Hitech’s Jin Nakamura proved the class act in Grand Prix qualifying today at Highlands Motorsport Park for the final round of the 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy.
Ryan Wood gave it everything for second on the grid for his first NZ GP, while Ugo Ugochukwu survived a moment of high drama and an urgent repair to take a critical third on the grid. Nakamura also topped the first session, and that meant pole position for Race 1 later today as well as number one spot for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
“We have a big chance for the team with two pole positions. I had so much pressure for each session, but I enjoyed it a lot,” said Hitech’s top gun afterwards.
Ugochukwu was simply relieved. “I thought it might be over after I had the problem with the wheel, but once I got through the second session, I knew we could focus on Q3, so I am happy with the result.”
The first segment of qualifying would not only form the grid for race 1, but would also eliminate five drivers from the second phase of the three-phase Grand Prix qualifying. So there was plenty at stake as the 19 drivers headed out in perfect conditions – minus, sadly, Kalle Rovanperä, who was still too sick to drive.
All went for new tyres for the first 15-minute session, with the general consensus that those tyres would be used for the second session before another set went on for the final shoot-out. Drivers spent the first two to three laps building up tyre temperature before making their first big effort, and that came for all with less than ten minutes to go on what is the longest circuit on the CTFROT calendar.
New Rookie Champion Ryan Wood was first to show with a 1 minute 29.7, before Louis Sharp followed him around two-tenths quicker. Jin Nakamura then went quickest, but there was bad news early on for championship leader Ugochukwu as his first effort was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Next time around, Sharp went quickest next time around, as Freddie Slater went second quickest. As the times continued to tumble, Nakamura went back to the top before Ugochukwu made up for his early error to go fastest – the top five cars covered by less than a tenth.
At the back, Zack Scoular, who had been quick early in the session, was a notable name in the bottom five who would not progress to the second session. Scoular responded by going third fastest with less than five minutes to go – with nine one-hundredths separating the top six, a remarkable statistic.
Liam Sceats looked comfortable in seventh as the first session drew to a close, but there was still more to come. Nakamura went quickest and, under pressure, Ugochukwu lost another fast lap for track limits before he pressed the brake and had a partial suspension failure with seconds left in the session, likely due to damage from pushing the kerb to the absolute limit.
He went through with the second fastest time but left M2 Competition just seven minutes to effect repairs before the next phase of Grand Prix qualifying.
Nakamura ended up fastest and would therefore start Race 1 on pole position ahead of Ugochukwu, Sharp, Scoular, Wood, Slater, Sceats, Wharton, Ernesto Rivera, and Nolan Allaer after a great last-ditch effort by the American to claw his way out of the bottom five.
At the back, Fionn McLaughlin, Cooper Shipman, Ricardo Baptista, Jack Taylor, and Trevor LaTourette were eliminated and would start the first race and the Grand Prix in 14th-19th, respectively.
The session got underway with Ugochukwu’s FT60 literally buried in M2 Competition mechanics. The team did an amazing job and put the wheel back in with just over six minutes remaining.
Nakamura, meanwhile, had gone fastest again, and with six to go, he was ahead of Wharton, Le, Slater, Rivera, Cui and the rest. Wood’s first flyer was lost due to a track-limits deletion.
Ugochukwu’s first fast lap back put him tenth – not enough to progress – as Wood went second. Le then went quickest, followed by Slater, with arguably the best lap of the weekend to go quickest by four tenths. That made him a safe bet to make Q3, but it was really anyone’s guess who would take the final seven spots for Q3 behind the Brit.
Kanato Le finished second ahead of the flying Scoular and teammate Wood. Sceats made it through the cutthroat session, and a sensational final lap by Ugochukwu rewarded his mechanics with the fifth-best time and a place in Q3. It was Ugo’s most important and most impressive lap so far in the championship, and kept him firmly in the frame.
Eliminated from Q3 and lining up 9th to 14th on the grid would be Rivera, Manson, Wharton, Allaer, Cui, and David.
