Christina Orr-West – one of the finest racing women NZ has ever produced – will run a full season in the inaugural Bridgestone GR86 Championship.
The Whakatane veteran – who has raced in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, Indy Lights and GT3 during a long and impressive career as an amateur – will run in the iconic yellow livery of long-time supporter Dayle ITM.
The new car will be run by Christina’s regular engineers at Christchurch-based James Marshall Motorsport. Competing in the Masters class as well as for overall points, the veteran has her sights firmly set on adding to her career tally of podium finishes and race wins.
“I haven’t lost any passion over the years for racing and there’s no question that over the last few seasons the Toyota 86 Championship has produced some world class racing with all of the usual highs and lows you would expect from this sport,” she explained.
“I’m delighted to be part of the new championship and I am as motivated as I have ever been to be competitive and to be a regular at the front. This year, with it being a level playing field for all of the drivers and all of the teams, perhaps experience in racing and experience in setting up a car will be more important than ever.
“Our team is well used to working together and we know that even when the field has been super competitive, we can still find the speed to run at or near the front.
“Let’s see what we can do with this exciting new championship and our new car. It’s going to be a lot of fun and as always, I’ll be aiming to win and give the kids a run for their money.”
The championship – which will see more than 20 of the exciting new GR86 cars competing over six rounds across the North and South Islands – gets underway at the Taupo International Motorsport Park on November 22-24 before a summer holiday break.
It resumes in January and will culminate with the final round back at Taupo as part of the Supercars weekend.
2024-2025 Bridgestone GR86 Championship
Round 01: 22-24 November 2024, Taupo International Motorsport Park
Round 02: 17-19 January 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (International Layout)
Round 03: 31 Jan – 2 February 2025, Teretonga Park, Invercargill
Round 04: 7 – 9 February 2025, Highlands Motorsport Park, 69th New Zealand Grand Prix
Round 05: 21-23 March 2025, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (National Layout)
Round 06: 11-13 April 2025, Taupo International Motorsport Park – Supercars
Toyota Racing
