Timaru teen secures seat

Corban Sprague will fly the flag for CareVets in the Toyota TR86 Trophy Series after winning a hotly contested scholarship shoot-out at Hampton Downs.

The 18-year-old from Timaru, Jacob Begg, Toby McCormack, Mac Berkett, Yoshi Comeskey, Riley Boswell, Will Kitching and Ryan Crombie were put to the test on and off-track in three sessions covering driving, fitness and interviewing.

All drivers had a run in the ex-Callum Hedge NZ championship winning CareVets TR86 that will be used in the winter series, with all of them being closely observed from the passenger seat by current Bridgestone GR86 Championship leader Hugo Allan.

The eight hopefuls battled through a gruelling maximum ramp test on the Wattbike – a cycling equivalent of running’s “beep” test – to assess fitness and endurance. 

After that, they were put through a rigorous interview that included questions about their driving, how they would handle certain racing scenarios, their knowledge of the sport and racing heroes.

Sprague showed grit and determination in the fitness test, was quick on the track, showed lots of potential and interviewed exceptionally well. 

He entered the competition with one of the most diverse backgrounds of any of the eight by bringing grass karting, 2K Cup, Endurance and Mazda Series skills to the shoot-out.

“You have to believe you can do it,” says Sprague. “It’s awesome to finish on top in a field of really good drivers. I was happy with my fitness test and interview, but knew my driving would be my strong point.

“I will let all my partners and sponsors know what it all means and I’m going to get stuck into the preparation for the first round. It’s a key moment so far in my racing career.”

Sprague doesn’t have long to wait to race the car for the first time with round one locked in for May 9-10 at Hampton Downs.