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2025 Formula Regional Thread


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#1 Frood

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Posted 30 December 2024 - 17:52

Thought I'd get the ball rolling on this one - the current fourth tier on the FIA ladder.
 
The main interest is, of course, directed towards the Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) but the first series of the year will be the off-season Middle East and Oceania (the ex-Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand) starting in January.
 
Formula Regional Oceania Championship
 
t7naE0t.png
 
In 2024, it was the British-born Pole and now F3-bound Roman Biliński who eased to the title with M2 Competition, with a decent experience advantage in Formula Regional machinery over his rivals. However, he did fail to win the headline event - the New Zealand Grand Prix - which went the way of local man Liam Sceats, who later went on to race in USF Pro 2000.
 
The series is often well-subscribed, and also has a decent amount of cross-pollination with the American ladder, with European drivers tending to opt for the Middle East route. Indeed, one of the series' main teams, Kiwi Motorsport, now has a tie-up with Chip Ganassi Racing as a development team.
 
The calendar is made up of 5 rounds of three races each - Races 1 and 3 being standard grid races, and Race 2 being a reverse grid race.
Round 1 (10-12 Jan) – Taupo
Round 2 (17-19 Jan) – Hampton Downs
Round 3 (24-26 Jan) – Manfeild (not a typo - this always looks wrong to me!)
Round 4 (31 Jan-02 Feb) – Teretonga
Round 5 (07-09 Feb) – Highlands (Race 3 is the New Zealand Grand Prix)
 
The grid is currently as follows (to be updated as necessary):

Team              Drivers                      What did they do in 2024?

Giles Motorsport  Will Brown (AUS)             Australian Supercars champion
                  Alex Crosbie (NZL)           4th in F4 USA, 5th in FR Oceania
                  Tommy Smith (AUS)            8th in FR Oceania, 20th in FIA F3
                  Barrett Wolfe (USA)          5th in F4 USA

Kiwi Motorsport   Jett Bowling (USA)           3rd in FR Americas, 12th in FR Oceania
                  James Lawley (CAN)           9th in FR Americas
                  Nicolas Stati (AUS)          2nd in Australian F4, 2nd in F4 USA

M2 Competition    Nikita Johnson (USA)         2nd in USF Pro 2000, 11th in GB3
                  Arvid Lindblad (GBR)         4th in FIA F3, 13th in FR Middle East
                  Sebastian Manson (NZL)       2nd in FR Japan, 21st in FR Oceania
                  Michael Shin Woo-hyun (KOR)  4th in FR Oceania, 6th in Euroformula
                  Enzo Yeh Rui-heng (TWN)      14th in F4 UAE, 23rd in Italian F4
                  Matías Zagazeta (PER)        25th in FIA F3

mtec Motorsport   Patrick Heuzenroeder (AUS)   12th in GB3
                  Nicholas Monteiro (BRA)      13th in USF Pro 2000
                  Josh Pierson (USA)           14th in IndyNXT
                  Shawn Rashid (USA)           17th in GB3, 27th in USF Pro 2000
                  Zack Scoular (UAE)           15th in British F4, 17th in F4 UAE

On paper, you'd expect Arvid Lindblad to blow this field away, if he's as good as Red Bull think he is, and it appears he's been put here simply for easy super licence points. However, Red Bull have tried this before with Dan Ticktum, and that didn't exactly turn out as planned... Even in the event of Lindblad faltering, you'd expect the champion to come from M2 Competition again. Nikita Johnson has shown plenty of speed in the US, and already has experience outside the US with a part-season of GB3. Michael Shin also has a decent amount of experience in these cars and finished 4th last year, so with experience of the circuits, I think he'll also be up there. Matías Zagazeta is a veteran of F3, albeit in a backmarker car, so he'll also likely be up there. M2's less experienced pair of Sebastian Manson and Enzo Yeh are more of a wildcard, but Manson has a year of FR Japan and is a local, so I expect he'll appear on a few podiums here and there. Yeh is a former Ferrari Academy hopeful, but had an anonymous year in F4 last year, and is one of the least experienced drivers on the grid.
 
Giles Motorsport probably has the next best line-up. Alex Crosbie was Giles' top finisher in 2024, finishing 5th overall with a podium to his name, and with plenty of experience in New Zealand, should be challenging for podiums again. More interesting is the signing of Will Brown, the reigning Supercars champion. Brown hasn't started an open-wheel race in over 5 years, but has built up a good CV whilst racing with one of the best teams in Australian motorsport. Perhaps he's looking to emulate Scott McLaughlin's shift to open-wheelers...? Tommy Smith didn't look too out-of-his-depth in FROC last year, though wasn't exactly a front runner either. Barrett Wolfe will likely be a backmarker, as he barely troubled the podium in F4 USA last year despite most races only attracting 6 or 7 cars.
 
