Phot: Dom Gibbons / Getty Images

Campos Racing has announced the injured Ernesto Rivera will miss this weekend’s FIA Formula 3 season opener in Melbourne, with Patrick Heuzenroeder taking his place.

It is the second time that Heuzenroeder has stood in for Rivera, having done so in the pre-season test at Barcelona on February 10-12.

The 20-year-old Australian will be making his F3 debut on home soil, but already has experience of racing third-tier single-seaters having spent the last two weekends racing in Eurocup-3’s winter series with Campos. He sits 10th in the standings, with one more round to go in mid-March.

“I’m very excited to be given this opportunity to make my debut in FIA F3 at my home grand prix,” said Heuzenroeder. “It will be a steep learning curve but I am looking forward to it and can’t wait to get on track! Thank you to my supporters and family for this opportunity.”

Through the rest of this year he will also be racing for Campos, as he part of its line-up in the main Eurocup-3 championship. In 2025 he was GB3 runner-up and fourth in Formula Regional Oceania, winning a race in both.

Rivera was racing in the latter series a month ago when he had a crash at Highlands Motorsport Park. It led to him missing the season’s final two races with back pain, and has ruled him out of action since once he was diagnosed with a vertebra injury.

The 17-year-old Mexican came 11th in the FRegional Oceania standings with two podiums and a pole, and raced for Campos last year in Eurocup-3 when it still used FRegional-based chassis. He was fourth in the championship with three wins, four other podiums and two poles. Rivera has been a Red Bull junior since September 2024.

Written by Jacob Awcock and Ida Wood

The post Heuzenroeder replaces injured Rivera at Campos for F3 season opener appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Prema’s FIA Formula 3 drivers remain confident heading into the Melbourne season opener despite the recent changes at the team.

The Italian outfit enters this season without its founding Rosin family after they and other key senior figures departed over the winter, while parent company DC Racing Solutions’ financial situation has left uncertainty over its IndyCar participation.

There has been a knock-on effect for the F3 programme, with Enzo Deligny announcing he would be driving for Van Amersfoort Racing this year having previously signed with Prema.

“It was not an easy decision,” said the Frenchman. “The state of Prema was not the same as when we joined it. It wasn’t my call, but my management team opted to switch to VAR.”

Deligny’s replacement, Jose Garfias, was announced by Prema just a day later and was quick to defend his team when asked about the situation.

“The atmosphere is really great compared to other teams I’ve been with,” Garfias explained. “It’s a great team, great people and a great atmosphere and they’re all pushing to win.”

“The background noise is something that has and always will be there. There are rumours but everything inside the team seems to be going well. The focus is on performing and the better we perform the better it is for everyone else.”

Team-mates Louis Sharp and James Wharton echoed Garfias’ comments and played down any disruption, with Sharp claiming the atmosphere in the team is “as strong as it was six months ago.”

“I think the background noise isn’t nearly as big as I think a lot of people think it is,” said Sharp.

“There’s always a lot of rumours in motorsport but I think that the environment is equally as strong as it was six months ago when I joined the team. The teams ready to win, they’re fighting and giving everything so our job is to fight with them and deliver with them.”

Wharton echoed the words of support for a team he has returned to for his second season in F3, having previously spent three years with Prema across Formula 4 and Formula Regional from 2022 to ’24.

“As a driver the environment is amazing,” Wharton explained. “I don’t feel like there’s been that much of a change within our group of people.

“The engineering department and technical department hasn’t changed for us so from an atmosphere point of view nothing has changed. I feel as good as I felt six months ago. I’m happy to be here and we’re fully supporting the team.”

The post Prema environment still “as strong as it was” say team’s F3 drivers appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: NACAM F4

Alejandro Bobadilla started the NACAM Formula 4 season at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed with two victories.

It was his Alessandros Racing team-mate Mateo Giron who set the pace in practice, topping both sessions and leading Bobadilla by 0.431 seconds around the twisty roval track.

Ram Racing’s Fernando Rivera was third, 0.567s back, with Marco Alquicira (Santinel Racing) and Mariano Alattore (Alessandros) the only other drivers within a second of the pace.

Bobadilla came to the fore in qualifying, setting a 1m34.214s to claim race one pole by 0.173s over Giron. Alattore trailed by 0.444s in third, Rivera was 0.717s behind in fourth and Alquicira pipped Alan Zezatti (Alessandros) to fifth but both were over a second slower than the poleman.

