Tony Quinn Foundation Ambassador Louis Sharp finished inside the Top 4 in all four races across the second round of the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy in Taupō. While the outright peak he was chasing didn’t quite come, it was still a strong weekend for the 18-year-old.
Sharp arrived at Taupō looking to reset after a mixed opening round at Hampton Downs. Despite starting the season in dream fashion with victory in the opening race, a combination of penalties and challenging races meant he left Round 1 fifth in the standings, 43 points adrift of championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu. Heading into Round 2, the focus was clear. A clean weekend and a strong points haul.
The signs were positive from the outset. Sharp topped the opening CTFROT test session on Thursday, narrowly edging teammate Ryan Wood at the top of the timesheets. Rain disrupted the second session later in the day, and with conditions worsening, Sharp elected to sit it out and preserve mileage.
Friday’s three Practice sessions provided a steady build. Sharp finished sixth in Practice 1, improved to fourth in Practice 2, and rounded out the day ninth in the final session. On combined times, he sat fifth overall, within two tenths of the fastest lap of the day. It wasn’t a headline-grabbing pace, but it was a solid platform heading into Qualifying.
Saturday morning’s first Qualifying session would set the grid for the opening 18-lap race. Sharp showed early promise, briefly leading the session before Ryan Wood moved ahead midway through.
While the outright pace wasn’t quite there to challenge the very front, Sharp delivered a clean, controlled run to secure fifth on the grid, around three tenths off Pole Position and well placed on the third row.
Starting Race 1 alongside Kanato Le, Sharp made a tidy launch and went side by side through Turn 1, holding onto fifth as he settled in behind Freddie Slater. Over the opening laps, the leading trio gradually edged away, stretching the gap to nearly two seconds.
As the race wore on, Sharp began to close on Zack Scoular ahead. After several probing attempts, he made the move stick heading into the final lap. With Slater already well clear in third, Sharp brought the car home in fourth, a solid way to start the weekend.
Race 2 featured the reverse Top 8 grid, once again placing Sharp fifth, this time alongside Slater. He launched strongly, holding the inside line through Turn 1 to move ahead of Scoular and into fourth. Ugo Ugochukwu followed him through and immediately applied pressure, but Sharp defended calmly while keeping an eye on Ernesto Rivera ahead.
As battles intensified at the front, the pack compressed into a multi-car fight. Around halfway, Ugo found a way past Sharp down the back straight, dropping the Kiwi to fifth. Both drivers then became stuck behind Kanato Le, who was slipping back through the order.
Ugo cleared Le on Lap 13, with Sharp following a lap later to reclaim fourth. From there, Sharp settled in and brought the car home, banking another solid haul of points.
Sunday morning brought a fresh challenge, with the second Qualifying session held on a wet track following overnight rain. After an early red flag for a stranded car at Turn 1, Sharp quickly adapted.
Once running resumed, he jumped to the top of the timesheets and spent much of the session trading fastest laps with Wood. As the clock ticked down, a flurry of late improvements shuffled the order, leaving Sharp fifth at the flag. It was a case of fine margins, but still a solid third-row start for the feature race.
Before that, Race 3 was up, with the grid set by the combined fastest laps from the opening two races. Sharp lined up seventh, but with the track now dry, he made another sharp start, holding the inside line through Turn 1 to gain two positions and move into fifth. He immediately applied pressure to James Wharton ahead, while Ugo sat close behind.
Sharp attempted a bold move around the outside of Wharton at Turn 1 on Lap 2, but couldn’t make it stick, leaving him vulnerable. Ugo slipped past shortly after, though both drivers cleared Wharton on the following lap.
When Ugo made an error later on the next lap, Sharp capitalised, moving back into fourth. From there, he focused on consolidating the position, holding off Wharton to finish fourth for the third race in a row, again just shy of the podium.
The weekend concluded with the 23-lap feature race for the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy, with Sharp starting fifth. He made another strong launch, using the inside line through Turn 1 to get alongside Yevan David before sweeping around the outside at Turn 4 to grab fourth.
Sharp continued to carry the momentum, showing the nose into Turn 11 before getting alongside and past Jack Taylor to move up to third, settling in behind Ryan Wood and Kanato Le after a strong opening lap from the quick Kiwi.
As the Top 3 broke clear, Sharp shadowed Le closely, doing his best to stay within striking distance. Around the halfway mark, the gap began to shrink once more, but just as Sharp was applying the pressure, the Safety Car was deployed to recover Zack Scoular. This closed the field right back up.
At the restart, Sharp dropped Taylor behind immediately and focused on Le ahead. Despite sustained pressure, he couldn’t quite find a way through, crossing the line third to secure a well-earned podium.
Sharp’s strong Taupō showing sees him climb to third in the championship on 159 points, now just 35 points behind series leader Ugo Ugochukwu as the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy reaches the halfway mark of the season.
With momentum building, Sharp now heads south to Teretonga Park in Invercargill this coming weekend for Round 3, carrying solid points and plenty of confidence.
Listen to what Sharp had to say, looking back on his weekend below:
Header Image: Joel Hanks/Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand
