ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas), Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) and Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) take on the iconic Road America for Round 2 of their seasons.
The three championships will join Sportscar Vintage Racing Association for an action-packed weekend at the historic track.
NOLA Winners
After the opening round of the 2026 season, it appears that it’ll likely be a spirited fight for the championship title and the cash prize that accompanies it. Three different winners climbed atop the podium in NOLA’s three rounds, representing three different teams.
Last year’s F4 U.S. Champion Cooper Shipman (No. 10 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) left the weekend as the points leader after finishing third, second and first, respectively. He currently holds a 13-point advantage over former part-time INDY NXT driver Evagoras Papasavvas (No. 71 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3), who is classified as a rookie in FR Americas competition. Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) left NOLA with two podiums to rank third in the standings, while Race 1 winner Brady Golan (No. 40 Toney Driver Development Ligier JS F3) ranks sixth after the opening weekend.
At the conclusion of the 2026 season, the championship-winning driver will be awarded $100,000, while the Vice Champion will earn $20,000 cash, and the Third-Place Champion will receive $10,000.
-Wisconsinite Aidan Schuh (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) heads to Road America with a home-track advantage. A native of Janesville, Wis., Schuh grew up just two hours from the circuit. With friends and family in tow, he’ll have a large cheering section this weekend.
• Searching for his first FR Americas win, Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) is excited to get back to Road America, one of his strongest tracks. Over the last two seasons, Hauanio has celebrated three victories on the challenging Elkhart Lake circuit—winning once in Ligier JFC in 2024, and returning last year to take the checkered flag twice in F4 U.S. competition.
• Evagoras Papasavvas (No. 71 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) will miss walking across the stage to collect his high school diploma as a member of Loveland High School’s Class of 2026, and will instead be looking to collect a couple checkered flags in Sunday’s doubleheader at Road America.
• Harbir Dass (No. 9 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) heads to Road America fresh off his college graduation from Georgia Institute of Technology last weekend. With a BSMS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Dass will return to the institution this fall to pursue a Masters degree.
• Barrett Wolfe (No. 13 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) and Aidan Schuh (No. 14 Homes For Our Troops / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) recently teamed up with FR Americas alum and Crosslink Motorsports driver coach Landan Matriano Lim for the World Racing League event at Road America last month. Driving a Ligier JS2R the trio competed in an eight-hour and a seven-hour endurance race, splitting seat time among themselves.
• Since the season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park, Alejandro Bobadilla (No. 8 Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F3) tallied two more wins in F4 NACAM Championship, racing at Autódromo Hnos. Rodríguez. The Mexico City native currently leads the standings in the championship, while also chasing the FR Americas title in the United States.
Championship Battle
After sweeping the opening weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park, Caleb Campbell (No. 68 Steele Auto Group / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) is out to an early lead in the championship standings and the fight for a scholarship to advance to FR Americas in 2027. However, Campbell’s Kiwi Motorsport teammate, rookie Zach Fourie (No. 15 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) isn’t going down without a fight. The South African driver swept second-place in all three of the weekend’s races to sit just 21 points behind Campbell in the championship standings.
• After earning a seat at the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. Karts to Cars Scholarship School in January, Ben Ramirez (No. 32 U.S. Air Force / RASE Motorsports Ligier JS F422) will make his F4 U.S. debut at Road America.
The Californian took a love of cars and foundation in e-sports to start a career in motorsports, both working for Racing America and as a mechanic for a vintage racing prep shop. After building his own gokart to get practical racing experience, Ramirez won a sim racing competition to earn a spot at the Radford school, and after several additional testing days, he’s now ready to make his first race start.
• Already on a hot streak, Caleb Campbell (No. 68 Steele Auto Group / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) returns to the site of his first win, as F4 U.S. pulls into Road America. After earning his first podium in Race 1 at the road course last season, Campbell quickly converted his newfound confidence into a win, taking the checkered flag in Race 2.
• Clemente Huerta Raab (No. 17 Velox USA / Speed Factory Ligier JS F422) brings confidence to Road America this weekend after earning his career-best finish at the circuit last year. The Chilean finished on the podium six times last season, including once as the second-place finisher—in Race 1 at Road America.
• RASE Motorsports will make their 2026 F4 U.S. debut at the same circuit where they earned their first podium last season. The Indiana-based organization enters the weekend with rookie driver Ben Ramirez (No. 32 U.S. Air Force / RASE Motorsports Ligier JS F422) behind the wheel.
• After completing his Engineering degree over the winter, Gastón Irazú (No. 27 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F422) is able to give 100% focus to racing this season. Moving up to F4 U.S. with assistance from the Ligier JFC Champion’s Scholarship, Irazú is also competing in Superturismo in his home country of Uruguay, where he just won last weekend at Polideportivo Ciudad de Mercedes.
• Summer is just around the corner and Ayden Kohut (No. 18 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) is just days away from securing his diploma as a member of the Class of 2026 at Prestonwood Christian Academy. After racing at Road America this weekend, Kohut will return home to Plano, Texas to walk across the graduation stage on Friday, May 22.
• Luca Day (No. 54 Zimperium / Momentum Motorsports Ligier JS F422) will present a TED Talk titled “Why Discipline Beats Motivation at 200 km/h” during the upcoming TEDxStLaurentBlvd on Thursday, May 21. Held at Club Soda in downtown Montreal during the Montreal Grand Prix F1 weekend, Day will be one of the youngest speakers to ever present at the event.
Ligier Action
With dual championships running side-by-side in Ligier JFC in 2026, competitors already have their sights set on the champion’s scholarships to assist them in a move to F4 U.S. in 2027. Edward Kennedy (No. 30 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) left the NOLA season opener having made the most progress with a weekend sweep of the event’s three races in the Ligier JFC Gen. 2 Class. The Canadian driver currently holds a 21-point advantage over Jack Speth (No. 07 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) who finished second in class in all three events.
In the Ligier JFC Gen. 1 Class, Beckham Jacir (No. 7 Stonica / Bell / OMP / P1DOKS / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) showed consistent speed at NOLA, leading the pack to the checkered flag in Races 1 and 2 to claim his first two victories of the season. However, by Race 3, it was Argentinian driver Lazaro Bainotti (No. 11 Fundacion Fangio Rus seguros Cordoba deportes / Speed Factory Ligier JS F4) who crossed the line to claim his first victory.
• Ava Hanssen’s (No. 26 One Powersports / Chiropractic Center of Elkhorn / NGK / Badger Mats Ligier JS F4) goals for 2026 are simple: consistently fight at the front, secure podium finishes and compete for the championship.
As Ligier JFC enters its second event at Hanssen’s home track, Road America, the sophomore driver’s season is unfolding exactly as she had hoped—on the podium. The Elkhorn, Wis., native earned her first podium with a third-place result at NOLA and is currently ranked fourth in class in the standings.
• Last year at Road America, Beckham Jacir (No. 7 Stonica / Bell / OMP / P1DOKS / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) claimed his first-career podium during the final race of the weekend. Today, he returns to the 4.048-mile facility with the confidence of a three-time winner, and an insatiable hunger for the champion’s scholarship, which he needs in order to advance to F4 U.S. next season.
• Following this weekend’s three races at Road America, Ella White (No. 52 Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) will return to her home in Colorado just in time to graduate from Aspen High School. This fall, the Ligier JFC rookie plans to attend UC Santa Cruz to study Biology.