When it came to race one later on Saturday, Bobadilla had to drive on the defensive while Alquicira made his way up into second place. He got particularly close to Bobadilla late on, but could not pull off an overtake and Bobadilla won by 0.492s. Giron was able to match the top two’s pace and was in a position to profit from any drama ahead, but none emerged and he finished 1.328s behind in third. Alattore was best-of-the-rest in fourth, 17.35s back.

Races two and three were on Sunday, and Ram’s Oliver Trejo started on reversed-grid pole for race two ahead of Alatorre, Giron, Alquicira and Bobadilla.

Giron took second at the opening corner, but could do nothing to stop Trejo pulling away through the first lap. Alatorre held third, but his defensive work against Alquicira meant they were quickly gapped.

Alquicira got very close to Alatorre on lap three, while Giron utilised clear air to find a strong pace and get onto Trejo’s tail on lap four. However he pushed too hard and crashed out on lap six, triggering a safety car period.

Alatorre inherited second, and had a gap before the safety car’s summoning as Rivera and Bobadilla had begun pressuring Alquicira.

When racing resumed on lap 10, Trejo pulled away again and Alquicira instantly attacked Alatorre. They ran side-by-side for several corners and Alquicira got ahead. Rivera also got through before the next oval section but picked the high line and dropped back behind Alatorre and Bobadilla too.

He gained a place when Alquicira spun on the next lap, and Bobadilla went around the outside of Alatorre at turn two on lap 12 to take second. There was a big gap to Trejo to make up, and at the finish he was 1.086s behind the winner.

Rivera pressured Alatorre again on laps 12 and 13 for third place, and Zezatti began closing in on the pair. Alatorre defended down the pit straight on lap 14, then under pressure he went too deep a corner and lost two places.

Bobadilla had pole again for race three, and Giron was due to start second but was absent. Alatorre and Rivera were therefore second and third but on row two.

By the opening corner there was already an insurmountable gap between Bobadilla and Alatorre, and he lapped drivers en route to a dominant victory.

Zezatti and Alcquicira got past Rivera on lap one, and there was a four-car group until Rivera was gapped on lap seven. Alquicira was dropped three laps later, but he began closing back in on Zezatti when Alatorre pulled away in second place.

Alatorre was drawn back in late on by Zezatti, with Alquicira left behind, and while he filled his mirrors an overtake was never on the cards.

Results round-up
Race 1 (17 laps)
1 Alejandro Bobadilla Alessandros Racing 29m06.761s
2 Marco Alquicira Santinel Racing +0.492s
3 Mateo Giron Alessandros Racing +1.328s
4 Mariano Alatorre Alessandros Racing +17.350s
5 Oliver Trejo Ram Racing +34.332s
6 Alan Zezatti Alessandros Racing +1m17.163s
7 Fernando Rivera Ram Racing +1m34.557s
8 Agustin Herrera Santinel Racing +1 lap
9 Emilio Martinez Ram Racing +1 lap
10 Patrick Isavi Ram Racing +1 lap
Pole: Bobadilla, 1m34.214s
Fastest lap: Giron, 1m33.566s

Race 2 (17 laps)
1 Trejo 30m54.230s
2 Bobadilla +1.086s
3 Rivera +6.196s
4 Zezatti +8.393s
5 Alatorre +11.319s
6 Moises Zagursky RRK Motorsports +21.804s
7 Martinez +24.033s
8 Herrera +55.544s
9 Jose Carlos Lezama Santinel Racing +55.759s
10 Alquicira +1m13.071s
FL: Bobafilla, 1m33.714s

Race 3 (17 laps)
1 Bobadilla 26m59.344s
2 Alatorre +4.619s
3 Zezatti +5.303s
4 Alquicira +6.709s
5 Rivera +10.728s
6 Trejo +16.990s
7 Zagursky +39.919s
8 Martinez +1m13.069s
9 Lezama +1m39.443s
10 Herrera +1 lap
FL: Bobadilla, 1m34.439s

Championship standings
1 Bobadilla 68   2 Trejo 43   3 Alatorre 40   4 Zezatti 35   5 Alquicira 31   6 Rivera 31   7 Giron 15   8 Zagursky 14   9 Martinez 12   10 Herrera 9

The post Bobadilla starts NACAM F4 season on top at Autodromo Miguel E. Abed appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: FRJC

Toyota junior Yuzuki Miura narrowly missed out on a clean sweep of victories in the Formula Regional Japanese Championship’s season opening weekend at Suzuka.

