SCCA Pro Racing

Designed to be a globally recognized yet an affordable step between karting and the F3 Americas Championship, the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda allows drivers to compare themselves to the best young talent,not only in the United States, but across other F4 championships around the world. The recipe is undoubtedly a successful one, as F4 U.S. continues to boast impressive grid sizes, attracting new teams and drivers annually.

While in past seasons F4 U.S. has had its share of drivers who’ve moved directly from karts into the Ligier JS F4 cars like Kyle Kirkwood, Braden Eves, Jack William Miller and Kent Vaccaro, the idea of F4 U.S. serving as a building block for open-wheel racing to drivers transitioning from karts to cars, has not been more apparent than during the last official preseason test at NOLA Motorsports Park March 31-April 1.

Of the 17 drivers who participated in the test, 15 had past karting experience and seven originated straight from karting championships, winning multiple world and national titles.

“Karting gave me the fundamentals I needed for F4 U.S.,” said DEForce Racing prospect and former karter Chara Mansur of Cordoba, Mexico.  “That foundation has translated nicely to the F4 car.”

While karting laid the foundation for most of the F4 U.S. participants, there were still skills that needed developed before the first race of the season at VIRginia International Raceway. 

“The biggest challenge coming from karting that I’ve had to overcome is headset communications,” said Miller Vinatieri Motorsports freshman and multi-time karting champion Dylan Tavella of Massapequa, New York. “In karting, I was used to hand signals. Now I must communicate clearly to my team through the headset while still focusing on driving. We’ve worked extensively on this as a team so I can be ready for our first race at VIR.”

While the roster for the F4 U.S. season is still developing for 2018, 29 cars have already preregistered before the season debut at VIR with Pirelli World Challenge April 27-29.  For more information about F4 U.S., fans can visit F4USChampionship.com.

NOLA Motorsports Park Entry list

*Preseason lap times are not published to public

**Drivers who were registered for series test but did not participate

Photos by Red Case Photography