The prestigiousness of the Lady Wigram Trophy is not lost on Auckland-based teenager Liam Sceats, who now finds his name alongside the likes of Jack Brabham, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart and New Zealand’s very own Bruce McLaren following his breakthrough Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship victory at Ruapuna on Sunday.
The win has been a long time coming for the M2 Competition driver, who, having finished on the podium on eight previous occasions, was finally rewarded with the opportunity to climb to the top step in his 27th CTFROC start.
A season-long battle with championship leader Roman Bilinski has seen Sceats finish on the podium behind his teammate on five occasions in 2024, but come to Sunday, he would strike back when it mattered most.
“This is a special moment for my family, team, supporters and I,” said Sceats. “We have been so incredibly close a couple of times already this season, so it feels good to finally win, especially a notable one like this.
“It is a bit ironic how, at the start of the weekend, I was part of a piece with the Christchurch mayor, Phil Mauger, on Breakfast News where I drove on the old Wigram circuit and talked about what it would mean to win the Lady Wigram Trophy.
“Fast forward to Sunday, when Phil presented me with this special trophy, which has numerous historic names and people whom I am fortunate to have received help from over the last few years, like Paul Radisich, Daniel Gaunt and Kenny Smith.”
Bilinski secured pole in both qualifying sessions at Ruapuna, with Sceats locking out the front row.
A strong start from the championship leader in the opener saw him take the advantage and defend for the entire 20 laps, his lead never ballooning beyond one second.
In Sunday’s reverse top-eight race, another strong start for Bilinski gave him the advantage over the Kiwi off the fourth row, with the Pole moving forward throughout the race while Sceats was stuck on the tail of quick Indy NXT star Jacob Abel.
Sceats ensured that wouldn’t be the case the third time around.
“In Race 1, we started on the front row, and I couldn’t get into the lead off the start,” he said. “Because of how close my teammate Roman (Bilinski) and I were in pace, it made it hard to get close enough to challenge for the lead all race long.
“I learnt from this, and for Race 3, I made sure to be super aggressive with my launch off the line as I didn’t want the same outcome to happen, and we managed to get into the lead into Turn 1.
“Credit to Roman for a great drive, as he never left my gearbox the entire 25-lap race and kept me on my toes. However, I felt very confident in myself, and with the Tony Quinn Foundation-supported car M2 Competition gave me, I never felt pressured into overdriving or making a mistake.
The confidence-building win also firmly establishes Sceats amongst the firm favourites for this weekend’s New Zealand Grand Prix.
“My eyes are now fully focused on the New Zealand GP this weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park,” he adds.
“In no way am I satisfied, so I will continue to be pushing hard for more silverware and a strong end to the championship.”
