Twenty year old South Korean Michael Shin will be looking to build on fourth place overall and one win when he returns to New Zealand in January for a second shot at the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Shin impressed in his first season in the championship in 2024, quickly getting to grips with the Toyota FT60 and New Zealand’s challenging and technical circuits. Five podium finishes including a debut win at Ruapuna in the fourth round gave him fourth overall in the final championship standings.
Shin has enjoyed a rapid rise through the junior formula ranks after just a single year of karting in his home country of Korea. After successfully testing Formula 4 in the United Kingdom, he joined the field for the 2022 UAE Formula 4 Championship in what was very much a learning year. He dovetailed this with a season in the British Championship and impressed winning his first race at the second round and going on to finish 11th overall.
He competed in the Formula Regional Middle East and British GB3 championships in 2023, gaining experience in the Middle East Championship with top team Prema Racing and scoring a podium finish. He also competed in six FIA Formula 3 races during the 2023 season.
His 2024 CTFROC appearance was followed by a full season in Eurocup 3 with Campos Racing. He took his first podium with third place at the second race in Portimao and was back on the podium at the Aragon event and managed a double third place finish in Jerez. Those podium finishes helped him to seventh overall.
He will be expected to be one of the front runners on his return to New Zealand with M2 Competition, the most successful team in the history of New Zealand’s premier single seater championship and is relishing the challenge.
“Getting to race in CTFROC at the start of the year was an unforgettable experience for me,” he said.
“It was an intense season full of learning as well as enjoying the best of what New Zealand has to offer. Thus I am thankful to M2 Competition for having me back for the 2025 championship. We had a solid debut season together and I am confident we can build upon that. The ambience racing down under is like no other, and I am really looking forward to making a return.”
The New Zealand Championship has a remarkable record for junior formula with no fewer than five current F1 drivers having raced in it in recent seasons. Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto are all 2020 graduates and Lando Norris and Lance Stroll are both former champions.
The list of drivers who have made it to the sport’s top levels is impressive and M2 Competition boss Mark Pilcher is confident of Shin’s chances in 2025, adding:
“It’s great to welcome Michael back to New Zealand and build on what has been a strong first season for him in 2024. He was impressive.
“Now he has the advantage of being familiar with the team, circuits and the championship itself so we hope he’ll be able to get off to a strong start at Taupo and that will set him up for a solid championship campaign.”
The five round championship – this season being promoted heavily by new national summer series organisers NextGen – gets underway in January with events in both the North and South Island, and it concludes with the 69th New Zealand Prix at the Highlands Motorsport Park. Shin was third in the race in 2024.
