Photo: Penske Entertainment / Chris Owens

Andretti Global’s Max Taylor was fastest in a private test for Indy Nxt teams at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this week that attracted 23 drivers.

There were very cold conditions on Monday when the Indy Nxt field took to track, but plenty of running was logged in the afternoon once it was a bit warmer.

According to trackside reports, Taylor set the pace by 0.6561 seconds over team-mate Josh Pierson. Both will join Andretti for 2026 after racing for HMD Motorsports this season, and Taylor will drive the car Dennis Hauger won the 2025 title in.

HMD’s new signing Enzo Fittipaldi was third fastest, less than 0.06s behind Pierson. It was recently announced that Fittipaldi will contest the Daytona 24 Hours sportscar race next year with Pratt Miller Motorsports in the LMP2 prototype class, and will share a car with his older brother Pietro. He races for the team full-time, and is an ex-Formula 1 driver.

Lochie Hughes (Andretti) and Bryce Aron (Chip Ganassi Racing) were next up on the timesheet, the latter yet to confirm what his 2026 racing programme will be.

Completing the top 10 were Myles Rowe (Abel Motorsports with Force Indy), Alessandro de Tullio (AJ Foyt Racing), Juan Manuel Correa (Cusick Morgan Motorsports), Victor Martins (Juncos Hollinger Racing) and Seb Murray (Andretti).

Formula 2 race-winner Martins has done several Indy Nxt tests, with different teams, as he evaluates where to race next year. His third F2 campaign has been his least successful, and he sits 11th in the standings with two rounds to go.

Other unsigned drivers who were testing at Barber included Nicholas Monteiro (Foyt) and Carson Etter (HMD).

Monteiro did one Indy Nxt race this year with HMD and came 10th in USF Pro 2000 on the step below in the Road to Indy, while Etter was 17th in the USFP2000 standings.

Antonio Serravalle, who raced in Indy Nxt back in 2021 and ’22, is currently pursuing a seat in IndyCar according to the Remstar Management firm that oversees his career. The target is to debut on home soil in Canada when IndyCar races in Markham for the first time in August. It is unlikely to become reality since only vacant seat remains on the 2026 grid.

Formula Scout understands that Ganassi, which like Andretti operates with multiple cars in IndyCar and Indy Nxt, will soon be making an announcement about members of its driver development programme.

The post Andretti’s Max Taylor tops private Indy Nxt test at Barber appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Alex Popow was unbeatable in United States Formula 4’s season finale at Barber Motorsports Park last weekend.

He topped both practice sessions, leading Clemente Huerta by 0.732 seconds, and in qualifying claimed pole by a massive 1.154s. The gap had been 1.142s, but Kekai Hauanio had his fastest laptime deleted for causing red flags so dropped to third, 0.03s behind Zach Fourie. Caleb Campbell was a further 0.085s back, and 0.003s ahead of Demitri Nolan.

Fourie spun down to last on race one’s formation lap, promoting Hauanio to second. But he lost the position on lap one to Campbell, as Fourie recovered two places.

Hauanio went down Campbell’s inside into turn one on lap two, was already losing sight of Popow by then and he pulled away to win by 11.59s.

Huerta began pressuring Campbell on lap five of 21, and on several laps looked to the inside at turn seven. He then spun to last on lap 13, freeing Huerta to hunt down Hauanio. With three laps to go he got on his tail, but did not attempt a move until he got alongside into the race’s penultimate corner.

Fourie made one overtake on lap two, went around Nolan’s outside at turn one on lap three, cleared Augusto Paschetta on lap four and profited from Campbell’s spin to finish fourth.

Popow set the fastest lap to claim pole for race two, which he won by 14.559s to take away the championship runner-up spot from Hauanio.

Campbell spun down from fourth to eighth exiting the race’s opening corner, and Hauanio overtook Huerta for second on lap one. Fourie was fourth, and stuck with the two drivers ahead.

Huerta attacked into turn nine on lap nine, then Fourie went around his outside at turn five a lap later and pressured Hauanio. Next time by Huerta reclaimed third into the turn five hairpin, and quickly forced Hauanio into defending.

On lap 15 he pounced into turn five, but Hauanio was back ahead by turn seven. Huerta dropped to fourth two laps later, and Fourie tried go around Hauanio’s outside at turn five on lap 18. After that the trio spread out.

Campbell spent 12 laps stuck behind Nolan until the latter overtook Luke Powers for fifth. He overtook him too into turn five on lap 16, then was on Nolan’s tail again through to the finish.

In the Ligier Junior Formula Championship for first-generation F4 cars, Drew Szuch topped qualifying by 0.114s over Cash Felber. Points leader Gaston Irazu was 0.257s off in third, and Beckham Jacir qualified fourth.

Irazu lost a place at the start of race one, and Felber went around the outside of Szuch at the penultimate corner which became the inside for the last corner and put him into the lead as lap two began. Irazu reclaimed third exiting turn three, and Ava Hanssen slipsteamed past Jacir too.

At turn five he went deep to get back ahead but spun as contact was made with Hanssen twice. A caution period was triggered, with the field released on lap four. Ronan Bray spun and got beached at turn two, with Irazu passing Szuch down the inside of turn five before another caution period began.

Racing resumed three laps later, and Szuch carried so much speed into turn one he ran off and rejoined with no room as he entered turn two. Irazu was pitched onto his left wheels and down to last, with Szuch continuing in seventh.

Felber led Pablo Benites and brother Roman Felber for the rest of the race, while Szuch gained back one spot and Irazu made it up to sixth behind him. But a five-second penalty for jumping the start demoted Irazu back down to eighth, and a 30s penalty for causing a collision relegated Szuch to 10th.

Hanssen, who was without a front wing, therefore finished seventh and Szuch’s penalty also meant Irazu became champion.

Roman Felber set the fastest lap and lined up on race two pole alongside his brother the next morning, but an issue struck his car at turn 12 on the formation lap and he headed to the pits, not joining the race until lap nine.

Puddles around the track meant wet weather tyres were used and there was lots of spray, and Cash led the field into the opening corner. William Rohan spun at turn five, and ended lap one eighth ahead of Hanssen, who was driving slowly due to car problems.

Jacir went down Felber’s inside at turn one on lap four then pulled away, and led by 13s when a caution period began on lap 14 of 16 due to Roman Felber spinning off at turn five. He got going again unassisted, but the race finished behind the pace car.

Irazu passed Dass for third on lap three, with Benites trying to follow him through but causing a crash. Dass went off and rejoined in eighth, but recovered to fifth after Benites was penalised 35s.

Rohan spun at turn five again and went off at turn seven on lap four, dropping to eighth himself, then charged up to fourth. He was over a minute behind Jacir before racing was neutralised.

Results round-up
Race 1 (21 laps)
1 Alex Popow MLT Motorsports 30m15.000s
2 Kekai Hauanio Crosslink Competition +11.590s
3 Clemente Huerta Kiwi Motorsport +12.116s
4 Zach Fourie Kiwi Motorsport +26.838s
5 Augusto Paschetta Scuderia Buell +31.368s
6 Luke Powers Toney Driver Development +32.604s
7 Demitri Nolan Crosslink Competition +52.693s
8 Oliver Savoie Kiwi Motorsport +53.942s
9 Jonathan Cottrill MLT Motorsports +1m05.701s
10 Caleb Campbell LC Racing Academy +1m19.512s
Pole: Popow, 1m25.420s
Fastest lap: Popow, 1m25.579s

Race 2 (21 laps)
1 Popow 30m31.437s
2 Hauanio +14.559s
3 Fourie +15.281s
4 Huerta +15.909s
5 Nolan +19.302s
6 Campbell +19.643s
7 Powers +26.605s
8 Cottrill +52.951s
9 Savoie +1m02.039s
Ret Paschetta
FL: Popow, 1m26.355s

