Highly-rated Red Bull prospect Arvid Lindblad and Supercars champion Will Brown headline a competitive Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship that could boast up to 10 title contenders.

Formerly the Toyota Racing Series, this year’s competition is shaping to be as good as 2020, when the championship boosted the careers of three drivers now in Formula 1: Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and Franco Colapinto.

The championship is raced over five consecutive weeks, starting in Taupō this weekend, followed by rounds at Hampton Downs, Manfeild, Teretonga and Highlands.

Former McLaren Formula 1 team member and longtime stalwart of the 20-year series, Bob McMurray, reckons this year’s championship will be close.

“It’s definitely back,” McMurray said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m really excited this year. Covid really put the series on the back foot for a while but now it’s right back and its international reputation is back where it was.

“The series has definitely got a good buzz right now, with some high-profile drivers coming down here [to New Zealand] to race.

“The championship is turning out to be a bit of a testing ground for Red Bull junior drivers, as a number have come down here to race the series over the years and Helmut Marko rates it.

“This year, not only do we have Supercars champion Will Brown racing, but Red Bull have sent their future F1 hopeful Arvid Lindblad.

“There’s going to be a lot of international coverage, with so many drivers from different countries racing.”

Red Bull junior Lindblad is also here to get Super Licence points so he can potentially take part in an official F1 practice this year.

The dual-nationality British and Swedish 17-year-old had an impressive karting career before a successful junior formula trajectory that included winning the Macau Formula 4 race. In 2025, he will be contesting F2 with Campos Racing.

Lindblad is the favourite to win the New Zealand series but Brown, better known for his tin-top racing exploits, is also handy in single seaters.

“Lindblad won’t have it all his own way, as there are probably 10 drivers this year who can challenge for the title,” said McMurray.

“Brown will be one to watch, as he’s been fast in practice and has always wanted to contest an international single-seater championship. He was pretty good in Formula Ford [winning in 2016] and Formula 4 [second in 2016].

“He also won the Australian Toyota 86 and TCR series. He may not have been in single seaters for a while but he’sa very good racer and has done a huge amount of racing over the years, so will be there or thereabouts.”

Local interest will be on Alex Crosbie, Zack Scoular and Seb Manson.

Since last year’s championship, Crosbie has competed in the F4 United States Championship, where he took two wins and six podiums on his way to fourth overall.

Scoular has some pedigree, having raced Formula 4 in the United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom the past two seasons.

Manson won the South Island Championship and took seven wins and 11 podiums in the National Formula Ford Championship. He has also competed in Japan, finishing second in the 2024 Formula Regional series with six podiums.

Of the other international drivers, Nikita Johnson is a likely frontrunner as the only driver to have won at all three levels of the USF Pro Championships (USF Juniors, USF2000 and USF Pro 2000).

“There are a couple of drivers in the field who will want to use the series to make a mark. I expect some of the Kiwi drivers to do well and it’s going to be a very competitive field,” said McMurray.

“They all get to race five weekends in a row on a number of quite different tracks, which some will not be used to, so that should make the racing interesting.”