Armstrong sets his sights on NZGP
Marcus Armstrong looks set to lead New Zealand’s charge in the Toyota Racing Series after confirming he will return for a second bid for the title in 2018.
Fresh from his biggest year of motor racing yet, the 17-year-old is aiming to be the first Kiwi TRS champion since Nick Cassidy in 2013
The Christchurch-born racer, currently in the midst of winter testing for his 2018 European campaign, won three races in the 2017 TRS including the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy.
Armstrong is the first Kiwi to have been inducted into the Ferrari Driver Academy, and he contested the German and Italian F4 championships for Prema Powerteam.
He led the German championship until the final round, taking three wins, seven podiums and two pole positions and finishing second to his team-mate. Just weeks later the Kiwi made sure of the Italian title with five wins, 13 podiums and six pole positions.
He follows in the wheel-tracks of 2015 TRS champion Lance Stroll, who came to New Zealand having won the inaugural Italian F4 title with Prema and FDA.
Stroll went on to win the TRS and then Formula 3 Europe and is now racing Formula One for Williams.
‘‘It has been a huge year, I have learned a great deal and I’m looking forward to the coming championship very much.’’
He said he would be taking a more strategic approach to the 2018 title chase, adding that the race he wanted most was the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild.
‘‘I’m not going out to just win everything, I want the title and if that means taking podiums and banking points then that is what I will do.’’
The benefit of getting an early start on 2018 is a further motivation. ‘‘The Toyota Racing Series is a huge boost to any racer’s competition year, it just prepares you so well for the northern hemisphere. To be able to come back here and race with M2 and be supported by the Ferrari Driver Academy is fantastic,’’ he said.
In the 2017 TRS, Armstrong won three races including the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy and finished on the podium eight times, ending the five week, 15 race championship fourth overall at his first attempt.
He expected the 2018 TRS to be as tough as the Formula 4 championships of 2017.
‘‘TRS always brings the best, so it’s going to be a big fight but I learn more and more from everything I take on, and I’m ready.’’
Armstrong is the second Kiwi confirmed for 2018 along with Brendon Leitch.