Photo: US F4
The USA’s two national Formula 4 championships began their seasons at NOLA Motorsports Park this weekend.
Ligier’s first-generation chassis was used in the rebranded Ligier Junior Formula Championship, which attracted 14 drivers.
Drew Szuch topped practice, edging Gaston Irazu to top spot by 0.027 seconds, then in qualifying Daniel Cara came to the fore. He set a 1m42.082s to beat Irazu to pole by 0.285s, and Augusto Paschetta was 0.427s back in third. Szuch qualified sixth.
Max Mokarem caused red flags so lost his fastest laps, and Irazu was among six drivers with grid penalties for using fresh tyres in practice so Szuch started race one in fourth.
Paschetta took the lead at the opening corner, but Harbir Dass and Szuch were past him before lap one end. Szuch took the lead as they began lap two, just before a caution period was called. Racing resumed on lap four, and the top two broke away. Paschetta lost more places, with Irazu in third but already three seconds behind on lap five after passing Cara.
Szuch’s engine cover came off on lap six, eliminating him, and Irazu began closing in on Dass. By lap eight he was leading, with Dass responding to his first diving pass but unable to do anything about the next one. Irazu pulled away to win, and Dass was runner-up after Cara was penalised for jumping the start.
Setting the fastest lap put Irazu on race two pole ahead of Cara, Dass and Paschetta. The race had a confusing start, with Szuch jumping into the lead on a slippy track. The pace car’s presence then denied Irazu a shot at reclaiming first place, and ended Dass and Cara’s squabble for third.
Irazu still set the fastest lap, so started from pole again for race three on Sunday. Mokarem came from fourth to pass him around the outside of the opening corner for the lead, but when Mokarem made a mistake later in the lap the lead returned to Irazu and he sprinted away for a huge win and the points lead.
There was a four-car fight for second on lap three, and Dass emerged ahead of Cara, Szuch and Mokarem. Dass lost a place in each of the next three laps, and Cara established himself in second. Mokarem fought his way into third on lap nine.
United States F4 attracted just eight examples of Ligier’s second-generation car.
Cooper Shipman led Kekai Hauanio by 0.364s in practice, and Hauanio struck back by 0.039s in qualifying but got a five-place grid penalty for using new tyres.
Race one had a rolling start due to the track’s slippiness, and several drivers spun. Alex Popow passed Shipman and Hauanio overtook Clemente Huerta for third as lap two began, then Shipman reclaimed the lead on lap three.
Hauanio cleared Popow on lap five, and a caution period removed his three-second deficit to Shipman. The lead changed hands on the restart, and following a three-wide moment Hauanio kept ahead and went on to win.
Shipman netted pole for race two, but lost out to Popow and Hauanio on lap one. Popow (who had recovered from food poisoning) charged off to a 9.722s victory, as Shipman reeled Hauanio back in, passed him on lap eight of 15 then pulled away. Huerta won his lengthy fight with Caleb Campbell for fourth by 0.119s with a move at the race’s final corner.
Popow resisted Shipman through the first seven laps of race three before a caution period brought Hauanio and Huerta, who spun in the esses on lap two, onto their tail.
The lap 10 restart was nailed by Popow, and Huerta passed Shipman at the end of the lap but Shipman got back past. The points lead went to Popow with victory, and Huerta prevailed against Hauanio and Campbell in a tense fight for third.
Results round-up
US F4
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Kekai Hauanio Crosslink Competition 24m28.009s
2 Cooper Shipman Kiwi Motorsport +0.465s
3 Alex Popow MLT Motorsports +0.890s
4 Clemente Huerta Kiwi Motorsport +6.097s
5 Conor Grant Scuderia Buell +6.504s
6 Ty Arbogast RASE Motorsports +7.913s
7 Demitri Nolan Crosslink Competition +41.853s
8 Caleb Campbell LC Racing Academy +2 laps
Pole: Hauanio, 1m39.178s
Fastest lap: Shipman, 1m40.698s
Race 2 (15 laps)
1 Popow 25m15.984s
2 Shipman +9.722s
3 Hauanio +13.415s
4 Huerta +24.459s
5 Campbell +24.578s
6 Nolan +44.339s
7 Arbogast +45.713s
8 Grant +1m38.012s
FL: Popow, 1m39.730s
Race 3 (15 laps)
1 Popow 29m30.185s
2 Shipman +0.687s
3 Huerta +9.464s
4 Hauanio +12.239s
5 Campbell +12.480s
6 Arbogast +14.841s
7 Nolan +41.451s
Ret Grant
FL: Popow, 1m40.704s
Championship standings
1 Popow 65 2 Shipman 54 3 Hauanio 52 4 Huerta 39 5 Campbell 24 6 Arbogast 22 7 Nolan 20 8 Grant 14
Ligier JFC
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Gaston Irazu Champagne Racing 24m24.618s
2 Harbir Dass Berg Racing +6.526s
3 Daniel Cara Cara Origin Motorsports +8.583s
4 Augusto Paschetta Scuderia Buell +11.944s
5 Cash Felber Champagne Racing +24.030s
6 Ava Hanssen Ava Hanssen Racing +41.633s
7 Zach Fourie Jensen Global Advisors +46.615s
8 Josh Griffith Jensen Global Advisors +1m10.180s
9 Roman Felber Champagne Racing +1m31.645s
10 Michael Fatutta Champagne Racing +1m32.348s
Pole: Cara, 1m42.082s
Fastest lap: Irazu, 1m42.860s
Race 2 (10 laps)
1 Drew Szuch Berg Racing 24m35.358s
2 Irazu +0.639s
3 Dass +1.210s
4 Cara +1.442s
5 Paschetta +2.210s
6 Max Mokarem Momentum Motorsports +2.815s
7 C Felber +3.263s
8 Hanssen +4.125s
9 Luca Day LC Racing Academy +6.070s
10 Kelsey Pinkowski Crosslink Competition +6.873s
FL: Irazu, 1m43.533s
Race 3 (17 laps)
1 Irazu 29m35.785s
2 Cara +7.381s
3 Mokarem +13.146s
4 Szuch +22.739s
5 Dass +23.256s
6 Paschetta +24.738s
7 R Felber +26.128s
8 C Felber +26.436s
9 Hanssen +30.434s
10 Fourie +44.715s
FL: Irazu, 1m43.246s
Championship standings
1 Irazu 68 2 Cara 45 3 Dass 43 4 Szuch 37 5 Paschetta 30 6 Mokarem 23 7 C Felber 20 8 Hanssen 14 9 R Felber 8 10 Fourie 7