Giddy Fastest In Qualifying But Newcomer Sabo Impresses
Giddy - who swapped cars after some problems with his regular chassis on Saturday - hit the front after the drivers had completed their first flying laps, his 1 minute 42.491 a full eight tenths and more head of fellow Bridgestone GR86 Championship rival Harry Townshend.
Ajay was quickest in the very cold first practice session of the morning with a very fast lap in the low 1 minute 42 second bracket before going even quicker in qualifying.
He was immediately put under pressure, however, by series debutant Antal Sabo who went 1 minute 42.07 to briefly go fastest before Giddy stopped the clocks at 1 minute 41.977. The youngster was delighted to be fastest overall and for the Winter class, although Sabo heads the Trophy class heading into the first race later this morning.
"It wasn't ideal swapping over cars but this one is very quick and the team did a great job to get us up to speed quickly from the start of practice. It's always good to get pole position," Giddy said afterwards. It was his first pole position in Toyota 86 racing.
Round one sensation Lee Zeltwanger left his run until late in the qualifying session and recorded a 1 minute 42.266 – a tenth off Sabo – to take the inside slot on the second row of the grid.
Townshend bagged a personal best on his second flying lap with a low 1 minute 42 second lap, but it wasn't enough to shift Giddy, and the impressive Sabo, from the front row.
CareVets Scholarship winner Corban Sprague was next up in fifth ahead of Nathan Grammer, with Matt Day and Toby Elmiger locking out the fourth row of the grid leaving Noel Simpson at the back, though the experienced racer had missed Saturday's two practice runs.
Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Qualifying
Grid Car # Driver name Trophy / Winter Team
1 10 Ajay Giddy Winter Mackenzie Motorsport
2 92 Antal Sabo Trophy RaceLab Academy
3 22 Lee Zeltwanger Trophy Skunkworks Racing
4 73 Harry Townshend Winter Mackenzie Motorsport
5 84 Corban Sprague Trophy iMac Engineering
6 50 Nathan Grammer Trophy Mackenzie Motorsport
7 100 Matt Day Trophy Dayle ITM Racing
8 74 Toby Elmiger Trophy Action Motorsport
9 88 Noel Simpson Trophy Action Motorsport
2025 Toyota 86 Trophy Series
Rd1 9-10 May 2025 Hampton Downs - NZIGP Finale
Rd2 21-22 June 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series
Rd3 5-6 July 2025 Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon - Manfeild Winter Series
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
3 days ago
- Scoop
Season Two Dates Locked In For Bridgestone GR86 Championship
Dates for the second season of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship are locked and loaded for 2025 and 2026 and it promises to be another thrilling season for drivers in New Zealand's leading one make, one model championship. The six-round championship – which will once again run as a featured category in the NextGen national championship series, includes two dates at Hampton Downs, a weekend at Toyota NZ's 'home circuit' of Manfeild, the South Island leg of Teretonga followed by the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix meeting at Highlands and will conclude once again with the Supercars round at Taupo Motorsport Park. The season blasts off at the end of October with the first round at Hampton Downs before a break until the 9th – 11th January when its back to the North Waikato circuit, for its second weekend on the 'long' track. The championship heads south two weeks later for the double header at Teretonga (23-25 January) and the Grand Prix meeting at Highlands the following weekend. It's back to the North Island for the final two rounds, with Manfeild February 27th- March 1st and the the big finale at the Taupo Supercars weekend, April 10-12. A full grid was a huge feature of the inaugural year of the championship – won in style by Hugo Allan - and with dates confirmed early, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand are again hoping for a full field of 20 plus cars. 'Last season's racing was closer than ever and produced great racing and a huge variety of winners and drivers who scored a podium result,' commented category manager Amanda Tollemache. 'Next season should be equally as exciting and there is a huge amount of interest, which we are certain will result in another big field.' 2025-2026 Bridgestone GR86 Championship Round 1 - 31 October - 2 November 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Round 2 - 9 - 11 January 2026, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park Round 3 - 23 - 25 January 2026, Teretonga Park, Invercargill (venue TBC) Round 4 - 30 January - 1 February 2026 70th New Zealand GP - Highlands Motorsport Park Round 5 - 27 February - 1 March 2026, Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Townshend Resists The Pressure For First Win
