Kaleb Ngatoa (born 11 May 2001), is a New Zealand Māori motor racing 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 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, with modest results, picking up a race win at the final round at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Following a challenging Toyota Finance 86 Championship campaign filled with multiple mechanical issues, Ngatoa moved into the highly competitive New Zealand Formula Ford Championship for the 2019/20 season. Ngatoa again struggled with car reliability and mechanical issues, though picked up top 5 and podium results.
Following the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship, Ngatoa would contend the Toyota Racing Series for the 2021 season. The series proved as a stomping ground for the Marton teen, picking up three podiums in nine 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 and Chris van der Drift. 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 three rounds in 2021.
Racing record Karting career Karting career summary SeasonSeriesPosition 2010CIK Trophy of New Zealand - Cadet 4thKartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Cadet 19th 2011CIK Trophy of New Zealand - Cadet 1stKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Cadet 4thKartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Cadet 14th43rd Blossom Festival - Cadet 14th 2012CIK Trophy of New Zealand - Cadet2ndKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Cadet2ndKartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Cadet 19thKartsport New Zealand North Island Sprint Championship - Junior Restricted 4th 2013New Zealand Top Half Series - Junior Restricted 12thKartsport New Zealand North Island Championship - Junior Restricted1stKartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Junior Restricted2nd 2014Kartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - 100cc Junior Yamaha 6thKartsport New Zealand North Island Sprint Championship - Rotex Max Junior 9th46th Blossom Festival - Rotex Max Junior2ndKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Formula Junior7thKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Junior Rotax11th 2015Kartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Rotex Max Junior 4thKartsport New Zealand North Island Sprint Championship - Rotex Max Junior1stKartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - 100cc Junior Yamaha4th 2016Kartsport New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Rotex Max Junior1stRotax Max Challenge New Zealand National Sprint Championship - Junior 17thKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Formula Junior1stKartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - 100cc Junior Yamaha 8th 2017Kartsport New Zealand National Schools Championship - Rotex Light2nd 2022Kartsport Auckland City of Sails - Vortex Rok DVS Senior2ndCIK Trophy of New Zealand - Vortex Rok DVS Senior 9th
Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles Podiums Points Position 2016 Formula First Manfeild Winter Series Kaleb Ngatoa Motorsport 12 1 2 3 9 712 1st 2016-17 New Zealand Formula First Championship 24 0 0 1 1 956 7th 2017 Formula First Manfeild Winter Series 3 0 0 0 3 194 10th 2017-18 New Zealand Formula First Championship 24 6 1 1 15 1381 2nd 2018-19 Toyota Finance 86 Championship 18 1 0 2 4 781 7th 2019 New Zealand Formula First 1 Hour Thomas Boniface Racing 1 1 0 0 0 N/A 1st Formula Ford Manfeild Winter Series Kaleb Ngatoa Motorsport 6 1 0 2 2 336 5th 2019-20 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship 13 0 0 0 3 511 7th 2020 Formula Ford Manfeild Winter Series 5 0 0 0 3 288 6th 2021 Toyota Racing Series M2 Competition 9 0 1 0 3 229 2nd S5000 Australian Drivers Championship Team BRM 9 2 0 1 3 161 9th Formula Regional Americas Championship Kiwi Motorsport300002417th 2022 S5000 Australian Drivers Championship Team BRM1210011778th Aussie Racing Car Series Local Legends Racing400003335th 2023 Formula Regional Oceania Championship Giles Motorsport6101211514th Formula Regional Japanese Championship Sutekina Racing Team20000624th S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship 88Racing300004018th S5000 Tasman Series30000409th2024 Formula Regional Oceania Championship Giles Motorsport1210122056th Tasman Series600011083rd * Season still in progress.
Complete New Zealand Grand Prix results Year Team Car Qualifying Main race 2021 M2 Competition Tatuus FT-60 - Toyota 1st 4th 2023 Giles Motorsport Tatuus FT-60 - Toyota 3rd 5th 2024 Giles Motorsport Tatuus FT-60 - Toyota 7th WD
Complete S5000 results Year Series Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Position Points 2021 AustralianTeam BRM SYMR1 SYMR2 SYMR3 PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 SANR7 SANR8 SANR9 SMPR10 SMPR11 SMPR12 9th 161 2022 Australian SYMR1 SYMR2 SYMR3 PHIR4 PHIR5 PHIR6 MELR7 MELR8 MELR9 SMPR10 SMPR11 SMPR12 HIDR13 HIDR14 HIDR15 8th 177 2023 Tasman 88Racing ADLR16 ADLR17 ADLR18 9th 40 * Season still in progress.
Complete Formula Regional Oceania Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) YearTeam123456789101112131415DCPoints2023Giles MotorsportHIG1HIG2HIG3TER1TER2TER3MAN1MAN2MAN3HMP1HMP2HMP3TAU1TAU2TAU3 14th 115 2024 Giles MotorsportTAU1TAU2TAU3MAN1MAN2MAN3HMP1HMP2HMP3RUA1RUA2RUA3HIG1 HIG2HIG3 6th 205
Complete Formula Regional Japanese Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Points 2023 Sutekina Racing Team FUJ11 FUJ12 FUJ13 SUZ1 SUZ2 OKA1 OKA2 OKA3 MOT1 MOT2 MOT3 FUJ21 FUJ22 SUG1 SUG2 SUG3 24th 6
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