The series was created to provide New Zealand's emerging racing talent with access to carbon-fibre composite machinery, aerodynamic downforce, slick tyres, and sequential gearboxes at a level previously unavailable domestically. The series has the full endorsement of Motorsport New Zealand, the sport's governing body. Until the start of 2017 it was managed by Toyota Racing Management under the leadership of Barrie Thomlinson.
The championship runs across five weekends in five consecutive weeks, entirely within January and February during the Southern Hemisphere summer. This scheduling — coinciding with the Northern Hemisphere off-season — made the series attractive to development drivers from Europe and the Americas seeking race mileage between their regular campaigns. It functions as a single-seater equivalent of the Caribbean winter ball leagues in professional baseball, allowing drivers to compete in a series and accumulate experience without missing their primary season. A June 2019 FIA World Motor Sport Council decision permitted development drivers to count Toyota Racing Series results alongside their regular series towards the FIA Super Licence points required for Formula One eligibility.
For the 2008 season the series adopted an E85 biofuel blend of 85 per cent ethanol derived from whey, a dairy industry by-product, making the 2008 New Zealand Grand Prix the first biofuel grand prix in the world.
The series was renamed the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship for the 2023 season, aligning it with other Formula Regional series operating under FIA regulation around the world.
From 2015 to 2019 the series used the Tatuus FT-50 chassis powered by a modified 1.8-litre Toyota 2ZZ-GE four-cylinder engine producing approximately 200 bhp, paired with a six-speed Sadev sequential transmission. The cars rode on Michelin S308 tyres and weighed approximately 480 kg.
From 2020 onwards the series switched to the Tatuus FT-60 chassis, identical to the Tatuus F.3 T-318 used in European Formula 3. The new car is fitted with a 2.0-litre turbocharged Toyota 8AR-FTS engine producing around 270 bhp and includes a halo head protection device. Race weight with driver is approximately 665 kg.
The series has produced a notable list of alumni who progressed to Formula One. Brendon Hartley competed in Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda. Earl Bamber, Liam Lawson, Daniil Kvyat, Will Stevens, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris all competed in the series on their paths to Formula One. In 2025, Lando Norris became the first Formula One World Champion to have previously competed in the Formula Regional Oceania Championship.
The winner of the feature race at each of the championship's rounds receives one of several historic New Zealand circuit racing trophies: the Lady Wigram Trophy, the Spirit of the Nation Cup, the New Zealand Motor Cup, the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy, the Dan Higgins Trophy, and the New Zealand Grand Prix Trophy. The overall championship winner receives the Chris Amon Trophy.