# 2021 Toyota Racing Series

The 2021 Castrol Toyota Racing Series was the seventeenth running of the Toyota Racing Series, the premier open-wheel motorsport category held in New Zealand. The series consisted of nine races at three meetings. It began on 24 January at Hampton Downs, in Waikato, and concluded on 14 February at Manfeild, Feilding. The season opener also hosted the 66th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix. The 2021 Toyota Racing Series was the first season in which no individual race teams were running and all drivers were under a Toyota Racing banner. This was due to the COVID situation.

## Teams and drivers

| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
| M2 Competition | 3 | Chris Vlok | All |
| M2 Competition | 7 | Matthew Payne | All |
| M2 Competition | 14 | Billy Frazer | All |
| M2 Competition | 15 | Kaleb Ngatoa | All |
| M2 Competition | 32 | Josh Bethune | 1 |
| M2 Competition | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | 1 |
| TGR NZ | 11 | Conrad Clark | All |
| Giles Motorsport | 22 | Tom Alexander | 1–2 |
| Giles Motorsport | 24 | Andre Heimgartner | 1 |
| Giles Motorsport | 50 | Ken Smith | 1 |
| Giles Motorsport | 84 | Peter Vodanovich | All |
| Tasman Motorsports | 27 | Daniel Gaunt | 1 |
| Tasman Motorsports | 31 | Chris van der Drift | 1 |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 51 | Greg Murphy | 1 |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 86 | Brendon Leitch | 1 |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 87 | Damon Leitch | 1 |

## Changes
### Sporting

To compensate for the shortened calendar, the race distances were increased, from 50 and 70 kilometers to 70 and 80 kilometers respectively.

## Race calendar

The 2021 calendar was announced on 17 November 2020. Heavy border restrictions in New Zealand because of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shortened calendar compared to traditional seasons, with only three race weekends at two circuits, limited to the North Island.
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Race Winner |
| 1 | R1 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 23 January | Chris van der Drift | Shane van Gisbergen | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 1 | R2 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 24 January | Shane van Gisbergen | Shane van Gisbergen | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 1 | R3 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 24 January | Kaleb Ngatoa | Shane van Gisbergen | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 2 | R1 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 30 January | Matthew Payne | Peter Vodanovich | Matthew Payne |
| 2 | R2 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 30 January | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne |
| 3 | R1 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 13 February | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne |
| 3 | R2 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 13 February | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne |
| 3 | R3 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 14 February | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne | Billy Frazer |
| 3 | R4 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 14 February | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne | Matthew Payne |
| Source: |||||||

## Championship standings
### Drivers' championship

| Pos. | Driver | HD1 | HD1 | HD1 | HD2 | HD2 | MAN | MAN | MAN | MAN | Points |
| 1 | Matthew Payne | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 287 |
| 2 | Kaleb Ngatoa | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 229 |
| 3 | Billy Frazer | 10 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 201 |
| 4 | Conrad Clark | 12 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 183 |
| 5 | Peter Vodanovich | 9 | 7 | Ret | 2 | DSQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 167 |
| 6 | Chris Vlok | 14 | 10 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 149 |
| 7 | Shane van Gisbergen | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | 105 |
| 8 | Tom Alexander | 8 | Ret | 11 | 5 | 3 | | | | | 75 |
| 9 | Chris van der Drift | 2 | 2 | 12 | | | | | | | 71 |
| 10 | Damon Leitch | 11 | 5 | 5 | | | | | | | 54 |
| 11 | Andre Heimgartner | 6 | Ret | 2 | | | | | | | 51 |
| 12 | Brendon Leitch | 4 | Ret | 6 | | | | | | | 44 |
| 13 | Daniel Gaunt | 7 | Ret | 7 | | | | | | | 36 |
| 14 | Josh Bethune | Ret | 8 | 14 | | | | | | | 23 |
| 15 | Greg Murphy | 13 | Ret | 9 | | | | | | | 22 |
| 16 | Ken Smith | 15 | Ret | 15 | | | | | | | 12 |
| Pos. | Driver | HD1 | HD1 | HD1 | HD2 | HD2 | MAN | MAN | MAN | MAN | Points |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |