New name for single-seater series
The Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS) is set to get a new name and status in global motorsport with the world governing body confirming it will become the Oceania edition of its Formula Regional (FR) championships next year.
The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship – certified by FIA will become the most important single-seater championship in New Zealand, Australia and beyond.
It will reward its champion with a significantly increased haul of 18 Super Licence points – up from 10. These points will be awarded all the way down to the ninth-place overall finisher.
The convenient scheduling of the New Zealand series over five weekends during our summer offers perfect timing for drivers looking for a competitive and relevant career championship before the northern hemisphere summer season starts. It means it’s likely to become a popular addition to the international roster of FIA-certified FR championships.
It will also be a cost-effective FR championship with drivers getting 3,500km of testing, practice, qualifying and race time on five of the country’s best and most challenging tracks.
The FIA approved FR series are certified regional one-make Formula championships. The Kiwi series, although it has been using the FR rules for some time, will join those in the Middle East and India as the FIA expands from four to seven championships next year.
The first FR series under new regulations were launched in Asia and North America in 2018, followed by their European counterpart in 2019 and Japan in 2020.
This step on the FIA’s global pathway for single-seater categories, which was launched in December 2017, is designed to bridge the gap between Formula 4 and the global F3 Championship with all vehicles being powered by 270bhp engines.
Although choice of chassis and engine manufacturer varies in different regions, the basic regulations of Formula Regional series around the planet are the same.
“The Castrol TRS championship has always been a significant one on the junior formulae calendar and traditionally attracts an extremely high quality field of drivers,” says Nicolas Caillol, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand Manager.
“The new status of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship brings more clarity on where the category stands in the pathway to F1 created by the FIA. Thanks to investment from Toyota over the years and the way the championship has evolved, this will be the cheapest and most competitive option available at this level for drivers and junior teams.
“We have identical cars fully FIA-compliant on safety and performance with engine performance controlled by Toyota. We have four highly experienced contracted teams that run the cars. We know the championship always favours the best drivers and those who gel most effectively with their engineers, which is how a championship at this level should be.
“Those qualities and easier accessibility as a major junior championship will be the building blocks of what’s an exciting future as the major single-seater championship in the Oceania region.
“It’s also fantastic to be taking our long-time title sponsor Castrol on this next phase of our journey. They are as passionate about motorsport as we are.”
The TRS had one of the best records in junior formulae for the proportion of its drivers over the years who have made it to F1 or achieved other notable successes. Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda, Nicolas Latifi, Lance Stroll and Zhou Guanyu have all raced in it. Norris and Stroll were both champions.
This season’s championship will feature three of the four regular teams – M2 Competition, Kiwi Motorsport and Giles Motorsport after MTEC Motorsport was forced to pull out due to driver withdrawals. Toyota GAZOO Racing NZ will be working with the team to ensure they are back on the grid in 2024.
The 2023 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship certified by FIA kicks off at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell from January 13-15.
