The team will race under the name HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed and will join the New Zealand Championship’s existing four teams for the new-look four-round championship when it begins in January 2026.
HMD has campaigned in Indy Lights and INDY NXT since its inception in 2019, and also an alliance in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES from 2022 to 2023, and in the Formula Regional Americas championship in 2020.
It’s best known, however, for its INDY NXT campaigns, where it has run drivers including current INDYCAR racers Christian Rasmussen, Linus Lundqvist, Kyffin Simpson, Benjamin Pedersen and Nolan Siegel.
It has won the team’s championship twice and has also been runner-up twice, as well as two drivers’ championships since 2021.
Rising INDYCAR star David Malukas is the son of team owner Henry Malukas and is another to have raced in INDY NXT with the team.
The New Zealand-based single-seater series has served as a critical development platform for many HMD-affiliated drivers, both past and present, including Josh Pierson, Liam Sceats, Tommy Smith, Callum Hedge, Bryce Aron, and Nikita Johnson, all of whom have progressed to race in INDY NXT.
The championship has also contributed to the careers of drivers who have advanced to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, including Louis Foster and Jacob Abel.
As an FIA-certified category, the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy awards Super License points to its top drivers, creating a strong pathway for drivers’ progression within the sport.
“We are looking to strengthen the Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy grid in New Zealand by prioritising a competitive driver line-up that represents HMD and TJ Speed,” explained HMD Motorsports Team President Mike Maurini.
“With two strong and growing programs, joining forces to compete abroad, we will be able to combine our efforts and help get some drivers that could potentially compete with us in 2025, with some additional track time.”
Indycar drivers Santino Ferruci, Devlin DeFrancesco, Jacob Abel, Louis Foster, Marcus Armstrong, and Robert Schwartzman are all graduates of New Zealand’s premier single-seater championship.
“We have built a strong reputation in the United States as a great feeder series for IndyCar feeder series such as IndyNXT and the USFPro Championships,” explained TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NZ Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol.
“Removing the clashes in the NZ racing calendar and the US testing calendar cleared the way for more teams in key markets to join our championship, and the speed with which HMD Motorsports and TJ Motorsports have committed is reflective of the interest in New Zealand. Their addition will only make that pathway stronger both ways.”
Header Image: Bruce Jenkins