Kiwi Motorsport took Patrick Woods-Toth to 3rd in FROC last year, and later to the FR Americas title. However, I'm not seeing much strength in their 2025 line-up so far. Jett Bowling is the most likely candidate for good results, as he ran the full FROC season in 2024 and also had experience in both FR Americas and FRECA. James Lawley has so far struggled for decent results in his open-wheel career, but all of his racing so far (F4 USA in 2023, FR Americas in 2024) have been with an underfunded single-car team, so he now has more of an opportunity to make the most of. Nicolas Stati finished as a runner up in two different F4 series last year, but didn't really impress greatly in either, losing out the F4 US title to a single-car team driver and finishing a long way behind his team-mate James Piszcyk in Australian F4.
 
mtec Motorsport failed to win a race in 2024, and I don't see that changing with their 2025 line-up. Josh Pierson, with his sportscar and Indy NXT experience, is probably their most likely suspect to challenge for good results. Zack Scoular may be one to watch out for; I don't think he could show his true pace in British F4 last year with a team that was new to the series. Patrick Heuzenroeder has GB3 experience, which may help him, though he was never a true front-runner there. Nicholas Monteiro and Shawn Rashid will likely only make up the numbers.
 
___
 
Formula Regional Middle East Championship
 
DrzMVQL.png
 
On the Middle Eastern side in 2024, it was Tuukka Taponen who ran away with the title for R-ace GP. Initially, Taylor Barnard challenged him, but after Round 1, he found another gear and eased away over the course of the season, before embarking on a year in FRECA. He ended up a long way ahead of Barnard, who in turn was a long way ahead of third-placed - and eventual FRECA champion - Rafael Câmara.
 
2025's grid is currently not as clear as that for FROC - despite starting in just under three weeks' time, only 7 drivers have currently been confirmed. However, we'd expect to see broadly similar teams that enter FRECA, with a few extra entries for FRMEC stalwart teams such as Evans, Pinnacle, and PHM. 
 
Like FROC, the calendar is made up of 5 rounds of three races each - Races 1 and 3 being standard grid races, and Race 2 being a reverse grid race. The calendar only consisted of Dubai and two layouts of Yas Marina in 2024, but has expanded for 2025 - a welcome return to Kuwait Motor Town after the track provided some great action in 2023 (EDIT: unfortunately, the Kuwait races have been dropped). Jeddah is also appearing on the calendar for the first time. Nope, that's gone as well. The series will instead visit Qatar for the first time.

Round 1 (17-18 Jan) – Kuwait Motor Town Yas Marina
Round 2 (22-24 Jan) – Kuwait Motor Town Yas Marina
Round 3 (07-09 Feb) – Dubai Autodrome
Round 4 (14-16 Feb) – Yas Marina
Round 5 (25-27 Feb) – Jeddah Lusail
 
The grid is currently as follows (as of 13-Jan-2025)

Team                  Drivers                  What did they do in 2024?

ART Grand Prix        Evan Giltaire (FRA)      7th in FRECA, 9th in Macau GP
                      Katō Taito (JPN)         French F4 champion
                      Le Kanato (JPN)          18th in FRECA, 19th in Macau GP, 23rd in FRMEC

Evans GP              Aaron Cameron (AUS)      2nd in Super2, 10th in TCR Australia
                      Kai Daryanani (IND)      Formula Trophy UAE champion, 8th in Australian F4, 12th in British F4, 20th in Macau GP, 31st in Italian F4, 33rd in Euro 4

Origine Motorsport    Ricky Liu Ruiqi (CHN)    15th in Chinese F4, 22nd in FRECA
                      Wang Zhongwei (CHN)      18th in FR Japan, 35th in FRMEC

PHM Racing/Akcel GP   Brando Badoer (ITA)      5th in FRECA, 10th in FRMEC
                      Aditya Kulkarni (IND)    19th in GB3
                      Jaden Pariat (IND)       3rd in Indian F4
                      Everett Stack (USA)      27th in Italian F4, 30th in Euro 4, 30th in F4 CEZ, 34th in F4 UAE

Pinnacle Motorsport   Jesse Carrasquedo (MEX)  8th in Eurocup-3, 24th in FRMEC, 34th in FRECA
                      Cui Yuanpu (CHN)         9th in British F4, 11th in Chinese F4, 24th in F4 UAE
                      Fin Green (GBR)          32nd in Eurocup-3, 34th in FRMEC
                      Giovanni Maschio (ITA)   21st in FRMEC, 24th in FRECA
                      Ernesto Rivera (MEX)     5th in Spanish F4, 15th in Formula Winter Series, 22nd in British F4
                      Yamakoshi Hiyū (JPN)     3rd in Italian F4, 4th in Euro 4, 32nd in F4 UAE

Mumbai Falcons/Prema  Rashid Al Dhaheri (UAE)  4th in F4 UAE, 10th in Italian F4, 11th in Euro 4
                      Jack Beeton (AUS)        2nd in Italian F4, 8th in Euro 4
                      Doriane Pin (FRA)        2nd in F1 Academy, 10th in F4 UAE, 27th in FRECA
                      Reza Seewooruthun (GBR)  3rd in British F4, 16th in F4 UAE, 19th in Euro 4
                      Freddie Slater (GBR)     Italian F4 champion, F4 UAE champion, 2nd in Euro 4, 22nd in GB3

R-ace GP              Akshay Bohra (IND)       Euro 4 champion, 4th in Italian F4
                      Enzo Deligny (FRA)       5th in Macau GP, 8th in F4 UAE, 12th in FRECA
                      Nakamura Jin (JPN)       4th in Super Formula Lights, 13th in Macau GP
                      Ugo Ugochukwu (USA)      Macau GP winner, 7th in FRMEC, 11th in FRECA