Races one and three were dominated by Miura but the TOM’S driver was edged out by Ponos Racing driver Ryota Horachi in race two.

Miura started strongly from third, leapfrogging Horachi and polesitter Hibiki Komatsu to lead into the first turn.

Horachi however quickly dispatched Masan Muto, who had jumped him at the start, and began to pile the pressure on Miura.

Despite sitting within half a second of the leader for almost the second half of the race, Horachi’s attempts proved futile as Miura held him off by just 0.083 seconds to secure victory. Muto rounded out the podium finishers with Komatsu nine tenths adrift of him at the chequered flag.

Race two proved to be a redemption race for Horachi as he converted pole position into victory, having edged out Miura by 0.064s in the faster second qualifying session.

He fended off the similarly liveried car of Miura into the first turn after the lights went out and resolutely held the lead for the remainder of the race.

Miura finished seven tenths adrift of his teammate at the chequered flag with Komatsu rounding out the podium having started third on the grid.

In race three Miura returned to the top step, converting his pole position while Horachi fought his way up from sixth on the grid to fourth.

This was a more comfortable race for Miura, as he led the field away at lights out to finish a second and a half clear of the field.

Muto narrowly avoided a dramatic crash at lights out as the Toyota-based TOM’S driver failed to move away from his second-place grid slot at lights out. The field narrowly avoided the 16-year-old who managed to recover to fifth.

Having failed to match the pace of his team-mate Horachi up to this point, Ponos Racing driver Kento Omiya came home 1.426s behind Miura in second and 1.651s clear of Lin Chenghua, who profited from Muto’s stall at the start to claim third.

That meant Miura finished the opening weekend with an early series lead of 13 points ahead of the championship’s return to Suzuka for round two in May.

Results round-up
Race 1 (12 laps)
1 Yuzuki Miura TOM’S 23m07.248s
2 Ryota Horachi Ponos Racing +0.083s
3 Masana Muto TOM’S +5.450s
4 Hibiki Komatsu Rn-sports +6.387s
5 Kento Omiya Ponos Racing +7.214s
6 Lin Chenghua Ragno Motor Sports +11.552s
7 Li Xuanyu Team LeMans +21.473s
8 Rio Shimono Dr Dry Racing Team +24.534s
9 Makato Akita Abbey Racing +33.321s
10 Yutaka Toriba AiWin +34.489s
Pole: Komatsu, 1m54.909s
Fastest lap: Horachi, 1m54.401s

Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Horachi 23m06.640s
2 Miura +0.706s
3 Komatsu +5.103s
4 Muto +8.678s
5 Omiya +8.982s
6 Chenghua +10.515s
7 Akita +19.390s
8 Shimono +23.866s
9 Xuanyu +28.212s
10 Masayuki Ueda Rn-sports +46.155s
P: Horachi, 1m54.389s
FL: Miura, 1m54.904s

Race 3 (12 laps)
1 Miura 23m10.928s
2 Omiya +1.426s
3 Chenghua +3.077s
4 Horachi +3.907s
5 Muto +10.843s
6 Komatsu +12.304s
7 Shimono +17.936s
8 Xuanyu +19.821s
9 Akita +26.204s
10 Toriba +32.694s
P: Miura, 1m55.882s
FL: Muto, 1m55.015s

Championship standings
1 Miura 68   2 Horachi 55   3 Omiya 38   4 Muto 37   5 Komatsu 35   6 Chenghua 31   7 Shimono 14   8 Xuanyu 12   9 Akita 10   10 Toriba 2

The post Toyota junior Miura wins twice at Suzuka to claim early FRJC lead appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Spanish Winter Championship

Keanu Al Azhari, Stefan Bostandjiev and James Egozi were the winners in round two of Eurocup-3’s winter series at Jarama.

MP Motorsport’s Gianmarco Pradel started race one on pole alongside Hitech GP’s Al Azhari, and after a turn two lock-up on lap one had to hold off the points leader for several corners.

Al Azhari attacked again through the first corners of lap two before the safety car was summoned as Thomas Strauven (Campos Racing) and Rafael Perard (Palou Motorsport) had a incident that ended in the turn one gravel while disputing ninth place.

