As the Formula Regional Oceania Championship approaches its final round of the season, just one feature race remains: the New Zealand Grand Prix. Held annually since 1950, the race has become a landmark event for both New Zealand and international motorsport. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know before the 68th edition of the Grand Prix.

By Juan Arroyo

The event is the only one besides the FIA F3 World Cup in Macau to receive ‘Grand Prix’ designation by the FIA without forming part of the Formula 1 calendar. Held annually since 1950 – barring irregular cancellations – the New Zealand Grand Prix used to attract renowned F1 drivers in its heyday. Previous winners of the event include Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill, and John Surtees.

The New Zealand GP became part of the Formula Regional Oceania calendar in 2006, when the championship operated under its previous ‘Toyota Racing Series’ banner. It has belonged to a number of NZ-based lower formula series besides TRS throughout its history. While it has continued to attract mostly New Zealand drivers in recent years, many drivers with campaigns in Europe or the United States now take part in the race as part of their winter preparation.

For the first time in history, Highlands Motorsport Park will serve as the venue for the GP. It features 22 corners, most of them medium-speed, and a bridge passing over one of the straights. The track’s tight layout is said to make passing difficult during races, making qualifying all the more important this weekend. Since holding its first FROC round in 2014, Highlands has only appeared intermittently in the championship’s calendar. 

The format

Qualifying will be divided into three stages on Grand Prix weekend. The five slowest drivers at the end of Q1 will be eliminated. Then, the fastest eight drivers at the end of Q2 will move onto the final stage where pole position is decided.

The rest of the format remains the same. As with all Formula Regional Oceania rounds, there will be three races held over the weekend. The third race – the longest in distance, referred to as the feature race – will serve as the New Zealand Grand Prix.

Where to watch

Live streams of all New Zealand Grand Prix weekend qualifying sessions and races are available on Motorsport.tv. Live timing of all sessions can be found at RaceHero or FG91Motorsport. Local television broadcaster Fox will provide coverage of the championship this weekend.

The drivers

M2 Competition’s Roman Bilinski (#4) enters not only as the favourite for the Grand Prix, but also with the opportunity to clinch the FROC title in one of the two previous races. Bilinski has taken six wins in four rounds thus far, earning himself a 56-point lead in the drivers’ championship. The Polish driver has not retired from a single race and has only finished outside the top three twice in twelve races. If he continues on current form, it is difficult to bet against him for the victory.

Liam Sceats (#23) is the man chasing Bilinski for the championship this weekend. Also driving for M2 Competition, Sceats achieved his first victory in the series in the previous round at Ruapuna, which was also his highest scoring weekend yet. The New Zealand driver is starting to find his form heading into the final round of the FROC season.

Further down, five drivers enter the Grand Prix in realistic contention for third in the final standings.

Kaleb Ngatoa (#15) currently holds that spot with 205 points and a single victory to his name. Patrick Woods-Toth (#4) is just two points behind and leading the rookies of the field. As of late, the Canadian’s two podiums at Ruapuna also represent a rise in form right around the end of the season. They have been the most consistent pair of drivers across the four rounds besides the championship contenders.

Not far behind, Michael Shin (#16) for M2 Competition is on 185 points and also claimed his first victory of the season at Ruapuna. The Korean driver is frequently found in the middle of the pack this year but has found three additional podiums to further his points tally. 

Alex Crosbie (#41) and Gerrard Xie (#39) are on 176 points and 174 points respectively. The pair could find their way up to third in the standings with some fortune considering the amount of points given in the main races.

A few visitors from US-based Indy NXT have also flown to New Zealand for this marquee event. Jacob Abel (#51) joined MTEC Motorsport last week at Ruapuna and immediately delivered a podium in his first race back in the series. Abel finished third in the 2023 FROC season.

Meanwhile, M2 Competition have borrowed Bryce Aron (#27) from the Andretti Global stable for the final two rounds of FROC. Aron finished inside the top ten in all three races at Ruapuna, achieving fourth place finish in the third race of the weekend.

Callum Hedge (#17) has flown in from Finland as a late addition, only joining MTEC Motorsport on Friday for the first practice session. Hedge is another driver from the IndyNXT roster looking to gain some experience during the winter. However, it is also a home Grand Prix for the New Zealander. The 20-year-old took part in all five rounds of last year’s championship, finishing runner-up in the standings. He is also the reigning Formula Regional Americas champion.

On the topic of home Grand Prix, no one else is feeling more like it than M2 Competition’s Ryder Quinn (#101). His grandfather, Tony Quinn, built Highlands Motorsport Park. Quinn told Feeder Series before testing at Euromarque the previous weekend, “I’m extremely excited, especially now that it’s being held at Highlands. That’s going to be a super special weekend. It was my granddad, my family’s dream to have the New Zealand Grand Prix held at Highlands, and 10 years later, to finally have that happening, it’s pretty special.”

Quinn’s last experience in single seaters was in FROC last year, where he finished seventh in the final standings.

16-year-old New Zealander Sebastian Manson (#69) is taking part in his second ever FROC round this weekend. At Euromarque, the Giles Motorsport driver finished just outside the top ten in the two races he entered. Impressively, Manson has taken 10 wins from 11 races in New Zealand’s Formula Ford series this year. The Grand Prix will be a test for the young driver on his country’s biggest stage.

Closer to the midfield, the Kiwi Motorsport pair of Titus Sherlock (#31) and Jett Bowling (#22) will be chasing the points tally of all partial season drivers, which they could surpass with a good weekend. Tommy Smith ended his FROC campaign early on 144 points, while Sherlock and Bowling are currently on 99 points and 95 points respectively. This would place them inside the top ten in the standings. Elliott Cleary (#19) of MTEC Competition is just behind them on 92 points despite missing the Ruapuna round to compete in Trans Am Australia’s season opener at Sandown.

Should the above trio have a less-than-stellar weekend by their form, Landan Matriano Lim (#739) and Lucas Fecury (#5) are less than 25 points away in the standings and could easily catch up before the Grand Prix. The five drivers aren’t strangers on track, as they have fought and traded for positions all throughout these four rounds. One tangle, tap or crash could set up a massive midfield clash for Sunday’s main event, or we could see the Grand Prix defined by it altogether.

Finally, Jake Bonilla (#20) of Kiwi Motorsport is hoping to surpass his season-best tenth-place finish this weekend. A good Highlands performance, especially in the Grand Prix, would bring an end to Bonilla’s tough rookie season in Formula Regional cars on a high note.

What’s happened in testing and practice?

Running began on Thursday with two pre-event test sessions. In both of these, topped by Bilinski and Woods-Toth respectively, the top three drivers were separated by less than a tenth. Woods-Toth was the only driver to make the top three both times on Thursday.

On Friday, it was Abel who set the pace early in the first official practice session. Giles Motorsport’s Ngatoa was close behind, setting a time only 0.029s slower. Woods-Toth again made the top three on this occasion. Hedge, who had flown in just hours prior, made the top five, 0.4s behind Abel’s time.

Woods-Toth set the pace in the second session, leading from Hedge and Quinn. Notably, the range in times inside the top ten this session spanned less than 0.5s. Later, in the third and final practice session, Hedge impressed once again, setting the fastest time ahead of the M2 Competition duo of Xie and Bilinski.

Header photo credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