Record breaking lap times were the order of the day as the first official practice for the 2024 Castrol Toyota Formula
Regional Oceania Championship got underway at New Zealand’s Taupo International Motorsport Park. Australian Christian Mansell was the early pace setter in New Zealand.Picture Bruce Jenkins
A switch to Pirelli tyres for this year has yielded at least one second per lap for the Toyota FT60 chassis used in the
championship and it will likely see official lap records at some tracks broken over the next five weekends of
Australasia’s top single seater championship.
And it was Australia’s Christian Mansell that set the sector times alight with a championship record around the 3.5km
South Waikato track.
A general test day on Thursday pointed to faster lap times, but the pace of some of the runners today in official
practice suggested a solid leap forward in speed that could see this year’s field produce the fastest ever single seater
championship in the country.
In the first session on Friday it was Mansell who set the pace with an eye-catching 1 minute 23.159 lap, just under a
second faster than the best lap of 2023. Canadian Patrick Woods-Toth and Kiwi Kaleb Ngatoa were next up, just over two
tenths off Christian’s best lap.
Rain arrived for the second session meaning nobody went any quicker than in P1 but it was Poland’s Roman Bilinski who
adjusted best to a wet track as he went four tenths of a second quicker than Michael Shin and Liam Sceats. Morning
pacesetters Mansell, Woods-Toth and Ngatoa also featured in the top ten throughout the 30 minute session.
The third and final session of the day – which included a minor earth tremor in a region notorious for tectonic activity
- saw Mansell fastest again in dry but slightly slower conditions. His nearest challengers were Woods-Toth and Ngatoa
again, pointing at least at this stage to those three being contenders over the forthcoming weekend.
A good turnout of drivers from the USA also impressed during the day’s testing, with all making steady and solid
progress with lap times.
The field of 17 drivers will get the action underway tomorrow morning with qualifying before the first race in the
afternoon.
Weather could be a factor but if it stays dry the race looks set to be one of the fastest at the Taupo track since A1GP
put the circuit on the international map for more than 15 years ago.
2024 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship certified by FIA - Events
19-21 January 2024 - Taupo International Motorsport Park – Historic GP event
26-28 January 2024 - Manfeild - Circuit Chris Amon
2-4 February 2024 - Hampton Downs Motorsport Park
9-11 February 2024 – Euromarque Motorsport Park
16-18 February 2024 - Highlands Motorsport Park – 68th New Zealand Grand Prix
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