Polish/British 19-year-old Roman Bilinski will be joining team M2 Competition for the five-round back-to-back Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship that races in NZ’s North and South Island and concludes with the New Zealand Grand Prix.
He will bring a wealth of experience to what is expected to be a strong campaign down under.
Roman started racing in the winter series of Britain’s Ginetta Junior Championship in 2018 and competed in seven rounds of the summer series, taking pole position and victory at the very first round.
A switch to single seaters followed and in 2020 he raced in the British Formula 4 Championship, quickly establishing himself as a contender and taking three podium finishes on his way to eighth overall in the championship.
He continued in F4 in 2021 but switched mid-season from Carlin to Arden Motorsport and to GB3, continuing his form as a contender with three wins and seven podiums.
In 2022 and 2023 he raced in the Formula Regional European Championship, a podium finish in Hungary and numerous top ten results the highlights over two seasons in the category.
Looking forward to getting his 2024 season off to a winning start in a championship whose recent graduates include Liam Lawson, Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda and Guanyu Zhou, Roman said:
“ I am delighted to be racing with M2 Competition for the 2024 for the Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship. M2 Competition have shown themselves to be a top team so I am sure we can push each other to get some very positive results.”
M2 Competition boss Mark Pilcher is also delighted to have Bilinski in his camp for 2024, adding: “Roman and his group have identified that CTFROC brings significant benefits to the 2024 main season campaign, with Pirelli Tyres and FIA Super Licence Points. We look forward to helping him prepare for a big 2024.”
It will be the nineteenth season of the New Zealand Championship and the second season under the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship name. The championship has produced numerous drivers who have excelled across global motorsport codes.
As one of the most competitive junior formula championships in the world, it offers drivers more than 3,000km of intensive testing, practice, qualifying and racing on five of New Zealand’s technically challenging circuits.
Words & Images: Supplied