Racing resumed on lap seven, and the slipstream effect meant Pradel ended the lap just 0.099 seconds ahead. Al Azhari set a new fastest lap and tried a move at turn one but could not get past, then again on lap 10 before the safety car returned due to Lorenzo Campos (Double R Racing) crashing out. Gianni Giovanelli (Global Racing Service) also had a big off at turn one but was able to rejoin.

The next restart was on lap 15 of 19, and Al Azhari tried the outside line at turn two. It allowed him to stay alongside to the turn four hairpin where he took the lead, then he instantly pulled away and was 1.7s ahead by the finish.

After MP’s Ean Eyckmans stalled from third on the grid, team-mate Rene Lammers and Campos’s Alex Powell held third and fourth. Fifth place went to Campos’s Enzo Tarnvanichkul, who overtook Drivex School’s Filippo Fiorentino on lap eight and Palou’s Egozi had to fight Drivex’s Christopher Feghali and Campos’s Patrick Heuzenroeder for seventh.

The top 12 from qualifying one were reversed to form the front of race two’s grid, putting Feghali on pole ahead of Hitech’s Bostandjiev, Egozi, Perard, Palou’s Heitor Dall’Agnol and Tarnvanichkul.

Feghali was slow off the line and Bostandjiev took the lead, with Egozi and Tarnvanichkul on his outside. He locked up hard approaching turn two and failed to turn in, going into Egozi and Tarnvanichkul who were sent spinning off. Feghali hit the brakes mid-corner and stopped behind them, casting Perard off as he tried avoiding the melee. He was able to rejoin at the back.

Red flags waved on lap two, then the race restarted with two laps of safety car-led action. Bostandjiev was unchallenged at the restart, as Dall’Agnol had to hold off Powell for second and Lammers did the same against Al Azhari for fourth.

Hitech’s Gino Trappa stopped on track a few laps later, but it did not interrupt racing. However on lap nine an off for Drivex’s Stylianos Kolovos triggered a safety car period that ran to the end, ensuring Bostandjiev won and casting Lammers to 14th due to a five-second penalty.

Feghali got a five-place grid penalty for race three, which he had qualified third for. Al Azhari claimed pole ahead of Lammers by less than 0.1s after they traded fastest laps in qualifying on Sunday morning, with Egozi and Powell filling row two. Dall’Agnol and Perard were next up.

The top two locked up going into turn two for the first time and Al Azhari was intially ahead before flying off and dropping to 25th. Powell nerfed Egozi’s rear, and Feghalo climbed from eighth to sixth ahead of Hitech’s Santino Panetta. On lap two he swept past Feghali in a confident move, then both got past Perard on lap three before the safety car was summoned after Eyckmans went off.

Panetta passed Dall’Agnol when racing resumed on lap six, as Al Azhari got up to 18th. There was drama next time by as contact led to a puncture for Panetta and Trappa had an off rather than profiting. The safety car returned as Tecnicar Motorsport’s Benjamin Beckley had crashed at turn two, while Panetta and Dall’Agnol were pit-bound.

Powell took the lead before reaching turn one on the lap 10 restart, and Perard went around the outside of Egozi for third but he got back past at turn four. Campos crashed at turn two, so the safety car was needed again with Al Azhari now in 11th.

Racing resumed on lap 13, and it was a similar story. This time Feghali clipped Perard’s rear at turn one on lap 14 and bounced across the run-off before flying across turn two and into the gravel. Al Azhari got into ninth, and the safety car returned.

Two laps remained when green flags waved again, and Powell was not challenged up front. Tarnvanichkul had inherited fifth, and Fiorentio’s attempt to get alongside him through turns four and five led to a slight off that dropped him to 10th and brought Al Azhari into seventh. He attacked Trappa through the final lap but could not get past, although was lifted to fifth post-race as Powell and Lammers were penalised.

Egozi inherited victory ahead of Perard, and Powell was demoted to sixth while Lammers dropped out of the top 10.

