New Zealand’s Toyota Racing Series is globally recognised as a breeding ground for future motorsport stars including Formula One.
Austrian Charlie Wurz, son of former F1 driver, Alexander, drove the wheels of his Toyota FT-60 all weekend and kept a level head in the dramatic final race to claim the 2023 Castrol Toyota Regional Formula Oceania Championship.
With a challenging start to the weekend, Wurz went into Sunday at the Taupo Motorsport Park on a mission. Kiwi Callum Hedge was topping the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship by just 3 points, but a measured drive ultimately saw the Austrian take his first major junior formula championship. And with it, adds 18 FIA Super Licence points to his tally as he pursues a career in Formula 1.
In the first race on Sunday, Wurz got a magnificent start on old tyres, launching himself to third quickly in the morning’s reverse grid race. Sadly for Hedge, he was caught in a pack just behind Wurz, with drivers all on a mix of new and used tyres, struggling to make track positions or challenge Wurz. The unfortunate conditions saw Hedge’s three point championship lead eroded into the final race.
It didn’t take long for drama to unfold in the main race as David Morales turned Louis Foster around on turn one. Everyone navigated the incident however and the resulting traffic jam was good news for Hedge who seized the opportunity to gain several positions, emerging from the congestion in fifth.
At the end of the first lap Wurz lead from Laurens van Hoepen, who had opted for higher tyre pressures at the start to aid an early attack on Wurz. As the race wore on, however, those higher tyre pressures became a hindrance and van Hoepen lost pace. Hedge was stuck in fourth a few seconds behind the top three forcing him to adopt a “Win it or bin it” strategy, and while there moments of excellence in the slippery conditions, Hedge simply couldn’t make significant inroads into the leaders.
By lap 16 Wurz had built a comfortable lead as van Hoepen fell back but a Safety Car intervention reinvigorated the pack. But a Wurz again proved too good on the restart and would lead the field home.
“I can’t feel any better,” said Wurz afterwards. “I mean that race was the most difficult to win of this championship for me because it started raining a lot, I was so afraid of going off and I had to keep Laurens behind me. Luckily I got a bit of a gap and could relax a bit but then the Safety Car came out and I thought ‘Oh no’ so I had to get it all right in the restart but fortunately it was OK. This gives me a lot of confidence going into Europe. I know the competition is tough over there but it has been strong here. I’ve learned a lot about racing in New Zealand.” Said Wurz following his win.
