Motor Australia – May 2019

GETTING OUT of adrift-ready 86 andinto theToyota 86

RacingSeriescarmustbewhatit feelslikefora fighterpilotto

getintotheirroadcaraftera longdayintheskies.

That’snottosaythisisanunexcitingcar.Havingdrunkin

theraceliveryofthisotherwisestock-looking’first-gen’86,the

heartrateincreasesasyoupokeyourheadthroughthedriver’s

windowtofindaninteriorsoblack,lightalmostcan’tescape

it,a matrixofproper,fullrollcage(noditzybolt-inhalf-cage

here),raceseat,racesteeringwheel,stereoreplacedwitha

crudelyinstalledkillswitchanda MoTeCdash.This,ladiesand

gentlemen,isanoffice.AndpersonallyI’msimpleenoughto

havelowstandardswhenit comestoworkspace.

Butfirst, arefresheronwhattheToyota 86 RacingSeries

isexactly.Kickingoffin 2016 andnowinitsfourthseasonin

Australia,theseriessupportsSupercarsattracksallaround

thecountry.Lastyearthereweresixraceswithfieldsofupto

40 cars,theideabeingkeepthecarsandracingcheapsoas

tooffera steppingstoneforhotshotkartingkidstomoveinto

cars,mixingwithamateurs andseasonedpros alike. The 86

RacingSerieswebsitecallstoaction“findout how you can get

involved!”Andit'snotentirelyunrealisticto think you could.

Brandnew,a carcostsabout$75Kreadyto race, the package

includingupgradedAPRacingbrakes,MCA coilovers, exhaust

anda MoTecECU.There’sa TRDoilcoolerand custom baffled

oilsumppan;a fullroll-cagemustbefitted and a compliant

raceseatas well.Powerincreasesto approximately 169kW,

whiletheminimumweightincludingdriver is 1285kg (a stock

86 GTSroadcaris1258kgsansdriver).Feasibly, you can bring

yourown 86 toNealBates– theexclusive builder of Racing

Seriescars– andhavea racepackagefittedfor $25K (budgeting

anextra$13Korsoforthecageandseat) and people have,

buildingcarsusingstatutorywritten-off86s for as cheaply as

$43K.Onceyouhavethecar,eachroundhas a very agreeable

$1500entryfee(meaningthereare,ofcourse, still costs to run

thecarandtransportitandyourselftothe track) but there is

a $150Kprizepoolonoffer.Ifyoudarebeton your skills, you

86 RACING SERIES

Wee comedown after the tyre-hating drift version of the same car

96 may 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor