It proved a successful return for MTEC Motorsport in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship as they scored multiple top-10s during the opening round at Taupo International Motorsport Park.
The first round at Taupo played host to the battle for the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy, with a cracking field of young drivers from New Zealand and abroad descending on the venue.
MTEC Motorsport’s line-up consisted of rising Australian duo Tommy Smith and Elliott Cleary alongside local Kaden Probst as Brazilian Lucas Fecury undertook his second Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship campaign.
Smith has competed in some of Europe’s top development categories and started the opening event by qualifying 10th after a red flag was displayed as all MTEC drivers on their respective hot laps leaving the quartet at a disadvantage. Moving forward in the opener, Smith finished seventh to bank a solid debut performance.
Starting second in Race 2, Smith was again seventh. He qualified 11th for the finale, where he finished 12th to cap off a consistent start to his campaign.
“We started off really well, I thought,” Smith said. “Thursday was a good day getting back in the car, and Friday was also positive.
“I did make some mistakes on my behalf, and we slowly went backwards, to be honest, as we got unlucky in Qualifying 1, where I was quickest at the start and the weather changed, so we were on the wrong tyre.
“The race was ok. I started tenth and finished seventh. It was a little bit difficult in Qualifying 2, and for some reason, I didn’t improve on my quickest lap, so it was tight to end the session 11th, which was not great at all. We’ll have a look to see why that was the case.
“In the reverse grid Race 2, I started off the front row and struggled as I still finished sixth though I was hoping for a podium. The final race I struggled with the tyres and went backwards, but we’ll regroup ahead of Manfeild.
“I love New Zealand, it’s an awesome place. The tracks are short but very different, and you have to be really on it. I’m really enjoying it. I think Taupo is a great layout, it has everything from high speed sections to slow corners and in an awesome spot too.
“I’m hoping to qualify higher up in Manfeild, and just finishing inside the top five is an ideal result. I do love Manfeild, I was there four years ago and had some good results, so I’m sure we’ll go well.”
Melbourne-based Cleary has been a leading contender in Australia’s National Trans Am Series and will make the jump up to Super2 this year as he gains extra miles in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
Qualifying 13th proved a solid start to his racing season, and he finished 10th in the opener, then moved to ninth in Race 2. Maintaining this position in qualifying for the finale, Cleary capped off his weekend in 10th as he will be one to watch throughout the season.
“This weekend was difficult, but by the end, we were pretty good,” Cleary summarised.
“There was a lot of experience gained and I had the car in the top 10 all weekend, which was pretty positive. It’s a good base to improve on to start the season.
“New Zealand is an incredible country. It has so much to offer, the people are so nice, so I’ve enjoyed every minute so far.
“It’s a different track, especially the surface, which is very high deg. It added an extra variable to the weekend in terms of tyre wear. It has all sorts of different characteristics going on. It’s a very flowing track, and it’s very much about setting up one corner to set the rest of the track up.
“I think we can improve on what we did this weekend at Manfeild. That will be the goal. I think there were too many mistakes on my behalf, so I believe we could have had the car further up.
“If we can keep progressing further up throughout the season, that would be my hope.”
Probst has recently made the progression to circuit racing from karts after contesting the New Zealand Formula Open Series and continued this with MTEC Motorsport. An impressive performance in qualifying to be second of the MTEC drivers in ninth, Probst was 13th in Race 1 and maintained this position through the remaining two events.
“It was a tough weekend adjusting to the new Toyota FT-60,” Probst reflected.
“It’s pretty different to what I have driven in the past, so I struggled a bit with the tyres and adjusting to what they needed.
“A big thanks to MTEC, especially Jose, my engineer, for helping me through and we made some solid progress toward the end of the weekend.
“It’s a pretty cool layout and probably one of the best circuits in New Zealand. The track surface is pretty difficult compared to the other tracks around the country, which is tough to adapt to.
“For Manfeild, I’m focused on improving my techniques in this car and the tyres as it’s very different, so I’m hoping we can make some progress towards the lower positions of the top 10.”
Moving from Kiwi Motorsport to MTEC, Fecury contested the series last year to be the most experienced in the line-up in terms of the category. Leading the MTEC charge in eighth, Fecury was ninth in Race 1 as a DNF in Race 2 and qualifying 15th for the finale led to 16th.
“I think it was a good weekend up until Saturday as on Sunday we had some problems,” said Fecury.
“Overall, it was a good weekend and a good qualifying.
“I’m liking New Zealand a lot, and the coffee is good! I love Taupo; it’s a good layout, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope we can show our true pace at Manfeild, like we did on Friday here at Taupo.”
There’s no time to rest for the MTEC squad as Round 2 at the Manfeild – Circuit Chris Amon occurs this weekend on January 26-28.
