Toyota Formula Regional Oceania all set for launch
Three years after the last full-strength international edition of the Toyota Racing Series, the category is set with a new name and packed grid.
The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship begins this weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park, an hour from Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island.
A new name and status on the FIA ladder, comes with an increased haul of Super Licence points for the top nine finishers.
The Toyota Formula Regional Oceania series gets underway this weekend. (Bruce Jenkins/Toyota GAZOO Racing New Zealand)
Competing for the title are fourteen drivers from around the world, helmed by four Kiwis.
Callum Hedge, James Penrose, Breanna Morris, and Liam Sceats will all compete at home for the FR Oceania title and the New Zealand Grand Prix.
A large contingent of American drivers reflects the link between the series and the other global motorsport ladder, the Road To Indy.
Drivers who compete in all five rounds of FR Oceania receive free entry into a two-day Road To Indy test and free set of tyres.
Similarly, drivers who complete at least 75% of their Road To Indy season receive full entry to the New Zealand-based category.
Jacob Abel, Ryan Shehan, David Morales, and Chloe Chambers will fly the stars and stripes on their FT-60 chassis.
From Australia, Ryder Quinn and Tom McLennan add to the grid, joined by Austrian Charlie Wurz, Brazilian Lucas Fecury, Briton Josh Mason, and for the final three rounds, Irish driver Adam Fitzgerald.
The 2023 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania series gets underway with race one at 1.30pm Saturday (AEDT), with live coverage on Sky Sport in New Zealand, Fox Sports in Australia, and on Motorsport.tv in the rest of the world.
