Next weekend it's finally time for the USF Juniors drivers and teams to start their 2024 season at NOLA Motorsports Park. In this preview article you will get an overview of all the teams and their drivers, there are more cars on the grid than ever before, this year's race calendar, the spring training test drives, the Yacademy Winter Series and much more.
The first race weekend will see 26 drivers from nine different teams will be competing. Three more drivers are set to join the series during the year already. International Motorsport, Skip Barber Racing, Team Tonis and Zanella Racing are taking part in the championship for the first time. DEForce is also entering a new team this year with its Driver Development Team. This means that the starting field for the racing series is larger than ever before. Most of the drivers are contesting their rookie year in the championship this season. However, with drivers such as Jack Jeffers, Brady Golan, Giovanni Cabrera or Max Taylor there are also a few drivers at the start who we already know from last season.
DEForce Racing
Vinícius Tessaro, Bruno Ribeiro, Leandro Juncos, Brady Golan
The reigning team champions will start the new season with four cars in the main team. Vinícius Tessaro comes to the United States as the reigning champion of the Brazilian F4. The 17-year-old won six races last year and finished on the podium a total of nine times. His compatriot Bruno Ribeiro will contest his first USF Juniors races next weekend. The 15-year-old from Rio de Janeiro mainly competed in Formula Evolution last year, where he finished third in the championship despite only taking part in four of eight events. He only started karting in 2022 and finished seventh in both the Brazilian BRK Championship and the Regional Sao Paulo Cup. The 18-year-old Leandro Juncos will also be competing in the USF Juniors Championship for the first time in 2024. The son of Juncos Hollinger Racing co-owner Ricardo Juncos started karting at the age of four and immediately won his very first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However, Leandro concentrated on soccer for a long time and is now making the switch to full-time racing at the age of 18. Brady Golan is one of the few drivers with more experience in the championship. 2024 will be his second USF Juniors season. In 2023, the 16-year-old from Houston, Texas, finished the championship in tenth place. His best result was a fourth place at Virginia International Raceway.
DEForce Racing Driver Development
Patricio Gonzalez, Rodrigo Gonzalez
With the DEForce Racing Driver Development Team, DEForce is adding a second team to the grid. The two brothers Patricio and Rodrigo Gonzalez from Mexico will compete for the newly created team. The sons of former FIA WEC racing driver Ricardo Gonzalez have mainly contested various karts events in SKUSA other series in recent years. The 18-year-old Rodrigo finished the Yacademy Winter Series in ninth place in February. His brother Patricio, who is more than two years younger, finished seventh.
Exclusive Autosport
João Vergara, Evan Cooley, Jack Jeffers, Giovanni Cabrera, Anthony Martella
Exclusive Autosport is sending five cars to the starting line this year. João Vergara is contesting his first races in the USF Juniors Championship at NOLA Motorsports Park. The 16-year-old Brazilian started racing in 2022 and won the Lucas Oil Formula Car Series Scholarship Shootout in 2023. He went on to win five races in the Lucas Oil Formula Car Series and finished on the podium a further nine times. He finished the Yacademy Winter Series at the beginning of the year in fifth place overall with a podium finish. This will also be Evan Cooley's first USF Juniors season. In 2023, the 17-year-old contested several races in the Autobahn Radical Cup Series, finished second in the Autobahn Ignite Senior karting class and completed the Lucas Oil School of Racing basic program. At the beginning of the year he also competed in the Yacademy Winter Series, which he finished in a strong third place with four podium finishes from six races. Jack Jeffers is probably the big favorite for the championship title. The 17-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, finished his USF Juniors rookie season last year in third place in the championship. He took three race wins, six further podiums, four pole positions and two fastest race laps. At the beginning of the year, he also won the Yacademy Winter Series with four wins from six races. In addition to his USF Juniors program, Jeffers will also contest several races in the USF 2000 Championship this season. This will also be Giovanni Cabrera's second season in the series. The 16-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, finished his rookie season in 13th place in the championship. His best result was an eighth place at the Virginia International Raceway. The team is completed by Canadian Anthony Martella. The 15-year-old is contesting his rookie season in the USF Juniors Championship in 2024. Until the end of 2023, he competed in karting, where he became Canadian National Champion in the Briggs Junior Lights class and took part in SuperKartsUSA events all over the United States.
