Persistent rain continued to dominate the penultimate round of the 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy (CTFROT) at Teretonga Park, as Sunday’s running began on a soaked circuit for Qualifying 2. Despite the challenging conditions, drivers delivered a frenetic and incident-filled session that ultimately ended under red flag conditions. Freddie Slater emerged fastest, holding on to pole position after late stoppages froze the order, while multiple off-track moments and collisions dictated the flow of the session.
Early drama sets the tone
From the outset, the wet track demanded respect. Almost immediately, Giles Motorsport’s Nolan Allaer ran wide and slid off the circuit. Although the session remained green while he recovered, the incident relegated him to the back of the field in P18 with a best lap of 1:34.424.
Meanwhile, Kiwi Motorsport’s Yevan David seized the initiative. He set the early benchmark with a 1:09.789 in the opening two minutes, edging ahead of championship leader Ugo Ugochukwu of M2 Competition, who posted a 1:09.918. Freddie Slater, fresh from his Race 1 victory on Saturday, slotted into third with a 1:10.024.
Rapid improvements in tricky conditions
As the track began to evolve, lap times dropped dramatically. David quickly improved to a 1:05.476, while Jack Taylor and Cooper Shipman followed closely, recording 1:06.397 and 1:06.744 respectively.
However, David’s advantage proved short-lived. Slater, Ugochukwu, Louis Sharp, Kanato Le, Kalle Rovanperä, Jin Nakamura and Fionn McLaughlin all found further pace. First, Slater jumped to the top with a 1:03.759 before Le edged ahead on a 1:03.402. Sharp then claimed provisional pole with a 1:03.346, as Zack Scoular climbed to third with a matching 1:03.402.
Slater leads as incidents escalate
With just over ten minutes remaining, Slater delivered a decisive lap of 1:02.105. Ugochukwu responded but fell short with a 1:02.602. Shortly afterwards, Trevor LaTourrette ran off the circuit, recovered cleanly, but dropped to the rear of the order.
Slater then improved once more, setting a 1:01.881. Ugochukwu followed closely with a 1:01.947, while Hitech teammates Le and Nakamura moved into third and fourth.
Elsewhere, Jack Taylor suffered an off-track moment that dropped him to P13. Crucially, moments later, Slater’s session unravelled. While attempting to lap LaTourrette, the pair made contact and both spun off. Although the American driver rejoined, Slater became stranded in the gravel. Race Control immediately deployed the red flag and referred the incident for investigation, leaving Slater facing a potential three-place grid penalty.
Late red flag ends the session early
After several minutes, officials restarted the session with just under half the time remaining. Drivers rushed back onto the circuit, carefully avoiding congestion at pit exit. With Slater unable to continue, the fight for pole remained wide open.
However, further disruption followed. Ryan Wood ran off at Turn 5 on his out lap but managed to rejoin. Soon after, Sebastian Manson slid off, triggering a second red flag. Fionn McLaughlin also became stranded, ending his session prematurely. At the time, McLaughlin ran in P11, with Manson in P14.
Given the recovery work required, Race Control declared the session complete with just under three and a half minutes still on the clock. As a result, the earlier laps stood, handing Slater pole position ahead of Ugochukwu, with Le completing the top three.
Qualifying 1: Standings: 2026 CTFROT: Round 3: Teretonga (Provisional)
- Freddie Slater – 1:01.881
- Ugo Ugochukwu – 1:01.947
- Kanato Le – 1:02:129
- Jin Nakamura – 1:02.193
- Louis Sharp – 1:02.442
- Zack Scoular – 1:02.442
- Kalle Rovanperä – 1:02. 478
- Yuanpu Cui – 1:02.762
- Ernesto Rivera – 1:02.812
- Ryan Wood – 1:02.874
- Fionn McLaughlin – 1:03.006
- Yevan David – 1:03.167
- Jack Taylor – 1:03.337
- Sebastian Manson – 1:03.581
- Cooper Shipman – 1:03/634
- Nolan Allaer – 1:04.012
- Ricardo Baptista – 1:04.144
- Trevor LaTourrette – 1:07.467
Revised weekend schedule
Beyond the on-track drama, the weekend timetable also changed significantly. Following its abandonment on Saturday, Race 2 was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, with Race 4, the Spirit of a Nation Cup, set to follow immediately afterwards. Race 3, however, was postponed to a later date yet to be confirmed.
