All you need to know about us

On offer is a condensed five week back-to-back format, with four days per week on track, totalling to over 3,500kms, and 1,350 mins of track time.

The Toyota FR Oceania Chamionship is the best cost effective series to develop a driver and prepare them for their main season in the northern hemisphere.

THURSDAY

2 x 30 min Testing Sessions

1 x Practice Start Session

FRIDAY

3 x 30 min Practice Sessions

SATURDAY

1 x 15 min Qualifying Session 1

Race 1 (~70 kms, # laps fixed) Grid set by Qualifying 1 results

SUNDAY

1 x 15 min Qualifying Session 2

Race 2 (~70 kms, # laps fixed) Grid set by reversing the top 8 finishers of Race 1

Race 3 (Feature Race) (~85 kms, # laps fixed) Grid set by Qualifying 2 results

The New Zealand championship, in particular, offers some unique benefits. Running across five weekends in January and February it attracts the focus of the motorsport world, including the top motorsport teams.

Looking ahead to its 20th season, the 2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship will be as closely fought, exciting and dramatic as ever.

The race tracks utilised by the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship are some of the most charismatic and challenging in the world and add a particular dimension to the New Zealand championship.

New Zealand drivers continue to impress on the world stage and one of the key reasons is the grounding and experience they gained on New Zealand’s circuits. All of those used in the championship are FIA-Grade 3.

They demand precision as well as technique and speed and all offer very particular challenges to drivers.

The FT-60 is the third car to be used over the course of almost two decades of the series’ history. Like the previous two, it’s a Tatuus chassis and is a state-of-the-art racing machine that is much more like a scaled down Formula One car than either of its two previous incarnations, the FT-40 and the FT-50.

The FT-60 features all of the key recent safety initiatives developed by the FIA in conjunction with Formula One. The design incorporates a ‘halo’ driver protection system to protect the driver from side, top and frontal impact from debris in an accident and also features the very latest in side and front impact technology in the chassis itself.

Twin wheel tethers are included in the design to prevent wheels flying off in the event of a crash, another feature straight out of Formula One. The car has undergone 36 controlled crash tests in the laboratory to ensure it meets the highest standards of safety in the sport today. It is strong, reliable and the perfect tool for a championship as competitive as the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.

The chassis is similar to that used in other global junior formulas, but uses an FIA homologated engine that will pack a powerful 285 horsepower (212 kW) - making it one of the best performing junior cars on the FIA’s recognised pathway to Formula One.

A level playing field is the goal of every major domestic and international championship but it’s often a challenging and difficult position to achieve and then maintain. The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship is amongst the best, and there are some simple reasons why.

In the off season all cars are prepared in house in a bespoke facility adjacent to the Hampton Downs Motorsport Park by TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ (TGRNZ) and that’s not just the chassis, it’s the engines and gearboxes too. All cars are built to the same exacting standards where the focus is parity and reliability. Above and beyond that the only testing programme carried out is the ongoing car development programme run off season by TGRNZ. A shakedown of each car is also carried out by TGRNZ a month prior to the first round of the championship to check quality and confirm reliability and parity.

What it all adds up to is a championship that’s all about driving talent, racing strategy and the ability to learn quickly and work with the engineers.

Four independant Teams are running the cars during the season.

Drivers are competing for prestigious trophies representing more than 50 years of New Zealand motor racing history.

CHRIS AMON TROPHY
Awarded to the driver gaining the highest aggregate points overall from all five rounds constituting the championship.

BUTCHER CUP
Awarded to the highest overall points scorer, this trophy is presented at the MotorSport New Zealand (MSNZ) annual awards function along with the MSNZ Race Gold Star (for single seaters).

INTERNATIONAL DRIVER’S CHAMPION
The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship International Trophy is awarded to the driver gaining the highest aggregate points overall from all five  rounds constituting the Series.

BRUCE MCLAREN TROPHY
Presented to the highest placed New Zealand passport holder at the MotorSport New Zealand annual awards function.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
The TRS Rookie of the Year Trophy is awarded to the rookie driver gaining the highest aggregate points overall from all five rounds constituting the championship. Along with the trophy, the Rookie of Year receives an Engine Lease for the following season.

The series also includes the New Zealand Grand Prix, one of only two FIA sanctioned Grand Prix race events outside of Formula One. With winning names like Stewart, McLaren, Brabham, Rosberg, Norris, Lawson and more recently Fraga and Van Gisbergen, it remains a world class motorsport event rich in history and prestige.

Geographically, it’s been run at a variety of venues since the first race - Ohakea, Ardmore, Pukekohe, Ruapuna, Wigram, Teretonga, Manfeild and Hampton Downs where it resides today. The NZ Grand Prix will return at Highlands Motorsport Park for its second time in 2025. And its list of winners is not only a ‘Who’s Who’ of Kiwi motorsport, it is also fully reflective of golden eras of our international and domestic motorsport history and a fascinating technical record of the genres of cars that have competed for this outstanding piece of silverware.

Images from a profesional photographer and media information are available for use by all drivers and teams. All results and updates are posted on the TGRNZ Social Media channels and website throughout the race weekend.

The championship encourages drivers to use social media to add to the excitement and inform sponsors, friends and family about their on-track exploits.

The championship has a dedicated TV package and will be livestreamed internaiontally on motorsport.tv and regionally on free-to-air TV.