Kiwi Kaden Probst will compete in the forthcoming Castrol Toyota FR Oceania championship, stepping up from New Zealand’s top open formula championship to take on an international field.
Probst – 18 – has been competing in the domestic-based Formula Open New Zealand series, an open formula championship designed for single-seater machinery of varying vintages.
The New Zealand field is highly competitive and includes previous generation Castrol Toyota Racing Series cars as well as cars from classic championships such as Formula Pacific and Formula Holden.
Probst has been competing most recently in the Graeme Lawrence Cup – a class for ex-Castrol Toyota Racing Series Tatuus FT50s. At the most recent meeting at Manfeild Circuit, Chris Amon, in a hotly-contested season, he came away with pole position and three wins for the weekend, earning maximum points and a new class lap record.
The Auckland-born, Hamilton-based driver has tested the current specification Toyota FT60 used in the FIA’s five-round junior championship and is looking forward to the opportunity to race a high-quality international field on circuits he is familiar with and in a team – mtec Motorsport– he knows will give him the best opportunity to shine.
“I’m beyond excited to step up to CTFROC for the 2024 season,” explained Kaden following confirmation of the campaign.
“Being part of a series with such great heritage and talent is a huge boost to my development as a driver. Seeing how CTFROC has moulded such great drivers over the years, I’m eager to draw inspiration and use this experience to further my career.”
Team principal for mtec Motorsport Bruin Beasley rates the young Kiwi highly, adding: “We are really looking forward to working with Kaden. He’s a very talented and skilled kid, it’s going to be a steep learning curve for him stepping up the the FT60 but he’s more than capable of running competitively. It’s a really exciting addition to the grid.”
Although in only its second year as an FIA Formula Regional Championship, the championship has a long history as the Castrol Toyota Racing Series. Twenty-three graduates have taken the wheel of F1 cars in official tests, GP practice sessions or races in its 18-year history.
The championship boasts more than 3,000 km of testing, practice, qualifying and racing mileage, with all drivers competing in identical Tatuus-based Toyota FT60 cars.
The five-round Kiwi series will also be the first FIA Formula Regional championship to genuinely use 100% fossil-free fuel.
2024 Castrol 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 |