The final 12 minutes of Q3 would wrap up a mesmerising and ultra-close track session, and all eyes were on Slater to see if he could improve on his fantastic Q2 performance.
All eight cars left went out on new rubber as predicted by veteran racer Andrew Waite in the commentary box, and the fast times started to come with just under seven minutes to go. Sceats was first to show, the 2024 winner first under 1 minute 30.
Nakamura then put in the best second sector of the race meeting to drop a 1 minute 28.339 for Hitech and go quickest. Slater went second two tenths behind, but that was beaten by Wood. Nakamura put a purple sector up next time around d, but couldn’t better his time, though his lap was still second best.
The remaining seven edged closer inside the final three minutes, and Ugochukwu went third behind Wood. Scoular was next to bag a quick lap, going from eighth to fourth. Wood clocked a lap one-tenth down on Nakamura, but Jin’s lap for Hitech was safe.
Jin had pole position for the 70th New Zealand Grand Prix, alongside Trophy sensation Wood. A massive and vital recovery drive gave Ugochukwu third – ahead of Scoular in fourth, Kanato Le in fifth and vitally for Ugochukwu – Slater in sixth. Louis Sharp would start seventh alongside Sceats on row four.
2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy – Qualifying Segment 1 and Race 1
- Jin Nakamura
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Louis Sharp
- Zack Scoular
- Ryan Wood
- Freddie Slater
- Liam Sceats
- James Wharton
- Ernesto Rivera
- Nolan Allaer
- Kanato Le
- Yevan David
- Yuanpu Cui
- Sebastian Manson
Eliminated from Q2 (15th to 19th)
- Fionn McLaughlin
- Cooper Shipman
- Ricardo Baptista
- Jack Taylor
- Trevor Latourrette
- DNS – Kalle Rovanperä
2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy – Qualifying Segment 2
- Freddie Slater
- Kanato Le
- Zack Scoular
- Ryan Wood
- Liam Sceats
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Jin Nakamura
- Louis Sharp
Eliminated from Q3 (9th to 14th)
- Ernesto Rivera
- Sebastian Manson
- James Wharton
- Nolan Allaer
- Yuanpu Cui
- Yevan David
2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy – Qualifying Segment 3
- Jin Nakamura
- Ryan Wood
- Ugo Ugochukwu
- Zack Scoular
- Kanato Le
- Freddie Slater
- Louis Sharp
- Liam Sceats
2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy – NZ Grand Prix Grid
| Position | Car No. | Driver | Nationality | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Jin Nakamura | JPN | Hitech |
| 2 | 40 | Ryan Wood | NZL | mtec Motorsport |
| 3 | 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | USA | M2 Competition |
| 4 | 3 | Zack Scoular | NZL | mtec Motorsport |
| 5 | 19 | Kanato Le | JPN | Hitech |
| 6 | 27 | Freddie Slater | GBR | M2 Competition |
| 7 | 11 | Louis Sharp | NZL | mtec Motorsport |
| 8 | 23 | Liam Sceats | NZL | TJ Speed with HMD |
| 9 | 24 | Ernesto Rivera | MEX | M2 Competition |
| 10 | 22 | Sebastian Manson | NZL | M2 Competition |
| 11 | 13 | James Wharton | AUS | TJ Speed with HMD |
| 12 | 52 | Nolan Allaer | USA | Giles Motorsport |
| 13 | 5 | Yuanpu Cui | CHN | mtec Motorsport |
| 14 | 21 | Yevan David | LKA | Kiwi Motorsport |
| 15 | 33 | Fionn McLaughlin | IRL | Hitech |
| 16 | 14 | Cooper Shipman | USA | Kiwi Motorsport |
| 17 | 41 | Ricardo Baptista | BRA | TJ Speed with HMD |
| 18 | 50 | Jack Taylor | AUS | Giles Motorsport |
| 19 | 8 | Trevor Latourrette | USA | TJ Speed with HMD |
| DNS | 69 | Kalle Rovanperä | FIN | Hitech |
Header Image: John Cowpland