Championship standings
1 Cooper Shipman 298.5   2 Popow 266   3 Hauanio 262.5   4 Huerta 155.5   5 Campbell 148   6 Nolan 126   7 Powers 67   8 Ty Arbogast 53.5   9 Savoie 38   10 Fourie 27

Ligier JFC
Race 1 (16 laps)
1 Cash Felber Champagne Racing 29m16.000s
2 Pablo Benites Scuderia Buell +1.137s
3 Roman Felber Champagne Racing +1.502s
4 Beckham Jacir Champagne Racing +2.238s
5 Harbir Dass Berg Racing +3.201s
6 William Rohan Crosslink Competition +14.544s
7 Ava Hanssen Ava Hanssen Racing +16.675s
8 Gaston Irazu Champagne Racing +17.772s
9 Taisei Murakami Berg Racing +19.700s
10 Drew Szuch Berg Racing +39.993s
Pole: Szuch, 1m28.600s
Fastest lap: R Felber, 1m28.734s

Race 2 (16 laps)
1 Jacir 29m43.000s
2 C Felber +0.985s
3 Irazu +2.790s
4 Rohan +3.946s
5 Dass +4.678s
6 Szuch +5.134s
7 Ronan Bray Berg Racing +6.910s
8 Benites +38.210s
Ret Hanssen
Ret Murakami
FL: Jacir, 1m38.914s

Championship standings
1 Irazu 215   2 Szuch 182   3 C Felber 169.5   4 Dass 150.5   5 Daniel Cara 126.5   6 Jacir 116   7 R Felber 115   8 Max Mokarem 87   9 Benites 77   10 Hanssen 75

The post Popow does US F4 double as Irazu clinches Ligier JFC crown at Barber appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Titus Sherlock won the Formula Regional Americas title in the final round at Barber Motorsports Park.

The Crosslink Competition driver entered the weekend 13.5 points ahead of Nicolas Ambiado, whose Kiwi Motorsport team-mate Bruno Ribeiro was a further seven points behind.

It looked to be a close fight after practice, with Sherlock setting a 1m19.207s to edge Ribeiro to top spot by 0.074 seconds. Toney Driver Development’s Brady Golan was 0.251s behind in third, and Ambiado was fourth.

Qualifying was similar, as Sherlock pipped Ribeiro by 0.055s, Golan was 0.297s back, and Kiwi’s United States Formula 4 champion Cooper Shipman beat Ambiado to fourth on debut.

But Ambiado was carrying a five-place grid penalty from the previous round, and Sherlock got one for using too many tyres in practice. They therefore started fifth and 10th for race one, with Ribeiro on pole.

An electrical issue for Ambiado and mechanical issue for Jett Bowling meant they did not make the start, while Lincoln Day stalled on the dummy grid, got going then stopped at turn one. Everyone else had to head through the pits, and a rolling start then got racing underway.

Sherlock was straight into fourth and attacked Shipman through to turn five where he got ahead, and at the last corner Barrett Wolfe spun.

Through the next lap Sherlock began pressuring Golan, and both gained a spot as Ribeiro dropped from first to fourth. He had to pit, his title hopes ended by rear-left suspension damage.

The top three ran in formation until lap 11, when Shipman went off at turn one and lost ground. Golan held on to win by 0.552s over new champion Sherlock.

Day entered the race several laps down, had a late turn one spin and was the last finisher in eighth. Bowling joined 10 laps in so was considered a retiree, but by setting the fastest lap claimed race two pole.

He fended off Golan at the start, as Shipman and Sherlock went side-by-side for third again all the way to turn six.

A caution period was triggered on lap two, and on the lap four restart Wolfe crashed out which neutralised racing again.

