New Zealand: Strong Gregoire Saucy 🎥
FIRST RACE SERIES 2020 Last weekend, the Castrol Toyota Racing Series 2020 kicked off in New Zealand, with Grégoire Saucy and Axel Gnos, two young Swiss drivers, taking part. The video shows what the Castrol Toyota Racing Series is all about. The first international championship of the year with FIA predicate consists of 15 rounds at five [...]
The video shows what the Castrol Toyota Racing Series is all about.
The first international championship of the year with FIA predicate consists of 15 rounds on five consecutive weekends. The cars used are standardized, brand-new Tatuus FT-60 Formula 3 race cars from Italy. These are powered by 285-hp Toyota four-cylinder turbo engines and run on Hankook racing tires.
Springboard towards Formula 1
A number of young drivers from the northern hemisphere take this opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season in Europe by taking part in New Zealand's most popular racing series. With Lando Norris, Brendon Hartley, Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll, four future Formula 1 drivers have attracted attention here. Local hero and last year's winner Liam Lawson, who will defend his title, earned a contract with Red Bull as a result of the performance.
Grégoire Saucy and Axel Gnos are two young Swiss drivers in the 20-strong field from 16 nations. Both earned their first spurs in motor racing in Formula 4 at Jenzer Motorsport, Saucy in 2018 and Gnos in 2019.
First exclamation mark from Saucy
In four races for the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, Saucy already familiarized himself with more powerful turbo engines, which benefited him in the season opener in New Zealand. With three top-five finishes, the race series got off to an excellent start for him at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell (50 kilometers from the tourist metropolis of Queenstown on the South Island).
Admittedly, the 20-year-old from Bassecourt in the Jura finished fifth in the first race. Because winner Caio Callot had practiced a prohibited start on the warm-up lap, the Brazilian received a 15-second penalty retrospectively, which moved the Swiss up one position. First place was inherited by local hero Liam Lawson, who confirmed this belated gift with a convincing victory in Sunday's main race.
The second race, with a reversed starting order of the top 6 from Race 1, was decided in his favor by Japan's Yuki Tsunoda, who won a race with Jenzer in FIA Formula 3 in 2019. Saucy, who started third, again finished fifth, keeping Liam Lawson at bay over the entire distance.
In the final main race, Saucy again performed respectably in fourth place. With good points from all three races, the Frenchman takes fourth place in the championship and is thus the best rookie.
Gnos in good midfield
Axel Gnos did not make any big leaps yet, which was not to be expected. At 16, the youngest driver in the field only got to know his team and the new race car immediately before the free practice session, while many others had tested beforehand.
Gnos made progress with each race. After finishing 16th and 15th, the Lausanne native, who lives with his parents in Malaga, Spain, ended the third race in a good eleventh position. Until a problem with the rear brakes, he was even fighting for ninth place.
The championship continues next weekend at Teretonga Raceway outside Invercargill. It is not only New Zealand's oldest, but also the world's southernmost race track with FIA homologation.
Race 1 results Race 2 results Race 3 results Stand after 3 races
toyota.co.nz/toyota-racing/castrol-toyota-racing-series
