Kaleb Ngatoa (born 11 May 2001), is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

driver.

Career

Before his switch to car racing, Ngatoa was one of the country's most successful karting talents. He started karting in 2011 and immediately shot to prominence by winning the cadet class of the NZ CIK Trophy. Two seasons later he was on the top step of the championship podium again winning the 100cc Junior Restricted Class of the Kartsport NZ North Island Sprint Championship. 2015 saw him claim the Kartsport NZ North Island Sprint Championship in the Rotax Junior class. 2016 followed where he won the Giltrap Group Kartsport NZ Sprint Championship in the Junior Rotax class and demonstrated a seamless transition to circuit racing in the same year by winning the Formula First winter series run at Circuit Chris Amon, Manfeild. Ngatoa would enter his first car racing national championship racing in the

New Zealand Formula First Championship The Formula Vee concept was brought to New Zealand by Barry Munro. Munro was an Officer in the New Zealand Army and built the first Formula Vee in the country. The chassis design was started in 1966 with the first mock-up being completed in Nove ...

in 2017. Ngatoa finished runner-up to Callum Crawley in a tight championship fight decided in the final round. The following year, he would contend the

Toyota Finance 86 Championship The Toyota Finance 86 Championship is a one-make sports car racing series by Toyota based in New Zealand. Toyota Finance 86 Championship cars are based on the Toyota 86(TR86). Points system ;2013– Champions See also * Toyota Racing Series ...

, with modest results, picking up a race win at the final round at

Hampton Downs Motorsport Park The Hampton Downs Motorsport Park is situated in rural northern Waikato (about halfway between Auckland and Hamilton on the Waikato Expressway), New Zealand near the Meremere drag strip and the dirt track club. History The motorsport park is a ...

. Following a challenging

campaign filled with multiple mechanical issues, Ngatoa moved into the highly competitive

New Zealand Formula Ford Championship The MTA New Zealand Formula Ford Championship has been held annually in New Zealand racing circuits. History Formula Ford emerged as a racing class in New Zealand. In 1972, the inaugural New Zealand Formula Ford championship won by David Oxto ...

for the 2019/20 season. Ngatoa again struggled with car reliability and mechanical issues, though picked up top 5 and podium results. Following the

, Ngatoa would contend the

Toyota Racing Series The Formula Regional Oceania Championship is New Zealand's premier formula racing category. The series includes races for every major trophy in New Zealand circuit racing including the New Zealand Motor Cup and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. ...

for the 2021 season. The series proved as a stomping ground for the Marton teen, picking up 3 podiums in 9 races. Ngatoa's main season highlight would prove to be his masterful pole position for the 2021 New Zealand Grand Prix in the wet, against the likes of

Shane van Gisbergen Shane Robert van Gisbergen (born 9 May 1989) is a New Zealand racing driver in the Supercars Championship racing in the Number 97 Holden ZB Commodore car for Triple Eight Race Engineering. With three Supercars Championship wins ( 2016, 2021, ...

and

Chris van der Drift Christopher Jason van der Drift (born 8 March 1986) is a New Zealand racing driver of Dutch descent. Career Van der Drift started karting at the age of 7 and in 1994 he raced his first year in cadets. From there he went on to win 6 New Zealand ...

. Ngatoa would go on to claim second in the championship behind Matthew Payne. Following this, Ngatoa secured a drive in the S5000 Australian Drivers Championship for the remaining 3 rounds in 2021.

Racing record

Career summary

^* Season still in progress.

Complete S5000 results

^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

* New Zealand racing drivers 2001 births Formula Ford drivers Toyota Racing Series drivers category:New Zealand Māori sportspeople People from Marton, New Zealand Living people {{autoracing-bio-stub Formula Regional Americas Championship drivers M2 Competition drivers