The next restart was on lap eight, and Golan made a great move around the outside at turn one for the lead. This time Shipman and Sherlock ran wheel-to-wheel until turn eight, and a lap later Sherlock went down Bowling’s inside there.

He filled Golan’s mirrors thereon, and dived down his inside at the race’s final corner to snatch victory.

Shipman had a slight off exiting turn five on lap 10 and conceded fourth to Ribeiro, then later in the race got front wing damage and lost a lap in the pits.

Bowling and Ribeiro were part of the four-car lead train until the final lap when Bowling spun at turn eight and Ribeiro got rear-left suspension damage that meant he stopped on track and was classified a lapped ninth.

Ambiado took third from Bowling, having escaped the race-long midfield battles.

Results round-up
Race 1 (19 laps)
1 Brady Golan Toney Driver Development 29m56.623s
2 Titus Sherlock Crosslink Competition +0.552s
3 Cooper Shipman Kiwi Motorsport +6.494s
4 Connor Roberts Atlantic w/ Team Roberts +20.087s
5 James Lawley Atlantic Racing Team +28.485s
6 Barrett Wolfe Crosslink Competition +1m30.702s
7 Anthony Autiello Momentum Motorsports +1 lap
8 Lincoln Day Toney Driver Development +4 laps
Ret Bruno Ribeiro Kiwi Motorsport
Ret Jett Bowling Kiwi Motorsport
Pole: Ribeiro, 1m19.457s
Fastest lap: Bowling, 1m20.354s

Race 2 (18 laps)
1 Sherlock 30m17.126s
2 Golan +0.064s
3 Nicolas Ambiado Kiwi Motorsport +7.799s
4 Bowling +12.522s
5 Lawley +17.898s
6 Roberts +22.085s
7 Day +22.565s
8 Autiello +45.437s
9 Ribeiro +1 lap
10 Shipman +1 lap
FL: Ribeiro, 1m21.149s

Championship standings
1 Sherlock 291.5   2 Ambiado 250   3 Ribeiro 230   4 Bowling 205   5 Golan 198   6 Roberts 137   7 Lawley 123.5   8 Nicolas Stati 82   9 Wolfe 62.5   10 Christian Brooks 50

The post Sherlock wins FRegional Americas title in high-attrition Barber finale appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: US F4

United States Formula 4 champion Cooper Shipman will make an immediate step up to Formula Regional Americas this weekend.

The Kiwi Motorsport driver wrapped up the US F4 title last time out at Virginia International Raceway, and rather than remain in the support paddock for the finale at Barber Motorsports Park he will join the FRegional Americas grid.

It will be that championship’s final round too, and Shipman will be part of Kiwi’s line-up.

“Thank you to Kiwi Motorsport and the Chip Ganassi Racing driver development programme for believing in me and making the whole year possible,” said Shipman. “Excited to get on track and learn as much as possible in the new car.”

Earlier this month the 2026 FRegional Americas, US F4 and Ligier Junior Formula Championship calendars were released.

They will collectively host their pre-season testing at NOLA Motorsports Park on March 23/24, and kick off their seasons there on April 9-12 with three races each.

Another triple-header for all three follows at Road America (May 14-17), then in the next event at Mid-Ohio (June 11-14) only LFJC will pack three races into the schedule as the other two championships host double-headers.

FRegional Americas heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on its own a week later, with three races on its road course.

The three championships reunite for triple-headers at New Jersey Motorsports Park (July 31-August 2), before LJFC is left behind for the sole event in Canada. That takes place at Mosport on September 3-6, and is a triple-header for the two FIA-certified championships.

FRegional Americas raced exclusively in the USA from its creation in 2018 through to last year when Mosport first featured on the calendar. It appeared in the 2025 season too.

Double-header rounds at Virginia (September 17-20) and Barber (October 16-18) conclude 2026 for FRegional Americas, US F4 and LJFC.

The post US F4 champion Cooper Shipman steps up to FRegional Americas appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Paul Hurley

Evagoras Papasavvas has called the runner-up finish on his Indy Nxt debut “unbelievable” after making a double step up the single-seater ladder last weekend.

