CT-FROT 2026 opens the season in New Zealand with Tatuus cars

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Top-tier talents ready to battle in the final dance of the first generation of Tatuus Formula Regional cars

The Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy once again opens the international single-seater season featuring Tatuus single seaters and confirming its status as a traditional and prestigious starting point for open-wheel racing. Renowned for the exceptionally high level of its participants and for having shaped an impressive number of future Formula 1 drivers over the years, the 2026 edition of the championship features a truly stellar entry list, with outstanding talents arriving from all over the world.

Among the most high-profile names is two-time World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanperä, who will make his debut in single-seater racing aboard the FT-60-model of the Tatuus T-318. The Finnish star will take on the spectacular New Zealand circuits alongside some of the most promising drivers from the Formula Regional and Formula 3 landscape, including Freddie Slater, Louis Sharp, Ugo Ugochukwu, Ernesto Rivera, James Wharton, Jin Nakamura, Kanato Le, Fionn McLaughlin and Yvan David.

As in previous years, the CT-FROT 2026 is once again impeccably organised by Toyota Gazoo Racing New Zealand and will represent the final major chapter for the first generation of Tatuus Formula Regional cars. Since 2006, these cars have played a key role in launching the careers of extraordinary talents. It is worth recalling that the reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris competed in the New Zealand championship in 2016, following in the footsteps of drivers such as Yuki Tsunoda, Lance Stroll, Guanyu Zhou, Liam Lawson, Brandon Hartley, Arvid Lindblad and many other leading names from the F1, WEC and IndyCar grids.

The Calendar

Pre-season testing got underway on Thursday 8 January, just a few hours before the first race scheduled for Saturday 10 January. The championship will feature four race weekends in total, running through to 1 February, when the season will conclude with the traditional New Zealand Grand Prix at Highlands Motorsport Park.

Round 1 - Hampton Downs Motorsport Park, Waikato, 8-10 January

Round 2 - Taupo International Motorsport Park, Taupo, 15-18 January

Round 3 - Teretonga Park, Invercargill, 22-25 January

Round 4 - Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, 29 January - 1 February (New Zealand Grand Prix)

Teams and Drivers

Six teams will compete in the championship, with a total of 19 drivers entered for the opening round:

mtec Motorsport

3- Zack Scoular

5- Yuanpu Cui

11 - Louis Sharp

40 - Ryan Wood

M2 Competition

4 - Ugo Ugochukwu

22 - Sebastian Manson

24 - Ernesto Rivera

27 - Freddie Slater

HMD Motorsport with TJ Speed

8 - Trevor LaTourrette

13 - James Wharton

41 - Ricardo Baptista

Hitech TGR

12 - Jin Nakamura

19 - Kanato Le

33 - Fionn McLaughlin

69 - Kalle Rovanperä

Kiwi Motorsport

14 - Cooper Shipman

21 - Yvan David

Giles Motorsport

50 - Jack Taylor

52 - Nolan Allaer

Pictures credits: Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy

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Weekend Debrief: A Weekend of Titles Won, Record-Breaking Trebles and Battles Decided by the Finest of Margins

Weekend Debrief: A Weekend of Titles Won, Record-Breaking Trebles and Battles Decided by the Finest of Margins

From E4’s last-race showdown to Schormans’ triple victory in Spain, with titles decided in British F4 and a close contest in F4 Saudi Arabia, Tatuus cars were at the heart of a weekend packed with results.

Some weekends are decided by the finest of margins, others take a clear direction from the very first race, while sometimes a single outstanding performance can change the course of a championship. The latest weekend of Tatuus racing brought all these elements together, with titles secured, standings reshaped and battles set to continue in the rounds ahead. From British F4 to E4, Spanish F4 and F4 Saudi Arabia, each series added a different chapter to the season.

BRITISH F4

Dries Van Langendonck brought the 2026 British F4 season to a close by securing both titles on offer. The Rodin Motorsport driver clinched the Drivers’ Championship in Race 1 at Brands Hatch, finishing second behind Theo Palmer , before securing the Rookie Cup at the end of the final round. The Belgian therefore ends the season with eight wins and four pole positions.

Palmer was one of the standout performers of the final round. After claiming his first pole position of the season, the Hitech driver converted pole into victory in Race 1, before repeating the feat in the final race with a win by more than four seconds. These results secured his second place in the championship, while Hitech also celebrated winning the Teams’ Cup.

Joseph Smith completed the list of race winners by taking Sunday’s reverse-grid race. The Virtuosi Racing driver claimed his third win of the year ahead of teammate Jarrett Clark , giving the team its first one-two finish of the season.

The championship concludes with 13 different winners across 30 races and 19 drivers having reached the podium at least once, reflecting a competitive season featuring a wide range of front-running contenders.

E4

Kenzo Craigie is the 2026 E4 champion after a season finale that was decided only in the last race at Monza. The Mercedes Junior driver for R-ace GP finished the championship on 190 points, level with Luka Sammalisto , but his greater number of victories, four to three, secured him both the Drivers’ and Rookie titles . The outcome rewarded the Briton’s consistency, having maintained his lead in the standings even after Race 2 had thrown the contest wide open again.

