Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Christian Cameron set the pace in USF Pro 2000 pre-season testing on Homestead-Miami Speedway’s road course this week.

The 15-year-old American was driving for TJ Speed, landing a slot at the two-day test only the previous week, and is yet to source the funds required to race in USFP2000. In the last two years he has come 10th in USF Juniors and 11th in USF2000.

There were four test sessions on Tuesday, and Jay Howard Driver Development by Ed Carpenter Racing’s duo of Andres Cardenas and JT Hoskins led the way in the first. A 1m20.8648s put Cardenas on top by 0.1687 seconds, with the pair not improving on those laptimes in later sessions.

Pabst Racing’s Jacob Douglas was 0.5561s behind in third, and Frankie Mossman (Velocity Racing Development), Cameron and Sebastian Manson (Turn 3 Motorsport) were also within a second of the pace.

Manson was quickest in session two. He set a 1m21.2349s, pipping Mossman by 0.0546s. Douglas was third again, 0.3361s off, and team-mate G3 Argyros was fourth. Cardenas did not record any laptimes.

It was even closer at the top in session three, as Mossman’s 1m21.5729s earned him first place by just 0.0477s. Cameron racked up lots of laps and was second fastest, and VRD’s Teddy Musella was only 0.1105s off Mossman in third. Manson was 0.4098s back in fourth.

Seven of the 16 drivers testing recorded their personal bests in the day-ending session four, and it was also when the test’s fastest laps were set. Cameron’s 1m20.8493s became the benchmark time, and he was narrowly faster than Mossman and Musella who did far less running but were right on the pace. Mossman was 0.0173s shy of top spot, and Musella by 0.0988s.

Leonardo Escorpioni (Turn 3), Jack Jeffers (Exclusive Autosport) and Manson were split by 0.0595s in the next three places, all within a quarter of a second of Cameron, and a second covered the top 12.

Cardenas was back on top the next morning, but came 0.0705s short of matching his personal best from session one. He was also only 0.0504s ahead of Mossman and 0.0781s faster than Douglas. Argyros and Musella were separated by 0.0009s in fourth and fifth, both less than 0.118s off Cardenas, and 0.8826s split first and 14th. Douglas and Escorpioni were two of the four drivers who posted personal bests.

It was a similar story in session six, topped by Mossman. He set a 1m20.899s, 0.0324s down on his session four pace, and he denied the improving Argyros first place by 0.0265s.

Once again, multiple drivers needed less than a 0.1s gain to be quickest. Douglas and Escorpioni trailed Mossman by 0.0807s and 0.0868s respectively, Cardenas was 0.224s behind and Manson pipped Michael Costello (Turn 3) to fifth.

Cameron, Jeffers, Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella (both Exclusive) were the only drivers on track in session seven. There was a 0.4213s gap between Cameron and Jeffers in first and second.

Test results

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Photo: TGR NZ

Jin Nakamura was fastest in Formula Regional Oceania free practice at Highlands Motorsport Park, as Liam Sceats returned to the grid.

Sceats was championship runner-up in 2024 and won the New Zealand Grand Prix, and the 20-year-old Kiwi is aiming to repeat the latter feat this weekend as that race wraps up the season.

He has joined HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed’s line-up in a deal that was only struck last weekend, and he knows both teams in the joint entry well. In 2024 he came fifth in USF Pro 2000 with TJ Speed, and last year he stepped up to Indy Nxt with HMD for a part-time campaign and had a best finish of sixth place en route to 18th in the standings.

Sceats got back in the FRegional cockpit during pre-event testing on Thursday, which was split into two sessions. M2 Competition’s Ugo Ugochukwu was quickest with a 1m29.206s lap, and he had gaps of 0.125 seconds and 0.163s to MTEC Motorsport’s Ryan Wood and Louis Sharp in second and third.

HMD with TJ Speed’s James Wharton, returning to the paddock after missing a round, was fourth fastest and Sceats was 1.317s off the pace in 16th after six months out of action.

Practice followed on Friday, and in FP1 it was Hitech GP’s Jin Nakamura who set the pace. His final-lap 1m28.279s effort earned him top spot by just 0.043s over Wharton, with Ugochukwu also within 0.1s of him. Kanato Le (Hitech), Yuanpu Cui (MTEC) and Freddie Slater (M2) all trailed by less than a quarter of a second, Sceats was seventh and a second split the top 17.

