Although plagued with a number of mechanical issues, 2022 saw Harry Gray secure his highest Toyota 86 Championship result, finishing fifth in his third and final year in the series. 

Overall, how would you rate your season?

HG: I’d probably rate my season 5/10. We had a lot of car trouble this year and I think I could have seen a lot better results but to get P5 in the Championship with the trouble we had was a pretty good effort.

You were fast right out the gate at SMSP, how did that set up your expectations for the year? 

HG: Going fastest in practice right away at SMSP and achieving three P7’s, I had high expectations for the year but we struggled a bit from then on. I was hoping to achieve a pole position or a race win this season which we unfortunately didn’t achieve. It was disappointing because I felt like we were very capable of that. 

What was the most challenging aspect of this year?

HG: For me, knowing I have good pace and not being able to do anything with it was probably the most challenging aspect of the year. We had a lot of electrical dramas with the car that we were chipping away at all year but I didn’t feel as though we achieved the maximum potential.

This was your third year in the Toyota 86 category, what is the biggest change in yourself between now and when you started in the category?

HG: The biggest thing for me is something I’ve worked on a lot this year and that’s my mindset. Rather than going into a race weekend thinking about how other people are going to perform, I’ve really been just focusing on myself and my own performance. Once I started to think more like that, the results started to come. 

You finished 5th in this year’s Championship which is your highest position so far, were you happy with that result?

HG: I was happy to be in the top five and honestly I was quite surprised after all of the issues over the year. We absolutely could have been higher, we had two really bad rounds and still finished top 5 so it kind of highlighted where we could have been. 

What are your current plans for 2023?

HG: There’s a lot going on ahead of next year and a lot of different conversations being had. After doing a couple of rounds in the V8 SuperUtes this year, there may be an opportunity there but we’ll have to wait and see.