Team: M2 Competition
City/Location: South Korea
DOB: 23 August 2004
Twenty year old South Korean Michael Shin will be looking to build on fourth place overall and one win when he returns to New Zealand in January for a second shot at the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Shin impressed in his first season in the championship in 2024, quickly getting to grips with the Toyota FT60 and New Zealand’s challenging and technical circuits. Five podium finishes including a debut win at the Euromarque Motorsport Park Ruapuna at the fourth round gave him fourth overall in the final championship standings.
Michael has enjoyed a rapid rise through the junior formula ranks after just a single year of karting in his home country of Korea. After successfully testing Formula 4 in the United Kingdom, he joined the field for the 2022 UAE Formula 4 Championship in what was very much a learning year. He dovetailed this with a season in the British Championship and impressed winning his first race at the second round and going on to finish 11th overall.
He competed in the Formula Regional Middle East and British GB3 championships in 2023, gaining experience in the Middle East Championship with top team Prema Racing and scoring a podium finish. He also competed in six FIA Formula 3 races during the 2023 season.
His 2024 CTFROC appearance was followed by a full season in Eurocup 3 with Campos Racing. He took his first podium with third place at the second race in Portimao and was back on the podium at the Aragon event and managed a double third place finish in Jerez. Those podium finishes helped him to seventh overall.
He will be expected to be one of the front runners on his return to New Zealand with M2 Competition, the most successful team in the history of New Zealand’s premier single seater championship and is relishing the challenge.
“Getting to race in CTFROC at the start of the year was an unforgettable experience for me,” he said.
“It was an intense season full of learning as well as enjoying the best of what New Zealand has to offer. Thus I am thankful to M2 Competition for having me back for the 2025 championship. We had a solid debut season together and I am confident we can build upon that. The ambience racing down under is like no other, and I am really looking forward to making a return.”
