2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship

All drivers competed with identical Tatuus FT-60 chassis cars powered by 2.0L turbocharged Toyota engines. After the 2021 season was run without any officially recognized teams, the series returned to a team-based format.[2]

Team No. Driver Status Rounds Hamilton Motorsport 4 Billy Frazer[3] 3–4 84 Chris van der Drift[4] G 4 Kiwi Motorsport 5 Lucas Fecury[5] R All 8 Tom McLennan[6][7] R All 21 Josh Mason[8] All 51 Jacob Abel[9] All 86 Brendon Leitch[10] 4 98 James Penrose[11] R All M2 Competition 7 Charlie Wurz[12] R All 17 Callum Hedge[13] R All 18 Laurens van Hoepen[14] 4–5 23 Liam Sceats[15] R All 77 David Morales[16] R All 101 Ryder Quinn[17] R All Giles Motorsport 15 Kaleb Ngatoa[18] 4–5 26 Louis Foster[19] 3–5 36 Adam Fitzgerald[20] R 3–5 55 Breanna Morris[21] R All 66 Ryan Shehan[22] R All 88 Chloe Chambers[23] All

Icon Status R Rookie G Guest driver

• mtec Motorsport planned to field multiple cars, but later confirmed to have withdrawn their entry.[24]

Two years in a row, the championship was heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic: the 2021 season had a heavily shortened calendar compared to previous seasons and the 2022 season was cancelled entirely.[25][26]

As New Zealand's border restrictions were eased in late 2022, the 2023 season saw the return of a pre-pandemic calendar, with rounds on both the North and the South Island.[27] On 30 May 2022, a five-round calendar was announced.[28] The round at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park was later confirmed to become the 67th running of the New Zealand Grand Prix.[29]

The first weekend of the freshly rebranded Formula Regional Oceania Championship was held at Highlands Motorsport Park. Callum Hedge claimed pole for the first race and kept the lead at the race start, as Charlie Wurz rose from fourth to second behind him. Hedge kept Wurz at bay for the whole race, just as Wurz did with David Morales behind him. A safety car was then called when Ryan Shehan crashed out, and the race finished under caution. The reversed-grid race two saw James Penrose dominate the race in similar fashion, putting on a lights-to-flag display undeterred by a safety car intervention for a retiring Liam Sceats. Behind Penrose, Jacob Abel took second from Ryder Quinn at the start. Wurz was next to get past Quinn, setting off after Abel, before a failed move for second place by Wurz put Quinn back on the podium. Hedge was on pole again for the third race, but this time it was Morales alongside him who got straight past him at the start. The pair pulled away from the field as they fought for victory, before Hedge had to pit for damage. This promoted Wurz to second, with Sceats coming home third. Two second places in the big points-paying races meant Wurz left Otago as the points leader, albeit only two points ahead of Morales.[30][31][32]

One week later, Teretonga Park saw the same driver top the first qualifying session. Again it was the driver in second, this time Wurz, who had the better start and claimed the lead. Hedge followed Wurz all race, but was unable to muster an attack, so Wurz claimed his first Formula Regional win. Third was Abel, over fifteen seconds behind the pair. Race two was held on a damp track, and Quinn overtook polesitter Shehan for the lead at the start. The leading pair swapped back around later on, before heavy rain began to fall. In these conditions, Hedge was the class of the field, rising from seventh to the lead in just one lap to take a sudden and unexpected win. Wurz claimed pole for the final race of the weekend and never looked back to claim a lights-to-flag victory. Behind him, Hedge was never close enough to threaten Wurz's lead, but also never under attack from Sceats in third. Wurz's two wins grew his championship advantage to 25 points. Hedge's two second places and reversed-grid win promoted him to second in the standings, with Abel now in third.[33][34][35]

• Official website of the Toyota Racing Series