# 2025 Formula Regional Oceania Championship

The 2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship was the third season of the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, and the twentieth running of the premier open-wheel motorsport category formerly known as the Toyota Racing Series It was held in New Zealand over five consecutive weekends in January and February 2025.
The highest placed Australian or Kiwi driver after the first two rounds was awarded the Tasman Cup. Zack Scoular, driving for mtec Motorsport, was second overall after the second round, thereby claiming that title.
Scoular then also went on to win the Rookie Championship at the penultimate round of the season, before Arvid Lindblad, driving for M2 Competition, took the Drivers' Championship with two races to spare and his team took the Teams' Championship at the same race.

## Entry list

All drivers competed with identical Tatuus FT-60 chassis cars powered by 2.0L turbocharged Toyota engines running on 100% fossil-free fuel.
| Team | No. | Driver | Status | Rounds |
| mtec Motorsport | 3 | Zack Scoular | R | All |
| mtec Motorsport | 5 | Patrick Heuzenroeder | | All |
| mtec Motorsport | 9 | Nicholas Monteiro | | All |
| mtec Motorsport | 14 | Josh Pierson | | 1–4 |
| mtec Motorsport | 32 | Shawn Rashid | | All |
| mtec Motorsport | 93 | Broc Feeney | | 5 |
| M2 Competition | 4 | Arvid Lindblad | | All |
| M2 Competition | 8 | Matías Zagazeta | | All |
| M2 Competition | 17 | Nikita Johnson | | All |
| M2 Competition | 23 | Michael Shin | | All |
| M2 Competition | 69 | Sebastian Manson | | All |
| M2 Competition | 77 | Enzo Yeh | R | All |
| Giles Motorsport | 13 | Barrett Wolfe | R | All |
| Giles Motorsport | 16 | Tommy Smith | | 3–4 |
| Giles Motorsport | 41 | Alex Crosbie | | All |
| Giles Motorsport | 87 | Will Brown | | 1–2, 5 |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 15 | Nicolas Stati | R | All |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 22 | Jett Bowling | | All |
| Kiwi Motorsport | 88 | James Lawley | | All |
| Icon | Status |
| R | Rookie |
| G | Guest driver |

## Race calendar

The 2025 race calendar was announced in July 2024. The championship again consisted of five weekends. Highlands Motorsport Park was intended to leave the calendar and be replaced by Teretonga Park, which returned after a one-year absence. However, on 2 September 2024, it was announced that the 69th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix would be held at Highlands Motorsport Park instead of at Euromarque Motorsport Park, so the latter left the calendar instead.
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Feature race | Support bill | Map of circuit locations |
| 1 | R1 | Taupo International Motorsport Park (Taupō, Waikato) | 11 January | Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy | Taupo Historic Grand Prix Formula Atlantic NZ Historic Historic Saloons, Sports and GTs F5000 Tasman Cup Revival | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 1 | R2 | Taupo International Motorsport Park (Taupō, Waikato) | 12 January | Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy | Taupo Historic Grand Prix Formula Atlantic NZ Historic Historic Saloons, Sports and GTs F5000 Tasman Cup Revival | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 1 | R3 | Taupo International Motorsport Park (Taupō, Waikato) | 12 January | Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy | Taupo Historic Grand Prix Formula Atlantic NZ Historic Historic Saloons, Sports and GTs F5000 Tasman Cup Revival | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 2 | R1 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 18 January | Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy | Toyota GR86 Championship Super V8 Series GT New Zealand Championship TA2 New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 2 | R2 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 19 January | Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy | Toyota GR86 Championship Super V8 Series GT New Zealand Championship TA2 New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 2 | R3 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park (Hampton Downs, North Waikato) | 19 January | Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy | Toyota GR86 Championship Super V8 Series GT New Zealand Championship TA2 New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 3 | R1 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 25 January | Dan Higgins Trophy | NextGen NZ Championship Manfeild International GT Racing New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 3 | R2 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 26 January | Dan Higgins Trophy | NextGen NZ Championship Manfeild International GT Racing New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 3 | R3 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (Feilding, Manawatū District) | 26 January | Dan Higgins Trophy | NextGen NZ Championship Manfeild International GT Racing New Zealand | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 4 | R1 | Teretonga Park (Invercargill, Southland District) | 1 February | Spirit of a Nation Cup | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 4 | R2 | Teretonga Park (Invercargill, Southland District) | 2 February | Spirit of a Nation Cup | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 4 | R3 | Teretonga Park (Invercargill, Southland District) | 2 February | Spirit of a Nation Cup | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 5 | R1 | Highlands Motorsport Park (Cromwell, Otago) | 8 February | New Zealand Grand Prix | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 5 | R2 | Highlands Motorsport Park (Cromwell, Otago) | 9 February | New Zealand Grand Prix | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |
| 5 | R3 | Highlands Motorsport Park (Cromwell, Otago) | 9 February | New Zealand Grand Prix | Toyota GR86 Championship GT New Zealand Championship Mazda Racing Series NZ Championship Pirelli Porsche Race Series | TaupoManfeildHampton DownsHighlandsTeretonga |

