Toyota GR86 Driver Makes The Save Of The Year After Brutal Spin

Sep. 04, 2022 8:36 AM ET by Chase Bierenkoven Motorsport / 4 Comments

Some people couldn't do this in a racing sim, much less in real life.

All forms of motor racing are full of incredible moments. Often, those moments at the very top levels of motorsport go down in history and are remembered forever. Just Formula One on its own is full of plenty of examples. The Verstappen and Hamilton last-lap battle for the championship last year. Senna's famous lap around a rainy Monaco. But the average racing folks need some credit too.

Like Bailey Sweeny, an Australian racing driver you've probably never heard of. The Aussie made one of the most incredible and skilled saves we've seen in a while this month at Australia's Sandown Raceway. Honestly, this is probably the finest bit of racing someone's done in a Toyota GR86 since the car's inception.

https://twitter.com/Hunter_Wofford/status/1560811413488242688

Supposing you've not watched the video, this killer save took place during a support race at the aforementioned track. Apparently, Sweeny was fighting to keep his P5 spot for the last lap of the race. While headed down into turn one, Sweeny makes a move to his left, covering off the car behind. Then, another car taps his rear, sending him spinning. Normally, that's your race, and you're now more focused on the wall you're getting a peek at every time your car rotates towards it. Instead, Sweeny saves the thing, spinning it around with the best J-turn we've ever seen and then got back into the action in one swift motion.

This might sound a bit familiar to those of you that keep up with F1. Max Verstappen pulled a similar move at Budapest this year. Only Max was so far ahead of anyone that it didn't matter. He went on to win the race post-spin. Unfortunately, Sweeny didn't have similar luck. His race, despite the miraculous save, ended in 12th position. However, Sweeny didn't get there without fighting like hell. After the J-turn, he carries on, outwardly unbothered, fighting for position with the other cars. But here's the best part: the racer manages to overtake a car almost immediately after.

Sweeny and the two cars pictured below headed into the turn three abreast, something you'd more likely see at the Kemmel straight than in race down-under at a track no one's ever heard of. Regardless, the trio battle for a moment before Sweeny is able to take the all-black car on his right on the exit. It was, in short, some seriously impressive wheeling. Despite the heavy losses in position, you can't help but respect the man's perseverance. No one in our office could manage such a save, not even in Gran Turismo.

Toyota GR86 Driver Makes The Save Of The Year After Brutal Spin

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Toyota GR86 Driver Makes The Save Of The Year After Brutal Spin

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