International Motorsport
Augusto Soto-Schirripa, Ariel Elkin
Also new to the grid this year is the International Motorsport team. With a background mainly in karting, the team has already taken part in various Formula 4 events in recent years. Both drivers already worked with the team in the F4 US Championship last year. Augusto Sota-Schirripa returned to racing in 2023 after a four-year sabbatical from racing. The 24-year-old from Miami took part in 12 of 18 races in the F4 US Championship and still finished a strong third in the overall standings. He won four of the last eight races and finished on the podium a further three times. His team-mate for this season is Israeli Ariel Elkin. The 16-year-old mainly contested races in Europe last year and finished the F4 Italian Championship with Jenzer Motorsport in 17th place. His best result was a strong seventh place in Vallelunga. On his debut in the F4 US Championship at the Circuit of the Americas for the season finale, he finished second on the podium in race two.
Jay Howard Driver Development
G3 Argyros, Hudson Potter, Ava Dobson, Aiden Potter, Ayden Ingratta, Timothy Carel, Liam McNeilly
The Jay Howard Driver Development team will be competing with seven cars this year. With the exception of Hudson Potter, all the drivers in the team are rookies in the racing series. George Argyros III, or simply G3 Argyros, is one of these rookies. The 14-year-old from Newport Beach, California, was still competing in kart racing in 2023 and also tested in Formula 4 and USF 2000 cars in addition to USF Juniors. He also finished third in the Challenge of the Americas KA100 Senior Karting event in Tucson. At the beginning of the year he took part in the Yacademy Winter Series which he finished in sixth place with a podium finish. This will be Hudson Potter's first full season in USF Juniors. He already took part in the final two weekends at the end of the 2023 season. The 17-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky also competed in four Formula Inter weekends, where he finished on the podium three times. Ava Dobson contested her first races in the USF Juniors series at Road America. The 14-year-old from Wisconsin took part in 12 of 18 races in the F4 US Championship last year, where her best result was an eleventh place at Virginia International Raceway. Aidan Potter also made his USF Juniors debut at the Circuit of the Americas last year. The 16-year-old mainly contested a partial program in the F4 US Championship with JHDD. His best result was an 18th place at NOLA Motorsports Park.
It will also be Ayden Ingratta's first full season in the championship after making his debut at Road America in 2023. The 15-year-old from Ontario, Canada, immediately impressed with his fast pace, taking pole position and starting all three races in the top three. Timothy Carel is contesting his first USF Juniors race this weekend. The 18-year-old Frenchman lives in California and spent 2023 mainly racing karts and in NASA's Super Unlimited class, where he scored several wins and podium finishes in a Ferrari 488 Challenge car. The team is completed this year by Liam McNeilly. The 17-year-old Briton competed in races in his home country last year, where he mainly took part in GB4 and finished the championship in third place. He took two race wins and a total of ten podium finishes. In 2021, he also finished the Ginetta Junior Championship as runner-up with five wins and seven further podium finishes.
Skip Barber Racing
Jeshua Alianell
The Skip Barber Racing School team will be entering a car in the USF Juniors Championship for the first time in 2024. Jeshua Alianell, a driver who has spent more than the last three years at the Skip Barber Racing School and has regularly been one of the front runners, is moving up to the USF Pro Championships ladder. The American finished the Skip Barber Formula Race Series last year as runner-up with two victories and a total of 13 podium finishes.
Team Tonis
Ethan Tovo, Jackson Tovo
Team Tonis is taking part in the USF Juniors Championship for the first time this season. Tonis Kasemets, the owner of Team Tonis, has extensive racing experience in Europe and the USA and has competed in the Toyota Atlantic Series, Champ Car and the 24 Hours of Daytona, among others. Twins Ethan and Jackson Tovo are both making their debut in the USF Juniors Championship for the team. The Tovo Twins come from a karting and F1600 background and are now looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead in 2024.
