CTFROT | 2026 | Round 3 | Teretonga

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Freddie Slater navigated two safety car restarts to claim the victory in the wet-weather Race 1 at Teretonga Raceway in Round 3 of the 2026 CTFROT.

In the earlier Qualifying 1 session, Jin Nakamura initially set the fastest time to claim pole position. However, after triggering the third red flag of the session, he was handed a three-place grid penalty. Similar penalties were also issued to Nolan Allaer and Fionn McLaughlin for causing the earlier two red flags. As a result, Ernesto Rivera inherited pole position for the race and will line up alongside Freddie Slater on the front row. Kalle Rovanperä starts from the second row, with Nakamura dropping to P4 on the grid. The track was also declared wet, which meant the use of the push-to-pass was not enabled during the race.

James Wharton will not be taking part in Round 3 with previous FIA Formula 3 duties to fulfil.

Safety car at the start of Lap 1

Front-row starters Slater and Rivera both struggled off the line, allowing the second-row drivers to capitalise at the start. Rivera then encountered a wet patch on the approach to Turn 1, sliding into the gravel and becoming stranded, which prompted the deployment of the Safety Car.

Further back, Yevan David stalled his Kiwi Motorsport car at the start but was able to restart and rejoin the race at the back of the field.

Racing resumed on Lap 6, with Slater leading the field away. Despite running wide, he managed to keep Nakamura behind. Ugo Ugochukwu made the most of the restart, gaining two positions to move up to P9, while Kalle Rovanperä applied sustained pressure on Nakamura in the fight for third place.

On Lap 9, Jack Taylor pulled off a decisive move on Shipman at Turn 1 in extremely wet conditions, committing to the outside line and successfully claiming P5.

Slater creates a gap in front

By Lap 10, Slater had built a 4.2-second gap to second-placed Nakamura. Meanwhile, David, starting from the back after his stall, was charging through the field, executing a series of overtakes to move from P17 up to P11. Ugo Ugochukwu, running in P9, began pressuring Fionn McLaughlin in P8 and eventually made a successful overtake on Lap 15 to claim P8.

On Lap 16, Trevor LaTourrette ran wide into the grass but managed to recover and rejoin the track. Zack Scoular, however, was less fortunate, crashing into the barrier at Turn 1 and bringing out another Safety Car. David also lost control shortly after moving into P10, becoming stranded in the gravel further down the track from Scoular’s incident.

Sharp and Baptista lose their front wings at the second restart

At the second restart, both Sharp and Baptista sustained front-wing damage and were forced to pit for repairs. The incident was noted by race control and placed under investigation. Upon rejoining, both drivers pushed for fastest laps in an effort to improve their starting positions for Race 3 tomorrow.

Up front, Slater extended his advantage over Nakamura to more than four seconds. However, a third safety car was deployed after Allaer ran wide and made contact with the barrier at Turn 1. The race ultimately concluded under safety-car conditions.

Slater secured his first victory of the 2026 CTFROT season in Race 1 at Teretonga, while Nakamura claimed second place for the second time this season. Rovanperä completed the podium in third.