, safety car driver, medias and
and fully committed to the high level Series.

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Behind th

Meet with Giles M

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

he Scene

Motorsport Crew

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Round 05

Race 1 Race 2 New Zealand Grand Prix

1. Richard Verschoor 1. Brendon Leitch 1. Richard Verschoor

2. Robert Shwartzman +3.774 2. Clement Novalak +0.866 2. Robert Shwartzman +0.783

3. Clement Novalak +5.235 3. Richard Verschoor +2.234 3. Charles Milesi +1.608

4. Brendon Leitch +6.848 4. Robert Shwartzman +2.957 4. Juan Manuel Correa +1.921

5. Marcus Armstrong +8.904 5. Marcus Armstrong +7.948 5. Brendon Leitch +2.013

6. Juan Manuel Correa +9.390 6. Juan Manuel Correa +10.907 6. Clement Novalak +2.366

7. Ryan Yardley +13.219 7. Cameron Das +11.060 7. Marcus Armstrong +2.722

8. James Pull +15.375 8. James Pull +11.573 8. Ryan Yardley +3.387

9. Reid Harker +15.547 9. Reid Harker +12.117 9. Reid Harker +3.684

10. Taylor Cockerton +18.589 10. Taylor Cockerton +13.558 10. James Pull +3.888

11. Cameron Das +18.647 11. Charles Milesi +13.930 11. Cameron Das +4.721

12. Charles Milesi +19.028 12. Ryan Yardley +14.401 12. Kenny Smith +5.185

13. Kenny Smith +35.339 13. Kenny Smith +26.048 13. Taylor Cockerton DNF

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

5 Results

Drivers Standings

1. Robert Shwartzman 916 pts Rookie Championship
2. Richard Verschoor 911 pts
3. Marcus Armstrong 901 pts 1. Clement Novalak (Giles) 711 pts
4. Juan Manuel Correa 756 pts 2. Reid Harker (Giles) 538 pts
5. Clement Novalak 711 pts 3. Ryan Yardley (MTEC) 525 pts
6. James Pull 692 pts 4. Calvin Ming (Victory) 320 pts
7. Brendon Leitch 634 pts
8. Reid Harker 538 pts
9. Ryan Yardley 525 pts
10. Taylor Cockerton 514 pts
11. Charles Milesi 504 pts
12. Cameron Das 438 pts
13. Calvin Ming 320 pts
14. Kenny Smith 80 pts

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

New Zealand

The History of New Z

New Zealand Grand Prix force airfield south of the city. Top During this time Stirling Moss,

New Zealand’s Grand Prix drivers and teams were attracted Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Bruce
holds an almost unique place in in- from Britain and Europe and for the McLaren Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart
ternational motor racing. Apart from next 15 years the New Zealand and Chris Amon all won the New

the Macau Grand Prix it is the only Grand Prix and the other rounds of Zealand Grand Prix. One notable
other race outside the Formula One the “Tasman Series” set up in New exception was Jim Clark, a regular
Grand Prix that is now sanctioned by Zealand and Australia. This saw the visitor in the 60s, who did win other
the Federation Internationale Auto- world’s best drivers and cars, which races in the Tasman series.
mobile to use the Grand Prix name. were the same as the 2.5 litre For-
mula One which ran until 1960 and In 1963 the race had shifted
The race stuttered into life in continued in New Zealand until from Ardmore to a purpose built
1950 when it was held on the ex- 1969. track at the Pukekohe horse racing
World War 2 air force base at track, again south of Auckland.
Ohakea, only 15 kms from where Formula One teams even pre-
this year’s race was held at Circuit pared special cars to compete in the In 1970 the premiere class in
Chris Amon, Manfeild. NZ GP and the Tasman series. In its New Zealand changed to Formula
final years Lotus even brought a 2.5 5000, as the Grand Prix circus found
Keen enthusiasts in Auckland litre version of the Cosworth V8 it it increasingly difficult to afford the
got the race up and running proper- was by then using in Formula One’s time away from Europe and the ma-
ly in 1954 at Ardmore, another air three litre formula. chinery wasn’t readily available for
local drivers.
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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

d Grand Prix

Zealand Grand Prix

The 5000s with their big V8 leading locals, including a now mid- The little 1600cc cars did race for

engines lasted eight years with top dle aged Smith. the title for four years, with Smith

Australians of the day – Frank By the mid-90s Pacific had run winning again in 2004.
Gardner and John McCormick win- its course and with encouragement
ning the Grand Prix along with Kiwi from Australia, Formula Brabham – In retrospect, the decision
legend Ken Smith. Graham McRae, later called Formula Holden become was the right one to keep the GP
probably the fastest driver of the the main class, with 3.8 litre V6 en- alive, so the New Zealand Grand
era was the man to beat and won gines in Formula 3000 cars. Prix title carried onto the feature
event of the Toyota Racing Series in
plenty of other races, but not the
Grand Prix. But New Zealand did not em- 2006, with prominent winners in-
brace the class fully and it only last- cluding double Le Mans 24 Hours
In 1977 the change was made ed until 2000, with multiple Bath- winner Earl Bamber, GP3 champion
to Formula Pacific/Atlantic cars with urst winner Greg Murphy being the Mitch Evans, Japan Super GT cham-
Keke Rosberg fore shadowing the most high profile winner of the pion Nick Cassidy, Lance Stroll and
modern Grand Prix in providing a Grand Prix. Lando Norris.
platform for up and coming drivers
to show their skills. Apart from Ros- By default, Formula Ford had The event may not cater for
berg other winners included Teo become New Zealand’s leading sin- the sport’s superstars of 50 years
Fabi, Robert Moreno, Davy Jones gle seater class and there was some ago, but it now highlights the
and Ross Cheever, as well as the debate whether a race for the cars champions of the future.

13 was worthy of the Grand Prix title.

The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

Best Shots o

Bruce Jenkins, Official Photographer of the Castrol Toyota R

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The Down Low

The Official Magazine of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series

of the Week

Racing Series, provides us his best shots of the Week End

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Coming Next…
All the pictures from
the Prize Giving Ceremony
and all the stats from the Season

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