American Josh Pierson was quickly up to speed in a brand new car and on a brand new circuit as the field for the 2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship cut its first laps of the season at Taupo.
In the second and final official test session, Pierson clocked the fastest time of the day at 1 minute 23.389 seconds in his mtec Motorsport-run Toyota FT60, eclipsing Australian Patrick Heuzenroeder, Kiwi Zack Scoular, Supercars champion Will Brown and series returnee, South Korea’s Michael Shin.
Driving for Stephen Giles team and overseen by Ampol Red Bull Racing’s Andrew Edwards, Brown was the fastest car in his morning acclimatisation group and topped the times in the first full session.
Brown was using one of Liam Lawson’s F1 helmets instead of his regular Supercars lid to meet the FIA’s different Formula Regional safety standards but its unfamiliarity didn’t seem to slow him as he dialled himself into the car impressively.
“I’m enjoying getting back in an open wheeler,” he said at the end of a solid day on track. “It’s been a fair few years now and as I’ve said before, this is a category I’ve wanted to do since probably 2015.
“It is different the cars are so nimble and not heavy like a Supercar and there’s a lot to learn but I felt pretty comfortable out there in the second session and looking forward to seeing what happens over the next few days.”
Another Red Bull-backed driver, Arvid Lindbad, clocked the quickest time in the morning for M2 Competition, going under 1.24 in warm conditions as the teams worked on initial set up rather than focussing on lap times.
Shin – a winner in the 2024 championship – had a good day as he eased himself back into the Toyota FT60 car and Taupo track. He was consistently at the sharper end of the timesheets throughout the day in his M2 Competition-run car.
Three practice sessions on Friday will set the scene for the first weekend of racing action in this year’s championship, with times likely to be much more representative of initial form for the weekend.