Sammalisto, already the Italian F4 champion, fought until the very end to complete a seasonal double. After finishing second in Race 2, the US Racing driver arrived at the final race with eight points to make up and claimed victory after charging through from eleventh on the grid. Craigie, running fourth in the closing stages, needed to finish in that position to secure the title, and teammate Andy Consani moved aside to allow him to seal the championship.

The Monza weekend also brought success for Ary Bansal and Iacopo Martinese . Bansal claimed his first E4 victory in Race 2, leading a US Racing one-two-three completed by Sammalisto and Martinese. Making his debut with the German team, Martinese collected two overall podium finishes, placing second in Race 1 and third in Race 2.

Completing the list of title winners, US Racing secured the Teams’ Trophy , while PA Racing’s Ginevra Panzeri finished the season at the top of the female standings .

SPANISH F4

Kasper Schormans dominated the penultimate round of the Spanish F4 Championship at Navarra, winning all three races of the weekend. The MP Motorsport driver completed the sweep with two pole positions and two fastest laps, coming close to a perfect points haul. The result significantly reshaped the championship standings: having arrived in Navarra with a seven-point lead, the Dutchman now heads into the final round 53 points clear of Noah Monteiro.

The Campos Racing driver sought to limit the damage throughout the weekend, achieving his best result in Race 3. After sharing the front row with Schormans, Monteiro stayed close to the leader for all 18 laps, crossing the finish line just 0.568 seconds behind the winner. Second place helped limit the gap, but the Drivers’ Championship will be decided in November at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Navarra also settled the Teams’ Championship . MP Motorsport mathematically secured the title with one round remaining, claiming the eighth team championship in the series’ history. The Dutch outfit also benefited from Rocco Coronel’s results, with the driver finishing second in both Race 1 and Race 2, while Daniel Kelleher completed the podium in the final race, earning his first single-seater top-three finish.

The final round, scheduled to take place in Barcelona from 13 to 15 November, will therefore decide the Drivers’ Championship.

Updated Drivers’ Standings Kasper Schormans – 256 points Noah Monteiro – 203 points Rocco Coronel – 181 points

F4 SAUDI ARABIA

Just three points separate Marlon Bayer (Wrap & Fly) and Archie Owen (7.23) in the F4 Saudi Arabia standings after the second round of the season in Jeddah, held on Wednesday and Thursday. The two drivers shared the victories, with Bayer winning Race 1 before Owen responded in the second race to further reduce the gap to the championship leader.

The Wrap & Fly driver opened the weekend with a win ahead of iCONNA’s Abdullah Kamel and Owen, who finished third. Owen responded on Thursday, turning the pace he had shown in the opening round into victory ahead of Bayer and Peax driver Isaac Seah . With two races and two different winners, consistency remains key: Bayer leads the standings on 83 points, with Owen close behind on 80.

Seah also enjoyed a strong qualifying result in Jeddah, claiming pole position for Race 1 before finishing the second race on the podium.

The next round will take place in Jeddah from 31 October to 2 November.
Updated Drivers’ Standings
Marlon Bayer – 83 points Archie Owen – 80 points Harrison Mackie – 46 points [...]

Destination Macau: the T-326 and T-421 set to star in the 2026 FIA World Cups

Destination Macau: the T-326 and T-421 set to star in the 2026 FIA World Cups

The FIA has officially confirmed the adoption of Tatuus single-seaters for the 2026 Formula Regional and Formula 4 World Cups.
Tatuus cars, already competing in national and regional championships around the world, will once again take center stage on the prestigious streets of Macau for the FIA Formula Regional World Cup and FIA Formula 4 World Cup. From 19 to 22 November, 13 teams in Formula Regional and 12 teams in Formula 4 will battle on the iconic Guia Circuit. For the T-326 , this will mark its debut in Macau, following the T-318's appearances in the Formula Regional World Cup in 2024 and 2025. For the T-421 , it will be a welcome return after making its Macau debut in the Formula 4 World Cup in 2023.

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“Motorsport works like magic, capable of inspiring that uniquely Italian determination to keep believing in something even when the numbers don’t add up.”

“Motorsport works like magic, capable of inspiring that uniquely Italian determination to keep believing in something even when the numbers don’t add up.”

The words of CEO Giovanni Delfino in an interview with la Repubblica.

The CEO of Tatuus, ATM – Autotecnica Motori, and the Korus Group was featured in an interview published today in la Repubblica and written by Irene Saderini. During the conversation, he reflected on some of the most important and defining moments of his career, while also sharing his views on several aspects of the global motorsport industry.
The full interview is available on repubblica.it .

A Personal Journey A central theme of the interview is the CEO’s personal story, which began with his decision to pursue engineering studies and continued through a career marked by bold choices and decisive moments: “I don’t believe in luck; I believe in being able to seize it. When an opportunity comes your way, you have to recognize it. That said, it would be unfair to claim I wasn’t fortunate. I joined the company when I had virtually nothing. The founder allowed me to repay my debt over time, and I only finished paying the last installments two or three years ago.”
Delfino also spoke about his early years at Alfa Corse, where he developed his passion for experimentation and performance engineering: “At heart, I am a track engineer. I worked in the testing departments, where our job was to find that extra half horsepower from a finished product. My first experiences came in Alfa Romeo Touring Cars, with drivers such as Giovanardi, Tarquini and Larini competing against BMW and Mercedes. Sometimes those extra two horsepower were what won you the race.”