Results round-up
Race 1 (19 laps)
1 Keanu Al Azhari Hitech GP 32m34.103s
2 Gianmarco Pradel MP Motorsport +1.704s
3 Rene Lammers MP Motorsport +2.990s
4 Alex Powell Campos Racing +4.019s
5 Enzo Tarnvanichkul Campos Racing +4.826s
6 Filippo Fiorentino Drivex School +5.947s
7 James Egozi Palou Motorsport +7.184s
8 Christopher Feghali Drivex School +9.119s
9 Yuanpu Cui Double R Racing +9.444s
10 Heitor Dall’Agnol Palou Motorsport +10.024s
Fastest lap: Al Azhari, 1m25.391s

Race 2 (12 laps)
1 Stefan Bostandjiev Hitech GP 29m54.220s
2 Dall’Agnol +1.053s
3 Powell +1.914s
4 Al Azhari +3.464s
5 Ean Eyckmans MP Motorsport +4.061s
6 Patrick Heuzenroeder Campos Racing +4.433s
7 Thomas Strauven Campos Racing +4.969s
8 Pradel +5.261s
9 Santino Panetta Hitech GP +5.544s
10 Yani Stevenheydens Global Racing Service +5.768s
FL: Bostandjiev, 1m25.597s

Race 3 (18 laps)
1 Egozi 32m02.154s
2 Rafael Perard Palou Motorsport +0.624s
3 Tarnvanichkul +1.464s
4 Gino Trappa Hitech GP +1.816s
5 Al Azhari +1.887s
6 Powell +3.361s
7 Heuzenroeder +5.012s
8 Strauven +4.688s
9 Stevenheydens +5.206s
10 Bostandjiev +5.513s
P: Al Azhari, 1m24.311s
FL: Lammers, 1m26.109s

Championship standings
1 Al Azhari 100   2 Egozi 67   3 Powell 49   4 Lammers 46   5 Tarnvanichkul 39   6 Eyckmans 24   7 Strauven 34   8 Pradel 29   9 Perard 22   10 Heuzenroeder 21

The post Al Azhari, Bostandjiev and Egozi share Eurocup-3 winter series wins appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon doubled up in the second USF2000 race on the streets of St. Petersburg.

He missed out on pole, as Pabst Racing’s Eddie Beswick second-best laptime from qualifying earned him top spot by 0.0758 seconds over team-mate and race one fastest lap-setter Brad Majman.

Garzon’s best race one laptime put him third on race two’s grid, ahead of Joao Vergara (Velocity Racing Development), Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing), Ryan Giannetta (VRD), Lucas Nanji (Pabst) and Anthony Martella (Exclusive Autosport).

Beswick held the lead into the race’s opening corner, and Escorpioni made one overtake before pulling off another at turn four on Majman who had already lost out to Garzon. Racing was then neutralised due to a turn one crash involving Jay Howard Driver Development by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Cal Peter driving over the rear of Exclusive’s Evan Cooley. Later in the lap, Martella ended his race at turn eight.

The restart was not until lap six, and it did not last long as Exclusive’s Connor Aspley had stopped on track after turn 10 and his car needed recovering. JHDD’s Liam Loiaconi pitted during the next caution period, so was at the back for the lap nine restart.

Garzon was instantly alongside Beswick and swept past on the outside before entering turn one, with Escorpioni following through at turn four. A wide moment at turn five for Escorpioni two laps later allowed Beswick back through, and Garzon began pulling away but could not get more than 1.2s ahead.

The top three held their positions through the race’s second half, and Majman was a lonely fourth. DEForce’s Brady Golan overtook Vergara on the lap nine restart for fifth, with Giannetta chasing them through the rest of the race.

VRD’s Teddy Musella climbed two spots from 13th on lap one, and another two on lap nine. On lap 11 he overtook Exclusive’s Ayrton Cahan for eighth.

Race results (20 laps)

The post DEForce’s Garzon doubles up in USF2000’s second St. Pete race appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Spanish Winter Championship

Campos Racing’s Noah Monteiro extended his Spanish Formula 4 Winter Championship lead on Sunday at Jarama with pole and a victory.

Qualifying took place in the morning, and MP Motorsport’s Rocco Coronel was first to top the timesheet. G4 Racing’s Philippe Armand Karras brought the laptime to beat down to a more representative pace, before Coronel reclaimed first place with a 1m32.138s. However he would not improve on that, and in the last four minutes dropped down to 12th.

Ty Fisher was first to beat him, by 0.019 seconds, then Campos team-mate Vivek Kanthan went quickest by 0.047s. Monteiro was just behind and outpaced him by 0.057s, then both improved on their next laps.

