Junior formulae championship winner Gerrard Xie is the latest international rising star to sign up for the nineteenth season of the New Zealand Championship, the second season under the name of Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Hong Kong born, but residing in Shenzhen, China, 17-year-old Xie is a karting graduate who won the 2022 Chinese Formula 4 championship and the 2022 Macau Grand Prix.
A phenomenal year saw him take victory in 12 of the 14 races in the Chinese Championship. He also won race 1 and placed second in race 2 in the 2022 Macau Grand Prix.
He headed to the United Kingdom at the start of this year, racing the 2023 GB3 with Hillspeed, winning the final round of the championship.
The New Zealand championship will be his first in the Formula Regional category and he’s looking forward to the challenge, commenting:
“I’m really looking forward to travelling to NZ to compete in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship with M2 Competition.
“The team and championship both have great reputations, so looking forward to being a part of it! In 2023 we didn’t have too much pre-season prep, so I’m really happy to be heading to NZ to build confidence and gain valuable experience ready for the 2024 season!”
His New Zealand campaign will be with M2 Competition, and the team is looking forward to having him race for them in the five-round back-to-back weekend championship that begins in January and concludes with the 2024 New Zealand Grand Prix.
“It’s great to welcome Gerrard to the team, and we thank his management group for entrusting us with the first racing steps in 24 seasons.” Mark Pilcher said.
The New Zealand championship will see all drivers competing in Tatuus-based Toyota FT60 cars at five very different circuits in New Zealand’s North and South Islands over five consecutive weekends.
The championship boasts more than 3,000km of testing, practice, qualifying and racing mileage.
2024 Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship calendar
| 19-21 January | Taupo International Motorsport Park (Historic Grand Prix event) |
| 26-28 January | Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon |
| 2-4 February | Hampton Downs Motorsport Park |
| 9-11 February | Euromarque Motorsport Park (Ruapuna) |
| 16-18 February | Highlands Motorsport Park – 68th New Zealand Grand Prix |