Formula 4 and Driver Development Among the key topics discussed was the production of Formula racing cars and engines, today one of the cornerstones of the Korus Group: “Everything starts with studying the regulations, which always leave room for interpretation—and success comes from finding the right one.” Speaking about Formula 4 engines, Delfino explained: “It all starts with a four-cylinder Fiat 500 Abarth unit. It must cost less than €16,500 due to the price cap and last 10,000 kilometres. My objective is to ensure that every engine performs the same.” The reward is seeing young talents progress step by step through the motorsport ladder and ultimately reach the highest levels of the sport: “It was particularly rewarding to see Andrea Kimi Antonelli begin his career in one of our cars.”

The Motorsport Industry The interview also included a broader reflection on the remarkable momentum motorsport is experiencing worldwide: “Motorsport sometimes works like a kind of magic, capable of overcoming marketing logic and keeping alive that uniquely Italian determination to believe in something even when the numbers don’t add up.”
Particularly representative of the Korus Group’s vision was Delfino’s perspective on internal combustion and electric powertrains: “For me, the smell of a winning engine is the smell of gasoline, hard work and sacrifice. A twelve-cylinder engine on track is like a violin—actually, an entire orchestra of violins. Racing is my world, and I find it difficult to see any of that emotion in batteries alone. Hybrid technology, however, is a different story. We are part of the FIA working group on the new regulations, and I find the hybrid approach very compelling.”
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Tatuus Celebrates the 500th T-421, the World’s Most Widely Used Formula 4 Car

Tatuus Celebrates the 500th T-421, the World’s Most Widely Used Formula 4 Car

The Lainate-based manufacturer has celebrated the production and delivery of the 500th chassis of the single-seater on which Kimi Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad developed their careers.

Born in 2021, the Tatuus T-421 reached its 500th unit produced and delivered in May 2026, once again confirming its status as one of the most manufactured and successful racing single-seaters worldwide. The milestone was celebrated by the Lainate-based brand together with all its employees and the sister companies of the Korus group, which contribute daily to the T-421 project: ATM–Autotecnica Motori, Breda Racing, and Next Solution Technologies.
Today, the T-421 is the most widely used Formula 4 car in the world, competing across 16 championships spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. Behind its wheel, some of the most exciting talents in contemporary motorsport have developed, including Kimi Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad , who built the first steps of their single-seater careers in the second-generation Tatuus F4 before progressing all the way to the pinnacle of Formula 1.
“The 500th T-421 is not only a major milestone for Tatuus, but also an important achievement for the entire international motorsport ecosystem,” said Giovanni Delfino, CEO of Tatuus and the Korus Group. “With the introduction of Formula 4 in 2014, the FIA created a new pathway between karting and single-seaters, enabling drivers to arrive better prepared for higher categories. This model has established itself through years of significant growth in motorsport, during which many championships were launched and expanded, now reaching grids of nearly 50 cars per round with the second generation we celebrate today. These are figures that were difficult to imagine at the beginning of this journey, but which now define the everyday reality of many of the companies within the Korus Group.”
“Throughout Tatuus’ history, many of our models have achieved widespread adoption across global championships and have demonstrated unparalleled driver development capabilities,” added Gianfranco De Bellis, President of Tatuus and the Korus group. “The T-421 is writing an important chapter in the history of our brand and, together with the first-generation car, is now approaching 800 units produced. These volumes allow us to aim toward the milestone of 1,000 F4 single-seaters, a figure previously approached by the various Formula Renault models that marked a turning point in our history and in the development path of many drivers.”
As the second generation of Formula 4 single-seaters, the T-421 succeeded the T-014, which from 2014—the year Formula 4 was introduced—through 2021 was produced in just under 300 units. It represented the ideal platform for drivers transitioning from karting to single-seaters, and helped develop talents such as Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson, Lance Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Franco Colapinto.
The T-421 is just one of many examples of the cooperation that makes the Korus group one of the leading global ecosystems in motorsport engineering. The companies within the Group involved in the celebration have contributed to the project from day one, within a consolidated model of synergies that each year gives rise to new cars, powertrains, and solutions for motorsport.
Specifically, ATM–Autotecnica Motori developed and supplies the Abarth-derived inline four-cylinder engine that powers the car, while Breda Racing is responsible for a large portion of the components—such as the halo and suspension arms—as well as instrumentation required for managing the cars both on track and at HQ. Next Solution Technologies provides a significant part of the car’s electronic and electromechanical systems, in addition to supplying steering wheels and rain lights.
However, the milestone of 500 cars does not represent a finishing point for Tatuus. Production of the current model will continue through 2028 , when FIA regulations foresee the introduction of the third-generation car , on which the brands of the Korus Group are already actively working.

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