The 17-year-old has spent the last three years in USF2000, IndyCar’s fourth-tier support series which has cars that are more reliant on mechanical grip than downforce, and won three races in that time as well as coming fourth in the standings twice.

He decided to skip USF Pro 2000, the next rung up, for 2025 and instead do three Indy Nxt races. Last week’s round at Barber Motorsports Park was then added to his schedule, denying the opportunity for more test outings before his race debut.

The HMD Motorsports driver was 15th in practice, but qualified third and finished second after holding off Andretti Global’s Lochie Hughes.

“Second place, even if it’s not my debut, is still great. And to do it on my debut is really amazing. It’s unbelievable, really,” Papasavvas said afterwards.

“I never expected anything like this on my debut. Coming from USF2000 is where I primarily race, and then jumping in an Indy Nxt car. I only had one day of testing before this, so it was really amazing to get this done and I just can’t thank the team enough for supporting me, helping me through this. I have no words, it’s just amazing.”

He added: “[They were] the longest laps of my life with Lochie behind me, pressuring me. There came a point those last few laps where I was just holding on. It’s really a big step up into an Indy Nxt car in the first race, especially at a track like this, it’s really crazy. I was trying my best just to stay cool, I made a few mistakes here and there but I was able to make up for it in the next few corners and hold on.”

Papasavvas had targeted a top-five finish after qualifying, and his Barber race has left him targeting similar results in his remaining races at the Gateway oval, Road America and favoured track Mid-Ohio where he first tested the Indy Nxt car.

He credited his adaptation to it on “just being able to trust the car will stick, being able to trust the downforce”, and said after a “strong” test at similar high-speed road course Mid-Ohio “the team wanted me to do this race”.

“I feel pretty comfortable in the car, and I do really love driving this car. I like the higher downforce than what I’m used to. So far I feel pretty confident and I’m loving every second of it,” the American-Cypriot grinned.

Papasavvas’s original plan for 2025 was to contest USFP2000, but “then thinking about it and considering everything when it comes to sponsors, to money and team deals, we found it was better to move up into Indy Nxt” part-time with an eye on a full 2026 campaign.

For now he sits ninth in the points table, and there are three races before his next outing in June.

The post Papasavvas calls debut podium “unbelievable” after leap up to Indy Nxt appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Chris Owens

Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger made it two wins from two races in Indy Nxt this year with a dominant display at Barber Motorsports Park.

Hauger finished more than 11 seconds clear of HMD Motorsports’ Evagoras Papasavvas, who was runner-up on his debut.

USF2000 graduate Papasavvas spent the race in an intense battle with Lochie Hughes (Andretti) and Myles Rowe (Abel Motorsports with Force Indy), but managed to hold off the pair.

Hauger made a good getaway from pole, holding off HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet who was alongside him for the rolling start. Before he could shake off Collet, the pace car was brought out for an incident involving Abel Motorsports’ Callum Hedge. He had been hit from behind as the field scrambled for position on the opening lap and was sent into the sand.

After Hedge’s car was cleared, racing resumed on lap five. The top two held position as Papasavvas fought to stay ahead of Hughes. 

There had been no change at the front of the order when the pace car returned, this time following a collision between Chip Ganassi Racing’s new driver Bryce Aron and Andretti’s Salvador de Alba left debris on track.

While the field circulated under yellow flags, Collet suddenly slowed with an apparent throttle problem. He was able to get going again, but was now running in 14th. Through the remainder of the race, Collet continued to have intermittent problems and came into the pits to avoid bringing out a caution period.

The battle between Papasavvas and Hughes was now for second place. Neither driver stayed with Hauger on the restart, and their battle allowed him to escape down the road. Every lap the leader was able to extend his gap up front, and at the end of the 35-lap encounter was 11.0196 seconds clear.

