Ugo Ugochukwu secured the Formula Regional Oceania Trophy title in the final race of the season, 16 points ahead of championship rival Freddie Slater. Feeder Series spoke to Ugochukwu and his race engineer Antonio Ortiz to learn more about his campaign and how it would help him in F3 later this year. 

By Kaylene Lau

Coming into the FR Oceania season, Ugochukwu had just completed his first year in F3 with Prema Racing, which largely did not live up to expectations. He found his footing a bit more in the second half of his campaign, taking second-place finishes in the sprint races in Spa and Hungary and topping his qualifying group in Monza. He ultimately finished 16th in the standings with 43 points. 

But throughout his four weeks in New Zealand, Ugochukwu put together an excellent campaign on his way to the title.

He took the championship lead early on in the season opener at Hampton Downs with a dominant performance on Sunday, when he won both races. Although he did not win any races in the second round at Taupō, he took two podiums to maintain his championship lead. 

The third round at Teretonga was the only round that was affected heavily by adverse weather conditions. On Friday in Teretonga, Ugochukwu told Feeder Series that even amidst the rainy conditions, he would be able to adapt. 

“Taupō Q2 didn’t go so well in the wet, but I think we know why that was,” he said. “The pace was good this morning in the wet, so that gives us confidence that we can be competitive in the wet and dry tomorrow.” 

In the first race that weekend, Ugochukwu finished eighth as Slater finally took his first victory in the series. Slater, who had entered the season as a title favourite, was now looking to make a late charge for the title.

In the second race, rescheduled to Sunday as a result of heavy rain on Saturday, Ugochukwu started from reverse-grid pole and kept his cool throughout every safety car restart to take his third win this year. His performance in the race emulated his race-winning performance in Macau in 2024, where he also maintained his composure in similar conditions. However, he did admit that his Macau restarts were ‘a bit better’. 

“This race was really important. Many points, which are really important for the championship. I lost quite a few from race one from a bit of a messy quali, but today has gone pretty perfectly,” Ugochukwu told Feeder Series after the second race in Teretonga. 

But the lead that Ugochukwu had just extended was cut down by Slater in the next race. In difficult conditions, Ugochukwu went off at the first corner from first on lap 24 and dropped to the back. Slater won the race, while Ugochukwu finished in 14th. The results meant that heading into Highlands, the two were separated by only 22 points. 

Slater won the rescheduled race three from Teretonga on Friday in Highlands, cutting into Ugochukwu’s championship lead even more. Ugochukwu finished second and now knew that he had to be nearly faultless for the remainder of the weekend to secure the championship title. 

In the first segment of qualifying for the New Zealand Grand Prix weekend, the American narrowly missed out on pole by 0.014 seconds, with Jin Nakamura taking pole for race one. But that belied the trouble Ugochukwu faced. At the end of the first segment, Ugochukwu hit the wall and damaged the front suspension of his car – a massive blow to his hopes of securing not only a good grid position for the New Zealand Grand Prix but also the championship title. 

With a quick repair job, the M2 Competition team were able to get Ugochukwu back out for the second segment of qualifying. As the wishbone covers were not refitted to his car, however, he was disqualified from qualifying segments two and three. Ugochukwu started from 13th on the grid for the grand prix, while Slater would start from fourth. 

Ugochukwu set his sights on a race win on Saturday, which he achieved in race one. He snatched the lead of the race from Nakamura at the start and never looked back – taking 35 points with it. However, the fight was far from over – Slater had finished in fourth and would be starting further up the grid for both race two and the grand prix. 

Ugochukwu started eighth for the reverse-grid race and eventually finished in seventh, while Slater started and finished fifth. With just the New Zealand Grand Prix ahead of them, Ugochukwu led by 26 points.

Ugochukwu started 13th for the series’ flagship race, overtaking Cui for 12th under the bridge on the first lap. On the third lap, he made a daring pass on Yevan David at Turn 2 for 11th and gained another position after Nolan Allaer went off just after. On lap 10, he overtook Sebastian Manson under the bridge to take ninth, maintaining the position until the end of the race.

Zack Scoular won the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix, with polesitter Nakamura in second and Kanato Le completing the podium. But the real focus, in championship terms, was on Slater. Although he finished the grand prix in fourth, it was not enough to stop Ugochukwu from taking the title, his second in single-seaters after his Euro 4 title in 2023. The American had a margin of 16 points over Slater, whom he will once again face in F3 this year.

Consistency proved to be key for Ugochukwu on his path to the title. He finished the season with a total of 326 points and eight podiums, four of which were wins. He also never failed to finish a race all season and scored points every single race. With his victory, the 18-year-old became the eighth drivers’ champion in a row for M2 Competition, who also successfully defended their teams’ title. 

While in Teretonga, Feeder Series also spoke to Ugochukwu’s race engineer Antonio Ortiz, who was 2025 champion Arvid Lindblad’s race engineer during the now F1 driver’s campaign in New Zealand. 

“The goal is to win the championship, and I think we are in good shape,” Ortiz said prior to the season finale. “Ugo is really, really quick, and he’s only made one mistake in the whole championship – it was the race two in the last event. I think that’s been the biggest difference. Also, he’s been quick in every condition, wet, in any race track, any condition, and that is why we are in this position right now.” 

Ortiz also highlighted that Ugochukwu had a ‘winner’s mentality’.

“When we have a good day, he doesn’t get too excited about it, but when we have a bad day, he is also really cooled down in his mind.” 

“He’s going to be a clear contender [in F3]. I wouldn’t be surprised if I would see his name in F1 in not far away time from now,” Ortiz continued. “I think he’s going to do really, really well. He’s with Campos – we all know how good of a team Campos is, so I think we’re going to be in a fight for a title.” 

Campos Racing have steadily risen in form in F3 in recent years, winning the teams’ title last year. With another championship title under hi belt along with a move to the reigning teams’ champions, Ugochukwu’s second season in F3 is shaping up to be promising. To capitalise on the opportunity, the American will need to get a better start to the season than in 2025, when he scored only two points in the first five rounds.

“I had a good end to the F3 season. The first half of the year didn’t go to plan for many reasons. I think we felt that in the second half of the championship, I was having a good run and I didn’t fully prove myself yet in F3,” Ugochukwu said.

“To come back and do it with Campos I think is going to be a really strong combination. Campos had a good year in F3 this year, they won the teams’ title, so I think going with them, we can have a strong year together this year.” 

Nine drivers on the 2026 FR Oceania grid, including Ugochukwu, will be racing in F3 this year, with the winter series serving as preparation for their main campaign.

“It’s been really good to be racing here. I think it’s important for us to keep racing during the off-season,” Ugochukwu said. “Keeping sharp, qualifying sessions, the pressure, having to adapt to different situations – those are all things that are going to help and definitely keep me ready for the start of F3.” 

It’s a sentiment he reiterated when speaking to Feeder Series at a meet-the-grid event after F3’s pre-season test earlier this month.

“More racing is always good to get more driving under my belt and it was really good to get another title as well. So for me, it was pretty positive,” he said. 

“Obviously, the car is quite a bit different and the tracks are quite a bit different, so there’s definitely some stuff to adapt coming back to F3. I think it was a good way to get me into the season.”

Additional reporting by Tori Turner 

Header photo credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ / Joel Hanks