Saintéloc Racing      Lorenzo Castillo (MEX)   35th in Spanish F4, 46th in Formula Winter Series
                      Théophile Naël (FRA)     9th in FRECA, 11th in FRMEC, 11th in Macau GP
                      Yaroslav Veselaho (UKR)  33rd in FRMEC, 35th in FRECA

 
Not much to go off of with the 7 currently confirmed drivers. I'd hope Doriane Pin would be challenging for at least podiums with some FRECA experience under her belt. Taito Kato is an interesting one, emulating his countryman Ayumu Iwasa by winning French F4 at the first time of asking, though at 16, he is a few years younger than Iwasa was. His ART team-mate, Kanato Le, has shown occasional speed with a fairly poor G4 Racing in FRECA, especially in wet conditions, and could be someone to keep an eye on. Akshay Bohra has generally driven very maturely in F4, beating the very fast Freddie Slater to the Euro 4 title, but losing out considerably over the course of the Italian F4 season in 2024. His team-mate Jin Nakamura is a relative unknown, and this will be his first series outside of Japan. Kai Daryanani can call himself an F4 champion, after winning the recent UAE Trophy, but that was arguably only because Rashid Al Dhaheri missed the final round. The Hong Kong-based Indian driver has driven in 141 F4 races, which makes him the second-most prolific F4 driver since FIA F4 started in 2014 - and he did all of those races in just two years! Whilst it's good to have some Ukrainian representation in the form of Saintéloc's Yaroslav Veselaho, the former drifting champion has shown no discernible talent over the last two years, and I don't expect anything different this year. 
 
___
 
I'll post more on the other Formula Regional series for 2025 further into the year once the grids become more clear.


Edited by Frood, 15 January 2025 - 12:31.


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#2 Frood

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Posted 30 December 2024 - 18:02

The current FRECA grid is looking like this (updated as of 10-Jan-2025):
Team                   Drivers                       What did they do in 2024?

CONFIRMED

ART Grand Prix         Evan Giltaire (FRA)           7th in FRECA
                       Katō Taito (JPN)              French F4 champion
                       Le Kanato (JPN)               18th in FRECA, 23rd in FRMEC

CL Motorsport          Zachary David (MLT)           4th in FRMEC, 13th in FRECA

Prema Racing           Rashid Al Dhaheri (UAE)       4th in F4 UAE, 10th in Italian F4, 11th in Euro 4
                       Jack Beeton (AUS)             2nd in Italian F4, 8th in Euro 4
                       Doriane Pin (FRA)             2nd in F1 Academy, 10th in F4 UAE
                       Freddie Slater (GBR)          Italian F4 champion, F4 UAE champion, 2nd in Euro 4

R-ace GP               Akshay Bohra (IND)            Euro 4 champion, 4th in Italian F4
                       Enzo Deligny (FRA)            8th in F4 UAE, 12th in FRECA
                       Nakamura Jin (JPN)            4th in Super Formula Lights

Saintéloc Racing       Tim Gerhards (NED)            20th in Spanish F4
                       Yaroslav Veselaho (UKR)       33rd in FRMEC, 35th in FRECA

Trident                Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi (THA)  26th in FRECA
                       Matteo de Palo (ITA)          17th in FRECA, 18th in FRMEC
                       Ricky Liu Ruiqi (CHN)         15th in Chinese F4, 22nd in FRECA

Van Amersfoort Racing  Pedro Clerot (BRA)            8th in FRECA
                       Dion Gowda (IND)              11th in Italian F4, 11th in F4 UAE
                       Yamakoshi Hiyū (JPN)          3rd in Italian F4, 4th in Euro 4

RUMOURED, UNCONFIRMED

RPM                    James Egozi (USA)             6th in Spanish F4, 9th in Formula Winter Series
                       Giovanni Maschio (ITA)        21st in FRMEC, 24th in FRECA
                       Enzo Yeh Rui-heng (TWN)       14th in F4 UAE, 23rd in Italian F4

Saintéloc Racing       Enzo Peugeot (FRA)            15th in FRECA, 24th in FRMEC

If the results back up the hype, I'd expect a Slater championship, à la Antonelli in 2023.

Edited by Frood, 10 January 2025 - 14:23.


#3 Racer3000

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 11:09

Next year's grid is much weaker than 2023's and 2024's grids. The tendency is that Slater wins the title much more easily than Antonelli, that did very well but was not dominant.



#4 tyker

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 13:22

Next year's grid is much weaker than 2023's and 2024's grids. The tendency is that Slater wins the title much more easily than Antonelli, that did very well but was not dominant.

That might depend on the car, Prema didn't have the best of cars in last year's series finishing 3rd, 6th and 7th  behind runaway champion Taponen driving for R-ace GP, Akshay Bohra is driving for R-ace GP, he managed to take the Euro 4 title from Slater, driving for the excellent US Racing team.


Edited by tyker, 31 December 2024 - 13:23.


#5 Muppetmad

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 13:31

I presume you're referring to the Middle East championship? Prema cars took 1-2 in the European championship.



#6 tyker

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 13:38

I presume you're referring to the Middle East championship? Prema cars took 1-2 in the European championship.

Yes which is the series presently being profiled, I'm not sure what changed in order for Prema to turn the tables on R-ace GP in the European series, maybe the tyres?



