Pitt sees off strong challenge
Dion Pitt came out on top after a fantastic battle in the feature race at the penultimate round of the 2023 Toyota 86 Championship at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon.
An Ayrton Hodson crash on the 11th lap of 14 meant the race finished under the safety car, but Pitt had already done enough to see off fierce challenges from weekend pace-setter Clay Osborne and championship leader Brock Gilchrist.
Osborne’s second place won him the round and narrowed the gap to the championship leader, but Gilchrist will still head into the final weekend with a 76-point advantage.
Pitt’s race win on April 17 was outstanding and cemented his place in the top three of the 2023 series with one round to go.
The battle between the top three was the best of the season so far and Pitt, pictured, had to pull off the pass of the season – overtaking Osborne and Gilchrist down the inside of turn one – to win it.
“When you have momentum on the other guys like that it works,” says Pitt. “They were too busy looking at each other and didn’t see me coming so it kind of worked out pretty well. It looks like I’m a good comeback driver. Not sure if I like that but if I get a race win, I’ll take that every time.”
The final race was just warming up for a thrilling final three laps across the top 10 when heavy contact on Hodson from Will Morton sent the Katikati driver backwards into the tyres at the final turn when he had once again shown great pace.
There was no time for a restart and, as the cars cruised behind the safety car and past the chequered flag, it was Pitt from Osborne, Gilchrist, Justin Allen, masters class winner John Penny, Christina Orr-West and rookie winner Rylan Gray in seventh.
Gilchrist bounced back from a difficult Saturday to take a fine win in the dramatic second race, while Osborne took his first race victory in the championship after overcoming a poor start and a determined Pitt for victory.
Once again, the Toyota 86 series will go down to the final round at Hampton Downs on May 5-7 and Gilchrist is the man they must beat. There’s no doubt the Matakana driver will stick to the formula that has served him so well this season – taking every session and every race one at a time.
Drivers’ standings
1. Brock Gilchrist, 981 points
2. Clay Osborne, 905pts
3. Dion Pitt, 809pts
4. Justin Allen, 767pts
5. John Penny, 728pts