Papasavvas defied his inexperience – having made two steps up the single-seater ladder – to defend well from Hughes and that allowed Rowe to join their fight. The trio squabbled for a few laps, slowing each other down until HMD’s Josh Pierson joined the fight.

In the closing laps, it was Rowe putting the pressure on Hughes, giving Papasavvas breathing room. He was still only 0.8167s clear of Hughes at the chequered flag. By making the podium, Hughes remains Hauger’s closest title rival.

Behind Pierson, team-mate Liam Sceats held off charging debutant Max Taylor to finish sixth. 

Abel with Miller Vinatieri Motorsports’ Jack William Miller climbed from the back of the grid, having been barred from qualifying as a penalty for an incident in round one, to come home eighth. He spent the closing stages of the race battling to stay ahead of James Roe Jr and Ricardo Escotto. The latter passed Roe before the finish.

Race results (35 laps)

The post Hauger dominates at Barber to make it two wins from two in Indy Nxt appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Joe Skibinski

Dennis Hauger took his second Indy Nxt pole position on a drying Barber Motorsports Park circuit.

Rain before the start of the session meant the first qualifying group were setting their times on a drying track. By the time the second group hit the track, conditions had improved for lap times to be 12 seconds quicker.

Haugher, out in the second group, managed a time of 1m12.7705s, 0.5964s quicker than Evagoras Papasavvas who finished second in the group.

Max Taylor topped the group early on and was still running second when a spin put him in the gravel late in the session. He brought out the red flag and lost his two quickest lap times. That dropped him to ninth in the group, ahead of only Jack Miller who was barred from taking part in qualifying as a penalty for an incident at St. Petersburg.

It was Caio Collet who topped the order in the first qualifying group.

Lochie Hughes set the pace early on, ahead of Collet and Jordan Missig, but slipped backwards as Collet found improvements. The HMD Motorsports driver ended qualifying with a time of 1m24.8394s, 0.6043s ahead of Hughes.

Collet will start from second on the grid, just behind Hauger and ahead of Papasavvas and Hughes. 

The first qualifying session also ended in an incident, but one that didn’t bring out the red flags. Nolan Allaer came to a stop at the edge of the pit lane after a spin and could not get going again. The incident came at the end of qualifying and did not impact any runs.

Myles Rowe and Bryce Aron finished third in their groups and will line up fifth and sixth on the grid respectively, ahead of Josh Pierson and James Roe. Liam Sceats and Seb Murray complete the top 10 on the grid.

Qualifying results

The post Dennis Hauger scores second Indy Nxt pole at Barber appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Leonardo Escorpioni and Ty Fisher both won races as the USF Juniors points lead changed hands twice at Barber Motorsports Park.

Zanella Racing’s Escorpioni won both of Friday’s contests to initially move to the top of the standings, but team-mate Fisher responded with his second victory of 2025 in a wet race three on Saturday to leave as leader.

Escorpioni had to manage two safety car restarts on the way to his opening triumph. The first full course yellow came on lap one after Zanella’s Diego Guiot triggered a four-car collision with a late move down the inside at turn one. Guilot and Velocity Racing Development’s Matan Achituv both retired as a result.

Pole Position Motorsports’ Connor Aspley caused the second intervention by going off the road at turn eight at the halfway mark. Escorpioni had built a 2.2-second lead prior to that, but he edged clear again once the track returned to green to finish 2.8s clear of DEForce Racing’s Vilho Aatola.

A close battle raged for third for most of the contest, with DEForce’s Rodrigro Gonzalez holding off VRD’s Joao Vergara and Fisher for his podium. Fisher made a final-corner bid for fourth but could not find a way by.

Gonzalez’s brother Patricio climbed three places to seventh, while VRD’s pre-event points leader Oliver Wheldon recovered to 11th after making an early pitstop to change his front wing.

