Formula Regional Middle East unveils 11-strong powerhouse team entry

• Rodin Motorsport and Trident Motorsport among 2026 newcomers
• New season marks world debut of brand-new TATUUS T-326
• Top Speed-promoted series continues to drive motorsport growth across region

UAE, December 12, 2025: Formula Regional Middle East Trophy (FRME) 2026 is set to write the next chapter in its remarkable success story when the new season gets underway in Abu Dhabi on January 16. Eleven of the world’s most highly-regarded teams have been selected by promoter Top Speed to contest this season’s trophy: ART Grand Prix, CL Racing, G4 Racing, MP Motorsport, Pinnacle Motorsport, Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd, R-ace GP, Rodin Motorsport, RPM Motorsport, Trident Motorsport and VAR.

Pinnacle Motorsport is the series’ longest-serving team. It was on the grid for the opening event at Sepang way back in July 2018, and the Irish-licensed operation, renowned for its success in Middle Eastern and Asian motorsport, is surfing a wave after victory in the Macau Grand Prix classic for Formula Regional cars last month. Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd, the famous Italian team with a history dating back to 1983, also returns to a series. Mumbai Falcons Racing Ltd’s staunchest historic rival, French team ART Grand Prix, is on board once again too. Also from France, R-ace GP is a fiercely competitive stable that always has a title contender among its ranks.

After a break of a year from the series, MP Motorsport returns to action in Formula Regional Middle East, and it is not the only elite Dutch team among the ranks in 2026. Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR), MP’s big rival, also enters a squad under its own name after a previous collaboration with Pinnacle.

Other teams are making their first appearance in FRME. Of much intrigue will be Rodin Motorsport, the British operation that used to be known as Carlin, and which has never before competed in Formula Regional. That team is gearing up for its first attack on FR’s European championship. From Italy, Trident is a rival of Mumbai Falcons, ART, MP, VAR and Rodin in Formula 2 and Formula 3, as well as FR, and now takes its bow in FRME.

Also from the FR European Championship come Swiss-based G4 Racing, the Italian-Irish RPM, and CL Motorsport of Italy, which only made its debut in 2025.

The new FRME season will also be the world debut for one of the most significant cars to be used at this level of the sport. Competitors will be equipped with the brand-new Tatuus T-326 for the four-round, 12-race FRME, which begins at Abu Dhabi’s Formula 1 Yas Marina Circuit on January 16-18. After another event at Yas Marina the following weekend, the Trophy competitors head to Dubai Autodrome before finishing at another F1 venue, Qatar’s Lusail International Circuit, on February 11-13. With significant time on track through testing and free practice sessions, qualifying as well as the three races per event, the FRME represents genuine value for up-and-coming drivers. And the compact schedule over one month from start to finish means a minimum of travelling once the paddock has arrived in place for the opening round.

Back in the inaugural season of 2018, it was an Asian-based series using the Tatuus T-318. That car’s fantastic long service is now over, and the T-326, which will also be used in the Formula Regional European Championship, brings new power from a three-cylinder, turbocharged Toyota engine developed by Tatuus sister company Autotecnica Motori and Japanese motorsport giant TOM’S.

If history is anything to go by, expect a galaxy of young hotshots who are either remaining in Formula Regional or stepping up after success in Formula 4. That first series, in 2018, resulted in the consistent Raoul Hyman narrowly hanging on to take the title from latter-day Formula E star Jake Hughes, who missed two of the rounds. Stepping into the series at the final round with Pinnacle was a 16-year-old little-known New Zealander named Liam Lawson. He won all three races and is now a Formula 1 star with Racing Bulls.

In 2019, future Alpine F1 racer Jack Doohan finished runner-up to Ukyo Sasahara, and the series was then revamped to add some Middle East rounds and run over the European winter. Doohan was runner-up again in 2019-20, this time to Joey Alders in a field that also included Haas F1 racers-to-be Nikita Mazepin and Pietro Fittipaldi, plus female racing heroine Jamie Chadwick.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the series moved entirely to the Middle East from 2021 onwards. This time it was China’s first F1 star Zhou Guanyu on top, while new Red Bull F1 recruit Isack Hadjar also put in some impressive performances. Hadjar was back for more in 2022, finishing third behind Arthur Leclerc – younger brother of Ferrari superstar Charles – and Pepe Martí, with current F2 aces and F1 juniors Gabriele Minì, Dino Beganovic and Jak Crawford completing the top six.

In 2023, all eyes were on a young Italian called Andrea Kimi Antonelli. He had to work for it, but the new Mercedes F1 talent saw off future Formula E sensation Taylor Barnard and 2025 F3 champion Rafael Câmara. One year later, it was Ferrari Driver Academy prospect Tuukka Taponen who triumphed, with Barnard and Câmara second and third again. Another winner in 2024 was Arvid Lindblad, who lines up alongside Lawson in 2026 at the Racing Bulls F1 team. Last season, a gripping title fight went to French talent Evan Giltaire from Briton Freddie Slater. Watch those names in future.

FRME is now renowned as one of the most ferocious litmus tests of young talent in world motorsport, bringing together drivers from all over the planet. At the front these will be predominantly based in the European motorsport scene, but there are also increasing amounts of talent from the Middle East, China and Japan taking the plunge.

Formula Regional Middle East Trophy 2026 calendar

January 16-18    /Yas Marina Circuit/Races 1-3

January 23-25    /Yas Marina Circuit/Races 4-6

January 30-February 1/Dubai Autodrome/Races 7-9

ABOUT TOP SPEED: Established in 2008, Top Speed has been intrinsic to the rapid development of motorsport across Asia Pacific over the last seventeen years. Providing a wide spectrum of services – from race organization, technical and logistical support to event and sponsorship management – Top Speed has played an integral role in the success of series such as the Macau Grand Prix – FIA FR World Cup, Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific, Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia, Porsche Carrera Cup Asia, Porsche Sports Cup China, Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup, Formula Masters China Series and Scirocco Cup. Top Speed is the official promoter for the Formula Regional Middle East Trophy and Formula 4 UAE Trophy, Formula 4 South East Asia, and the China GT Championship.

Headquartered in Shanghai, Top Speed also has offices in Hong Kong, Dubai and Malaysia.

Ends

December 12, 2025

Team/Driver/Partner Enquiries:

Cyrille Taesch cyrille@topspeedchina.com

Matthijs Hoitink matthijs.hoitink@gmail.com