Victory Motor Racing
There has been a long and illustrious association between Bowater Toyota and Victory Motor Racing. In 2004 the Toyota Racing Series (TRS) was launched and Victory Motor Racing made the move from GT and Touring cars to the highly competitive open wheel formula. The Toyota Racing Series is credited with providing a World Class format for local New Zealand and European drivers to hone their skills in a hotly contested racing environment.
We are pleased to be a driving force behind our very own local team, a team that has been doing well in the Toyota Racing Series for over a decade. Right back in the first series, when the team, and the series was in it's infancy, Bowater Toyota sponsored the engine. We have all come a long way since then, with the Victory Motor Racing team now fielding multiple cars and an international selection of drivers.
The 2013/14 season saw us step up again, with Bowater Toyota lending the team the use of a Isuzu Box Body Light Truck and a Toyota Hiace van to transport some of their gear and crew around as the series travelled the country.
For this year's 2015 TRS Race Season we have gone a step further with a Bowater Toyota mechanic, David Orr, and a Mag & Turbo tyre technician, Keith Bonnar, joining the Victory Racing team for the series. This is a huge opportunity for these lads, out on the race circuit for the best part of the summer, helping to keep these cars on the track and performing at race level, in the heat of battle.
Join us as we follow them on another exciting motor racing season.
This section of our website also documents some of the exciting projects we have been associated with aside from the Toyota Racing Series, like our sponsorship of Victory Motor Racing's Guy Griffith's Off Road endeavours in his bright orange highly modified Toyota Prado.
Tags: toyota racing series, motor racing, victory racing,
Brendon Leitch third in Toyota Racing Series after Manfield race win
Bowater Toyota is a proud supporter of Victory Motor Racing - the team behind Brendon Leitch. We have been keenly involved in the Toyota Racing Series over the many seasons, with quite a few of our team joining the crew at Victory on the road as they complete the TRS series to get a taste for what working the pits on a "proper" motor racing circuit is like.
Brendon Leitch of Invercargill has finished third overall in the provisional final points of the 2016 Toyota Racing Series. A sensational win in the Sunday morning race of this weekend’s final round at Manfeild Park in Feilding propelled Leitch into third in the series points and confirmed his standing as the top kiwi.
The race win was the big highlight of the weekend for the young driver while finishing in the top three in the series against top class, race hardened opposition is an outstanding result for a driver who has had just one race outing since last year’s series. The race win was the only one for a kiwi in this year’s series and is the second for Leitch since joining the category.
“I’m pumped, and very happy overall, I’ve got a lot to take away from this year’s series,” said Leitch as the achievement was still sinking in moments after the final race.
Brendon Leitch wins Spirit of a Nation trophy
Article taken from the NZ Motor Racing website.
Brendon Leitch from Victory Racing on his way to an historic victory in front of his home crowd.
Invercargill driver Brendon Leitch took his debut Toyota Racing Series win at Teretonga Park this weekend and he could not have done it at a better time. In front of his home crowd and in the feature race of the round, the Spirit Of A Nation Cup race, the 19-year-old Southlander led from start to finish in his ITM/Post Haste Couriers car to become the first Southlander to etch his name on the trophy.
Leitch showed great pace all weekend in the field of young stars and qualified fastest to gain pole for the feature. When the lights went out to start the race he held his line into the fast, first corner and held out American Santino Ferrucci to lead from start to finish. Ferrucci piled on the pressure until he briefly ran off the circuit around the mid point of the race leaving Leitch with a buffer which he carried to the finish.
It was the career highlight for Leitch in just his second season at this level. On Saturday he had finished fourth in the opening race of the round while in the second race of the weekend on Sunday morning he crossed the line third only to be given a time penalty for jumping the start which dropped him to fifth. However his results see him placed third in the championship after two rounds.
Toyota Racing New Zealand Launches New FT50 Race Car
Toyota Racing New Zealand has launched the new FT50 race car for the Toyota Racing Series, describing the new car as a significant step forward featuring the latest in race car technology and safety and a worthy successor to its predecessor.
The TRS is New Zealand’s leading single-seater category and the new FT50 will be raced by all teams and drivers in the 2015 championship. Toyota New Zealand Motorsport Manager Steve Boyce says the FT50 builds on the success of TRS, which gives young and rising New Zealand racing drivers valuable experience driving a modern ‘wings and slicks’ single seater before they contemplate heading offshore to pursue a career. In its first ten years the series has consistently attracted talented international drivers to New Zealand to hone their racing skills during the northern hemisphere winter, meaning TRS also gives young Kiwis a chance to gauge their speed and skill against the drivers they are likely to meet on circuits in Europe, Australia, Asia and the USA.
“This is a car for the future and a significant step up for young drivers seeking experience in our leading ‘wings and slicks’ category. We have taken a bold step forward in driver safety, technology and driving dynamics to ensure the championship continues to provide drivers with a world-class driving experience,” Mr Boyce said.
The Toyota Racing Series revs up Cromwell
The latest round of the Toyota Racing Series hit the track at speed at the newly developed Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell. The team from Victory Motor Racing posted on their Facebook page
interesting day - car damage and penalties for many drivers.
Today we've got rain.
Take a look at the video and you can see some of the carnage!
TRS Championship Leader, Martin Rump, won the inaugural TRS race at this new circuit. For those of you who haven't seen or heard anything about Highland's Park,do check out their website <click here> what an awesome place!
