Nakamura will share the front row with Supercars star Ryan Wood, who wound up just a tenth away in a dramatic three-part qualifying session.
“The car was on rails,” said Nakamura.
“I had so much pressure. I enjoyed that a lot.”
Series leader Ugo Ugochukwu qualified third for Sunday’s feature race, but it wasn’t without drama.
The M2 Competition driver suffered a suspension failure in the dying minutes of Q1, leaving his team racing to get the damaged FT-60 ready in time for Q2.
The American looked like he might miss the top eight cut to advance to Q3, until a last minute lap put him sixth and through to the final segment.
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Ugochukwu will share the second row with Zack Scoular. Freddie Slater, Louis Sharp, and Liam Sceats completed the top eight.
“On the last lap, I was starting to feel something a bit weird in the steering. Then all of a sudden I pressed the brakes and the wheel flew off,” said Ugochukwu.
“I thought that was the end of quali, the end of the weekend, and the end of the championship.
“I can’t thank the whole M2 team enough. All the mechanics, everyone who helped get the car back together to get back out there.
“I managed to get back out and put it P6 in Q2, which was good enough. P3 is really good, a good place to start the Grand Prix.”
Wood, who took Rookie of the Year honours on Friday, was stoked to secure a front row start but bemoaned a slow start to qualifying.
“That was really cool. I do a similar style [of qualifying] in Supercars, but that felt pretty intense,” said Wood.
“Really happy. Q1, I’m a bit gutted with. Stuffed it all up. Congrats to Jin and Hitech. Good to see Ugo up here after he had a bit going on in that session. All in all, happy.
“The car was awesome. Rich (engineer Richard Harris) just said to find my balls and hang on, so I did. The car has been pretty good.
“Actually really gutted about Race 1 because starting fifth, it’s super hard to pass. Hopefully the boys in front get their elbows out and actually have a race and we can try settle in there.”
Times from Q1 set the grid for Race 1, which was topped by Nakamura ahead of Ugochukwu.
It will be an all-New Zealand second row, with Sharp and Scoular in third and fourth respectively.
Wood will line-up fifth alongside Slater, who narrowed the championship deficit to 18 points with his Friday race win.
Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Highlands Motorsport Park, Q1
| Pos | Num | Driver | Best Lap | Diff | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | 12 | Jin Nakamura | 1:28.704 | 9 | 9 | |
| 2 | 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | 1:28.718 | 0.014 | 9 | 6 |
| 3 | 11 | Louis Sharp | 1:28.718 | 0.014 | 9 | 8 |
| 4 | 3 | Zack Scoular | 1:28.790 | 0.086 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | 40 | Ryan Wood | 1:28.796 | 0.092 | 8 | 6 |
| 6 | 27 | Freddie Slater | 1:28.821 | 0.117 | 9 | 4 |
| 7 | 23 | Liam Sceats | 1:28.930 | 0.226 | 9 | 9 |
| 8 | 13 | James Wharton | 1:28.946 | 0.242 | 9 | 8 |
| 9 | 24 | Ernesto Rivera | 1:29.008 | 0.304 | 9 | 7 |
| 10 | 52 | Nolan Allaer | 1:29.011 | 0.307 | 8 | 8 |
| 11 | 19 | Kanato Le | 1:29.032 | 0.328 | 9 | 9 |
| 12 | 21 | Yevan David | 1:29.137 | 0.433 | 8 | 7 |
| 13 | 5 | Yuanpu Cui | 1:29.149 | 0.445 | 9 | 8 |
| 14 | 22 | Sebastian Manson | 1:29.158 | 0.454 | 8 | 4 |
| 15 | 33 | Fionn McLaughlin | 1:29.400 | 0.696 | 9 | 6 |
| 16 | 14 | Cooper Shipman | 1:29.521 | 0.817 | 8 | 8 |
| 17 | 41 | Ricardo Baptista | 1:29.545 | 0.841 | 9 | 8 |
| 18 | 50 | Jack Taylor | 1:29.678 | 0.974 | 8 | 5 |
| 19 | 8 | Trevor LaTourrette | 1:30.713 | 2.009 | 8 | 8 |
Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Highlands Motorsport Park, Q2
| Pos | Num | Driver | Best Lap | Diff | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | 27 | Freddie Slater | 1:28.486 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2 | 19 | Kanato Le | 1:28.639 | 0.153 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | Zack Scoular | 1:28.702 | 0.216 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | 40 | Ryan Wood | 1:28.762 | 0.276 | 5 | 4 |
| 5 | 23 | Liam Sceats | 1:28.764 | 0.278 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | 1:28.918 | 0.432 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | 12 | Jin Nakamura | 1:28.940 | 0.454 | 6 | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Louis Sharp | 1:28.943 | 0.457 | 5 | 4 |
| 9 | 24 | Ernesto Rivera | 1:29.070 | 0.584 | 6 | 4 |
| 10 | 22 | Sebastian Manson | 1:29.070 | 0.584 | 6 | 5 |
| 11 | 13 | James Wharton | 1:29.073 | 0.587 | 5 | 4 |
| 12 | 52 | Nolan Allaer | 1:29.133 | 0.647 | 4 | 4 |
| 13 | 5 | Yuanpu Cui | 1:29.186 | 0.700 | 6 | 6 |
| 14 | 21 | Yevan David | 1:29.423 | 0.937 | 5 | 4 |
Results: Formula Regional Oceania Trophy Highlands Motorsport Park, Q3
| Pos | Num | Driver | Best Lap | Diff | Laps | Best Lap |
| 1 | 12 | Jin Nakamura | 1:28.339 | 7 | 3 | |
| 2 | 40 | Ryan Wood | 1:28.439 | 0.100 | 7 | 4 |
| 3 | 4 | Ugo Ugochukwu | 1:28.487 | 0.148 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Zack Scoular | 1:28.554 | 0.215 | 7 | 5 |
| 5 | 19 | Kanato Le | 1:28.556 | 0.217 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 27 | Freddie Slater | 1:28.599 | 0.260 | 7 | 4 |
| 7 | 11 | Louis Sharp | 1:28.625 | 0.286 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 23 | Liam Sceats | 1:28.646 | 0.307 | 7 | 3 |
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