## Race results

| Round | Round | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning team |
| 1 | R1 | Taupo International Motorsport Park | Zack Scoular | Zack Scoular | Zack Scoular | mtec Motorsport |
| 1 | R2 | Taupo International Motorsport Park | | Michael Shin | Matías Zagazeta | M2 Competition |
| 1 | R3 | Taupo International Motorsport Park | Arvid Lindblad | Will Brown | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 2 | R1 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park | Arvid Lindblad | Josh Pierson | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 2 | R2 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park | | Arvid Lindblad | Sebastian Manson | M2 Competition |
| 2 | R3 | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 3 | R1 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 3 | R2 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon | | Zack Scoular | Zack Scoular | mtec Motorsport |
| 3 | R3 | Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 4 | R1 | Teretonga Park | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | Matías Zagazeta | M2 Competition |
| 4 | R2 | Teretonga Park | | Josh Pierson | Sebastian Manson | M2 Competition |
| 4 | R3 | Teretonga Park | Matías Zagazeta | Arvid Lindblad | Arvid Lindblad | M2 Competition |
| 5 | R1 | Highlands Motorsport Park | Patrick Heuzenroeder | Patrick Heuzenroeder | Patrick Heuzenroeder | mtec Motorsport |
| 5 | R2 | Highlands Motorsport Park | | Nikita Johnson | Nikita Johnson | M2 Competition |
| 5 | R3 | Highlands Motorsport Park | Broc Feeney | Matías Zagazeta | Will Brown | Giles Motorsport |

## Season report
### First half

The first round of the season was held at Taupo International Motorsport Park. Mtec Motorsport’s Zack Scoular secured his first pole position on his Formula Regional debut, and converted it into his first single-seater race win later on in the day. Giles Motorsport’s Will Brown remained in second for the duration of the race but was unable to overtake the leader, while M2 Competition’s Arvid Lindblad, who started fourth, took third at the start and also finished there. Race two began chaotically as a slow start by Mtec Motorsport’s pole-sitter Josh Pierson disrupted others and allowed M2 Competition’s Matías Zagazeta to take the race lead. His teammate Enzo Yeh initially secured second before a penalty dropped him to fourth behind Pierson and Lindblad. The latter started the third race from pole position, but Zagazeta made a better start, and the pair dueled through the opening corners before Lindblad regained the lead. He led Zagazeta and Scoular to the finish, ending the first round with a five-point championship lead.
Round two at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park began with Lindblad taking pole position for the opening race. He converted that into a lights-to-flag victory that mirrored the season opener, with Scoular maintaining second place from start to finish and Brown holding third after taking it from Pierson at the start. The second race saw Johnson start from pole position, but M2’s Sebastian Manson made a stronger start from second place and immediately took the lead, while mtec’s Patrick Heuzenroeder moved into third place. Behind the top two, Lindblad progressed through the field, engaging in a three-lap battle with Heuzenroeder before passing him to secure third place. In the third race, Lindblad and Scoular resumed their earlier contest. Once again starting from pole position, Lindblad withstood multiple attacks before creating a gap thanks to a tire advantage to secure another victory, with Pierson finishing third. After six races, Lindblad held a 25-point lead in the standings ahead of newly crowned Tasman Cup winner Scoular.
Lindblad remained the fastest driver in qualifying at Circuit Chris Amon to claim his fourth successive pole position. Race one saw him then take an unchallenged victory as Johnson in second had to keep Giles Motorsport’s series returnee Tommy Smith behind him at the start. Once repelled, Smith dropped back, allowing Heuzenroeder into third. Rain then began to fall, and the second race saw some drivers opt for wet-weather tires. That proved to be the right decision: Scoular claimed the lead and led Johnson and Pierson as the drivers on dry tires faded. Championship leader Lindblad was among them and finished the race 14th. Once he had tires fit for the conditions, Lindblad returned to his previous form and took pole position for the third race. Heavy rain saw proceedings get aborted initially, but when it resumed, Lindblad and Johnson quickly gapped Heuzenroeder and the rest of the field. Safety car phases further interrupted the race, but Lindblad held on to win and extend his championship lead to 40 points over Johnson.

