The season at a glance
7/16 RACE WINS
13/16 PODIUM FINISHES
4/7 POLE POSITIONS
The Full Story
After winning the Excelr8 MINI Challenge scholarship, Toby would join the grid for his first season in car racing in 2018. The championship would take him to the best tracks in the UK, in a race-tuned MINI Cooper touring car. Being a senior graded championship, Toby would be up against much older and more seasoned drivers, and the close quarters, wheel-to-wheel racing meant he would have a lot to learn and a huge challenge ahead.
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He would finish the season P3 in his debut season, earning the team their only win of the year, and securing numerous podiums and even a pole position. The next year, Toby would remain with the team and championship, aiming for the top step. Still just 17, he would have a lot of pressure to manage, spearheading the team’s championship hopes and applying what he learnt in his first year.
Round one at Snetterton would see Toby grasp a dominant pole position in wet conditions, setting a time 1.2 seconds quicker than P2 at the late stages of the session and proving why he is a strong contender for the championship.
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Into a dry race one, Toby would have a strong start and was leading the pack, before a mid-race red flag caused a race restart. After the restart, it was a close fight between the top three, but after dropping back to P2, Toby would be caught up in an accident going for an overtake, putting him out of the race.
A new day and a new race, Toby lined up at the back of the field for the final race of the weekend. Eager to make up for the previous day’s misfortune, he would waste no time in clawing his way up the field, and after just three laps he found himself P5, closing fast on the leading group. With just 2 laps to go, Toby was P3, sitting just behind the leaders and applying the pressure, waiting for an opening to make the pass. After some close fights, Toby finished the race P3, a well-earned podium after a strong drive from the back of the field. He also picked up the fastest lap of the race, setting a lap record in the process.
Over to Oulton Park for round two and it was another dominant qualifying session. Pole position and a new lap record for Toby, his second of the year. Race one continued this momentum, with a strong lights-to-flag win against immense pressure from P2. A race two reverse grid would see Toby start P6 but this would not hinder him much, as he yet again stormed through the pack to finish P2, mere tenths off P1.
“It’s been a pretty great start to the season. We’ve had really strong pace so far, and it’s great to be able to transfer that to the race as well. We have a long way to go though and many more races ahead, so we will keep our heads down and take it one race at a time.”
Brands hatch would be host to the third and biggest round of the championship. Being one of the main events of the weekend's annual MINI Festival, the weekend promised big crowds as well as one extra race, giving the drivers 3 opportunities for points and podiums.
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Once again, Toby hit the ground running. Pole position yet again in qualifying, only a tenth off the lap record he himself set the previous year. Into race one, and in front of a crowd of thousands, Toby would lead the pack for the entire race, bringing home another strong P1 and more points for the championship.
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Race two would see an immense race long fight between the leaders, with position and lead changes occurring numerous times, even on the same lap. Toby would finish the race P3, managing to keep himself on the podium and only narrowly missing out on the win. Into the final race of the weekend, Toby would line up mid-pack after the reverse grid, and would have to work hard to secure himself a podium let alone a race win. This would not stop him however, as one-by-one he made overtakes on the cars in front, getting closer to the lead pack each time. With 15 minutes to go, Toby took the lead, and began to build himself a gap to the cars behind. The pressure was on with the chasing cars less than a second behind and one mistake would likely cost Toby the win. Toby kept his head however, and drove a faultless final stage of the race to bring home another win in what was one of his strongest drives in the season so far.
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“It’s been an incredible weekend, it’s a great event and to race in front of such a crowd is a privilege we don’t get too often. I’m really happy with our performance as well, we really extracted the maximum this weekend and I hope to carry that momentum forward into the next round.”
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The next round would head north, to Croft. After some promising times in free practice, it was lining up to be another strong weekend for Toby as he headed out for qualifying. However, he struggled to get the same pace out of the car as he had done before, ending the session P6 and with questions as to what had led to the drop in pace.
After some investigating, it was discovered that two of the car's dampers had popped, and very little fluid remained, resulting in a car that would have very asymmetric stiffness in its setup. Unfortunately, there would be no time to fix the issue before race 1, and Toby would have to drive through the issue. After a strong start, Toby fought his way up to P4, and was only a couple of seconds off the podium, a great result given the circumstances. Due to a reverse grid, Toby now started near the front for race two, and after some overnight work by the team, lined up with the dampers repaired and a car back in form.
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His results showed this, as he once again fought his way through the pack and delivered the team a race win for all their hard work. A strong end to a difficult weekend.
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Cadwell Park was next on the tour, a notoriously tight and twisting track, with very little run off should a mistake occur. This did not affect Toby’s pace however, as he would go on to set his 4th pole position of the year and later that day translate this result into a lights to flag win in race one. Race two would see him start near the back of the grid after the reverse grid from race one. At such a tight track, overtaking would be more challenging than usual, and any progress up the grid would be a great result.
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Toby sustained lap one contact, putting him down to last, and now faced an even bigger task ahead to finish the race with strong points. Toby’s pace from qualifying was seen once again however, as he managed to find the overtakes, and work his way back up the field. With just one lap to go, he was sitting P4 and right on the tail of the final podium position. Toby made a dive down the inside into a braking zone, and took the position, awarding him P3 at the end of what was a very challenging race.
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“It’s been a weekend of ups and downs, but I’m glad to be walking away with some great results. Driving around here is always a challenge and racing even more so, so I’m really pleased that we showed the pace we did. It’s close for the championship lead, so we will be giving it everything in the final two rounds."s now”
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Now, to Donington Park for the penultimate round of the championship. Still very much in the championship fight, Toby would be needing a strong set of results to optimise his chances going into the final round, and with three races this weekend, it would offer a great chance to do so.
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A mixed qualifying saw Toby line up P5 for race one, struggling to get the pace from the car he had done previously in the year. However, he would not stay there long in the first race of the weekend, fighting his way up to P3 to finish. Race two and three looked to be wet on the Sunday, and sure enough, as they lined up to the grid for the race start, the heavens opened.
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Toby would take an early lead, adjusting well to the wet conditions, and would go on to secure a win in race two in challenging conditions. Once again, the track was wet as they set off for the final race of the weekend, this time with Toby starting mid-pack due to a reverse grid. He would once again fight his way through the field, finding the grip and making the overtakes amongst the rain.
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He would cross the line with another win, and a strong haul of points going into the championship finale.
“A very tricky weekend with some changeable conditions, but we made the most of it. It looks like it will go down to the wire this year, so all to play for in the final round.”
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And so, for the finale, once again at Snetterton circuit where it all kicked off at the beginning of the year. As they headed out for a wet qualifying, the sun began to shine, and it was clear the track would get faster as the session progressed. Toby pitted mid-session to change to dry tyres from the wets, and was on a flying lap, when on the exit of one of the highest speed corners was left with nowhere to go due to a stationary vehicle, and made heavy contact.
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The car was an immediate write off, but fortunately Toby was unharmed. The team scrambled to fix up the spare car they had, and with just an hour to go until race one, managed to get the replacement car ready to race. Toby would not let his misfortune from qualifying affect him, and drove through the field to secure a podium finish in race one. From reverse grid in race two, Toby would finish P5, ultimately just narrowly missing out on the championship win.
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“It’s been an incredible year, and I’m really proud of what we have achieved as a team. We came very close, and we can be happy with that. I’ve learnt so much from driving against such competition, and it has given me experience that I can carry forward.”
