Alexander claims triad of victories at Pukekohe

Stadium Finance

Media Statement – 2013 Toyota 86 - Round 2 Review

2 December 2013

Alexander claims triad of victories at Pukekohe

Christchurch racer, Tom Alexander, has claimed a triad of victories at the second round of the Toyota Finance TR86 Championship at Pukekohe, after breaking a lap record, claiming his maiden TR86 win and taking the Championship lead all in one weekend.

The youngster, who now leads the Toyota Racing TR86 championship by 24 points over experienced racer Angus Fogg with five more rounds to go, says he enjoyed the weekend but adds there is room for improvement.

“We’ve had a great weekend for the most part. We qualified only 0.200th of a second behind Foggy [Angus Fogg] and he’s been the pacesetter so far, so that’s really promising for the rest of the season.”

“I made a couple of minor mistakes, like late gear changes, which really hurts you in this series. It’s always so close and one small mistake can cost you one or two positions in one go.”

Alexander started the first race on Saturday from the front grid in second position, but missed a gear off the start so quickly slipped to sixth. He fought his way back to third before the race was over, clinching the lap record of 01.15.690 in the process.

“I was stoked to get the lap record. It’s awesome to know that we have the pace to consistently be near the top so that’s a trend we hope to continue.”

The record-breaking time saw Alexander, followed by the other Toyota Finance TR86 drivers, come within 10 seconds of the bigger, more powerful V8SuperTourers, demonstrating the potential these brand new cars have.

Race two of the weekend was even better for Alexander, as he secured his first ever Toyota Finance TR86 race win, after building up a lead of almost two seconds over tough rival Ashley Blewett.

But Blewett would take revenge in the final race of the weekend, on Sunday, where the pair diced over second place. With his long term championship goals in sight, Alexander conceded second place to finish third, after a couple of minor mistakes cost him valuable time against Blewett.

“Race three was a good race. It was really close and just by missing a gear, I lost second place, twice. I didn’t want to risk the car or championship points so I decided to take it easy and finish behind Ash [Blewett] instead of pushing to gain one place,” said Alexander.

Alexander eventually finished the weekend in second after the three races but says he’ll be pushing for that number one spot at the next round.

“We’re really looking forward to the next round at Hampton Downs. It’s is a track I know well and love driving around so I’ll be pushing. I’m hoping to extend my championship lead there but of course it’ll be tough with the calibre of other drivers also racing in the series.”

“And of course thank you to Kenny Smith, my family and sponsors for all of their support. I’m stoked that I was able to bring home a good result for them all this weekend.”

The next round of the Toyota Finance TR86 series is set to be held at Hampton Downs after the New Year, on the 31 January until 2 February.

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ENDS

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