Is Lindblad heading into the history books?

In the 20^th season of New Zealand’s premier single seater category, Britain’s Arvid Lindblad could be heading towards a history-making season in the 2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.

No driver has ever won all of the five feature races which form a core part of a championship that has produced more than 25 F1 drivers over the years and currently boasts graduates Lando Norris, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll on the current F1 grid.

Lindblad, though, has dominated all three so far – the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy at Taupo, the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy at Hampton Downs and the Dan Higgins Trophy at a soggy Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon last weekend.

All that is left are this weekend’s Spirit of a Nation Cup at the fourth round at the iconic Teretonga Park just outside of Invercargill and the big one, the New Zealand Grand Prix Trophy next weekend.

Red Bull Junior Arvid, who has already done promotional Formula One appearances for his employers and is clearly on a fast-track path to motorsport’s big league, hasn’t always been happy with his car but has nevertheless dominated the big races. That’s a sure sign that he must now be the stand-out favourite for the title and a history-making clean sweep.

“He is an exceptional talent, one of the finest we’ve seen in New Zealand over the seasons and of course, we’ve had some of the world’s best race in this championship over the past 20 seasons,” explained TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand’s Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol.  

“This is also a strong field, with a number of drivers who have the potential to make it to F1, Indycar and other leading categories. It’s probably our best field since 2020 and that really just emphasises how good Arvid is performing. He won’t see winning all five feature races as added pressure, but we are certainly watching a future star and it will be fascinating to see how he goes at Teretonga as the drivers behind him do their very best to turn the tables.”

Rising US star Nikita Johnson now sits in second place in the chase of Lindblad ahead of leading Kiwi Zack Scoular. Scoular impressed in the reverse grid race last Sunday with a dominant performance, one which perhaps Lindblad would not have had an answer for had he been on the right tyres when the rain came. This weekend is a big one for Zack if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive.

Johnson has been a model of consistency but a race win has so far eluded the young racer in New Zealand. He’ll want to do that in a straight fight with M2 Competition teammate Lindblad, and as the field heads to the penultimate round this weekend, will be even more determined.

Australian Patrick Heuzenroeder is proving to be a great addition to the FR Oceania field this season, and is proving that great drivers can find a way – notwithstanding the infamous ‘aero wash’ of modern single seaters and a tightly-matched field – to overtake and progress through a field. He’s done that several times now and in the unofficial list of which drivers have made the most places in races so far, he sits top – with an impressive 16 places gained in races over three weekends.

Fourth in the points – and he might have been a little higher had ne left a little more room for Tommy Smith around turn five in the first race last weekend – is another big star of the future Josh Pierson. Josh already has an amazing motorsport CV and is the youngest ever starter at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. He’s focussed on a big future in America for now though, and this will be his last round as he misses the Grand Prix due to a clashing IndyNxt test.

He’s got plenty of pace and has been at the sharp end throughout the championship so far. He’ll want to out on a high and what better way than by adding his name to a trophy that includes motor racing legends like Norris, Brabham. Hulme, Stewart and Rosberg.

Smith went well on his return to the championship for two rounds. A popular addition to the paddock and one of the most experienced racers in the world in junior formulae, the Aussie completes his brief tour of duty in NZ this weekend at Teretonga. Expect him to be on the pace and fighting for a podium.

Sebastian Manson is another worth watching. With one win under his belt and a good race last weekend in the Dan Higgins feature, he’s certainly making big steps forward as the championship progresses and should step up again this weekend at a track he knows well.

Two days of testing beginning Thursday will tune the drivers and cars ahead of the big weekend at the most southerly FIA-recognised circuit in the world, which is also New Zealand’s oldest purpose built race track.  Weather – which is not forecast to be good on Sunday – could well come into play as it did last weekend in the Manawatu.

025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship – Points after Round 3