New names hit the top of the timesheets as testing got underway at Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon today, for the weekend’s third round of the 2025 Castrol Toyota FR Oceania Championship.
The historic 3.03km track in the Manawatu region of New Zealand’s North Island is steeped in Kiwi motorsport history and has seen its fair share of motor racing giants win around its challenging, cambered turns since it opened for business in 1973.
And the first drivers to hit the sweet spot today (Thursday) in the first two test sessions ahead of the weekend were Australian Nicolas Stati for Kiwi Motorsport in the morning session and Kiwi Alex Crosbie, in his Giles Motorsport entry, in the afternoon’s practice.
Lurking near the top of the timesheets in both sessions was championship leader, Britain’s Arvid Lindblad. Lindblad has proven to be the man to beat thus far in New Zealand, with three wins to his credit. He’s proven quick in every session so far in 2025, and Thursday was no different as he went third quickest in the opening session and second fastest in the afternoon.
His nearest challenger in the championship, Zack Scoular, had a slightly more challenging day as he got to grips with the circuit for the first time in his mtec Motorsport entry. Just a few tenths off the pace of the front runners, his times in the competitive field put him just sixteenth in the first session and fifteenth in the second. He will be hoping for big improvements on Friday, when the CTFROC field will have further testing opportunities.
Settling in nicely on his return to a track he knows and in a car he is familiar with was Australian Tommy Smith. Twenty two-year old Smith raced in the championship last year and in 2019 but has huge experience in junior single seater formulae over the past few seasons.
He has competed in FIA F3, in the Macau Grand Prix, in Britain’s GB3 championship and is warming up in New Zealand for a season of Indycar series feeder Indy Nxt later this year. He was also a podium finisher in this race meeting in 2024. He put all of that knowledge to good use on the opening day at Manfeild with ninth and sixth fastest times across the two session.
The weekend action begins with qualifying in Saturday morning with the first race on Saturday afternoon based on that qualifying session. Sunday morning sees qualifying for the weekend’s third race, the Dan Higgins Trophy feature race in the afternoon. The first race on Sunday takes place after Qualifying 2 and is a reverse grid format based on the top eight finishers of Saturday’s race.
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