With fastest laps from the first race defining grid positions, it was Ajay Giddy starting on pole position for the second time today as he lined up alongside Winter class rival Townshend on the front row. Trophy Series points leader Lee Zeltwanger would line up alongside Matt Day on the second row with Corban Sprague and Antal Sabo completing row three. As the lights went out it was Townshend who made a flawless getaway, leapfrogging into the lead by the first turn and leaving Giddy to fight off the attentions of a raging pack behind that included Zeltwanger, Sabo, Sprague and Day. Giddy was able to close up on Townshend on the straights, but the daring late braking of Townshend was enough to keep Harry ahead lap after lap. His task seemed a little easier when Giddy fell back into the clutches of Zeltwanger late in the race, but Townshend had his eyes fixed on the prize and duly came home to his first ever win in a Toyota 86. 'It was an awesome race,' said Harry on the podium. 'I knew I had to get away well and not make any mistakes at all and still hope I had enough speed to win but it all came good. Behind Townshend, the battle was resolved right at the end in favour of Zeltwanger, while Giddy backed up his morning win with another podium. Sprague and Day battled throughout but would finish fourth and fifth while series newcomer Sabo rounded off an excellent first weekend in the category with sixth place. The field was completed by Nathan Grammer, Toby Elmiger and Noel Simpson. Zeltwanger has extended his lead in the Trophy Series points table, while Townshend now assumes the top spot in the chase for the Winter Series class. Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Race 2 Grid Car # Driver name Trophy / Winter Team 1 73 Harry Townshend Winter Mackenzie Motorsport 2 22 Lee Zeltwanger Trophy Skunkworks Racing 3 10 Ajay Giddy Winter Mackenzie Motorsport 4 84 Corban Sprague Trophy iMac Engineering 5 100 Matt Day Trophy Dayle ITM Racing 6 92 Antal Sabo Trophy RaceLab Academy 7 50 Nathan Grammer Trophy Mackenzie Motorsport 8 74 Toby Elmiger Trophy Action Motorsport 8 88 Noel Simpson Trophy Action Motorsport 2025 Toyota 86 Trophy Series Rd1 9-10 May 2025 Hampton Downs - NZIGP Finale Rd2 21-22 June 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series Rd3 5-6 July 2025 Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon - Manfeild Winter Series Rd4 26-27 July 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
Giddy Storms To Race 1 Victory
Giddy was beaten off the line by series newcomer Antal Sabo, who started alongside him on the front row of the grid. Antal made the best start in his RaceLab Academy entry and led confidently around the first lap but Ajay had him under pressure quickly and Sabo's lack of race experience showed when he went into Turn One too quickly on the defensive line, went wide on the exit and allowed the front runners through. Giddy never looked back and raced away from a chasing Harry Townshend and Lee Zeltwanger to score maximum points in the Winter class for drivers who raced in the main Bridgestone GR 86 Championship while Zeltwanger extended his Trophy class lead with another classy podium result. Townshend put in a solid drive for another second place, resisting pressure from Zeltwanger before edging away by a few car lengths in the final couple of laps. Race victory however, belonged to Giddy, who remains not only the youngest driver in Toyota 86 racing in NZ, and the youngest to win a race, but also one of the country's youngest and most promising rising stars. 'That's great to get the first win and after Antal made his mistake it was just a question of me not making any either. The car was very good though,' said a delighted Giddy afterwards. Sabo showed plenty of speed but a similar mistake at turn one later in the race defending his fourth position pushed him back to sixth in the overall results behind CareVets Scholarship racer Corban Sprague and DAYLE ITM driver Matt Day. Action Motorsport duo Toby Elmiger and Noel Simpson finished seventh and eighth while Nathan Grammer completed the runners in ninth - making it to the chequered flag despite having a slow puncture. Toyota 86 Trophy Series – Round 2 Taupo Race 1 Grid Car # Driver name Trophy / Winter Team 1 10 Ajay Giddy Winter Mackenzie Motorsport 2 73 Harry Townshend Winter Mackenzie Motorsport 3 22 Lee Zeltwanger Trophy Skunkworks Racing 4 84 Corban Sprague Trophy iMac Engineering 5 100 Matt Day Trophy Dayle ITM Racing 6 92 Antal Sabo Trophy RaceLab Academy 7 74 Toby Elmiger Trophy Action Motorsport 8 88 Noel Simpson Trophy Action Motorsport 9 50 Nathan Grammer Trophy Mackenzie Motorsport 2025 Toyota 86 Trophy Series Rd1 9-10 May 2025 Hampton Downs - NZIGP Finale Rd2 21-22 June 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series Rd3 5-6 July 2025 Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon - Manfeild Winter Series Rd4 26-27 July 2025 Taupo Int. Motorsport Park - Taupo Winter Series
