This season we will see two cars with Red Bull livery taking part in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship with Supercars champion Will Brown behind one while Red Bull Junior driver Arvid Lindblad will be behind the other. It’s all part of the history of Red Bull’s association with the Toyota Racing Series history.
Italian Edoardo Piscopo (main photo) made a brief appearance in the 2006/07 Series, at Taupo Motorsport Park with a DSQ, a 15th and a podium (third) in three races with Mark Petch Motorsport. Piscopo was a Red Bull Junior driver for two years (2006, 2007) went on to drive in A1GP, F2 and eventually found success in Lamborghini Super Trofeo. It was Daniel Gaunt that won TRS from Shane van Gisbergen. Of the 31 drivers that raced over the season, only ten made the grid of all 19 races over seven rounds. The season included appearances from Earl Bamber and Australians Leanne Tander, David Besnard, Tim Slade and Lucas Dumbrell.
It was in the 2011 Toyota Racing Series that Red Bull Junior and future Formula One driver, Daniil Kvyat made his appearance in New Zealand with the Victory Motor Racing team (now Kiwi Motorsport). He was immediately on the podium in the opening race at Teretonga Park in Invercargill and went on to take one win, six podiums and one pole position in the 12 races that he contested. Missing the final round (Taupo) he finished fifth overall (Mitch Evans won the title).
Richard Verschoor was a Red Bull Junior driver in 2016 and 2017. He drove for Giles Motorsport in the 2017 TRS finishing third overall. He went on to win the Macau Grand Prix in 2019 and has been competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship since 2021.
He did return for another TRS season in 2018, this time with M2 Competition finishing second including winning the New Zealand Grand Prix. He is one of two drivers who have won both the New Zealand and Macau Grand Prix, Roberto Moreno being the other.
Yuki Tsunoda was a Red Bull Junior who competed in the 2020 TRS with M2 Competition. His season included just one win and two third placings putting him fourth overall, ironically behind second placed Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto in third (Igor Fraga won the title).
He was to finish third in the 2020 FIA F2 Championship before moving up to Formula One in 2021 with Alpha Tauri. He was eventually joined by Lawson as his F1 teammate for five races in 2023 and the last six races of the 2024 season.
Brendon Hartley won the very first Toyota Racing Series race at Timaru International Raceway in early January 2005. While he finished fourth overall, he had shown enough to earn himself a ticket to Europe and became part of the Red Bull Junior Program between 2006 to 2010. After a highly successful stint with the Porsche factory team in the World Endurance Championship, a phone call saw him back in the Red Bull family and a place in their Scuderia Toro Rosso team for the final four races of the 2017 season adn then a full season in 2018.
Liam Lawson seemed to follow in Hartley’s footsteps after a successful 2019 Castrol Toyota Racing Series securing a contract to race with Red Bull Junior Program in Europe. He’s done the hard yards through FIA F3, F2, DTM, Super Formula and 11 Grand Prix with Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, now moving up to drive with current World Championship Max Verstappen in the Oracle Red Bull Racing Team.
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