Tim Neff celebrated a milestone race at Taupo as HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed claimed its first victory in the 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT). The new three-car outfit, fielding Trevor LaTourette, Ricardo Baptista, and James Wharton, showed remarkable pace and cohesion just in the second round of the season. Wharton’s triumph in Race 2 at Taupo was a clear indicator that the team’s preparation and adaptation were paying off.
Early setbacks frame the weekend
Neff reflected candidly on the challenges the team faced in the opening round at Hampton Downs. The opening weekend had been difficult, with multiple issues preventing the team from showing its true potential. Despite that, improvements in preparation for Taupo allowed Neff to feel a renewed sense of confidence heading into the second round.
“After the weekend we had last weekend [in Hampton Downs], no. So it was a bit of a disaster our first weekend for numerous reasons. But yesterday I was kind of a little bit confident that we’d be all right because we unloaded pretty well.”
The weekend unfolded better than anticipated, validating the team’s efforts and allowing the drivers and engineers to begin clicking as a unit.
“So, yeah, I’m happier that we won.”
Tackling a steep learning curve
Neff elaborated on the complexities of entering a series such as CTFROT. New circuits, new cars, and a workforce drawn partly from the United States created a unique set of challenges. While he and his chief engineer had prior experience in the series, the practicalities of managing logistics, team cohesion, and car performance in real time proved far more demanding than expected.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not easy. That’s probably what hurt us the most at the first round is just, I mean, half the team we worked together up in America, but just bringing them down here, putting it all together. I’ve done the series before, and so has our chief engineer. But just putting it all together and making it all work, it’s probably a little more challenging than I first thought. But this weekend it’s all clicked. We really haven’t had any mistakes, so that’s been good.”
By focusing on assembling the team and the machinery effectively, HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed managed to overcome the earlier hurdles. Neff’s reflection shows how patience, organisation, and a methodical approach are vital when building a competitive operation from scratch.
Balancing setup and team harmony
Neff also emphasised that the key to their success was not just finding the fastest car setup but also ensuring the team worked cohesively. Integrating new personnel and aligning their approach to racing operations were essential steps in the team’s rapid improvement.
“Yeah, it’s a little bit of everything, really. Finding the sweet setup of the car, but also getting us all to work together. So there’s a couple of people, like I said, that haven’t been with us before, so it’s just getting them to work with us and how we work. But it’s clicked pretty well this weekend.”
This statement highlights that victories in such a competitive series are as much about collaboration and communication as raw pace. The team’s ability to gel quickly allowed them to avoid mistakes and extract performance consistently throughout the weekend.
The impact of Liam Sceats
One factor in the team’s accelerated learning curve has been the inclusion of Liam Sceats, a highly talented New Zealand driver who previously competed in Indy NXT and USF Pro 2000. Sceats’ experience and insight have proven invaluable for the development of both the drivers and the car.
“We’ll start with Liam drove for us up in America, and then this year just gone, I actually engineered Liam for most of his Indy next races that he did. So we know each other really well. He knows the team really well, so he knows how we operate.”
Neff explained that Sceats’ presence extended beyond coaching in pure driving skills. His input has influenced setup decisions, track strategy, and driver development across the team.
“And his role’s really been as a driver coach, and just to give James and the other two pointers on things he knows about the track and what he knows about the car. So, yeah, it’s definitely been a big help for us.”
By bridging experience and guidance, Sceats has helped the team accelerate its learning curve, turning lessons from Hampton Downs into tangible results at Taupo.
Maintaining perspective in a competitive field
Even after claiming their first victory, Neff maintained a grounded outlook. The CTFROT field is exceptionally deep, and he understands that consistency and effort are more important than a single success.
“I’m going to say it’s super competitive. So we’ve just got to knuckle down and work hard. I think this year the series is like this. You can be in 10th position, and the nine guys ahead of you are pretty damn good. So I don’t take anything, you know, it’s definitely going to be difficult.”
HMD Motorsports with TJ Speed now faces a challenging but promising season. With a combination of strong technical support, experienced guidance from Liam Sceats, and talented drivers like Wharton, Baptista, and LaTourette, the team has already proven it can compete at the sharp end. Race 2 in Taupo was a statement of intent—one that sets the tone for the rest of the 2026 CTFROT campaign.
