{"id":419082,"date":"2026-01-17T12:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T12:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/419082\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T12:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T12:34:22","slug":"wharton-claims-first-ctfrot-win-at-taupo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/419082\/","title":{"rendered":"Wharton claims first CTFROT win at Taupo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Wharton
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJames Wharton took a first CTFROT win at Taupo. Image: Joel Hanks <\/p>\n

With the top eight reversed from Race 1, Wharton started the second 18-lap encounter on the second row.<\/p>\n

He made good first-lap progress to slot into second behind early leader Kanato Le and it quickly became apparent that Wharton was the quicker of the pair.<\/p>\n

Le did his best to resist Wharton\u2019s charge, however on Lap 7 the Aussie was able to use his push-to-pass down the back straight to breeze into a lead he would hold until the finish.<\/p>\n

His final winning margin was 3.5s over Ernesto Rivera, marking a first win for both Wharton and the TJ Speed with HMD squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis feels good,\u201d said Wharton. \u201cIt\u2019s been a hard couple of weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo finally get the win, [it\u2019s] where we should be I think \u2013 we have a good car and a good driver. But when it\u2019s a new team it\u2019s hard to compete with the people that have been here for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing a good job. We\u2019ll focus tomorrow on the last race and hopefully have a good quali tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Runaway series leader Ugo Ugochuwku put in a remarkable drive from seventh on the grid, patiently working his way through the field to third place.<\/p>\n

He was even able to put immense pressure on Rivera in the closing laps, although ultimately had to settle for third.<\/p>\n

Ryan Wood scores first open-wheeler win<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Fourth place went to Louis Sharp while Race 1 winner Ryan Wood was another big winner, making his way up to fifth.<\/p>\n

Freddie Slater finished sixth on the road but was slapped with a five-second penalty for running Zack Scoular off the road on Lap 1, which dropped him to eighth in the final results.<\/p>\n

That promoted Yuanpu Chi up to sixth ahead of Le, who plummeted down the order as the race wore on.<\/p>\n

Ricardo Baptista and Kalle Rovanpera rounded out the top 10, that being the WRC champ\u2019s best CTFROC race result to date.<\/p>\n

The CTFROT action continues at Taupo tomorrow with qualifying and two more races, including the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy.<\/p>\n

2026 Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Trophy \u2013 R2 Taupo Race 2<\/p>\n

1
\n13
\nJames WHARTON
\nAUS
\nTJ Speed with HMD<\/p>\n

2
\n24
\nErnesto RIVERA
\nMEX
\nM2 Competition<\/p>\n

3
\n4
\nUgo UGOCHUKWU
\nUSA
\nM2 Competition<\/p>\n

4
\n11
\nLouis SHARP
\nNZL
\nMTEC Motorsport<\/p>\n

5
\n40
\nRyan WOOD
\nNZL
\nMTEC Motorsport<\/p>\n

6
\n27
\nFreddie SLATER
\nGBR
\nM2 Competition<\/p>\n

7
\n5
\nYuanpu CUI
\nCHN
\nMTEC Motorsport<\/p>\n

8
\n19
\nKanato LE
\nJPN
\nHitech<\/p>\n

9
\n41
\nRicardo BAPTISTA
\nBRA
\nTJ Speed with HMD<\/p>\n

10
\n69
\nKalle ROVANPER\u00c4
\nFIN
\nHitech<\/p>\n

11
\n8
\nTrevor LATOURRETTE
\nUSA
\nTJ Speed with HMD<\/p>\n

12
\n50
\nJack TAYLOR
\nAUS
\nGiles Motorsport<\/p>\n

13
\n52
\nNolan ALLAER
\nUSA
\nGiles Motorsport<\/p>\n

14
\n12
\nJin NAKAMURA
\nJPN
\nHitech<\/p>\n

15
\n3
\nZack SCOULAR
\nNZL
\nMTEC Motorsport<\/p>\n

16
\n14
\nCooper SHIPMAN
\nUSA
\nKiwi Motorsport<\/p>\n

17
\n22
\nSebastian MANSON
\nNZL
\nM2 Competition<\/p>\n

18
\n21
\nYevan DAVID
\nLKA
\nKiwi Motorsport<\/p>\n

19
\n33
\nFionn MCLAUGHLIN
\nIRL
\nHitech<\/p>\n


\"\"\/
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