#7 Racer3000

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 19:37

That might depend on the car, Prema didn't have the best of cars in last year's series finishing 3rd, 6th and 7th  behind runaway champion Taponen driving for R-ace GP, Akshay Bohra is driving for R-ace GP, he managed to take the Euro 4 title from Slater, driving for the excellent US Racing team.

 

I'm referring to FRECA, which is what matters. Next year's grid will be the weakest since the series was merged with F-Renault in 2021.



#8 tyker

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Posted 31 December 2024 - 22:52

I'm referring to FRECA, which is what matters. Next year's grid will be the weakest since the series was merged with F-Renault in 2021.

That's my mistake I thought It was the FRMEC grid being updated and not the FRECA grid, I got caught out by the FRECA  grid having 16 drivers confirmed as opposed to only 7 drivers for FRMEC which starts in a little over 2 weeks time.

 

Even then 16 drivers is just half the expected entry, I'm not sure at what point we judge how good drivers are, I suspect mostly with hindsight, Camara won the FRECA title quite easily this year, the previous 2 years he spent a long way behind his teammate Andrea Kimi Antonelli in 4 different series.



#9 JvsKVB77

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Posted 01 January 2025 - 15:55

I think Giltaire and maybe Deligny with Clerot can give Freddie a fight. 


Edited by JvsKVB77, 01 January 2025 - 18:31.


#10 tyker

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Posted 01 January 2025 - 18:04

I think Giltaire and may be Deligny with Clerot can give Freddie a fight. 

Giltaire and Deligny have not been confirmed yet.



#11 JvsKVB77

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Posted 01 January 2025 - 18:32

Giltaire and Deligny have not been confirmed yet.

Yes, but i think they deffenetly will be there. 



#12 Frood

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 11:24

Another blow for FRMEC - the Kuwait rounds are off. Replaced by Yas Marina. Boo!

#13 JvsKVB77

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 15:22

Another blow for FRMEC - the Kuwait rounds are off. Replaced by Yas Marina. Boo!

Formula Regional Yas Marina Championship :down:



#14 William Hunt

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 15:22

That's a big blow. The Kuwait track is freaking amazing, Yas Marina ... no comment



#15 Muppetmad

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 15:40

Urgh. Kuwait Motor Town is actually interesting.



#16 Jellyfishcake

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 16:26

Shame, echo the thoughts above Kuwait track was better.

Not only losing those rounds, but both replaced with Yas Marina is such a down step.

3 out of the 5 rounds at Yas Marina that so naff, it's the worst of all of the possible tracks to be honest 



#17 LolaB0860

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Posted 03 January 2025 - 20:14

Thankfully they've retained Highlands as the NZ GP in the Oceania championship. That track most of all deserves the spotlight.



#18 GregThomas

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Posted 04 January 2025 - 07:06

Thankfully they've retained Highlands as the NZ GP in the Oceania championship. That track most of all deserves the spotlight.

 

AFAIK it's the first time the GP is at Highlands. Why does it deserve anything ? It was never built as a track for organised racing, just trackdays. It's too far from major population centers to pull a crowd. Quinn's money is simply taking events away from the three club owned and run circuits in the South Island.

 

And yes,I'll admit to bias.



#19 JvsKVB77

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Posted 04 January 2025 - 09:13

Thankfully they've retained Highlands as the NZ GP in the Oceania championship. That track most of all deserves the spotlight.

Would prefer Hampton Downs full version


Edited by JvsKVB77, 04 January 2025 - 09:13.


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#20 Frood

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Posted 04 January 2025 - 09:15

Give it a few years and it’ll be at Yas Marina as well.

#21 LolaB0860

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Posted 04 January 2025 - 15:05

AFAIK it's the first time the GP is at Highlands. Why does it deserve anything ? It was never built as a track for organised racing, just trackdays. It's too far from major population centers to pull a crowd. Quinn's money is simply taking events away from the three club owned and run circuits in the South Island.

 

And yes,I'll admit to bias.

 

It was there last year already.



#22 GregThomas

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Posted 04 January 2025 - 19:53

It was there last year already.

 

Doesn't mean it should stay there. Traditionally the GP is the big North Island fixture and the Lady Wigram the South.

 

The current historic festival version of the Lady Wigram at Ruapuna draws a very good crowd where Cromwell doesn't.



#23 Frood

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Posted 06 January 2025 - 16:06

PHM have announced their line-up for FRMEC. It's not helping the series' strength. Brando Badoer is the one ace in the pack they have - he steadily improved in FRMEC last year, and then was consistently good in FRECA. He's moving up to FIA F3 this year, but McLaren have probably placed him there for the Superlicence points. Looking at who's been signed so far, you'd easily put him as the current favourite, and PHM will fancy him to be a 2024 version of Taylor Barnard. The other three seats are pretty much non-entities - Jaden Pariat has done a couple of part seasons in British F4, with very little success, and came 3rd last year in Indian F4 against weak opposition. Adi Kulkarni has more experience in faster machinery, but was also the lowest-placed full-time driver in GB3 last year, so will likely fare little better. Everett Stack is both slow and crash-prone. He's driven nearly 70 races in F4 machinery and has scored a grand total of 1 whole point in that time. The only impact he'll make is on the other cars. Or the barrier.

