Bakkerus pips Bethune to claim inaugeral Toyota GR86 pole

The first ever pole position of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship has gone the way of Mackenzie Motorsport’s Hayden Bakkerus.

The 19-year-old from Auckland, who took two podiums in the 2023/24 Toyota 86 Championship, set a 1:40.200-second flyer at the NextGen New Zealand Championship Season Opener at Taupo International Motorsport Park to pip Right Karts by M2 Competition’s Josh Bethune by just 0.039 seconds.

“There were a few different things we did from testing,” he said after qualifying. “Usually the first lap is the fastest but I got held up on that and had to have another go on the second lap. The second lap didn’t feel perfect either as I still had to make a pass into turn one.

“It’s a great feeling to find that when it matters we are on the pace. In testing we were running between tenth and 15^th but nobody really knows what the others are doing, so it’s very exciting to find we’ve been heading in the right direction and I’m excited about the first race and the rest of the weekend.”

Bakkerus’s pole-setting time, which is over four seconds quicker than the best lap set at the same venue across the weekend in the Toyota 86 Championship last year, came midway through the session, and Bethune followed through shortly after to earn a front row start.

CareVets Racing’s Hugo Allan, who topped all three practice sessions on Friday, continued his strong showing of pace in Taupo to complete the top three, nearly three-tenths off Bakkerus’s pole-setting effort.

Zach Blincoe made for two Mackenzie Motorsport entries in the top four, beginning his rookie campaign in style with a commendable fourth-placed effort.

Reigning Mazda Racing Series National Champion Chris White, driving for James Marshall Motorsport, also made a smooth start to his transition to GR86 racing, qualifying fifth.

White will start alongside the ever-present veteran campaigner Justin Allen, who qualified sixth it Syndicate Motorsport’s first-ever qualifying session. The team is run by engineer Glenn Mason, who has experience engineering Taylor Bryant’s Toyota 86 in recent seasons.

Australian star Cooper Barnes, also driving for Right Karts by M2 Competition, keeps the pressure on his Kiwi counterparts in seventh, next to rookie Arthur Broughan, whose transition from the Mazda Racing Series began with a solid eighth-placed effort.

Action Motorsports’ Emerson Vincent and cameoing Australian returnee Alice Buckley complete the top ten, ahead of Thomas Mallard and John Penny.

The first-ever race of the Bridgestone GR86 Championship begins just after 2.30 pm NZST and will be shown live on the Stuff SpeedHub streaming service.

Two further races follow on Sunday, the first at approximately 10.30 am and the finale at 3.25 pm.

Bridgestone GR86 Championship Provisional Qualifying Results