Velocity Racing Development
Michael Suco, Sebastian Wheldon, Max Taylor, Christian Cameron
The VRD Racing team will line up with four drivers this year. Michael Suco was still racing karts last year and began his first USF 2000 test drives with VRD. The 18-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama, made his USF Juniors debut at the beginning of the year in the Yacademy Winter Series. One of his teammates this season will be Sebastian Wheldon. The older son of Indycar champion and Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, who tragically lost his life in an racing accident back in 2011, is making his debut on the "Road To Indy" this year. The 15-year-old from St. Petersburg, Florida, won the Skip Barber Formula Race Series last year with five race wins and seven other podium finishes. The Andretti Junior also finished runner-up in the Yacademy Winter Series at the beginning of the year with a victory. In addition to his appearances in the USF Juniors, Max Taylor is also competing in the USF 2000 Championship this year. The 16-year-old finished sixth in last year's championship with a race win. Depending on how many USF Juniors events he competes in, Taylor could well be a contender for the title as well. Christian Cameron completes the team this year. The recently turned 14-year-old from Sonoma, California, is the youngest driver in the starting field. Last year, he competed in the Lucas Oil Formula Car Championship and finished in a strong fourth place in the final standings with three podium finishes.
Zanella Racing
Diego Guiot, Leonardo Escorpioni
Zanella Racing is another new team we will see this year in the USF Juniors Championship. Diego Guiot started karting in 2020 and finished runner-up in the United States Pro Kart Series, SuperKartsUSA State Championship and the Texas Sprint Racing Series in 2023. At the beginning of the year, a seventh place in the Yacademy Winter Series was the 16-year-old Texan's best result. His team-mate for this season is Leonardo Escorpioni. The 14-year-old Brazilian was still karting in 2023, mainly in events of the SuperKartsUSA (SKUSA), United States Pro Kart Series (USPKS) and the Florida Winter Tour, where he scored several wins and podium finishes. He finally finished the Yacademy Winter Series earlier this year in fourth place overall with a race win at Sebring.
Once again this year, 16 races will take place across six race tracks. Compared to last year, the season opener will no longer take place at Sebring, but at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana. The season finale will now take place at Portland International Raceway and no longer at the Circuit of the Americas.
Round 1/2/3: NOLA Motorsports Park (5-7 April)
Round 4/5: Barber Motorsports Park (25-28 April)
Round 6/7/8: Virginia International Raceway (14-16 June)
Round 9/10: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (4-7 July)
Round 11/12/13: Road America (9-11 August)
Round 14/15/16: Portland International Raceway (22-25 August)
Each race will be a road race and the following points are awarded for the driver championship.
P1 = 30, P2 = 25, P3 = 22, P4 = 19, P5 = 17, P6 = 15, P7 = 14, P8 = 13, P9 = 12, P10 = 11, P11 = 10, P12 = 9, P13 = 8, P14 = 7, P15 = 6, P16 = 5, P17 = 4, P18 = 3, P19 = 2, P20 = 1.
In addition, there are extra points to be won in each race. One point is awarded to the driver who lead the most laps, one point is awarded to the driver with the fastest race lap and one point is also awarded for pole position.
The official Spring Training pre-season tests took place at NOLA Motorsports Park at the end of February. A total of five sessions were held over two days. VRD Racing driver Sebastian Wheldon set the fastest time in the first session with 1m40.1554s ahead of Bruno Ribeiro and Liam McNeilly. The fastest time of the first day finally came in test session two. JHDD rider Liam McNeilly clocked a 1m39.3432s. More than two tenths ahead of Wheldon in second place and more than half a second ahead of Leandro Juncos in third. After another best time in the third practice session on the morning of the second day, Liam McNeilly set the best time of both days with 1m39.0214s in session four. In the final practice session, Exclusive rider Jack Jeffers came out on top with a 1m39.5994s ahead of Sebastian Wheldon and Ayden Ingratta. The busiest driver of Spring Practice was Team Toni's Enzo Tovo with a total of 66 laps completed.