Race two also featured an early caution period after Exclusive Autorsport’s Kaylee Countryman spun at turn 17 and was collected by Jay Howard Driver Development’s Harry Moss. Escorpioni maintained the lead at the restart, and he withstood pressure from Fisher to take his second win by a small margin.

Wheldon finished third after passing Aatola shortly after the safety car restart, and the latter was shuffled back a further place late on by Vergara who recovered from a slow start again to take fourth. The Gonzalez brothers had a frenetic squabble early on, with Rodrigo eventally taking sixth and Patricio retiring following a late spin.

Rain arrived for Saturday’s final contest, and it didn’t take long for yellow flags to appears as Aspley suffered race-ending front-right suspension damage on lap one. A bizzare incident delayed green flag action resuming, as International Motorsport’s Emma Scarbrough rear-ended Countryman when the field bunched up behind the pace car.

Escorpioni maintained the lead at the restart on lap seven before racing was neutralised again, but he was challenged by Fisher when racing resumed the next time with nine laps to go. Fisher prevailed to move ahead at turn five, and JHDD’s Liam Loiacono also tried to snatch second from Escorpioni but understeered off the road and lost several places.

Fisher remained ahead until the finish to seal victory by 0.6s, while Escorpioni slipped to third behind Wheldon by running wide onto the grass. Aatola came home a distant fourth ahead of Vergara and Rodrigo Gonzalez.

Results round-up
Race 1 (20 laps)
1 Leonardo Escorpioni Zanella Racing 32m45.484s
2 Vilho Aatola DEForce Racing +2.786s
3 Rodrigro Gonzalez DEForce Racing +4.313s
4 Joao Vergara Velocity Racing Development +4.684s
5 Ty Fisher Zanella Racing +5.003s
6 Liam Loiacono JHDD +7.588s
7 Patricio Gonzalez DEForce Racing +8.691s
8 Michael Suco InterMS +9.660s
9 Hudson Potter InterMS +10.730s
10 JT Hoskins JHDD +13.831s
Fastest lap: Escorpioni, 1m25.764s

Race 2 (20 laps)
1 Escorpioni 32m36.759s
2 Fisher +0.998s
3 Oliver Wheldon Velocity Racing Development +3.100s
4 Vergara +9.793s
5 Aatola +10.093s
6 R Gonzalez +13.571s
7 Loiacono +13.990s
8 Suco +14.446s
9 Hoskins +15.737s
10 Karel Staut JHDD +17.175s
FL: Escorpioni 1m26.121s

Race 3 (20 laps)
1 Fisher 38m21.710s
2 Wheldon +0.643s
3 Escorpioni +4.626s
4 Aatola +11.832s
5 Vergara +14.346s
6 R Gonzalez +15.936s
7 Guiot +18.041s
8 Loiacono +18.626s
9 P Gonzalez +19.182s
10 Staut +21.437s
FL: Fisher 1m36.904s

Championship standings
1 Fisher 145   2 Escorpioni 144   3 Wheldon 131   4 Vergara 125   5 Aatola 101   6 Loiacono 98   7 R Gonzalez 98   8 Guiot 67   9 Suco 61   10 Staut 61

The post Escorpioni and Fisher share victory spoils at Barber in USF Juniors appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Paul Hurley

Andretti Global’s Dennis Hauger pipped HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet in Indy Nxt practice two at Barber Motorsports Park.

Hauger topped FP1 on Friday with a 0.3073-second margin to Collet, and on Saturday morning his gap was slashed.

It was Collet who led the way at first in the 45-minute session. Hauger was in the pits as his rival racked up four laps and posted a 1m26.8361s benchmark.

Next to top the times was Andretti’s Salvador de Alba, knocking 0.6266s off Collet’s best, but once Hauger was up to speed a 1m25.0461s put him 1.1634s clear of the rest of the field a quarter of the way into FP2.

Collet embarked on his second run and soon lowered the pace to 1m23.5125s. Going into the session’s second half, team-mate Max Taylor was his closest rival 0.3573s behind and Andretti’s James Roe Jr was the only other driver within a second. Hauger was fourth, in the pits, and 1.5336s off Collet.