 

Meanwhile, in addition to Veselaho, Saintéloc have signed Lorenzo Castillo. The Mexican did a full season of Spanish F4 last year, but finished in 34th overall with a best finish of 16th. Clearly, the step up to Formula Regional is warranted... however, in more interesting news, they've signed the F3-bound Theóphile Naël. Naël won the Spanish F4 title for Saintéloc in 2023, and will be a likely contender for wins, if not the championship.


Edited by Frood, 08 January 2025 - 09:55.


#24 Frood

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Posted 07 January 2025 - 12:15

First round of FROC is coming up this weekend. The grid is the same as in Post #1, minus Tommy Smith (no great loss, admittedly).

 

Lindblad still likely to be the overwhelming favourite. The other M2s will likely be front runners, specifically Johnson and probably Shin. Interested to see how Will Brown fares.



#25 Frood

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Posted 10 January 2025 - 14:31

Giltaire and Deligny have not been confirmed yet.

 
I believe both have been now; Giltaire has also been confirmed to be running FRMEC. Deligny has lost his Red Bull backing but kept his seat.
 
I've also updated the FRECA grid following a few extra announcements.
 
Meanwhile, down in New Zealand, M2 are unsurprisingly looking quick in practice. Lindblad topped FP2, but was beaten to P1 in both FP1 and FP3 by Nikita Johnson. Qualifying will be later this evening (GMT).

Edited by Frood, 10 January 2025 - 14:32.


#26 tyker

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Posted 10 January 2025 - 16:29

 
I believe both have been now; Giltaire has also been confirmed to be running FRMEC. Deligny has lost his Red Bull backing but kept his seat.
 
I've also updated the FRECA grid following a few extra announcements.
 
Meanwhile, down in New Zealand, M2 are unsurprisingly looking quick in practice. Lindblad topped FP2, but was beaten to P1 in both FP1 and FP3 by Nikita Johnson. Qualifying will be later this evening (GMT).

It's filling up nicely then, however so few entries announced for FRMEC and it starts next weekend.



#27 Frood

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Posted 10 January 2025 - 21:42

Qualifying for the first race of FROC is done at Taupo.

 

As expected, the two dominant drivers so far this weekend, Johnson and Lindblad, were... er, third and fourth. Johnson's session was spoiled a little by the car almost immediately breaking down, but the team got it fixed very quickly and he didn't lose too much time in the end. Both were outdone by the front row starters, though - Supercars champion Will Brown's first open-wheel race for 5 years will start from second place. A massive surprise on pole - mtec's Zack Scoular coming out of nowhere to take the first blood of 2025!

Pos  Driver                Gap
 1.  Zack Scoular
 2.  Will Brown             +0.078
 3.  Nikita Johnson         +0.177
 4.  Arvid Lindblad         +0.226
 5.  Matías Zagazeta        +0.227
 6.  Patrick Heuzenroeder   +0.266
 7.  Michael Shin Woo-hyun  +0.475
 8.  Josh Pierson           +0.562
 9.  Enzo Yeh Rui-heng      +0.672
10.  Nicholas Monteiro      +0.940
11.  Sebastian Manson       +0.953
12.  Shawn Rashid           +0.953
13.  Alex Crosbie           +1.094
14.  Jett Bowling           +1.102
15.  Nicolas Stati          +1.333
16.  James Lawley           +1.654
17.  Barrett Wolfe          +2.360

Edited by Frood, 10 January 2025 - 22:13.


#28 Frood

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Posted 11 January 2025 - 11:15

Here are the links for the race streams this weekend:
Race 1 (has already happened)
Race 2 (Sunday 13:00 NZDT / 00:00 GMT)
Race 3 (Sunday 16:45 NZDT / 03:45 GMT)
 
Race 1 summary:
Spoiler

 
Race 2 summary:
Spoiler

 
Race 3 summary:
Spoiler

 
Standings after Round 1:
Spoiler

Edited by Frood, 12 January 2025 - 17:21.


#29 thermonuclear

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 01:22

If you want to take a look at the wider weekend action, hopefully this stream will work for those of you outside New Zealand

 

https://www.stuff.co...toring/speedhub



#30 Frood

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Posted 12 January 2025 - 17:34

Weekend summary for FROC at Taupo is in Post #28.

 

Current FRMEC grid in Post #1 has been updated, too.

 

As mentioned previously, Evan Giltaire will be in at ART. He took a couple of wins in FRECA last year, so should be in with a chance of more wins and possibly the title provided ART can provide him with a good car.

 

Origine Motorsport were on last year's grid as R&B Racing, but were more often than not right at the back. They've signed experienced FRECA driver Ricky Liu in one car, and FRMEC stalwart Wang Zhongwei for the other. Liu might be able to coax a few lower points finishes out of the car, but I would expect Wang to be somewhere near the back.

 

Pinnacle have announced a four-car entry, with the most interesting of the quartet being Ernesto Rivera. The Mexican is a Red Bull Academy driver, who was a race winner in Spanish F4 last year. It's only his second year of car racing and will likely be a learning experience, but he might surprise. Jesse Carrasquedo was midfield at best in his FRECA time, but was a surprise race winner and occasional podium threat when he moved across to Eurocup-3, so he's not likely to be the worst driver on the grid.  Giovanni Maschio admittedly progressed well in his second FRECA season last year, but will likely only be targeting minor points at best. Fin Green is wildly above his pay-grade at Formula Regional level and will be firmly rooted to the back of the grid.

