‘HEART’ TEAM EXPANDS INTO BEST BARS TOYOTA 86 CHAMPIONSHIP

A four-car team from racing philanthropists The Heart of Racing (THoR) will provide opportunity for up-and-coming young racers to win big in next season’s Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship.

The team will be run – like THoR’s successful New Zealand endurance team – by International Motorsport with the cars part of a new academy programme with three being run for the full season and the fourth as an additional entry for certain events and for testing duties.

“As the pieces of the jigsaw fall into place it’s becoming clear that the 2021–2022 Best Bars Toyota 86 Championship is going to be the biggest in our nine-year history,” said Category Manager Geoff Short.

Short expects a 22 plus field of cars for the next edition of the championship, which over the past few seasons has produced some memorable title battles and door-to-door racing that has meant it has become New Zealand’s top saloon car championship.

“Having The Heart of Racing so involved in the next championship is going to be great for the category and is an endorsement of how far we have come over the years,” he said. “We’ve never been busier in the build up to a championship and fingers crossed we can put the challenges of the recent Covid affected seasons far behind us and look forward to some very big fields and some very tight racing, with the most successful drivers securing what are some hugely significant opportunities.”

The Heart of Racing is partnered with the