Tom ALEXANDER #11

Class: Elite

An uncompromising aim: to win the championship. Auckland-born but now based in

Christchurch, Tom Alexander comes to the inaugural Toyota Finance 86 Championship with

a strong background in karting and open-wheeler categories.

Alexander’s karting career began in 2008 when he was sixth in the 100cc Junior Restricted

Yamaha class at the Kartsport NZ national sprint championship.

A strong of top results followed in 2009, including victory in the NZ Sunbelt Series Junior

100cc Yamaha class and second in the Canterbury club championship; third in class in the

South Island Junior Championship in 2010 and then came a step from karting into Formula

Libre in 2011 and to the NZFMR classics series in 2012 in a Dallara, where he netted a race

win, five podium finishes and was second overall.

Alongside these campaigns Tom moved directly into Formula Ford driving a Stealth Van

Diemen to finish the 2011-2012 national championship fifth overall with two wins, one pole

position, five podium finishes and two fastest laps.

He backed that result with fourth overall in 2012-2013, taking one win, 10 podium finishes and five

fastest laps.

With two seasons of Formula Ford racing behind him, 19-year-old Tom now takes a further

step into the fiercely competitive world of one-make racing. His karting and single-seater

experience can be expected to stand him in good stead in the Toyota Finance 86

Championship.

A graduate of the MSNZ Motorsport Academy, Tom is supported by Ken Smith Motorsport.

Ash BLEWETT #66

Class: Amateur

Ash Blewett comes to the Toyota Finance 86 Championship with multiple titles in this

country’s biggest single-marque one make series, the ‘tier 2’ BMW E30 and 2.0-litre series.

His extensive experience in one-make racing gives him an immediate insight into how close

the racing will be in New Zealand’s newest one make series, but this is the first time he has

competed in an all-new racing car, the TR 86.

Ash, 23, was second in the ultra-competitive BMW E30 series in 2010-2011, then backed

that with the title 2011-2012. This year he won the 2.0-litre title in that series.

His motorsport career started in karting, with a competition debut in 2004 racing the 100cc

Junior Yamaha class. He continued in karting until 2006, when the BMW E30 series was first

introduced, and has raced the series for six seasons. His 2011-2012 title came with 10 race

wins, four pole positions, 13 podiums and 12 fastest laps.

A mechanical engineer born and bred in Auckland, Ash is keen to combine his passion for

motorsport with a career in automotive engineering for a top race team.

He is sponsored by Mobil and West City Motorsport.

Angus FOGG #2

Class: Elite

Multiple New Zealand touring car titles, a start in Mini 7s and now one-make racing: Angus

Fogg is, many would insist, a New Zealand motorsport icon.

Though he raced the one-make Nissan series in 1994-95, motorsport really began for Angus

in the massive grids of Mini 7s that were an exciting fixture at most New Zealand race

meetings. Angus was Mini 7 champion in the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons. Alongside

these seasons he also raced the New Zealand Touring Car Championship from 1996 until

2002.

He raced the Vectra Challenge and Mini Miglia in the UK in 1998, then returned to New

Zealand to race in the 2.0-litre New Zealand Touring Car Championship, finishing second in

1999-2000 and 2000-2001.

Racing in the NZV8s and also in V8 Supertourers has brought results including a national

title.

Partnering with Chris Lewis, ‘Foggy’ now has a new challenge in a new racing car.

Matt GIBSON #88

Class: Amateur

Another racer with experience in close-fought and ultra competitive one-make series, Matt

Gibson hails from Wanganui and is now Auckland-based.

He rose to prominence on the back of a win in the Suzuki Swift Sport scholarship, but like so

many young race drivers his origins are in karting and he has gathered extensive single-

seater experience from an early age.

Matt, 22, started in karting in 2006, then stepped up into a diverse racing career that began

with third place in the Manfeild Formula First winter series in 2007 and 2008; sixth in the

Formula First Championship in 2008-09 and sixth in the winter series in 2009. He finished

out his Formula First racing with fourth in the national championship in 2009.

Matt raced the Suzuki Swift Sport Cup from 2010 to 2012, beginning with a season driving

the ‘scholarship’ car after winning the pre-season competition.

He has also competed in production racing and has raced in the Pro7 series.

Matt aims to finish the season with a podium position in the championship.

He is sponsored by Lighting Plus, Chemz, Firewatch Wanganui, Display Associates, Tom

Ditchfield Panelbeating and Precision Spray Painting.

Tony HOUSTON #58

Class: Masters

Aucklander Tony Houston started racing in the Porsche club championship series, winning in

his second year of racing; he then contested the BMW MINI Challenge for three years

before moving into the BMW E30 series.

He has raced the BMW series from 2010 until 2013.

Tony says his aim is to win the Masters title in the Toyota Finance 86 Championship.

He is sponsored by GJ Gardner Homes, Albany Timber ITM, Vantage Windows, Mico and

Laser Electrical.

Chris Lewis #22

Class: Masters

British-born Chris Lewis has raced Mini Miglia and other classes in the UK and makes his

debut in the Toyota Finance 86 Championship under the colours of Gulf Island Foods.

Racing alongside multiple touring-car title holder Angus Fogg, Chris comes to the

championship with Mini titles won in the UK in 1982/1983, 1994, 1995 and 2002.

He was also the 750MC Formula 4 champion in 2006.

