Title defence a bonus for star
Many would think 2019 Toyota Racing Series champion Liam Lawson is back in New Zealand to defend his title.
Not strictly true. The young rising star is back on home soil to primarily get as many race kilometres under his belt as possible.
The TRS series compresses a normal overseas six to eight-month season into 15 races over five consecutive weekends. The championship attracts the best and brightest international drivers due to the fact that it’s the off-season in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Also, there just happens to be an added bonus that drivers in the TRS can accumulate the much soughtafter super licence points for finishing the series in a top five position.
“A lot of people think I’ve come back to defend the title but that’s not quite true,” said Lawson.
“I’m basically back here [in New Zealand] to use these five weeks as training to make sure that I’m race-fit for when I head back to Europe.
“Getting this much racing done during the European off-season will hopefully give me an advantage when I head back. Obviously, there is also super licence points available that are good to have.”
While defending his title isn’t quite top of mind for Lawson, he’s not lacking passion for winning races.
After two rounds, he leads the field with 153 points ahead of Brazilian Igor Fraga (135) and Swiss driver Gregorie Saucy (118).
The category starts the first of its North Island rounds at Hampton Downs this weekend and Lawson is keen to get going on the undulating and challenging circuit.
“I’m off to a good start but there’s still a long way to go yet. There are a lot of good, quick guys here. As I drive the car more, I’m getting more comfortable in it, but so are the other drivers in the field.
“I like tracks with a lot of elevation and cambers, which Hampton Downs has. These two make for an exciting track to drive on. It’s a fun track to race on, as there are a lot of tracks that are pretty flat and boring.
“For example, you’ve got turn one which is a blind corner that also drops away from you. Then after turn two, you go over a crest where the car gets light and then down into the dipper. It’s just an exciting track to drive,” he said.
This year, the category introduced a new FT-60 car. It is the same one the FIA has selected for regional European F3 championships, Formula Renault and the all-female W Series. However, as Lawson explains, it’s not quite the same beast.
“The weight is similar to the F3 car I drive in Europe but these [FT-60] are quite different to drive. It doesn’t have the same power and downforce as an F3 car. It’s heavy to drive, which makes it hard work and physically tiring and it’s heavier than the old car.
“It’s taking a bit of time to get used to it, but every weekend, it’s getting a bit easier.”
The Kiwi is highly regarded, as in each debut season he has contested so far in his career — Formula First, Formula Ford, Formula 4, Formula 3 Asia and the TRS — he has won the championship.
So it’s no surprise the Red Bull Junior Team came knocking and he is now a fully-fledged member.
A number of past junior drivers have gone on to make their mark in motor racing — the likes of Sebastien Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Brendon Hartley.
“This year back in Europe, I’ll be driving for Hitech GP in the FIA Formula 3 championship, which is really good. We won’t be doing Euro Formula this year so I can concentrate fully on the one championship.’’