Brit enters title chase

A late mistake by series leader Ugo Ugochukwu at Teretonga gave team-mate Freddie Slater the Spirit of a Nation feature race trophy in the third round of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT).

It propelled the British racer into the title fight with four races at Highlands next week remaining, including NZ Grand Prix. Louis Sharp had a strong run to second with Jin Nakamura third for Hitech. Ugochukwu’s late run-off left him to struggle home in 14th.

“We didn’t have the pace in the dry and when the rain came it was reset time,” says Slater. “I had a mega final restart and was happy to put him under pressure and be on his tail into turn one. It was a good way to finish the weekend, but we have some work to do to win this thing.”

With Slater on pole and Ugochukwu on the front row alongside him, the Spirit of a Nation Trophy feature had the two fastest drivers of the weekend out front.

As the lights went out, the drivers did their first dry-weather start of the weekend. Ironically, as the cars pulled up to the start, the sky darkened and the rain came yet again – albeit lightly – with all the field on slicks. Push to pass was available and the drivers had eight to play with over the 30 laps.

Ugochukwu was aggressive on the formation lap warming his tyres and it was the championship leader who got the initial grip. He and Slater fought it out around the first turn, but it was latter who took the lead as there was a fair bit of chaos behind.

Ryan Wood had full opposite lock engaged on the exit of turn one but survived. Cooper Shipman understeered off and bounced through the gravel trap on the outside but got back onto the circuit. Zack Scoular, went off on the inside but could also carry on. 

But Red Bull Junior Ernesto Rivera wasn’t as fortunate and beached his car at turn two. And that brought out the first safety car. Six laps were required to clear his vehicle off.

Slater controlled the restart well and led Ugochukwu by three lengths as they crossed the line. Scoular was first to use push to pass on lap eight and went around the outside of Kalle Rovanperä for seventh.

By lap 13, Ugochukwu was on the tail of Slater, who had dropped a wheel off the track at turn five in his bid to stay ahead of his team-mate. The two remained locked in combat and, as they started lap 16, Ugochukwu deployed a push to pass and went for the lead. 

Slater has his push to pass back for the straight next time around but went off as the rain started to fall. Ugochukwu was gone, but the safety car came out after another incident. The downpour brought out the red flag and suspension of the race, which allowed all teams to put wets on.

After a lengthy delay the race finally resumed with six to go and it was a clean restart for all.

Then it all went wrong for Ugochukwu who went off at turn one but managed to get back on track. That was all Slater needed and he found himself two seconds ahead of Louis Sharp with Nakamura Jin in third.

Ugochukwu leads the championship with 237 points ahead of next weekend’s final round at Highlands. Slater is second with 215 and Nakamura third on 211. Two Kiwis complete the top five – Sharp with 207 points and Wood on 202.

American dominates race

Ugo Ugochukwu was back in the winner’s circle with a dominant victory in the second race of the rain-affected weekend.

Vastly superior pace in the wet saw him race away from second-placed Ryan Wood early on and take a comfortable chequered flag, despite two safety cars and single-lap dash at the end.

Wood held on for second, a good job considering the scrap that went on behind him for third, which eventually went to Cooper Shipman. 

The race win was one of the most significant so far for Ugochukwu in this season’s trophy as he raced to victory number three of 2026. He says: “I was comfortable in the lead and the pace was strong.

“I had to manage those restarts, but I was pushing hard and wanted fastest lap as well. Overall, I’m really happy to get this win and we’ve put ourselves in a great position.”

The wet conditions that had blighted the two days of competition and all vehicles lined up on full wets. With light rain persisting, the field did two formation laps.

Ugochukwu made the best start to lead into turn one. Wood made no secret that he had been struggling for that last bit of pace, but he also made a strong start.

Ugochukwu swept away in dominant fashion over the opening lap. Behind in the pack, however, there was contact between Kanato Le and Freddie Slater, which sent the pair into the grass.

With 18 laps to run, Ugochukwu stayed well in control. Taylor had Wood in his sights and almost made the pass for second but couldn’t quite make it stick. 

The second safety car came out on lap 15. The field bunched up again for the second restart but only made it a few hundred metres before Jin Nakamura went off.

All the drama would also prove to be great news for Wood, whose second-place finish vaulted him up the points table. It was Ugochukwu who took the win, ahead of Wood, Shipman.

Freddie Slater impressive

A fine drive in the rain and a safety-car interrupted first race saw the UK’s Freddie Slater race away to an impressive first win in the series.

It also saw two-time world rally champion Kalle Rovanperä take his first podium in single-seater racing after a stellar drive. His team-mate Nakamura was second, a car length or so ahead of the Finn.

But it was all about Slater’s dominance in treacherous conditions and he was the sixth driver to win a race by this stage of this season.

“That was probably as much fun as I have had so far,” says Slater. “It’s always challenging in the wet and you are flirting with the limits, but it was good fun out there finding the rhythm.”

Soaking conditions made qualifying something of a lottery and that, combined with several grid penalties, left Red Bull Junior Ernesto Rivera on pole.

As the lights went out, Slater made the best start followed by Rovanperä and Nakamura, but it was all over for Rivera as he spun off at the first turn after making contact with Slater, bringing out the safety car for five laps.

Slater made a clean getaway at the restart and took a couple of lengths from Nakamura and Rovanperä. The Brit raced away to a lead of almost six seconds by the halfway mark.

Lap 15 brought out the second safety car when Zack Scoular’s progress was halted with a spin into the tyre wall on the exit if turn one, and he was followed by Yevan David a few corners further on. 

It was lap 20 before the lights went out and the field were able to resume with the track still wet. Slater repeated his perfectly judged restart and took a clear lead within a couple of corners. With just over a lap to go, Nolan Allaer put his car in the gravel and brought out the third safety car enabling Slater to cruise home in first place.