Jamie McNee #69

Class: Elite

Jamie McNee’s racing career marks him as one to watch in the inaugural Toyota Finance 86

Championship: he comes to the new one-make series with a racing resumé that starts in

karting, travels through Formula First and Formula Ford all the way to Toyota Racing Series,

where he was third in the 2011 Championship racing with ETEC Motorsport.

McNee started racing in 2003 in karting’s cadet classes, and won his class in the North Island

and national titles on debut.

In 2004, he moved to the 100cc Junior restricted Yamaha class and was second in the

national championship.

Racing the same class in 2006 he won the Blossom Sprint meeting in Hawkes Bay and was

sixth in the 100cc class nationally. He also placed ninth in the Rotax Max class at national

level.

He raced karts until 2009, but had already begun racing Formula First in 2006, placing

second in the Manawatu winter series that year.

Jamie added Formula Ford to his repertoire in 2007, and was sixth in Formula Ford, 12th in

Formula First. He was fourth in the South Island Formula Ford championship in 2007-2008

and second in the 2008 Manawatu winter series. The following three seasons were raced at

national level, netting Jamie eighth, fourth and thirteenth in the championship.

Moving to Toyota Racing Series, Jamie was one of two to check out the premier category in

the trial Toyota Lites sub-class alongside Mitch Evans. He was ninth in 2010 Championship

and then came back the following year to take his best TRS result, third for the

championship.

Richard Oxton #18

Class Amateur

Richard Oxton has a strong history of kart racing – and race wins – behind him, having raced

from junior grades up to Rotax Max. He raced the Formula Ford championship in 2007-2008

before switching to one-make touring car racing in the newly established BMW E30 series.

He comes to the Toyota Finance 86 Championship from three years in the hotly contested

BMW E30 series and holds the E30 lap record for the ‘old’ Pukekohe circuit before the back

straight deviation was completed for the V8 Supercar upgrade.

Richard is fitting his first love – motor racing – around his life priority: a mechanical

engineering degree. He is racing with Neil Allport Motorsports; the race number was

formerly used by his dad David – making the Oxton name an inter-generational motorsport

household name.

Callum Quin #91

Class: Amateur

A racer in a hurry: 17-year-old Callum Quin started motor racing in karting at age 9 and has

raced karts for seven years, netting top results along the way.

He began in cadet classes, taking top ten and top five positions in 2005, 2006 and 2007 then

stepping into the 100cc junior Yamaha class. Moving up through the classes with top five

results in races every year, his best kart result was in the NZ Top Half series where he

finished second in 2010.

In 2011, Callum moved into Formula First – aged just 14 - finishing the championship in 15th

place.

A move to ‘tintops’ the following year brought dividends: Callum switched to the BMW

series, scoring one win, three podium finishes and two fastest laps in the E30 series and

being named Rookie of the Year in his debut season.

He has stayed with one-make racing ever since.

At the 2013 Festival of Motor Racing he won one race for the E30 class and had three

podium finishes and a fastest lap.

Wellington-born Quin is now based in Auckland, and has attended the MSNZ Motorsport

Academy. He says his career ambition is two-fold: to become a professional racing driver or

a race engineer with a top team. In the meantime, Callum has his sights set on winning the

Amateur category in the inaugural Toyota Finance 86 Championship.

Callum is sponsored by Telecom Ultra Mobile, Giltrap Group and Quin Motorsport

Ken Smith #47

Class: Masters

Ken Smith needs little introduction to most New Zealand race fans. He has raced every

major type of single-seater series on New Zealand circuits in a career that has spanned 55

years to date. Like David Oxton, he has been a New Zealand household name for

generations of motor racing fans. In addition to their single-seater racing careers, both

Smith and Oxton have raced ‘tintops’ with distinction.

Best known for his single-seater racing exploits, Smith – just “Kenny” to whole generations

of race-goers – won the New Zealand Gold Star series in the 1975–1976, 1983–1984, 1984–

1985, 1986–1987 and 1989–1990 seasons. He has won the New Zealand Grand Prix three

times in very different race cars: 1976, in a Lola Chev F5000 car, 1990 in a Swift Cosworth

Formula Pacific car and 2004 in a Van Diemen Stealth Evo.

Now he is going racing in a TR 86 sports coupe prepared by Trevor Scheumack’s ETEC

Motorsport team.

Smith will race this weekend under a race number that has strong emotional ties for many

New Zealanders: the #47 that adorns his TR 86 race car was Bruce McLaren’s when McLaren

and Denny Hulme dominated motor racing in the USA and Europe.

Smith has been mentoring Christchurch driver Tom Alexander, who races in the Toyota

Finance 86 Championship under Smith’s customary number 11.

“So we had to work out a new number for this car and Trevor was keen to pick up that #47,”

he said.

Bill Williams #8

Class: Masters

Entering the Masters category in the inaugural Toyota Finance 86 Championship is a

highlight for Bill Williams, one of two entries for Neil Allport Motorsports.

His racing career began in 1984 with the Ford Laser series, and in 1988 he raced for Nissan

with New Zealand motorsport ‘names’ Ray Williams, Robbie Francevic, Graeme Crosby and

Leo Leonard.

He also owns and races a classic 1969 Lotus Cortina.

Bill is sponsored by Neil Allport Motorsports.

Matt Williams #8

Class: Masters

Matthew, 35, joins his dad Bill in the #8 car. They are the only father-son pairing in the

championship. Matthew and Bill are sponsored by Neil Allport Motorsports.