Formula Trophy Malaysia Kicks Off at Sepang F1 Weekend

• Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia date to shine light on young stars of tomorrow
• 22‑strong international field entered for prestigious season‑opener
• Three‑stop Sepang‑based series roars to life October 2‑4

Sepang, Malaysia, September 25, 2026: An excellent international field of 22 of the world’s bright young up‑and‑coming talents will fight out the opening round of the Formula Trophy Malaysia (FTM) series, which acts as a support race to the Formula 1 World Championship round hosted by the country’s popular Sepang International Circuit on October 2‑4.

FTM continues in the footsteps of Formula Trophy UAE (FTUAE), organized as an end‑of‑season series for Formula 4 cars organized by Shanghai‑based Top Speed, and aimed at drivers preparing to take their first steps into international F4 competition. With official tire supplier, GITI Tires, FTM will be fought out over three events, all at the 5.543km Hermann Tilke‑designed Grade 1 track, with rounds on November 6‑8 and December 11‑13 following on from the prestige season‑opener.

While the field is largely composed of F4 newcomers, hailing from as far afield as Europe and Scandinavia as well as across Australasia and Asia, one driver who has already enjoyed a strong season is David Cosma Cristofor. The Romanian lies fourth in the Italian F4 Championship, and finished fifth in the early‑season UAE4 series, so he will be gunning for glory with leading team Evans GP.

There is an impressive squadron of drivers assembled by the Evans GP operation, where Cosma Cristofor is joined by karting graduate Juste Mulder. The exciting Dutch talent only turned 15 – and therefore old enough to race in F4 – during the summer, but has already made a strong impression during outings in the Spanish series. Singaporean Rafael Vaessen brings experience with Evans GP from FTUAE and UAE4, while compatriot Aaron Mehta moves across from the Indian F4 series, where he took pole position on his debut at the age of just 15. Vietnam’s Ben Nguyen is another to have featured with the Evans GP team, while Thai karter Nawin Natiphanon takes his first steps in F4.

Running alongside the main Evans GP team is Evans GP Academy, where two female racers will hope to make a name for themselves. Italian Ginevra Panzeri has a top‑six race finish to her credit in the very competitive French F4 series, and Singapore’s Kareen Kaur has raced F4 in South East Asia and India.

Those from the Southern Hemisphere will be keeping their eyes on Marco Manson. The New Zealander is another to turn 15 this year, and already has a championship win to his credit from earlier this season in his nation’s Formula Ford series. He transitioned to Australia’s AU4 series for F4 cars which he currently leads, and will line up for FTM with Pinnacle Motorsport. This team, winners of last year’s Macau Grand Prix‑FIA FR World Cup with Théophile Naël where it entered as KCMG Enya Pinnacle Motorsport, is always a force to be reckoned with, and also among its four‑car line‑up is Wang Yuzhe, who has featured strongly in Chinese F4 in recent seasons, Taisei Murakami, who after a spell in the USA returned to his native Japan to race in F4, and Malaysia’s Imran Putera, who competed last year in FTUAE with the Pinnacle team.

Xcel Motorsport is always formidable in Top Speed‑organized championships and this team has four cars entered, with one driver yet to be named. British‑Chinese driver ‘Josh’ Feng Jiaxi is already a race winner in his rookie season of Chinese F4, Australia’s Christian Ayrouth has a measure of experience from AU4, and Danish karting graduate Wilder Lindberg steps up into F4 for the FTM series.

Another race winner in the F4 Chinese Championship this year is Chen Sicong, who sits third in that series and joins the FTM grid with the same team: Black Blade Racing. Alongside him in a two‑strong line‑up is Sun Anzhe, who has been improving throughout the season in the British F4 Championship.

All Malaysian motorsport fans will be familiar with the name Alex Yoong, and the ex‑Formula 1 driver’s Axle Sports team enters this level of F4 competition for the first time, although it already enjoys success in other arenas of motorsport. New Zealander William Beck has competed this season in AU4 and Japanese F4 after winning the NZ North Island Formula Ford title, so he will be one to watch. Filipino Iñigo Anton was last year’s F4 South East Asia rookie champion, and Singapore pair Jaime Ambrose and Skye Lee are also part of the lineup.

FTM promises to provide tremendous entertainment for Malaysian fans, as well as reveal new stars, as the youngsters prepare to step into the spotlight in front of the huge Formula 1 Grand Prix crowd.

2026 Formula Trophy Malaysia calendar

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 2026 Formula Trophy, Formula 4 South East Asia, China GT Championship, and Formula Regional and Formula 4 Middle East series.

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

Ends 

September 25, 2026

Team/Driver/Partner Enquiries: 

Cyrille Taesch cyrille@topspeedchina.com