Wil Longmore Racing

TGRA Scholarship Series

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And so we farewell the TGRA Scholarship Series for 2024. We rolled into Sandown Raceway on Friday, eager for our first weekend at this track in a long time, and our first time there in the Toyota 86.

With three untimed practice sessions on the schedule, we were ready to fine-tune the car for Saturday’s qualifying session.

Friday’s practice sessions allowed us to dial in the car, but unfortunately, a rear shock failure late in session three meant we had some work to do before Saturdays qualifying session.

The team moved quickly to replace the shock and some other damages, but in our efforts to get things prepared for Saturday, we reset the shocks to their previous height, not accounting for the possibility of sagging with the new shock.

Saturday morning’s qualifying session saw us put down a decent lap, placing the car 11th on the grid. However, our earlier oversight caught up with us, the shock had sagged significantly during the session, causing the rear ride height to fall just under the required ride height measurement. As a result, we were handed a rear-of-grid penalty for the first race, setting us back to P26.

Faced with this challenge, our focus shifted to making up as much ground as possible throughout the three races and collecting needed championship points.

Race one was a battle from the back, but I was pleased to fight through the field and finish in P14.

Starting race two from P14, we were determined to keep climbing. With steady progress and some aggressive moves, I crossed the line in 7th. Post-race penalties for other drivers meant I’d start race three from P6, giving us a shot at a strong finish.

In the final race, I quickly moved up to 2nd, pushing hard to maintain our position. Unfortunately, a late safety car bunched up the field, leading to a last-lap dash where I dropped to 3rd. Regardless of the drop, finishing on the podium after starting the weekend at the rear was an achievement I didn’t envision on Saturday morning.

Despite the mechanical mishap in qualifying, I’m incredibly proud of the team’s effort and attitude. To bounce back from the rear of the field and fight for podiums speaks volumes. It was a tough weekend, but I’m glad to leave Sandown having finished the season on a considerable high note.

As always none of this would ever be possible without the support of our sponsors my parents, Paul, and the efforts from the rest of the team.