CareVets Scholarship winner all set for Trophy Series

CareVets Scholarship winner Taylor Mitchell is the final piece of the jigsaw for the 2026 Toyota 86 Trophy Series which gets underway at Hampton Downs with practice today.

Hamilton-based Mitchell spent nine years racing karts before moving into car racing at the age of 15 in the BMW E46 Spec Series, where he’s now completed three seasons.

He says highlights were securing pole position, his first win and round podiums but those are top moments shared with winning the Scholarship last month. “My goal has always been to progress into the Toyota 86 categories,” he said. “The CareVets Scholarship provided the perfect opportunity to take that next step.

“Winning it was the major factor in being able to compete in the Toyota 86 Trophy Series.”

Taylor’s focus during his first Toyota 86 campaign will be to learn as much as he can – on and off the track.

"Yes that’s got to be the goal. Every racing driver wants to win and I’m no different but I have to look at this series as a golden opportunity to continue developing as a driver, learn the car, and consistently improve my race craft and set-up skills throughout the season.

“If I get those right, hopefully the results will be there.”

Taylor has already had some productive time in his Skunkworks-run 86 in the build-up to the first racing weekend, and he’s been working hard on the technical side of things so he can make the most of the expert engineering skills around him.

“I’ve had a test day in the car,” he added. “It was a good day spent learning the car and tweaking the set-up to get it more to my liking.

“I’ve also been studying data, watching in car stuff and hitting the gym to make sure I’m as good as I can be when I take to the track.”

Taylor has amassed an impressive list of sponsors to back his four-round campaign, including MRX, Maxus Caravans, Tony Richards Toyota, Cambridge Auto Electric, OCL, Skunkworks, Allfast, Prosport Auto and – of course – CareVets.

2026 Toyota 86 Trophy Series

Round 1: 16 and 17 May at Hampton Downs (NZIGP Season Finale)

Round 2: 20 and 21 June at Taupo Motorsport Park (Taupo Car Club Winter Series)

Round 3: 4 and 5 July at Manfeild - Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding Auto Electrical Winter Series)

Round 4: 1 and 2 August at Manfeild - Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding Auto Electrical Winter Series)