Formula 3-bound Igor Fraga sealed this year’s Toyota Racing Series with victory at the New Zealand Grand Prix, beating Red Bull junior Liam Lawson to the crown.
Fraga, who will compete for Charouz Racing System in FIA Formula 3 this year, and reigning champion Lawson have been the front-runners throughout the five-round winter series.
The M2 competition team-mates finished 1-2 in the opening of the three races at Manfeild, before Fraga took fourth, with Lawson fifth, in the second encounter.
Fraga claimed pole position for the 35-lap finale and took victory, his fourth of the campaign, to edge third-placed Lawson by just six points in the final reckoning.
“It is an unbelievable feeling to win,” said Fraga, following the final race, which acted as the New Zealand Grand Prix.
“I am very, very happy to succeed and it’s something really special. It is important to thank everyone who has been supporting me here.
“Obviously my parents, but also Gran Turismo who have since last year been crucial to my career. All of the M2 Competition guys have been working very hard to deliver a competitive car too.”
Fraga has gained prominence through rising up the ranks partly via the world of sim racing, having won the Gran Turismo Nations Cup, McLaren’s Shadow competition, while he also competed in Formula 1’s eSports category.
On-track the 21-year-old finished third in the 2019 Formula Regional European Championship.
Fraga is the first Brazilian to win the title, which in recent years has been claimed by Lance Stroll (2015), Lando Norris (2016) and current Formula 3 champion Robert Shwartzman (2018).
Fernando Alonso protégé Franco Colapinto took third in the standings while Red Bull and Honda junior Yuki Tsunoda, who will race for Carlin in Formula 2, was fourth overall.