When Roe embarked on his next run, he went quickest by 0.0945s and team-mate Lochie Hughes also beat Taylor. Hauger was in sixth behind new Chip Ganassi Racing signing Bryce Aron and Andretti Cape’s Ricardo Escotto with 15 minutes to go.

Ganassi’s Niels Koolen got within 0.0305s of Roe and Andretti Cape’s Seb Murray lapped within 0.0916s of his pace, as the track got busier.

A few minutes on, Collet laid down a 1m19.1862s marker that put him 1.1827s ahead of Papasavvas and 1.2622s up on Koolen. He improved again two laps later, to 1m16.6512s, and Josh Pierson rose to second but was half a second slower than Collet. Eight drivers lapped sub-1m20s, with Hauger’s new personal best placing him ninth.

Abel Motorsports with Force Indy driver Myles Rowe got within a second of Collet with eight-and-a-half minutes remaining, shortly before Koolen lowered the pace to 1m16.2372s.

Collet returned to the top on his 14th lap, setting a 1m14.7209s, and a 1m16.1254s lifted Hauger from 10th to second. A minute later he was in fifth, as Collet improved to 1m14.2755s and Hughes set a 1m14.7531s in second.

There was clearly more pace to be found, and Hauger left it until five minutes to go to set his 10th lap and go fastest with a 1m14.0048s. Collet immediately responded by 0.0862s, but Hauger did the same in turn and 1m13.5178s became the new benchmark. It took two more laps for Collet to edge back ahead, by 0.0582s, and Rowe trailed by 0.316s in third.

With a minute to go Hauger improved again, bettering Collet by 0.0215s as Rowe came 0.0132s shy of him. The top eight all improved.

A 1m13.0094s returned Collet to first place a minute before the end, Hughes got within 0.0628s of that time and Hauger was fifth again behind de Alba and Abel’s Callum Hedge.

Collet improved to 1m12.8753s as the chequered flag waved, Rowe went third fastest, then de Alba lapped 0.1806s shy of Collet. Hauger was seventh, until his 15th and final lap made him quickest by 0.101s.

Free practice 2 results

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Photo: HMD Motorsports

Indy Nxt teams Abel Motorsports and HMD Motorsports conducted a private multi-car test at Barber Motorsports Park this Monday, and Formula 3 racer Sophia Floersch drove for HMD.

Floersch has been racing in Formula 3 since 2018, and her best result in that time has been a seventh place achieved in the FIA F3 Championship’s feature race at Spa-Francorchamps last year. She came 29th in the standings this season.

She has experience of more powerful machinery from time spent in sportscar racing, having come 18th in the DTM and 13th in the World Endurance Championship’s LMP2 class three years ago. Floersch also has two European Le Mans Series podiums, and will be driving in Formula E pre-season testing next week.

HMD was running nine cars in total, with the six drivers it has already signed for 2025 accompanied by Floersch, 2024 Formula Regional Oceania runner-up and USF Pro 2000 race-winner Liam Sceats and the Indy Nxt-experienced Josh Mason.

Bryce Aron, one of the signed drivers, ran with the sponsorship of a Jaguar Land Rover dealership on his car.

Abel had Myles Rowe and Yuven Sundaramoorthy on track, who are both already signed to the team for next season, along with Callum Hedge and Jordan Missing. This year both raced in Indy Nxt, with Hedge taking one podium and coming fourth in the standings with HMD while Missig did five races with Abel and had a best finish of ninth.

The test day was split into two three-hour sessions, and there was no public timing since it was not a test organised by the championship.

“Indianapolis [where the offical post-season test occurred] really helped get me back in the open-wheel mindset and not only that, but also getting a ton of laps in the car just really helped that learning curve and getting more and more comfortable with the Dallara IL-15,” said Missig.

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