Kanthan crossed the line in 1m31.844s, and a second later Monteiro posted a 1m31.646s. Andrej Petrovic was third fastest, 0.382s off pole and 0.009s ahead of Tecnicar Motorsport team-mate Nacho Tunon. MP’s Kasper Schormans was 0.401s behind in fifth, denying Campos’s Daniel Kelleher by 0.006s and Drivex School’s Nathan Tye by 0.01s. Fisher ended up eighth, 0.455s back, and MP’s Reno Francot was ninth fastest. Under 0.9s covered the top 24.

Four of the drivers in the top 24 were eliminated on lap one of the weekend’s third race, in a five-car incident that led to a lengthy red flag period. Before racing was stopped, Tunon had fallen to 17th and Francot had passed Fisher to be seventh.

The safety car led the field for two laps before the field was free to race again on lap four of 18, and there was action straight away. Tye got alongside Kelleher through the first two turns, and although he looked to have taken fifth they were later side-by-side once more and contact sent Kelleher spinning.

Monteiro had a quiet race thereon, setting the fastest lap but otherwise controlling his pace until the safety car returned on lap 11 due to two drivers outside of the top 10 colliding. Only two laps remained once green flags returned, and Monteiro locked up twice but held on to win by a second.

Tye passed Schormans on lap 10, but was far behind Petrovic until the second safety car period. When racing resumed, Kanthan defended from Petrovic who in turn was defending against Tye.

Coronel took sixth on lap nine, after Fisher had lunged past Francot at turn two but left room on the inside for Coronel to overtake both. Francot got past Fisher again and almost Coronel too before racing was interrupted, then on the final lap an incident led to Fisher crashing out and Coronel finishing 21st with a damaged car.

Campos’s Jacob Micallef profited from the chaos to steal sixth, ahead of Francot and Tecnicar’s Aleix Pinera.

Race results (18 laps)

The post Monteiro grows Spanish F4 WC lead with another Jarama victory appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Penske Entertainment / Joe Skibinski

Nikita Johnson used a first corner move to take a lead he would not give up in Indy Nxt’s season-opening race in St. Petersburg.

The 18-year-old claimed his and Cape Motorsports’ maiden victory in the championship, and it was a winning start for his team’s partnership with Ed Carpenter Racing.

There was drama pre-race as radio trouble meant Chip Ganassi Racing’s Niels Koolen did not leave the pits with the rest of the field. He was able to make it out in time to join the race start, when Andretti Global’s poleman Max Taylor led the field up to racing speeds.

He covered the inside line going into the opening corner, while fellow front row starter Johnson went to the outside and had taken the lead before even reaching the apex of turn one.

The field navigated the first braking zones without issue, and HMD Motorsports’ Tymek Kucharczyk overtook Andretti’s Seb Murray and Lochie Hughes for third. Later in the lap, HMD’s Jack Beeton spun then AJ Foyt Racing’s Alessandro de Tullio drove into the rear of Andretti’s Josh Pierson, which led to a caution period.

Racing resumed on lap four of a scheduled 45, and Abel Motorsports with Force Indy’s Myles Rowe had to hold off Pierson for sixth into turn one.

Two laps later there was another caution-triggering event as Ganassi’s Carson Etter broke his front wing then drove over the top of it and into the barriers exiting turn eight.

The next restart was on lap 10, and Taylor tried reclaiming the lead around the outside of turn one but there was not enough room for him to stay alongside into turn one. Murray fought Kucharczyk twice during the lap, but could not maintain his challenge.

Everyone was setting personal best laptimes, and Taylor was mostly able to match Johnson’s pace until the next caution period when Foyt’s Nicholas Monteiro crashing out exiting turn nine on lap 17.

Murray looked to Kucharczyk’s outside approaching turn one on the lap 21 restart, and Koolen got alongside team-mate James Roe Jr on the twisty stretch between turns two and three. They rubbed wheels, then crashed, and racing was neutralised once more.

Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Alexander Koreiba and Cape’s Matteo Nannini were deemed to have violated the rules of the restart and sent to the back for the next one on lap 26. This time it took two laps for Johnson to make a 0.9-second gap, with Kucharczyk a further 0.9s back, but Taylor reduced it to 0.7s as the race became a timed encounter that would mean a 42-lap distance.

