Lester leads TRS rookie standings after Round 2

Jono Lester has improved to fifth overall in the 2012 Toyota Racing Series, and leads the Rookie Standings after a strong performance at the second round of the championship at Timaru International Motor Raceway.

After entering the round a lowly 12th overall following a DNF at the opening round in Invercargill, Lester aimed for a solid points haul at Timaru to head North on a high note.

The 22-year old didn’t believe 10th place in qualifying accurately reflected his pace, but an improved result of eighth in the opening race, and two fourth placings on Sunday had him tied on points for fourth overall for the round with British driver Jordan King.

Sunday’s opening race in particular was strong for Lester, improving from ninth on the grid to fourth place at the finish on a drying track where the entire field battled to preserve the life of their rapidly deteriorating wet tyres.

“Timaru was a step in the right direction for us, most of all in the fact that with mileage comes understanding, and this is really helping with my relationship with my engineers as we tune and tweak the car over a race weekend,” Lester said.

“I still have a lot to learn but we are on the right track. That last couple of tenths that seperates me from the front will be the hardest to find, however we’ve recovered some lost ground this weekend which has me in a more competitive points position.

“Taupo is my other home track after Manfeild, and I drove the TRS car there in March so I’m confident we’ll make more progress yet again next weekend.”

Lester is supported in his campaign by the New Zealand Motorsport Trust & The Lion Foundation, and partnered with Counties Toyota, TradeZone Industrial, Ports of Auckland, Vortex Racewear, Hornet Nutrition, Opti-Flex, Chemz, Webdesign, iSign it, R Redpath Limited, Sony Electronics, Loaded Sports Drink and Zero Water.