Broc Feeney possible for New Zealand Grand Prix
By Andrew Clarke
Date posted: 31 December 2024
Broc Feeney is rumoured to be lining up for a tilt at the New Zealand Grand Prix after a seat became available with the Toyota Racing Series team MTEC Motorsport team run by Supercars stalwart Bruin Beasley.
The five-round Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship (CTFROC) starts on 10-12 January at Taupo and concludes with the Grand Prix at Highland Motorsport Park on 6-9 February.
If Feeney lines up as we expect, he will race against Triple Eight teammate Will Brown who is running on three of the five rounds, including the NZGP.
Beasley would not confirm anything with regards to Feeney, but did confirm that American driver Josh Pierson who is running the rest of the series will not be available for the NZGP because he needs to head back to the States for Indy NXT testing.
MTEC Motorsport Team Principal Bruin Beasley with three of his team’s Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship cars. Photo: Supplied
Pierson, Pat Heuzenroeder (Australia), Shawn Rashid (USA), Zack Scoular (NZ), and Nick Monteiro (Brazil) make up the five-car MTEC Motorsport team for the series.
Beasley said if Feeney does race for him, he’ll drop into the middle of a pretty hot field as the series starts recovering from the COVID lockdowns that took it off the international radar.
“I think this series, to be fair, pre-COVID was the place to be,” he said of the CTFROC. “At the moment, six drivers on the F1 grid have competed in the series. More recently, it is Yuki Tsunoda, and it had Liam Lawson and Lando Norris pre-COVID.
“But the series is getting a bit of traction again, and the bigger European teams are putting some focus back into it; I think the tide’s turning a bit. We’ve got a relevant tyre with Pirelli, and the cars are pretty much identical in spec to the FRECA car that used to be Formula Renault, but obviously with a Toyota engine.
“All of a sudden, I think they have realised the importance of the series as it was pre-COVID, and now the dust has settled, they can look at super licence points and the 3500 kilometres of running at a budget that is better than some of the other series you have at the moment.”
He also said the fact that it runs in the European and US winters helps, too, meaning it doesn’t interfere with a regular championship program for aspiring F1 drivers.
Beasley has been a regular figure in Australia with teams like Walkinshaw Andretti United, Team 18 and Erebus and has been running MTEC Motorsport for some years now, focusing on the CTFROC.
Caio Collet of Brazil (with Bruin Beasley), mtec Motorsport, wins Round 1 Castrol Toyota Racing Series, Highlands Park 2020. Photo: Supplied.
He is passionate about open-wheeler racing and is shocked that Australia has yet to adopt Toyota-powered F3 racers.
“Australia hasn’t woken up to what’s going on over there? The first time I went across it was, ‘How long has this been going on?’ I was standing there working with the likes of Peter Collins, Nelson Piquet, Lawrence Stroll and Roberto Moreno… it was just astonishing.
“But because it’s open wheels and not Supercars, Australia probably really hasn’t had a real indication of what’s going on. Because you can’t race in Europe, it’s freezing cold and snowed over, it’s perfect. They can come out here, and it doesn’t affect their pre-season testing. They do five weekends in a row and 15 races, and then they go home again.
“It is as close to being in Europe as you can without being in Europe, and I just fell in love with the concept. I love the racing, too; at some rounds, 3/10ths of a second covers the whole field, and qualifying is tough.
“It is great racing.”
Toyota heavily supports the series in New Zealand, but its Aussie equivalent has not joined, concentrating on other racing activities.
Feeney was approached for comment.
2025 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship
| Jan 10-12 |
Taupo International Motorsport Park |
| Jan 17-19 |
Hampton Downs |
| Jan 24-26 |
Manfeild |
| Jan 31- Feb 2 |
Teretonga Park |
| Feb 7-9 |
Highlands Motorsport Park (69th New Zealand Grand Prix) |
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