Taylor set a new fastest lap on lap 33, getting within 0.45s of Johnson, but the leader responded and had a 0.86s margin after lap 35 as he lowered his own pace. The pair continued pushing, and Johnson took the fastest lap next time by. He was now 0.971s ahead, and while Taylor did respond by lowering his own pace, both did on lap 38 and Johnson broke a second clear with another fastest lap. The debuting Kucharczyk, engineered by Tim Neff, was now 4.43s behind.

Taylor reclaimed the fastest lap on the next tour, and saving up his push-to-pass for a late-race attack. But Johnson had used it sparingly too, so as both hit the button over the final two laps it meant Johnson was still able to win by 0.699s.

Kucharczyk fell a further second behind, with Murray close behind but never attacking, and Hughes finished fifth. A lot further back was Rowe, who had continued to hold off Pierson, and HMD’s Salvador de Alba finished eighth after passing Abel’s Max Garcia on lap 26 (having conceded a place to him in a forceful turn one move on lap 11) then overtaking Cusick Morgan Motorsports’ Juan Manuel Correa on lap 31.

Beeton recovered to 11th, and Bryce Aron was Ganassi’s top driver in 18th.

Race results (42 laps)

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Photo: Spanish Winter Championship

Noah Monteiro and Boris Lyzen won the first two Spanish Formula 4 Winter Championship races at Jarama.

There was several moments of major drama that interrupted race one, which Campos Racing’s Monteiro was triumphant in. He started on pole ahead of team-mate Vivek Kanthan, MP Motorsport’s Rocco Coronel, Campos’s Ty Fisher and Drivex School’s Nathan Tye.

Kanthan looked to Monteiro’s outside at turn two on the opening lap, but lost out to Coronel a few corners later and was sent off slightly. Tye overtook Fisher, and MP’s Kasper Schormans passed Tecnicar Motorsport’s Andrej Petrovic for ninth before the safety car was called.

MP’s Louis Cochet, TC Racing’s Maria Germano Neto and Monlau Motorsport’s Miki Blascos had all got beached in the gravel at turn two, and the clean-up operation meant racing did not resume until lap 10. During the interruption, the safety car appeared to shed its own debris which Coronel drove over.

On the restart, Tye ploughed into Kanthan’s rear under braking for turn two and sent him spinning. He caught Coronel’s rear-right wheel, and both went off into the gravel but were able to rejoin at the back of the field. Monteiro was left with a sizeable lead over Fisher, and continued pulling away until the race was ended by red flags just as lap 15 began.

Tye overtook Fisher on lap 11, but a 10s penalty meant Fisher reclaimed second and Tye finished 15th. That also cost Tye the points lead to Monteiro.

TC Racing’s Beau Lowette was third, and fourth place was disputed by Tecnicar’s Nacho Tunon and Schormans until a huge crash that ended the race. Tunon was classified fourth when the results were taken from the last completed lap, while a five-second penalty demoted Schormans to 12th. Campos’s Daniel Kelleher profited to finish fifth, and MP’s Reno Francot was sixth after Petrovic was another to get a five-second penalty and dropped to 17th.

The top 12 from qualifying were reversed to form the front of race two’s grid, putting MP’s Lyzen on pole ahead of Petrovic and Schormans.

Lyzen led the 14-lap race lights-to-flag, but results were taken from lap 12 and then lap 11.

Tunon started fourth and had a half-spin on lap one that dropped him to 14th. Coronel also fell down the field as he did get off the grid until lap two. That meant the field had to be guided by the safety car through the pits at the end of lap one, and racing resumed on lap three with Lyzen streaking away.

Schormans attacked Petrovic hard, but on lap four Francot starting pressuring him. On lap 10 he started locking up, and a huge one a lap later allowed Francot to get past. He continued locking up, and after the chequered flag waved on lap 12, he lost five further places as drivers continued racing through to the end of lap 14.

The final results put him back into fourth, between Francot and Tye. Kanthan was sixth, while Kelleher and Monteiro got from row six up to seventh and eighth.