### Second half

Teretonga Park hosted round four, and the first qualifying session brought no new face at the front as Lindblad was fastest once again. Zagazeta had the better start to the first race, however, and quickly moved past Lindblad. With overtaking proving difficult, Zagazeta led Lindblad and Johnson home before a red flag after a crash for M2’s Michael Shin ended the race prematurely. Yeh started race two from pole position, but had a bad getaway and dropped to fourth behind Manson, Scoular and Heuzenroeder, before a crash caused a stoppage. The positions at the front remained static afterwards, awarding Manson his second win of the year. Qualifying for race three saw Zagazeta break Lindblad’s streak of pole positions, but once again the pole sitter was unable to hold the lead as Lindblad took first and converted that into his fourth feature race win. Zagazeta looked set for second before a mistake demoted him to third behind Shin. Ahead of the final weekend and with 90 points still on offer, Lindblad’s lead stood at 59 points over Johnson.
The final weekend of the championship, which included the New Zealand Grand Prix, took place at Highlands Motorsport Park. In the opening race, Heuzenroeder secured a lights-to-flag victory, while Lindblad finished second and won the title with two races to spare. Shin defended against Brown throughout the race to secure third place. The second race began with a major crash that eliminated Heuzenroeder, Lindblad and Shin. Following the restart, Johnson led the mtec duo of Nicholas Monteiro and Shawn Rashid to the finish, with most of the action occurring further down the field. Mtec’s one-off entrant, Broc Feeney, surprised the paddock by claiming pole position for the Grand Prix on his single-seater debut. However, his race start was less effective, as Brown and Scoular immediately overtook him. The leading duo pulled away while Lindblad pressured Feeney, engaging in a multi-lap battle before finally passing him. By then, Brown had established a sufficient gap to secure Grand Prix victory, with Scoular following him home.
From the announcement of his FROC campaign, Lindblad was regarded as a title favorite. Despite high expectations, he handled the pressure effectively, securing six pole positions, six victories, and six additional podium finishes to claim the championship by a 56-point margin - the largest since the COVID-affected 2021 season. Lindblad was also on course to make history as the first driver to win every feature race in a single season, but Brown denied him that achievement by winning the New Zealand Grand Prix, marking his first single-seater victory since 2016. While Lindblad frequently dominated the field, other drivers also had standout performances. Scoular exceeded expectations by winning on his Formula Regional debut, while Johnson delivered a strong and consistent campaign, only losing the runner-up position in the final race.

## Championship standings
### Scoring system

No points were awarded for pole position or fastest lap.

#### Race (starting grid from qualifying)

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
| Points | 35 | 31 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

#### Reversed grid race

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th |
| Points | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

### Drivers' championship

| Pos. | Driver | TAU | TAU | TAU | HMP | HMP | HMP | MAN | MAN | MAN | TER | TER | TER | HIG | HIG | HIG | Points |
| Pos. | Driver | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
| 1 | Arvid Lindblad | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 370 |
| 2 | Zack Scoular | 1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 314 |
| 3 | Nikita Johnson | 4 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 305 |
| 4 | Patrick Heuzenroeder | 9 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | Ret | Ret | 264 |
| 5 | Matías Zagazeta | 5 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 244 |
| 6 | Sebastian Manson | 10 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 225 |
| 7 | Josh Pierson | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | | | | 219 |
| 8 | Michael Shin | 6 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 10 | Ret | 9 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 5 | 197 |
| 9 | Shawn Rashid | 15 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 169 |
| 10 | Will Brown | 2 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | | | | | | | 11 | 12 | 1 | 158 |
| 11 | Enzo Yeh | 7 | 4 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 11 | Ret | 149 |
| 12 | Nicholas Monteiro | 12 | 11 | 13 | DSQ | 14 | 14 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 132 |
| 13 | Alex Crosbie | 11 | 15 | 11 | 10 | DSQ | 12 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 118 |
| 14 | Jett Bowling | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 12 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 14 | 7 | 108 |
| 15 | Nicolas Stati | 13 | Ret | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | Ret | 12 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 105 |
| 16 | Tommy Smith | | | | | | | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 9 | | | | 85 |
| 17 | Barrett Wolfe | 16 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 71 |
| 18 | James Lawley | 17 | 16 | 17 | 15 | DSQ | 16 | 16 | 11 | Ret | 16 | Ret | 15 | 15 | 8 | Ret | 54 |
| 19 | Broc Feeney | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 13 | 6 | 35 |
| Pos. | Driver | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
| Pos. | Driver | TAU | TAU | TAU | HMP | HMP | HMP | MAN | MAN | MAN | TER | TER | TER | HIG | HIG | HIG | | Points |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |
* Rookie

### Teams' Championship

Each team counted its two best results of every race.
| Pos. | Team | TAU | TAU | TAU | HMP | HMP | HMP | MAN | MAN | MAN | TER | TER | TER | HIG | HIG | HIG | Points |
| Pos. | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
| 1 | M2 Competition | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 772 |
| 1 | M2 Competition | 4 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 772 |
| 2 | mtec motorsport | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 663 |
| 2 | mtec motorsport | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 663 |
| 3 | Giles Motorsport | 2 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 371 |
| 3 | Giles Motorsport | 11 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 371 |
| 4 | Kiwi Motorsport | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 12 | Ret | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 218 |
| 4 | Kiwi Motorsport | 14 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 13 | Ret | 15 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 218 |
| Pos. | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Points |
| Pos. | Team | TAU | TAU | TAU | HMP | HMP | HMP | MAN | MAN | MAN | RUA | RUA | RUA | HIG | HIG | HIG | | Points |