Walls back for a second TRS campaign in New Zealand

Up and coming Aussie single-seater racer Jackson Walls is set to return for a second season in New Zealand’s Castrol Toyota Racing Series.

He will re-join the mtec team – recently rebranded and restructured as mtec Motorsport – Engineered By R-Ace GP – for his 2020 campaign.

Walls took part in the championship earlier this year, but was forced to miss the first round due to being too young. When he joined the action from the second round at Teretonga Park he impressed with both his speed and press on style and quickly established himself as the quickest Australian in the championship, coming close to a top ten championship result.

With the New Zealand series under his belt, he ran a second season in the CAMS Australian Formula 4 Championship where he took a win. He also took part in the Asian Formula 3 Championship for the highly regarded Hitech Motorsport team, taking two podiums in the competitive series.

Joining a team he knows and using a chassis he has some experience with (TRS in 2020 will utilise the same Tatuus chassis Walls has experienced in Asian F3, albeit with a different engine and tyres) has given Walls confidence ahead of the championship, which begins in January.

“I’m really excited to be heading back to New Zealand to start 2020 and to be returning to the team for TRS,” he said. “This year’s series was a fantastic experience with the intensity of racing against some of the world’s best junior drivers for five weekends straight.

“It’s a world-class series and with the additional boost of having R-Ace GP support in the mtec camp, I’m sure we will have all we need to be in the hunt.”

Team principal Bruin Beasley was delighted to have secured the services of the young Australian for another TRS campaign, adding:

“It’s fantastic to have the chance to work with Jackson again. He’s an exciting driver and last year showed everyone he is a star of the future. His raw pace is obvious and he’ll be a genuine contender in 2020. He’s a great kid and an absolute pleasure to have around as he brings great positivity to the team. He’s hungry and driven to succeed and we are proud to be a part of his journey.”

There’s been plenty of interest in the new-look series ahead of the 2020 championship, which awards seven FIA Super License points to the winner and fits nicely into the international racing year for young single-seater racers looking for miles and competition during the winter months of the northern hemisphere. The 2020 championship will begin at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell in New Zealand’s South Island over the weekend of January 17-19. It stays in the South Island for the second round a week later, moving to Teretonga Park near Invercargill for round two.

The series then heads to the North Island for the remaining three weekends of racing. That will include the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, the New Zealand Motor Cup at Pukekohe Park and the final round, the New Zealand Grand Prix meeting over the weekend of February 14-16 at Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon in Feilding.