Results round-up
Race 1 (13 laps)
1 Noah Monteiro Campos Racing 24m58.257s
2 Ty Fisher Campos Racing +3.004s
3 Beau Lowette TC Racing +5.211s
4 Nacho Tunon Tecnicar Motorsport +5.523s
5 Daniel Kelleher Campos Racing +6.669s
6 Reno Francot MP Motorsport +8.155s
7 Fausto Arnaudo Monlau Motorsport +8.511s
8 Borys Lyzen MP Motorsport +8.828s
9 Jensen Burnett Drivex School +9.237s
10 Simon Bulbarella Drivex School +9.696s
Fastest lap: Monteiro, 1m32.603s

Race 2 (11 laps)
1 Lyzen 18m20.225s
2 Andrej Petrovic Tecnicar Motorsport +5.454s
3 Francot +7.461s
4 Kasper Schormans MP Motorsport +7.840s
5 Nathan Tye Drivex School +7.899s
6 Vivek Kanthan Campos Racing +8.382s
7 Kelleher +9.138s
8 Monteiro +9.538s
9 Tunon +11.402s
10 Fisher +11.977s
FL: Lyzen, 1m32.439s

Championship standings
1 Monteiro 64   2 Tye 62   3 Tunon 40   4 Francot 38   5 Petrovic 37   6 Kanthan 35   7 Kelleher 26   8 Rocco Coronel 23   9 Schormans 22   10 Fisher 19

The post Monteiro and Lyzen win first two Spanish F4 WC races at Jarama appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Chris Owens

Andretti Global’s Max Taylor claimed pole almost unopposed for the opening race of the Indy Nxt season in St. Petersburg.

Having topped both practice sessions, Taylor was then quickest in the second qualifying group as the 24-car field was split into two.

His team-mate Lochie Hughes was the driver to beat through the first half of group one’s session, bringing the pace down to 1m06.1041s.

HMD Motorsports’ Enzo Fittipaldi was initially second, then team-mate Salvador de Alba took over the position but was 1.0958 seconds off the pace.

Josh Pierson reduced team-mate Hughes’ advantage to 0.7221s with five minutes to go, at which point Cape Motorsports by Ed Carpenter Racing’s Nikita Johnson was among a group of drivers without a flying lap. Once his first effort did come in, he bettered Pierson by 0.0233s to go straight into second.

Abel Motorsports’ Max Garcia slotted into fourth at the same time, and several others set personal bests while Fittipaldi brought his damaged car back to the pits. He had got loose exiting turn three, tried to save his car but hit a wall that damaged the rear-left of his car.

Hughes lowered the pace to 1m05.9871s a minute later, leading Garcia by 0.4944s, Pierson by 0.5133s and de Alba by 0.6152s. When Johnson next crossed the line, he went from fifth to first as he went 0.0865s quicker than Hughes.

Pierson later also beat Hughes, by 0.0113s, and de Alba improved to 1m06.1391s in fourth. Johnson went even faster next time by, setting a 1m05.5418s, but Hughes responded with a 1m05.4352s. AJ Foyt Racing’s Alessandro de Tullio rose to fifth, posting a 1m06.2881s.

Johnson reclaimed provisional pole by 0.2204s with one-and-a-half minutes remaining, and Pierson improved to 1m05.8319s but remained in third. Hughes similarly found more pace but lapped 0.0957s shy of Johnson’s benchmark in the final minute, and de Tullio was 0.5283s behind in third. Pierson then reclaimed that position, getting within 0.3827s of Johnson.

While Johnson said it took a few laps for the track to rubber in, but remained pretty loose, Hughes say it did not rubber in at all and was very different to pracrtice when he lost running after being pushed into the barriers.

It did not take long for Johnson to lose pole once group two was on track. Taylor’s first flying lap was a 1m06.6478s, and on his next laps improved to 1m05.4337s then 1m04.9993s. His team-mate Seb Murray was closest at first, 0.0676s behind before the gap grew to 0.3807s and later 0.4746s.

Third place traded hands, with Juan Manuel Correa, Myles Rowe and Tymek Kucharczyk all occupying the position in the session’s first half and remaining within a second of the pole pace.

Cape’s Matteo Nannini was next to sit third, but only very briefly as Correa, Kucharczyk and Rowe all then held the position over the next 74s. In his attempt to reclaim the spot, Nannini had a huge crash that began as he exited turn two and led to debris going everywhere. That triggered a seven-minute stoppage and meant his fastest lap was deleted.

Qualifying did restart, and Correa improved at the very end to be fifth in the group. Kucharczyk was third, putting him on row three as each group fills a side of the race’s grid, which the debutant considered “a bit dissapointing”.

Qualifying results

The post Taylor untouchable in Indy Nxt’s St. Petersburg qualifying appeared first on Formula Scout.