FP2 was a slightly slower session, as a 1m28.567s was enough to put Zack Scoular (MTEC) on top and lift him from 17th to seventh overall in the combined classifications of the two sessions. He edged Ugochukwu by 0.095s, Sceats by 0.13s and Nakamura by 0.153s. Scoular was the sole driver in the 19-car field to improve on their FP1 pace.

In FP3, Wood was fastest. He set a 1m28.791s late on, improving on another sub-1m29s laptime that had been deleted, and led Wharton by 0.069s. Sceats was 0.258s back in third, and Sharp was 0.598s off in fourth. Nobody set personal bests, and Scoular was absent.

Free practice results

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Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing NZ

HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed have made a late addition to their Formula Regional Oceania line-up, announcing Trevor LaTourrette will drive one of their cars.

It is also a surprise signing since LaTourrette will be stepping up from a lesser-known Formula 4 series.

The 17-year-old American raced in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series last year, which is considered the first step on the ‘road to Indy’ since it is connected to the USF Pro championships that support IndyCar.

Since 2023, the Skip Barber Racing School was worked with the USF Pro-organising Anderson Promotions as it official racing school.

LaTourrette came fourth in the 2025 SBFRS standings, climbing up the points table after making the podium in each of the last four races.

“My primary goal for the 2026 FRegional Oceania season is to continue developing as a driver and hopefully put myself in a position to fight at the front,” he said of his next career step.

“This year’s grid is extremely competitive, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to compete against drivers of this calibre alongside an equally competitive team. This is a big step forward in my career I’m excited to be doing it in a high-standard environment such as FRegional Oceania.”

LaTourrette only started pursuing a route into motorsport a few years ago while recovering in hospital from a rare disease. His first on-track mileage in a vehicle came in 2023.

“My start in this sport did come later than most so I look forward to using this season as an opportunity to continue learning and improving. This season will certainly be a trial-by-fire, but I’m excited to face the challenges head on in front of a worldwide audience.”

The opening round of the FRegional Oceania season is at Hampton Downs this weekend, and LaTourrette will be team-mate to the Formula 2-experienced James Wharton and Cadi Baptista from Brazilian F4. This year will be the first that HMD and TJ Speed have entered the New Zealand-based contest, which has switched from championship to FIA Regional Trophy status.

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Photo: Red Bull

Red Bull junior Ernesto Rivera will start 2026 racing in Formula Regional Oceania as part of M2 Competition’s line-up.

The 17-year-old Mexican heads to New Zealand before stepping up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Campos Racing.

Rivera has two years of single-seater experience under his belt, most of it with Campos. He debuted in the 2024 Formula Winter Series, coming 15th with one podium, then was fifth in Spanish Formula 4 with one win and one other podium.

A points-scoring British F4 cameo with Hitech GP completed his 2024 schedule, and Rivera’s 2025 began with Pinnacle Motorsport in FRegional Middle East. He made the podium once en route to ninth in the standings, then returned to Campos for the finale of Eurocup-3’s winter series.

That preceded a campaign in the main Eurocup-3 championship, in which he scored three wins, four other podiums, two poles and came fourth in the standings. Rivera had been championship leader at the season’s halfway point, but only scored twice in the last four rounds.

Also joining FRegional Oceania are Cadi Baptista (HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed) and Ryan Wood (MTEC Motorsport).

Baptista, 18, came 10th in his home country Brazil’s F4 championship this year and the highlight was a win at Autodromo Velo Citta.

“I am really looking forward to driving in New Zealand and to experience racing outside of Brazil and Europe for the first time,” he said. “I want to score points in the races and learn as much as I can, it’s going to be a great experience and hopefully will set me up for a strong 2026 season in the northern hemisphere.”

Wood will be making his single-seater debut in FRegional Oceania, just like Hitech’s Kalle Rovanpera.

The 22-year-old Kiwi started off in sportscars, then progressed into tin-tops two years ago via Australia’s second-tier Super2 Series. He took five wins, four poles and ended up third in the points table. He was driving for the Walkinshaw Andretti United team, who promoted him to its Australian Supercars line-up for 2024.