Test Results
P1: Liam McNeilly - JHDD / 1m39.0214s
P2: Jack Jeffers - Exclusive / +0.4626s
P3: Sebastian Wheldon - Velocity RD / +0.5454s
P4: Ayden Ingratta - JHDD / +0.5598s
P5: Evan Cooley - Exclusive / +0.6610s
P6: Vinícius Tessaro - DEForce / +0.7949s
P7: Jeshua Alianell - Velocity RD / +0.8380s
P8: Bruno Ribeiro - DEForce / +0.8388s
P9: Leandro Juncos - DEForce / +0.8644s
P10: Timothy Carel - JHDD / +0.9027s
P11: G3 Argyros - JHDD / +0.9640s
P12: Enzo Tovo - Team Tonis / +1.1205s
P13: João Vergara - Exclusive / +1.1234s
P14: Ariel Elkin - International Motorsport / +1.1339s
P15: Augusto Soto-Schirripa - International Motorsport / +1.3864s
P16: Leonardo Escorpioni - Zanella / +1.3904s
P17: Hudson Potter - JHDD / +1.4819s
P18: Christian Cameron - Velocity RD / +1.4926s
P19: Aidan Potter - JHDD / +1.5052s
P20: Anthony Martella - Exclusive / +1.5185s
P21: Patricio Gonzalez - DEForce DD / +1.6246s
P22: Rodrigo Gonzalez - DEForce DD / +1.8273s
P23: Diego Guiot - Zanella / +1.9065s
P24: Brady Golan - DEForce / +2.0102s
P25: Ava Dobson - JHDD / +2.0163s
P26: Jackson Tovo - Team Tonis / +2.3508s
P27: Michael Suco - Velocity RD / +2.4393s
P28: Giovanni Cabrera - Exclusive / +4.1649s
Six USF Juniors races in the Yacademy Winter Series also took place again this February. The Yacademy Winter Series mainly offers test days for the USF Pro Championships racing series during the off-season. In February, there are three races each for the USF Juniors drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Sebring International Raceway. This year, the first race was at Sebring, where Sebastian Wheldon set the fastest time in qualifying and won the first race. Zanella Racing driver Leonardo Escorpioni finally prevailed in the reversed grid race two. Jack Jeffers came out on top in the third race. He was able to capitalize on his momentum again two days later at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After setting the fastest time in qualifying, he managed to win all of the three races including the reversed grid race two.
Championship Standings
P1: Jack Jeffers - Exclusive / 47
P2: Sebastian Wheldon - Velocity RD / 36
P3: Evan Cooley - Exclusive / 32
P4: João Vergara - Exclusive / 18
P5: Leonardo Escorpioni - Zanella / 17
P6: G3 Argyros - JHDD / 14
P7: Patricio Gonzalez - DEForce DD / 13
P8: Max Taylor - Velocity RD / 12
P9: Rodrigo Gonzalez - DEForce DD / 10
P10: Aidan Potter - JHDD / 6
P11: Ava Dobson - JHDD / 5
P12: Timothy Carel - JHDD / 4
P13: Diego Guiot - Zanella / 2
P14: Jackson Tovo - Team Tonis / 2
P15: Anthony Martella - Exclusive / 2
As I already did with some other racing series last year, I dare to make a little prediction for this year's USF Juniors driver and team championships.
Drivers Championship Prediction
P1: Jack Jeffers
P2: Liam McNeilly
P3: Sebastian Wheldon
P4: Ayden Ingratta
P5: Vinícius Tessaro
My main favorite for the title this year is Jack Jeffers. Jeffers already proved last year that he is one of the fastest drivers, took three wins and finished the championship in third place. With the confidence of winning the Yacademy Winter Series title at the start of the year, he will definitely be the driver to beat this year. I count Britain's Liam McNeilly and Sebastian Wheldon as his toughest rivals in the battle for the title. Both will be in contention for race wins right from the start. Behind them, drivers like Evan Cooley, Ayden Ingratta, Vinícius Tessaro or Max Taylor are among those who I see fighting for podium places and wins on a more regular basis.
Teams Championship Prediction
P1: Jay Howard Driver Development
P2: Exclusive Autosport
P3: DEForce Racing
In the team championship, I expect a close fight for the title between JHDD and Exclusive Autosport. In the end, it could go either way, but my tip is JHDD due to the strong spring practice results. DEForce Racing and Velocity Racing will also be able to score big points more often and decide third place in the championship between themselves.
written by Claudio Graf / 3rd April, 2024