CTFROT | 2026 | Round 2 | Taupo | Qualifying 1 | Wood delivers late lap to claim pole for Race 1 - Motorsport

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Ryan Wood claimed pole position for the opening race of Round 2 of the 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT)after a dramatic Qualifying 1 session at Taupo International Motorsport Park. Following an already impressive Friday, the mtec Motorsport driver confirmed his status as the man to beat with a blistering final flying lap when it mattered most.

As a result, Wood will lead the field away later today after emerging on top of a tightly packed and constantly evolving session.

Cautious opening as tyres come in

Qualifying 1 began at 10:11 am (local time) with all nineteen drivers heading straight out onto the circuit. Given the expectation of high tyre degradation, and with mixed conditions having defined testing and practice, the early minutes focused firmly on building tyre temperature rather than outright pace.

Initially, Louis Sharp set the early benchmark with a 1:32.959, leading Ryan Wood and Zack Scoular as the field circulated without urgency. Meanwhile, several drivers, including Ricardo Baptista, Trevor LaTourrette and Jack Taylor, steadily improved as the opening third of the session unfolded.

Although Ugo Ugochukwu posted a 1:35.065 to sit fifth early on, the times remained provisional. With significant improvement inevitable, the leading contenders resisted the temptation to show their full hand too soon.

Sharp and Scoular raise the bar

As the session approached its midpoint, the pace lifted sharply. Louis Sharp became the first driver to lay down a genuinely competitive lap, jumping to the top with a 1:24.451. However, Wood responded almost immediately, edging ahead with a 1:24.440 as the fight for pole intensified.

Shortly afterwards, Zack Scoular produced a major statement lap. His 1:23.665 vaulted him to the top of the timesheets, while Sharp improved to remain second. Wood also found more time, although his improvement left him third at that stage. With half the session remaining, Scoular appeared increasingly secure at the front.

Behind them, the order continued to shuffle. Freddie Slater moved into contention, while James Wharton, Jin Nakamura, Kalle Rovanperä, Cooper Shipman and Baptista all broke into the top ten as the track conditions peaked.

Late drama and final sector brilliance

As the final ten minutes ticked away, pressure mounted across the field. Track limits, particularly at the high-speed Turn 9, threatened to undo promising laps, ensuring no position felt safe. Ernesto Rivera briefly surged to fourth before running wide, while Nolan Allaer climbed into the top ten.

Crucially, the closing minutes transformed the session. Ugochukwu surged from deeper in the order to second with a 1:23.419, missing the top spot by the narrowest of margins. Moments later, Wood produced an outstanding final sector to stop the clocks at 1:23.266, snatching provisional pole in emphatic fashion.

Scoular, unable to improve on his earlier best, slipped to third, while Slater settled into fourth. Sharp completed the top five, capping a strong overall performance for mtec Motorsport.

Tight margins and grid implications

Ultimately, Wood’s pole-winning lap proved decisive, with the entire top ten covered by just seven tenths of a second. Ugochukwu secured a front-row start and looms as a major threat in race one, while Scoular and Slater locked out the second row in a balanced mtec Motorsport–M2 Competition split.

Kanato Le led the Hitech runners, with Wharton seventh ahead of Jin Nakamura and Seb Manson. Yevan David completed the top ten as the final driver under the 1m24s mark. However, Manson’s five-place grid penalty will drop him to 14th for the race.

Further back, Kalle Rovanperä started strongly and featured inside the top ten at mid-session. Nevertheless, as the specialists extracted the final tenths, he slipped to 14th, though penalties ahead will move him up one place on the grid.

All eyes on Race 1

With pole secured through late-session excellence, Wood heads into the opening race as the driver to beat. Nevertheless, with minimal margins throughout the field and a competitive front row, Qualifying 1 has set the stage for an intense and unpredictable start to the Taupo weekend.