Two fourth places were the best results of his rookie campaign, while in 2025 he got through the title fight’s first cutoff stage to come 10th in the points table. He won one race, finished third six times, and started on pole on three occasions.

“I’m super excited to make my open-wheel racing debut, for me it’s always been something I’ve wanted to do and especially with Toyota and in FRegional Oceania,” Wood revealed. “I’ve watched the championship since I was in karts so to be doing it now and on home soil is very exciting.

“For me the four weeks of racing is all about learning and preparing for the 2026 season. I’m delighted to join MTEC and learn off my team-mates and develop as a driver. It’s a real full circle moment racing Toyotas in NZ again after starting in 86s so I can’t wait to get into it!”

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Photo: Dutch Photo Agency

HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed, a new collaborative effort between two American teams, has named James Wharton as the first driver for its 2026 Formula Regional Oceania entry.

Top Indy Nxt outfit HMD, which has previously raced in IndyCar, struck a deal in November 2024 with USF Pro 2000 team TJ Speed for it to become a partner operation. The drivers that TJ Speed ran this year got the opportunity to do development with HMD on its simulator.

TJ Speed was established by Australian single-seater racing engineer Tim Neff, and the team previously competed in Indy Nxt. It was announced this July that it would enter FRegional Oceania in collaboration with HMD.

“This championship has a fine reputation throughout the world in junior formula racing and I see it as a very natural step in exactly the right time in my career,” said Wharton.

“I’ve got to trust in that process and do the best I can with a great team around me.”

Last month he made his Formula 2 debut, but the 19-year-old Australian will follow up his FRegional Oceania campaign with a second season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship next year. He did one round in the Formula 1 support series in 2024, then came 18th in the standings this year with one victory but only three other points-scoring races.

Wharton was Formula 4 United Arab Emirates champion, E4 runner-up and fourth in Italian F4 in 2023, then was FRegional European Championship runner-up and sixth in FRegional Middle East last year.

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Photo: Bruce Jenkins / TGR NZ

Formula Regional Oceania has released further details about the changes it will make to run as a FIA Regional Trophy next year.

The main difference required to follow the new format is reducing the calendar from five rounds to four, which series organiser Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand confirmed it would do three weeks ago.

Hampton Downs hosts the 2026 season opener on January 9-11, with the next rounds occuring in the following weeks at Taupo (January 16-18), Teretonga (January 23-25) and Highlands Motorsport Park (January 30-February 1)

Since the traditional 15-race schedule will be retained for next year, it means an altered structure to race weekends.

Rounds one to three will each feature a 15-minute qualifying session and two races on a Saturday, then the same on Sunday. The first three races of each round will be 43.5 miles, and race four will be around 55.9 miles in length.

These final races will have longer durations due to their enhanced status, as they award the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy, the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy and the Spirit of a Nation Cup.

The final round has an unchanged format, with a three-segment qualifying session and three races. A reversed grid is used for the second race, and the season-ending race is the 67.7-mile New Zealand Grand Prix.

Drivers will have five sets of slick tyres each weekend, up from three, but two of those sets must be used in the pre-event test day preceding each round and in free practice.

A new push-to-pass system has also been introduced to the Toyota-powered Tatuus FT-60 car, which will provide a boost of 25 horsepower. In which circumstances it can be utilised is yet to be determined, with on-track testing due to take place to explore that.

FRegional Oceania’s calendar and format changes have already attracted new teams to the grid, with American outfits HMD Motorsports and TJ Speed announcing they will combine efforts as ‘HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed’ to race in New Zealand.

HMD is best known for its success in IndyCar’s primary feeder series Indy Nxt, and co-entered a car at the top level in 2022 and ’23.

TJ Speed has had most of its success further down the single-seater ladder. The squad, established by Australian single-seater racing engineer Tim Neff, has won multiple titles in FRegional Americas and is a frontrunning force in USF Pro 2000, where it already has a partnership with HMD since late last year.

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Ariel Elkin reduced Max Garcia’s USF Pro 2000 points lead by winning the Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The 90-lapper, held on Friday night, is the season’s sole oval race and drivers warmed up for it with a daytime practice session.

Pabst Racing’s Garcia set a 19.8905s late on to pip TJ Speed’s Elkin by 0.0393 seconds, with Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor 0.048s and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Nicholas Monteiro 0.0676s off top spot.

