A quirk of the Teretonga Park circuit in Invercargill is that to cross over to the infield requires, for most, to physically walk across the tar sealed ground where the action takes place.
Standing still on the main start/finish straight breathing in the sea air, you can almost taste and feel the action and the glory of those that have gone before. There is a unique sense of history that if you stop to ponder, it is all around.
The recent announcement of a four round 2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy series is reminiscent of the original Tasman Series. Held between 1964 to 1975, it featured four consecutive rounds in New Zealand starting in the early New Year followed by four consecutive rounds in Australia.
Typically, it got underway at either Pukekohe Park (South Auckland) or Levin (north of Wellington) and then headed down to Wigram (Christchurch) and Teretonga (Invercargill) before heading over the Tasman Sea.
Of the four NZ circuits, Teretonga Park is the only one that is still in existence and continues to be used quite extensively. Owned and run by the Southland Sports Car Club Inc, the track was constructed in 1957 at Sandy Point and extended to its present configuration in 1966.
The newly named Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Trophy series with a new look format could well be a winner for all stakeholders.
The five-round FIA Championship will be reduced to four consecutive weekends thus reducing a clash with early season testing in both the US and Europe which has either seen drivers leave the series early or miss the testing. There have also been some instances where drivers have not come to NZ because of the clash.
It will continue to retain the 15 races across the series with detail yet to be announced. One would expect that three rounds would feature four races with the option of qualifying on Friday afternoon with two races on Saturday and two on Sunday. The fourth round, probably the NZ Grand Prix weekend, would feature the traditional three races.
The 2026 season will get underway at Hampton Downs in the Waikato 9-11 January followed by the Taupo Historic Grand Prix meeting at the Taupo Motorsport Park 16-18 January.
Teretonga Park in Invercargill will host the penultimate third round with the final NZ Grand Prix meeting again at the Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell 30 January-1 February.
2026 will be yet another season in a long legacy of Teretonga motorsport history. If you get to cross the track, don’t forget to pause for a moment.
2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy
Rd1 9-11 January Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park
Rd2 16-18 January Taupo International Motorsport Park
Rd3 23-25 January Teretonga Raceway, Invercargill
Rd4 30 Jan -1st Feb 70th New Zealand Grand Prix – Highlands International Motorsport Park
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