Taylor Cockerton preparing to charge up TRS standings

Taylor Cockerton needs to make up ground in the final two rounds of the Toyota Racing Series.

Taylor Cockerton’s not yet getting the results he so desperately craves but at least he is in the driver’s seat.

The 20-year-old currently sits seventh in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS) ahead of the fourth and penultimate round at Taupo this weekend but he is confident he can move up the points ladder.

Cockerton, who won the New Zealand Formula Ford championships in 2014-15, has 331 points, 260 behind series leader and fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong.

BRUCE JENKINS

Taylor Cockerton has gone from being a mechanic to the driver’s set in this year’s Toyota Racing Series.

With his talent and experience, Cockerton knows he should be closer to the leaders but just to be on the starting grid and not turning spanners in the pits is a bonus for the Pukekohe based driver.

Cockerton is no stranger to the TRS, having finished seventh in 2017 and ninth in 2016 but he was resigned to missing the 2018 edition due to a lack of funding.

BRUCE JENKINS

Taylor Cockerton is hoping an improved performance in qualifying will boost him up the leaderboard in round four of the Toyota Racing Series.

So unlikely was a drive, Cockerton took a role as a mechanic for his MTEC team to keep his foot in the camp and learn as much as he could.

But no sooner had he signed on, he received a last-minute call-up to the TRS due to some late withdrawals from the series.

In the days before the series kicked off at Ruapuna on January 10, Cockerton was still working the phones and banging on doors trying to secure sponsorship.

BRUCE JENKINS

Taylor Cockerton races around the Hampton Downs circuit during round three of the Toyota Racing Series.

Cockerton is refusing to make excuses but concedes he was on the backfoot mentally and down on practice heading into the series and a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes have hurt.

“It hasn’t been the season that we wanted so far but there is a long way to go.

“The competition is extremely tough this year. This is definitely one of the toughest fields I’ve ever raced against,” he said.

Despite his disjointed preparation, Cockerton, a graduate of MotorSport New Zealand’s Elite Motorsport Academy, showed his class when finishing fourth in the Ruapuna round before a disastrous second round at Teretonga.

Cockerton, the winner of the 2017 Formula Masters Series (FMS) in Asia, flew back to Malaysia for testing and missed practice sessions at Teretonga.

“Obviously we missed Thursday and Friday practice which put us on the backfoot and it all just spiralled downhill from there,” Cockerton said.

He is targeting the Blancpain GT Asia series in 2018 so heading back for testing in an Audi R8 GT3 at the Sepang formula one circuit was a no-brainer.

“I’d love to be a professional driver in the sportscar GT scene somewhere in Asia.”

The University of Waikato student currently juggles racing with studying for a Bachelor of Management Studies.

Cockerton returned more mid-pack results at Hampton Downs last weekend in round three but is confident he can turn his form around in Taupo.

“I know it didn’t look like it results wise but we did make some really good steps forward.”

Part of his confidence stems from holding seventh spot in a field of 13 drivers despite nothing going right in the series so far.

“What we’ve done is not a genuine reflection of my pace,” he said.

“Anything can happen, there’s still six races to go.”

He is desperate to hit the ground running in practice to get a good set up in preparation for qualifying because starting from well down in the grid has hurt his chances in the first three rounds.

“I know if we start up the front I can challenge for wins but just getting there is the tough part at the moment.

“People often overlook the importance of qualifying but in this series, most of the tracks that we run on are very hard to overtake on.”

TRS standings: Marcus Armstrong (New Zealand) 591, Robert Shwartzman (Russia) 550, Richard Verschoor (Netherlands) 521, Clement Novalak (England) 470, Juan-Manuel Correa (USA) 447, James Pull (England) 433, Taylor Cockerton (New Zealand) 331, Reid Harker (New Zealand) 327, Calvin Ming (Guyana) 317, Brendon Leitch (New Zealand) 293, Charles Milesi (France) 289, Ryan Yardley (New Zealand) 269, Cameron Das (USA) 258.

– Stuff

Source :Stuff.co.nz

Comments

comments

David Martin-Janiak Motorsports has always been a passion for me, I've raced in Karting and now I have my own Motorsports news website, so i can help other racers convey their passion to the world!