In sixth was Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark, who had qualified on pole. After crashing in qualifying, Jay Howard Driver Development did a rebuild to ensure Tanner DeFabis could start the race.

DEForce Racing’s Jorge Garciarce went a lap down instantly, as he failed to get going when the pace car led the field into action.

Green flags waved on lap two, and Elkin picked the high line exiting turn one to get alongside Clark. He edged ahead through the last corner, briefly lost control of his car but avoided hitting both the wall and Clark to take the lead.

Clark had his own loose moment in his wake on lap four, but he remained within 1.3s of Elkin through the first 20 laps. By that point Elkin had already lapped series veteran Charles Finelli, who had started seventh but dropped to the back on lap one.

Elkin had a far easier time lapping cars than Clark, and by lap 37 had already put Pabst’s 10th-placed Jacob Douglas a lap down.

Soon there were drivers two laps back, and Elkin was over four seconds clear of Clark. On lap 48 a caution period was required as Exclusive’s Joey Brienza crashed into the barriers at turn four.

Racing resumed on lap 58 with three lapped cars between Elkin and Clark, who was quickly lost second to Turn 3’s Alessandro de Tullio.

Douglas then stubbornly kept his line ahead of Clark, and the laps wasted trying to lap him meant the top two built a big gap.

Elkin put 2.6s between himself and de Tullio, before the gap was whittled down to 1.2s in the final laps.

Garcia finished fourth, and for much of the race there was a train slightly further back consisting of Taylor, Monteiro, Turn 3’s Brady Golan, Douglas and Pabst’s Michael Costello.

Golan passed Costello on lap 11, and Douglas pulled off a great pass on him on lap 19. Costello reclaimed a spot on lap 28, and on lap 30 Golan went to the inside of Monteiro at turn one for sixth. Monteiro responded a lap later, and Golan got the move done again on lap 39.

They continued to battle until the caution period, and after that Golan swiftly cleared Taylor while Costello jumped ahead of Monteiro. Costello then overtook Taylor on lap 70, who was later lapped by Elkin, with Monteiro also getting by and they ran side-by-side late on until Monteiro got ahead for sixth on the penultimate lap.

DeFabis went on a charging drive to 10th, taking 32 laps to get into 11th then spending a long time trying to pass TJ Speed’s Jace Denmark.

Race results (90 laps)

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

TJ Speed’s Ariel Elkin won a chaotic first race of USF Pro 2000’s triple-header on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

The Israeli started on pole alongside Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor, with Pabst Racing’s Jacob Douglas and points leader Max Garcia on row two of the grid.

It was three-wide for third place going into the opening corner of the race, while Douglas made a big lock-up as he tried to go around the outside of Elkin for the lead. He went off and rejoined in second, as VRD’s Frankie Mossman lost his front wing and had to pit.

Taylor ended lap one in third ahead of Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio, and shortly after a caution period was called for so Mossman’s wing could be retrieved from the turn one run-off.

Racing resumed on lap five, and Douglas made it look easy as he dived down the inside of Elkin at turn one. He concluded the lap 0.65 seconds ahead, and was a second clear by lap seven. The gap between the top two sat at 1.36s when a second caution period began on lap 11 due to DEForce Racing’s Owen Tangavelou stopping off-track near turn seven.

Mossman pitted again, this time for fresh tyres, and the next restart came on lap 14 of 25. At this point Pabst’s Michael Costello was fifth, having passed de Tullio on lap six, and Garcia had gone from his lap two position of ninth back up to seventh by passing TJ Speed’s Sebastian Manson and Jace Denmark.

Taylor went deep on the restart, and Clark tried to get his nose alongside at turn two but then had to spend the rest of that lap and the next defending. Douglas had a turn seven lock-up on lap 15, then slowed at the final corner. He did the same on the next two laps, then pitted on lap 18 after having fallen right down the field.

Elkin took the lead back, as title contender de Tullio picked up damage that sent him down the order then into the pits. Exclusive’s Carson Etter also pitted with suspected technical issues.

Turn 3’s debutant Brady Golan had made it into the top 10 but then crashed out at turn one on lap 19, causing another caution period. The final restart came on lap 21, and Taylor took too much speed into turn one. He slid through the corner and Clark passed him at turn two, as Costello watched on behind.

