Liam Lawson takes decisive victory in first race of Toyota Racing Series
Kiwi Liam Lawson has taken out the first race of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series at Highlands Motorsport Park,
The 2017 Australian Formula 4 and German F4 runner-up qualified third but started second after Marcus Armstrong was dropped down the order, as his final lap was set under yellow flags.
Lawson overtook pole-sitter Raoul Hyman with a much stronger start, pushing around the outside of the first corner before completing the move in the ‘Bus Stop’ section of the Cromwell circuit.
From there, Lawson was untouchable, pulling away from the pack and setting consecutive fastest laps. The #10 driver finished with a decisive 9.037s lead over second place Marcus Armstrong, with Lucas Auer finishing third.
Lawson said "I’m stoked! Since I started racing I’ve wanted to race TRS and to finally be able to do that today is pretty cool.”
“After qualifying on the front row, I was focusing on my start, making sure I was going to get away cleanly and then make sure I could either move forward or hold my position into the turn two. Going into the bus stop alongside Raoul was pretty cool but luckily I was able to pop out ahead of him.”
“From there it was just about getting into my grove and getting a gap on the field. I think we looked after our tyres pretty good. I can’t thank the M2 Competition enough, they’ve provided another winning car in this series and I’m privileged to be a part of it.”
Watch the full race replay here.
Liam Lawson makes his getaway at the first chicane. Image: Bruce Jenkins
Full results:
- Liam Lawson
- Marcus Armstrong +9.037
- Lucas Auer +10.060
- Raoul Hyman +13.106
- Brendon Leitch +15.158
- Esteban Muth +19.280
- Petr Ptacek +20.507
- Kazuto Kotaka +20.882
- Cameron Das +22.088
- Artem Petrov +22.727
- Calan Williams +32.163
- Petru Florescu +33.554
- Parker Locke +36.209
- Dev Gore +37.060
- Thomas Smith +42.749
Image: Geoff Ridder