 

Reigning champions R-ace now have two extra drivers, both of whom I'd expect to challenge for wins at the very least - one is Enzo Deligny, recently relieved of his Red Bull Academy duties by Helmut Marko, so will likely to be out to prove a point. The other is McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu, who won the Macau Grand Prix for R-ace, and will have the FRMEC title firmly in his sights.



#31 Frood

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 12:12

And I've updated Post #1 for the FRMEC grid again with the final entry list for this weekend's first round having been released.

 

Additional drivers since the previous update:

 

Pinnacle have added two more cars, in the shape of Mercedes junior Cui Yuanpu, who had an okay, but not dazzling, year in British F4 last year; the other will be driven by Hiyu Yamakoshi, a surprise front-runner for VAR in Italian F4 last year and one of the few drivers who got the better of Freddie Slater on track during the year.

 

Speaking of Freddie Slater, Prema have pulled he and upcoming FRECA team-mates Jack Beeton and Rashid Al Dhaheri into the squad. Presumably, this will now install Slater into the "title favourite" role, although it has to be seen whether the team will contend with the troubles they had last year. Slater has done plenty of testing in Formula Regional cars, and has been competitive in GB3, whereas Beeton and Al Dhaheri will be making their Formula Regional débuts. The team will also be bolstered by Reza Seewooruthun, a race winner in British F4 last year, but whom also was a long way behind team-mate Deagan Fairclough. Seewooruthun will be racing with the Prema-linked Argenti squad in GB3 this year, so this is likely a good precursor for his year as well.

 

Finally, Evans GP have announced their second driver as a somewhat left-field Aaron Cameron. The Aussie has plenty of experience in closed-wheel machinery, having strong results in both TCR and the V8 Supercars development series, but also has some decent open-wheel experience, having been the final S5000 champion prior to the series' folding.

 

EDIT: Cui, Yamakoshi, and Pin will not be present for the first race weekend.


Edited by Frood, 13 January 2025 - 18:30.


#32 tyker

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 14:01

Thanks for all the updates Frood, I look forward to watching the races this weekend.  :up:



#33 nivoglibina

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Posted 13 January 2025 - 23:03

Yeah same from me, a mere like doesnt do it justice :up:



#34 Frood

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Posted 15 January 2025 - 12:29

Thanks guys.

 

FRMEC's calendar has changed again. Jeddah is out. Yas Marina is in.

 

(Okay, just kidding. It has been changed, but to Lusail instead)


Edited by Frood, 15 January 2025 - 12:30.


#35 Frood

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Posted 17 January 2025 - 22:13

Here's the program for this weekend's double:

 

Formula Regional Oceania Round 2 — Hampton Downs

 

IhlLpR1.png

 

Arvid Lindblad will start Race 1 from pole position, snagging pole from Taupo race 1 pole-sitter Zack Scoular by a slim 0.059s margin. Josh Pierson and Will Brown will make up Row 2.

 

Streams:

Race 1 (Sat 14:40 NZDT / 01:40 GMT)

Race 2 (Sun 12:15 NZDT / Sat 23:15 GMT)

Race 3 (Sun 16:25 NZDT / 03:25 GMT)

 

_________________________________________________________

 

Formula Regional Middle East Round 1 — Yas Marina

 

deM2sjI.png

 

Streams:

Race 1 (Sat 21:40 GST / 17:40 GMT)

Race 2 (Sun 17:50 GST / 13:50 GMT)

Race 3 (Sun 20:40 GST / 16:40 GMT)



#36 thermonuclear

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Posted 18 January 2025 - 00:40

With props to Frood and his thread, the wider support race programme at Hampton Downs is also available through the link in post #29. Also read about what's going on at the following link

 

https://www.stuff.co...-stuff-speedhub

 

  • Support Programme
  •  
  • Bridgestone Toyota GR86 Championship
  • Summerset GT New Zealand Championship
  • Shell Lubricants SuperV8s
  • Nexen Tyres New Zealand Mazda Racing Series

Edited by thermonuclear, 18 January 2025 - 00:41.


#37 Frood

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Posted 18 January 2025 - 14:41

FROC Race 1 Summary:

 

Spoiler

 

Meanwhile in the Middle East, it's a familiar sight if you watched Italian F4 last year - Freddie Slater will be on pole for both Races 1 and 3. In the second qualifying session he was especially quick, eventually taking pole by the best part of half a second. Evan Giltaire will join him on the front row for both races; Jesse Carrasquedo will start both races from 4th and will be joined on the second row by Rashid Al Dhaheri for Race 1, and Ernesto Rivera for Race 3. Reigning Macau GP winner Ugo Ugochukwu disappointed with last year's champions R-ace GP, posting only 6th and 7th in the two sessions.

