The NISMO can just be seen from this angle
PlayStation champ wins Toyota Racing Series at Timaru
Photo: Jan Mardenborough
From PlayStation to real racetracks, Jann Mardenborough has proved himself a winner.
The young British racer got his break into motor racing by winning a Gran Turismo competition from 90,000 other entrants, earning support from Nissan for a campaign in real cars.
Today at Timaru he scored a first and a second in the Toyota Racing Series, giving him the overall round victory and putting him second in the championship after two rounds.
“I’m really happy,” he said. “This is my second time here and it definitely helps to know the circuits and what to expect from the cars.
“I’m learning how to be consistent, which helps a lot in a championship. I’ve finished every single race.
“Nissan set me up and they are backing me all the way. I just need to learn from my mistakes and keep improving. Single-seaters are the best place to learn and I want to see how far I can go in single-seaters, though I also love the GT class.”
And he still likes his PlayStation. “I spent a lot of time on it for a couple of weeks over the Christmas break,” he said.
Mardenborough started today’s first race from pole and led all the way to record his first single-seater victory, although he has also won in GTs.
In the feature race, the Timaru Herald Trophy, the British driver crossed the line third, behind Estonian Martin Rump and Singaporean Andrew Tang. But Rump was penalised for jumping the start so Tang and Mardenborough were elevated one place each.
Tang thereby scored his second victory of the series, aided by the fact that he had seen Rump moving before the start.
“It was pretty straightforward after he jumped the start,” he said. “My speed was there but I was not taking too many risks; I knew the race was mine to lose.”
Tang finished well clear of Mardenborough and Christchurch rookie James Munro, who turns 17 tomorrow. Munro, who had scored a stunning victory yesterday in only his second TRS meeting, also finished third overall for the round despite losing time with collision damage to his car in this morning’s race.