Photo: TGR NZ

The Formula Regional category’s second-generation chassis will not race until 2026, Formula Scout has learned.

Last year the World Motor Sport Council approved the introduction of new designs for the first quarter of 2025, but this timetable has now been put back 12 months with broad agreement from various championships and teams.

FRegional launched in 2018, and there are three chassis suppliers globally. Tatuus’s T-318, raced in the European and Middle East championships, has provided the basis for FRegional Oceania’s car and the non-FRegional-spec vehicles of Eurocup-3 and GB3.

The FIA Single-Seater Commission’s outgoing president Gian Carlo Minardi told Formula Scout that the “introduction of the second-generation [chassis] has been delayed” until 2026.

“COVID-19 caused a delay of two years in the homologation of the new car, but the car itself has already been designed,” he added. “All of the technical specifications have been fixed.”

R-ace GP team principal Thibaut de Merindol said that FREC’s organisers “asked us if we were happy to keep the [T-318] for one more year and I think all the teams said yes”, and that any difference in implementation timetables around the world “would have been a mess” as his team and several others race their their cars in FRME and FREC.

“What’s important is that all the FRegional championships introduce the new car in the same year, so I think this is now agreed. FREC is giving the tempo and wants to introduce the new car in ’26 so the Middle East and all the other championships will follow.”

Nicolas Caillol, motorsport manager for FRegional Oceania organiser Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand, told Formula Scout that discussions with the FIA and Tatuus regarding the design and cost of the new car “began about a year ago”.

Visually it should “follow the same trend that Formula 2 has gone, although not as radical because there is no DRS in FRegional”.

Tatuus’s second-generation chassis is therefore expected to follow the aerodynamic direction of Eurocup-3.

In addition to performance and safety improvements, Caillol said it should feature improved ergonomics “to be able to accommodate a wider range of driver profiles, short and tall, as well as women”.

His championship was keen to maximise the economic life of the current cars, given the “big investment” associated with introducing new designs.

“The FIA has been listening to the championships and has been cautious about the economics which are critical for every championship and every competitor,” he said.

“In New Zealand, we weren’t able to use the car for [one] year because of COVID-19. In terms of our investment and to get our money’s worth, having an extra year of usage was better for us. It was the same reaction from FREC, the US and Japan.”

Caillol expects an increase in the base price of around 20-25% compared to when the current cars were new, “to around €125,000-€130,000”. The decision to stick with Tatuus going forward was a “no-brainer” since it has provided chassis for FRegional Oceania and its Toyota Racing Series predecessor since 2005.

The post Introduction of second-generation FRegional chassis delayed to 2026 appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: TGR NZ

Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand’s motorsport manager Nicolas Caillol was recently doing the rounds in junior paddocks at Paul Ricard to generate interest in Formula Regional Oceania.

“Basically, it’s just starting the European tour for Toyota, talking to drivers, and starting to promote the series for 2024 and the possibility to do some running for five weeks in New Zealand over the winter,” he told Formula Scout.

The French expat is no stranger to Europe’s racing scene with experience of multiple categories, including running Jenzer Motorsport’s GP3 team.

The reaction has been “pretty positive,” he says. “Everybody wants to get more running and more preparation in the winter, having access to a championship with a lot of mileage. Especially at that age, drivers need more time in the car.”

Three current FRegional European Championship drivers did FRegional Oceania at the start of 2023, and Charlie Wurz was champion.

“He was really happy to have done that season. It’s good to have a driver here that they can talk to about the experience they had in the country,” says Caillol, who presented Wurz with the MotorSport New Zealand Gold Star while in France.

During the Northern Hemisphere’s winter, there is also FRegional Middle East. Caillol feels there is “space for both championships”.

“We are turning a little bit more to the American market than we used to in the past, but I think there are enough drivers on the market who want to get the extra experience to fill the two grids.”

“There is still a preference to promote Kiwi drivers and to allow them to benchmark themselves against the best European and American drivers,” he explains. “In an ideal world it would be 40% European, 40% American and 20% Kiwi drivers.”

Caillol believes that racing against different competitors to Europe offers “a little plus compared to [FRME]”.

With subsidies from TGR NZ keeping costs for the five-round season at €160,000, “it’s quite cheap compared to the Middle East,” he says. “Toyota is interested in developing drivers and talent.”

Six European teams race in FRME, and FRegional Oceania’s priority is for “teams to collaborate with the existing teams,” citing the examples of ART Grand Prix partnering with M2 Competition this year.

“We are looking at the moment potentially at a team from the US coming, under their own name or with a collaboration.”

Previously known as the Toyota Racing Series, this season was the first using the FRegional Oceania name and the third using FRegional cars, powered of course by Toyota engines.

“The Toyota engine is a little bit different to what they’re running [in Europe]; it’s a little bit more torquey at lower RPMs and we allow a bit more RPM on the start compared to FREC, but otherwise it’s pretty similar,” Caillol says.

The car and name switch meant FRegional Oceania’s FIA superlicence points allocation increased to match other FRegional series, and TGR NZ is closely monitoring the development of second-generation FRegional chassis which could be introduced down under in “2025 or ’26”.

Next year’s calendar has some changes for “logistical reasons”. Ruapuna returns after a five-year absence, and the season-ending New Zealand Grand Prix moving to Highlands Motorsport Park means it takes place on the South Island for the first time since 2007.

The post TGR NZ’s Caillol tours Europe to promote interest in FRegional Oceania appeared first on Formula Scout.