2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship

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]

The grid grew to 16 cars for the third round at Manfeild. One of the new arrivals, reigning Indy Pro 2000 champion Louis Foster, made his mark straightaway: He qualified second, kept behind polesitter Wurz at the start of a wet first race, used a safety car restart to get past Wurz into the lead and won the race. Championship protagonists Wurz and Hedge had no choice but to fight over second behind him. Wurz initially won that battle, before a penalty dropped him to fifth and promoted Sceats to the podium. Foster was then once again the fastest car on track for the second race, starting seventh and quickly climbing up the grid. Only Josh Mason, who had started second and passed poleman Shehan right at the start, was able to keep Foster behind and hold on to win. The front row for the third race was the same as in race one, with Wurz again able to hold Foster off at the start. This would all be for nothing, however, when Foster crashed into Wurz in lap 19, spinning Wurz around and getting himself stuck in the runoff area. Penrose inherited the lead and held Hedge and Sceats at bay to win. The stricken Wurz came home sixth, now only six points ahead of Hedge in the standings.[36][37]

20 cars took part in the New Zealand Grand Prix weekend in Hampton Downs. The front row of race one was shared by debutant Laurens van Hoepen and returnee Kaleb Ngatoa, with the former on pole, but the latter ahead by turn one. Ngatoa comfortably led the field until a slight mistake on the final lap almost allowed van Hoepen back through, but Ngatoa was able to hold on to win the race. Hedge had an uneventful race to come home third in race one, but was hit by an electrical issue on the formation lap of race two. Wurz won that race from pole after holding off Abel at the start and resisting multiple attacks by the American all throughout the race. Brendon Leitch and Chris van der Drift had a similar scrap over third, but a chasing van Hoepen overtook both of them to take another podium. The Dutchman then started from pole for the Grand Prix, but was initially overtaken by Foster. Van Hoepen was able to regain the lead later on lap one and began to gradually pull away from his opposition. Foster reduced his lead in the closing stages of the race, but van Hoepen held on to win the New Zealand Grand Prix. Hedge was able to keep van der Drift and Ngatoa behind him to come third. The championship lead had changed hands between Wurz and Hedge two times that weekend, with Wurz now ten points ahead.[38][39][40]

The season finale was held at Taupō. Hedge made short work of Wurz's slim points lead: He picked up pole for race one, kept calm during a disrupted race red-flagged for a three-car crash and held Foster behind him to win. Van Hoepen completed the podium, and Wurz in fifth was now three points behind Hedge. The reversed-grid race two saw Chloe Chambers lead the field lights-to-flag to become the first female driver to win in the history of New Zealand's premier open-wheel motorsport category. Ngatoa was the only one close to Chambers, with the rest of the field ten seconds back. Crucially, Wurz was in third and Hedge could only manage sixth, so the championship advantage was back in Wurz's favour by four points. In a winner-takes-all final race, Wurz started from pole position. Alongside him, Sceats made a mistake off the line, so Wurz was unchallenged during the opening lap. Van Hoepen inherited second place, with Ngatoa and Hedge behind them. This order stood until Adam Fitzgerald and Quinn crashed and caused a safety car. Making the most out of the restart was Penrose, moving into third place. Further ahead, Wurz held on to win the race and the championship, as Hedge only managed to come home fourth.[41][42][43]

After two years of uncertainty and cancellations, the category made a strong restart in 2023. While Wurz and Hedge showed good, consistent pace all throughout the season, the championship would clearly have looked very different if van Hoepen and Foster had contested the entire season. Both came to New Zealand with little preparation, but were often faster than the two main championship protagonists. Foster took four podiums in nine races, and van Hoepen only finished off the podium once in his six starts. Still, Wurz and Hedge had to beat each other, often facing off directly against one another and delivering a close, unpredictable championship fight until the last race.

Race (starting grid from qualifying)

Reversed grid race