Lindblad wins 2025 CTFROC title, Heuzenroeder dominates Highlands opener

Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad has won the 2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship with a runner-up result in the opening race of the weekend at Highlands.

The title sees Lindblad secure a maximum of 18 points towards his Super License, giving him the required 40, meaning he will obtain the license on his 18th birthday on August 8.

The M2 Competition driver has been in exceptional form this summer in New Zealand, four of his six wins coming in the feature races across the opening four rounds. He has failed to finish on the podium only twice in 13 races, both in the reverse top-eight grid outings.

Should he triumph in Sunday’s New Zealand Grand Prix, where he starts fifth, he will be the first driver to win all five features in the series’ history.

While Lindblad wrapped up the title in the race, Australia’s Patrick Heuzenroeder proved he is another to watch in the coming years with a dominant lights-to-flag victory at Highlands.

The young Australian finished 6.3 seconds ahead of the championship winner to take his first victory of 2025, having earlier qualified on pole.

With Lindblad alongside at the start, Heuzenroeder got off to a flyer and covered the Brit through Turn 1. Michael Shin, who qualified fourth, got the better of Will Brown off the line to take third, with Matias Zagazeta also jumping Zack Scoular to move into fifth.

With Scoular losing a place and mathematical title contender Nikita Johnson dropping from ninth to tenth on the start, title success seemed likely for Lindblad early, who kept the pressure on Heuzenroeder over the opening laps.

There were nervous moments further back in the field as they trailed side-by-side through the sweeping Turn 2, Kiwi Alex Crosbie and American Barrett Wolfe touching wheels, the latter forced to back off as he straightened his car.

Up front, Heuzenroeder and Lindblad began to stretch a small advantage over Shin, who was under immense pressure from Brown, who attempted a series of passes through the mid-stages.

Heuzenroeder put the hammer down on Lap 10 to extend his advantage over Lindblad, the gap going beyond one second for the first time. The Australian was untouchable from there, building on his advantage until the chequered flag.

Lindblad, however, began to fade and fell into the grasp of Shin and Brown, the former having defended valiantly to keep his podium place.

Shin briefly escaped from Brown and put the pressure on Lindblad, which brought the Supercars champion back into the mix. The three-car battle also brought Zagazeta, Scoular, and an impressive Shawn Rashid into the equation. A six-car train formed when Lindblad ran wide on the penultimate lap and was almost passed by both Shin and Brown.

Brown’s efforts would be in vain, his FT60’s wing taking damage entering the straight for the final lap, which put Zagazeta into fourth and Scoular fifth.

Lindblad kept Shin at bay over the final lap to retain second, the South Korean completing the podium ahead of Zagazeta and Scoular.

Rashid was sixth, just seven-tenths behind Scoular and three seconds ahead of Nicholas Monteiro.

Johnson only recovered two places for eighth, crossing the line with Sebastian Manson and Broc Feeney on his tail, the latter completing the top ten.

Brown, who set the race’s fastest lap, limped home in 11th, followed by Jett Bowling, Enzo Yeh, Nicolas Stati, James Lawley, Crosbie, and Wolfe.

The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship returns for two races on Sunday, the first being a top-eight reverse grid race, where Johnson will start on pole.

The afternoon’s race, the New Zealand Grand Prix, sees Feeney on pole next to his Supercars teammate Brown, ahead of Heuzenroeder, Scoular, and Lindblad.

All coverage can be viewed live on the Stuff SpeedHub.

CTFROC Round 5- Race 1 Results

Header Image: Bruce Jenkins