Nathan Grammer Toyota 86 Trophy Series Wrap: Four Wins & P2

The 2026 Toyota 86 Trophy Series started with a clear goal for Nathan Grammer and NG Racing: seat time, development and preparation for the next step into the Bridgestone GR86 Championship.

By the end of the series, that goal had turned into four race wins, eight podium finishes and a fight for the Toyota Winter Series title that went all the way to the final race.

Nathan finished the Winter Series second overall, just one point behind Mackenzie Motorsport teammate Nieko Scoles, while recording the most race wins of the season.

A Season Focused on Development

Heading into the series, Nathan and the team had already committed to their pathway for the upcoming Bridgestone GR86 Championship.

For that reason, the decision was made not to contest the overall CareVets Scholarship, with the Toyota 86 Trophy Series instead providing an opportunity to maximise competitive seat time and continue Nathan's development in the Toyota 86.

That didn't change the approach once the lights went out.

Throughout the series, Nathan consistently raced at the front, working on racecraft, consistency and extracting more from both himself and the car with every round.

Four Race Wins and Eight Podiums

Across the season Nathan secured:

4 x Race Wins 2 x P2 finishes 2 x P3 finishes P2 overall in the Toyota Winter Series

The four victories gave Nathan the most race wins across the season, an encouraging result in a series that had originally been entered primarily for development and additional race mileage.

But the championship story wasn't over.

One Point in It at Manfeild

Nathan arrived at the final round at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon sitting fourth in the Toyota Winter Series standings, with everything still to play for.

A wet qualifying session provided one of the standout moments of the weekend. Sitting P5 as the session entered its final minutes, Nathan put together a lap when it counted to move into P2 on the grid.

From there, the results came.

Two race wins and a second-place finish across the final weekend moved Nathan from P4 to P2 in the championship standings, leaving him just a single point short of teammate Nieko Scoles for the Winter Series title.

It was an incredibly close finish to a championship that hadn't initially been the primary objective.

Building Towards the Bridgestone GR86 Championship

More important than the final championship position is what Nathan takes away from the series.

The additional racing provided valuable experience across qualifying, race starts, close battles, changing track conditions and managing an entire race weekend. Combined with Nathan's development through the 2026 Elite Motorsport NZ Academy and recent driver training at Norwell Motorplex in Australia, it has been an important period of progression.

Thank You to the Team Behind Us

None of these results happen without the people behind the scenes.

A huge thank you to Mackenzie Motorsport for everything they put into the car and every race weekend, and to our partners J.A. Russell Ltd, Marley, Ambius, Nu Green, IMPAC+, Stang Media, Valiant Electrical, Energy Corse NZ, Mason Armstrong Motorsport, Urban Performance, Gus Lam Performance and Shutter Media for continuing to back Nathan and NG Racing.

We’re also incredibly grateful to our family, friends and everyone who follows and supports the journey. Having such a strong group of people behind us makes it possible to keep pushing forward.

And of course, a special mention to the trusty TR86. What started as a season focused on seat time and development finished with four race wins, eight podiums and P2 in the Toyota Winter Series, just one point from the title.

Now the focus turns to the upcoming Bridgestone GR86 Championship, with preparations well underway for the next chapter of NG Racing.