 

Top 10 for Race 1:

Pos  Driver        Team      
 1.  Slater        Prema     1:49.551
 2.  Giltaire      ART         +0.070
 3.  Al Dhaheri    Prema       +0.202
 4.  Carrasquedo   Pinnacle    +0.311
 5.  Badoer        PHM         +0.372
 6.  Rivera        Pinnacle    +0.481
 7.  Ugochukwu     R-ace       +0.530
 8.  Kato          ART         +0.532
 9.  Seewooruthun  Prema       +0.550
10.  Le            ART         +0.648

Top 10 for Race 2:

Pos  Driver        Team      
 1.  Slater        Prema     1:48.854
 2.  Giltaire      ART         +0.465
 3.  Rivera        Pinnacle    +0.635
 4.  Carrasquedo   Pinnacle    +0.639
 5.  Al Dhaheri    Prema       +0.699
 6.  Ugochukwu     R-ace       +0.734
 7.  Seewooruthun  Prema       +0.739
 8.  Naël          Saintéloc   +0.796
 9.  Nakamura      R-ace       +0.931
10.  Bohra         R-ace       +1.006

Edited by Frood, 18 January 2025 - 14:53.


#38 lio007

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Posted 18 January 2025 - 16:16

Can anybody explain the reverse grid in FROC?
Pole-Sitter from qualy2 is starting last in race 2?

#39 Frood

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Posted 18 January 2025 - 16:18

Can anybody explain the reverse grid in FROC?
Pole-Sitter from qualy2 is starting last in race 2?

 

It's a reverse of the Top 8 finishers in Race 1.



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#40 lio007

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Posted 18 January 2025 - 22:37

It's a reverse of the Top 8 finishers in Race 1.

Ah OK, thank you very much!

#41 Jellyfishcake

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Posted 19 January 2025 - 13:59

Race 2 of FRMEC is on now, yesterdays race wasn't super exciting, really shows no matter the series the Yas Marina track is just naff 



#42 Peat

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Posted 20 January 2025 - 08:46

I've been following (what was) the NZ TRS as they are uploading the races onto YT. 

The cars are pretty dull and the racing is largely settled after the 1st half a lap. Perhaps I am so conditioned by high deg tyres and DRS now that a 'normal' race is now tedious. 

After a slow start, Linblad is now clearly the class of the field. Can't tell what Will Brown is getting out of it.  



#43 Jellyfishcake

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Posted 25 January 2025 - 21:21

Just caught up with some of the Regional NZ series, Lindblad doing exactly what he was meant to do, getting on a nice role now.

The current Formula Regional cars are definitely not the best 'race' cars, and it has to be said the tight twisty nature of the NZ tracks really highlights this issue, 

Very processional outside of the starts really 



#44 Frood

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Posted 27 January 2025 - 20:50

Haven't had much appetite for posting recently, but here's a post to catch back up with FROC a bit.
 
The Hampton Downs weekend wasn't particularly interesting, suffering similarly with insipid racing as Peat and Jellyfishcake allude to above.
 
Race 1 was a tame affair, with Lindblad not giving Scoular a look in off the line. Brown passed Pierson off the start, and the top three gradually pulled away from the rest of the field. Lindblad never really had the edge over Scoular, but Scoular never had the opportunity to pass. Pierson pulled the gap back in again and the top 4 finished pretty much nose-to-tail, but with no danger of passing. Of the other supporting cast, Johnson had a disappointing race down in 8th, whilst Zagazeta tried a divebomb on Seb Manson but only succeeded in taking his own front wing off.
 
The reverse-grid Race 2 was similarly lacklustre. Nikita Johnson started from pole and led into T1, but made a mistake at T2, handing the lead to Seb Manson. Lindblad had a fantastic start from 8th and was almost immediately hustling Pat Heuzenroeder for 3rd place. The only real interest from this point onwards was Lindblad's quest to pass Heuzenroeder for the podium. Around lap 9 he really started to turn up the head on Heuzenroeder, who made a mistake but managed to hold off Lindblad initially. Lindblad tried again two laps later, made the pass, but went wide and allowed Heuzenroeder back through. He finally made it stick on the following lap, but by that point, the gap to Manson and Johnson ahead was insurmountable. Johnson was never really in position to challenge Manson, and the Kiwi took his first FROC win. Brown tried to pass Heuzenroeder in the closing stages, but had to settle for fifth at the flag.
 
Race 3 had a little more action at the start, with Scoular getting a slightly better start than Lindblad and going side-by-side with the Brit in Turn 1, but was repelled. Brown made his way past Johnson early doors and started to attack the third-placed Pierson at the start of Lap 2, and passed the Indy NXT driver into Turn 2, and set about catching Lindblad and Scoular. Lindblad settled into a good rhythm and started to pull away from Scoular, though not greatly. Later on in the race Brown spun in Turn 1 and lost a heap of time, which promoted Pierson back onto the podium. The race was basically static from this point on, and Lindblad easily led home Scoular and Pierson to the flag.
 
Onto last weekend's Round 3 at Manfeild.
 
Race 1 Stream
Race 2 Stream
Race 3 Stream
 
A change on the grid for this weekend, with everybody's favourite F3 carambolage-causer Tommy Smith replacing Will Brown at Giles Motorsport.
 
Race 1 Summary
Spoiler

 
Race 2 Summary
Spoiler

 
Race 3 Summary
Spoiler

 
Standings with two rounds/six races to go: 
Spoiler

Edited by Frood, 27 January 2025 - 20:57.


#45 Frood

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Posted 27 January 2025 - 21:46

And a quick(er) summary of FRMEC's second round.
 
