Kiwi young guns join Aussie star for Ruapuna FT60 test

Three of New Zealand’s best single seater prospects – including the champions of Formula Ford – will join one of Australia’s young guns and step aboard Toyota’s FT60 for the car’s first run at the Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Christchurch tomorrow.

It’s not only an opportunity for the young drivers to experience a state-of-the-art wings and slicks junior formulae racer, but will also be an important day for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand as they gather setup data on the car at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, a track where the FT60 had not tested during early development in 2019.

Seventeen year old Ben Taylor currently leads the Australian F3 Championship in his first year in the category, winning the first round at Sydney Motorsport Park from pole position.

A former karter looking to progress through the junior formulae, he’s a welcome first full international to drive the Toyota FT60 at a New Zealand race track since the 2020 season concluded.

James Penrose will step into the car as the National and South Island Formula Ford champion – and Formula Ford Festival winner – after a successful weekend of racing at Ruapuna while McCutcheon will join him as the North Island championship winner.

Jacob Douglas has two podiums in the South Island Formula Ford championship to his name over this past season. He was also the winner in the Junior Rotax class in the 2021 Kartsport NZ National Sprint Championship.

“It’s great to be back in the swing of things and testing drivers from New Zealand and of course our Australian guest,” explained Category Manager Nicolas Caillol. “We will be testing at several tracks over the coming months and there will be further opportunities to test as we gather data and continue our development programme on the car ahead of the 2022 season.

“It’s great to be back here with the current car and we are looking forward to seeing how our young guns go at Ruapuna.”

It is a big test day for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ, with a capacity 12 drivers also testing the Toyota 86.