Eighteen-year-old Kiwi driver Ben Stewart has won himself a fully funded drive in the final round of the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) 86 Series at Bathurst on 5-8 October after winning over the judges at the TGRA Scholarship Series Evaluation Day at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Stewart came out on top against three other drivers – Charlie Parker, Shayne Nowickyj and Summer Parker – that were selected for the Evaluation Day from a field of 15 eligible drivers. A total of 40 drivers contested the inaugural Scholarship Series across five events at Sydney Motorsport Park, Phillip Island and Queensland Raceway over the course of the year.
“It’s a great feeling,” commented Stewart. “Like a dream come true as I have always wanted to race at Bathurst. I’m pretty excited!”
Having raced in kartsport since the age of nine-years-old, Stewart moved to the Nexen Mazda Racing Series winning both the 2020/21 North and South Island titles as well as the overall national title. From there he moved to a season in the GTR NZ series giving him experience in a high horsepower car.
“We looked at Australia and thought we would have a go in the Toyota 86 Scholarship Series and competed in two rounds. The first round was at Queensland Raceway in early August (2023) where I qualified eighth. It was my first international meeting, so I learnt heaps. The results were mixed (15th and 9th) including a dnf in the last race of the round due to a gearbox issue.
“The next round at Sydney Motorsport Park I qualified on pole, won the first race, third in the second and then fifth in the last race after taking a massive hit which affected the ABS, so finished third overall for the round.”
Toyota Australia Chief Marketing Officer Vin Naidoo congratulated Ben saying he had the qualities needed to continue to grow as a race driver and Toyota was proud to support him in that quest.
“We initiated the TGRA 86 Series as an affordable grassroots race series and over the past eight years it has become recognised as a real career pathway for young drivers to grow their skills and hone their racecraft in a safe controlled environment,” Mr Naidoo said.
“The introduction of the entry-level Scholarship Series this year, further expanded that and I’d like to congratulate Ben on winning the drive in the main TGRA 86 Series season closer at Bathurst next month.
“Ben demonstrated not only the skill needed to compete with the best of our drivers but also the maturity, drive and commitment to continue to grow and learn and we wish him all the best in his racing career,” he said.
The four drivers that were selected to compete in the Evaluation Day were not those that had won the most races, but individuals that demonstrated they have what it takes to become a professional driver.
Each driver was assessed across five activities consisting of their general knowledge of the broader sporting and technical rules, media technique, fitness and conditioning, car control and on-track performance.
They were judged on each of these criterion by Walkinshaw Andretti United Supercars Team Principal Bruce Stewart, former and current Supercars drivers Steve Johnson and Warren Luff, and Australian Rally Champion Harry Bates.
In awarding Ben the drive at Bathurst, the judges praised him for his high level of performance across the various off-track activities, along with his speed and consistency in the car.
The TGRA Scholarship Series was introduced this year and run over five rounds as a second-tier entry-level Toyota 86 race series after Toyota had received overwhelming interest from teams wishing to race in what has become Australia’s premier grassroots circuit racing category.
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