Garcia got into fifth via a three-way move with Turn 3’s Nicholas Monteiro and Denmark, and Mossman was up to eighth before pitting again.

Elkin kept Clark behind thereon for his maiden win, and Garcia passed Costello on the penultimate lap to further grow his points lead over de Tullio. He rejoined the field to gain some places, despite being three laps down, and similarly Douglas had a second trip to the pits so finished a lapped 14th.

Race results (25 laps)

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Ariel Elkin narrowly beat Max Taylor to pole for the first USF Pro 2000 race of the weekend on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course.

Qualifying took place in warm conditions, with 20 minutes of green flag action that drivers could make use of.

Elkin was already quickest five minutes in, the TJ Speed driver setting a 1m21.4288s to lead Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia by 0.3845 seconds.

Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark was just behind Garcia in third, and Velocity Racing Development’s new signing Frankie Mossman sat fourth before being shuffled down to seventh a few minutes later.

Elkin improved to 1m20.9846s to stay on top, and VRD’s Max Taylor set a 1m21.3321s to move into second by 0.0506s over Garcia. Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio climbed into fourth, then posted a 1m21.2627s to gain another spot as Pabst’s Michael Costello moved into the position he previously held with a lap just 0.0093s slower than his. At the same time, Garcia beat Elkin by 0.0243s.

Clark set a 1m21.2588s eight minutes in to return to third, and the order then stabilised.

A 1m21.2221s put Taylor ahead of Clark with just under six minutes to go of qualifying, and on his next lap he improved to 1m20.9095s to provisionally claim pole. His rivals had four minutes to respond, and the next new personals to be set came from Costello and Pabst’s Jacob Douglas in fourth and fifth. But Taylor had found even more pace, lowering the benchmark laptime to 1m20.712s.

Elkin moved back ahead with 2m40s left on the clock, and his 1m20.6432s effort secured him pole. Mossman set a 1m21.1584s to move up to fourth, but with just over two minutes to go he was demoted by a 1m20.8004s lap from Douglas that earned him third.

After the chequered flag waved, de Tullio set a 1m20.938s to also beat Mossman, while Garcia consolidated his fourth place by improving to 1m20.8622s.

Qualifying results

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Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Jace Denmark left it late to secure his place on the 2025 USF Pro 2000 grid, as he was announced as joining TJ Speed six days before the season begins.

The 20-year-old joins the Australian-owned team after two seasons with Pabst Racing, and will likely be a title favourite for this campaign.

In 2023 he came seventh in the standings with three podiums and a pole, then last year he was third in the championship. Although he failed to win, he claimed another pole and was on the podium nine times.

“I’m incredibly grateful to Tim [Neff, team owner], TJ Speed, and all my partners who have helped make this programme possible,” Denmark explained.

“My ultimate goal in 2025 was to secure a seat in Indy Nxt, but after some testing, it became clear that my budget wouldn’t allow for a competitive ride. I reached out to some key people in motorsport, reconnected with Tim —whom I had spoken to in the past about racing with — and together we worked out a deal that gives me the chance to compete in 2025.”

While he has not been able to make it into Indy Nxt, Denmark has become a development driver for Indy Nxt team HMD Motorsports. He will work with them on non-clashing weekends against his USFP2000 commitments, and plans to race for HMD in 2026.

Also recently announced as part of TJ Speed’s line-up is Ariel Elkin. The 17-year-old Israeli came 17th in Italian Formula 4 two years ago with a best finish of seventh, and he made the podium in a United States F4 cameo.

Last year he raced two steps below USFP2000 in USF Juniors, and came fourth in the standings with three victories and four poles. He was also fourth in the Motorsport Games F4 event.

Turn 3 Motorsport now has five drivers signed for 2025, although its two latest additions are only confirmed for the St. Petersburg season opener.

Titus Sherlock, 20, was the 2021 Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series runner-up, came eighth in USF Juniors in 2022, was 2023 US F4 runner-up and came fourth in Formula Regional Americas last year. He won five races during the year, and was only a few points off being runner-up in yet another championship.

His one-off team-mate will be Elliot Cox, who is 17 and has spent the last two years in USF2000. In 2024 he came sixth in the standings and made the podium three times.

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