While not widely known in the United States, the Toyota TR 86 (sold as the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ stateside) is considered a solid entry-level race car in many other parts of the world. A few of them race at the Nurburgring and several countries, most notably Australia and New Zealand, have one-make Toyota 86 championships. During the third race in support of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand, driver Michael Scott went for one of the most unbelievable rides you’ll ever see on a road course.
At one of the Kiwi circuit’s many pinch points, Turn 10, Scott ends up driving making contact that sends his Toyota rolling. It enters the sand trap outside of the high-speed turn completely upside down. Scott’s Toyota digs in and starts rolling hard, eventually landing atop the tire barrier that pushes his entire car over the catch fence to land upside-down on the pitlane. Luckily, Scott gets out of the car OK and is even well enough to give the camera a raised eyebrow before heading to get checked out completely by the medics.
With Mazda MX-5s in relatively short supply Down Under, the Toyota TR 86 serves as something similar to the MX-5 Cup or even Spec Miata that we have in the United States. As such, it serves as a development tool for young drivers and the series, usually held over the Southern Hemisphere summer, often runs in support of Supercars and other sports car races.