FR Middle East Round 2, Race 1
FR Middle East Round 2, Race 2
FR Middle East Round 2, Race 3
 
Spoiler

 
Points after two rounds:
Spoiler


#46 UncleSam

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Posted 02 February 2025 - 12:47

Lindblad 59 points ahead with 90 points remaining in the last weekend. Think he has it: https://en.m.wikiped...ia_Championship

#47 Frood

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Posted 02 February 2025 - 21:32

Frankly, Teretonga was the dullest FROC weekend yet, so only a very quick update:

 

Arvid Lindblad was on pole for Race 1, but was beaten into Turn 1 by fellow front-row starter Matías Zagazeta. The only changes of position apart from Lap 1 were Barrett Wolfe passing James Lawley for 16th on Lap 2, and everyone from 7th downwards moving up a place when Michael Shin retired after puncturing a tyre on a loose brick on Lap 14. The race was curtailed on safety grounds following this incident to ensure the run-off area bricks were safe. Zagazeta won unchallenged from Lindblad and Nikita Johnson. Zack Scoular lost more ground in the championship after finishing 5th.

 

The reverse grid Race 2 provided scarcely any better entertainment. Pole-sitter Enzo Yeh got a poor start, and second-place Seb Manson took full advantage. Zack Scoular jumped from fourth to second, with Pat Heuzenroeder also jumping both Yeh and a slow-starting Josh Pierson into third. The safety car was called soon after; a number of cars had run wide out of Turn 1, which kicked up a cloud of dust. James Lawley ran wide whilst unsighted in the dust cloud, spun back onto the track, and collected Kiwi Motorsport team-mate Jett Bowling in the process. Both cars were out on the spot, and needed recovery. At the restart, Lindblad, having lost out to Zagazeta at the start, reclaimed sixth place off of his team-mate. The safety car was called again a couple of laps later, as Nicolas Stati compounded Kiwi Motorsport's misery by beaching himself in the gravel at Turn 1. There was little movement at the second restart, and Manson eased to victory ahead of Scoular and Heuzenroeder.

 

Race 3 was pretty much a re-run of Race 1, but with the roles reversed - this time, Zagazeta started on pole, but lost out to Lindblad into Turn 1. Further back, Kiwi Motorsport had just gotten Jett Bowling's car back together in time for the start of the race, and the Texan promptly repaid the team's hard work by almost immediately crashing into the tyres at Turn 1. There was no movement at the head of the field at the restart, though a couple of laps later, Zagazeta made a mistake exiting Turn 1 and was promptly punished by team-mate Michael Shin. Shin began to reel in Lindblad slightly over the rest of the race, but it wasn't enough, and Lindblad made it 4 feature race wins out of 4. Shin took his first podium of the season in second, and Zagazeta held off Heuzenroeder for third.

 

It seems a foregone conclusion now that Lindblad will take the title; the fight for runner-up is still close between Nikita Johnson and Zack Scoular, with Pat Heuzenroeder ready to pounce if both have trouble at Highlands.



#48 UncleSam

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Posted 03 February 2025 - 10:58

https://www.the-race...-lindblad-plan/

#49 Frood

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Posted 08 February 2025 - 09:15

It's New Zealand Grand Prix weekend, and the final weekend of Formula Regional Oceania at Highlands.

 

DAyLO3V.jpeg

 

Race 1 (has already taken place as of this post)

Race 2 (Sunday 11:25 NZST / Saturday 22:25 GMT)

Race 3 (New Zealand Grand Prix) (Sunday 16:15 NZST / 03:15 GMT)

 

Arvid Lindblad comes into the weekend on the cusp of the championship. Only a terrible weekend would cost him the championship at this point.

 

It'll be an all Red Bull front row for the New Zealand Grand Prix... neither of which are Lindblad! Will Brown returns to the championship this weekend, and will line up second on the grid for the main event. However, he was upstaged by his Australian Supercars team-mate and 2024 Supercars runner-up Broc Feeney, who took a shock pole position on what is his first weekend in single-seaters! These Supercar drivers are no slouches...

 

Race 1 summary

Spoiler

Edited by Frood, 08 February 2025 - 11:02.


#50 Frood

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Posted 08 February 2025 - 12:09

It's also a Formula Regional Middle East Weekend, this time at Dubai.

 

Pq0aIvX.png

 

A few changes on the grid this weekend. Vietnam's first real open-wheel driver Alex Sawer Hoàng Đạt is entered in a third Evans GP car. GB3 driver James Hedley takes over Jaden Pariat's PHM car. Jesse Carrasquedo and Giovanni Maschio are out at Pinnacle, replaced with Italian F4 race winner Hiyu Yamakoshi and Mercedes junior driver Cui YuanpuDoriane Pin takes over Reza Seewooruthun's Mumbai Falcons car, whilst Jakob Bergmeister is in at Saintéloc in place of Lorenzo Castillo.

 

Championship leader Evan Giltaire took pole position for Race 1, ahead of current 3rd-placed Brando Badoer and Ugo Ugochukwu. Freddie Slater, second in the standings, will start in 6th, also out-qualified by team-mate Rashid Al Dhaheri and Saintéloc's Théophile Naël. Giltaire has also taken pole for Sunday's Race 3, ahead of Al Dhaheri, Ugochukwu, Naël, Slater, and Badoer.

 

Race 1 (has already taken place as of this post) 

Race 2 (Sunday 08:45 GST / 04:45 GMT)

Race 3 (Sunday 12:00 GST / 08:00 GMT)