LEEDS, Ala. — As the saying goes, ‘it’s not over until it’s over,’ and that was certainly the case during Race 1 for Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon.
As the checkered flag waved, it seemed nearly certain that the championship battle would carry forward until Sunday’s final round. However, all that changed with two post-race Stewards Decisions and the associated penalties.
Drew Szuch (No. 28 Trend North / TEAM Concept Printing / Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) entered the weekend with a chance at the championship title and a scholarship to advance to F4 U.S. in 2026.
Starting the race from the pole position, Szuch, it appeared was headed in the right direction. While he initially pulled to the point with second-place starter Cash Felber (No. 11 BioLongevity Labs / TownHall / Rebol / DWT / Matrix Mind Water / Phantom Fireworks / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) falling in behind, it took only one lap before Felber closed in to challenge and overtook the race lead.
Then, Szuch found himself in a wheel-to-wheel battle with championship rival Gastón Irazú (No. 42 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) who had started the race in third.
Just as Irazú nosed ahead, the caution came out freezing the field in place. Aggressive racing on the restart brought out another quick caution, and the ensuing restart once again had Irazú and Szuch running side by side. The championship contenders made contact exiting Turn 1 with Irazú’s right side lifting off the ground, and significantly slowed the pace of both drivers.
Starting the race in sixth, Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) had quietly watched all of the tight racing ahead of him. Able to benefit from the attrition, he slid into second as Irazú and Szuch removed themselves from contention.
Behind him, Roman Felber (No. 73 BioLongevity Labs / TownHall / Rebol / DWT / Matrix Mind Water / Phantom Fireworks / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) was also climbing from his seventh-place starting position, as he picked off the competition one by one. Despite their earlier incident, Szuch and Irazú both continued in the race.
Cash Felber was the first to cross the finish line under a waving checkered flag, while Benites Jr. finished second behind him, and Roman Felber crossed the line in third. On the provisional race results, Szuch was scored sixth and Irazú was in seventh, which would have had the championship battle continue on to Sunday.
After the race, the stewards reviewed a report of a false start by Irazú and determined that the driver did, in fact, make a false start. As a result, they issued Irazú a five-second time penalty, which dropped him to eighth on the final results. Meanwhile, they also reviewed the contact between Szuch and Irazú at the exit of Turn 1, ruling that Szuch was wholly responsible for the collision. As a result, Szuch was issued a drive-through penalty, which was converted to a 30-second time penalty and dropped him to 10th on the final results.
With Irazú needing to leave today’s race with a 25-point advantage, the official results put him 26 points ahead of Szuch allowing the Uruguayan to clinch the 2025 Ligier JFC Driver Championship.
