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2024 Formula Pro USA Western Championship

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The 2024 Formula Pro USA Western Series was the fifth season of the championship for Formula Regional and Formula 4 cars established in the West Coast of the United States. The championship was promoted and organized by Exclusive Racing and Exclusive Auctions, and was run under the same sporting regulations as the FIA-sanctioned Formula Regional Americas Championship and Formula 4 United States Championship.

It began in March, with the championship spanning six weekends until November. In the FPUSA-3 class for Formula Regional cars, Kiwi Motorsports driver Landan Matriano Lim won the championship at the penultimate race, while World Speed Motorsports driver Valentino Garbarino won the FPUSA-4 class championship with two races to spare.

Teams and drivers

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Drivers were able to enter either the FPUSA-3 or the FPUSA-4 class, with the former using a Ligier JS F3 car and the latter a Ligier JS-F4 car. All cars were powered by Honda and use Avon tires.[1] A female-only class called Formula Pro Women's Racing Series was to be introduced, running alongside the main championship and also using the Ligier JS-F4, but it received no entries for any of the events.[2]

Team No. Driver Rounds
Formula Pro USA 3 (FPUSA-3) entries
Jensen Global Advisors 1 United States Jake Pollack 5
World Speed Motorsports 8 United States Frank Vezer 5
13 United States Larry Schnur 1–2, 4
37 United States Jay Horak All
Kiwi Motorsports 02 United States Jett Bowling 2
55 United States Jonathan Collins 3–4
73 United States Landan Matriano Lim 1–4, 6
Atlantic Racing Team 77 Canada James Lawley 1, 6
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports 131 United States Barrett Wolfe 6
Formula Pro USA 4 (FPUSA-4) entries
World Motorsports 00 United States Alexander Cornfeld 2–4, 6
Jensen Global Advisors 1 United States Athan Sterling 4–6
2 United States Ethan Brobston 4
7 United States Robert Krayevsky 6
World Speed Motorsports 4 United States Valentino Garbarino All
Kiwi Motorsports 74 United States Drew Szuch 1
95 Australia Brad Majman 1–2, 4
Sources: [3][4][5][6][7][8]

Race calendar

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The 2024 calendar was held over twelve races spanning across six weekends.[9] The series raced at the same four circuits as the previous year. A one-round winter series was scheduled to be held at the beginning of March, but it was instead converted into two days of open testing.[10]

Round Circuit Date Support bill Map of circuit locations
1 R1 Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows March 23 San Francisco Region SCCA Series
Formula Car Challenge
R2 March 24
2 R3 April 20 SCCA Majors Championship
Formula Car Challenge
R4 April 21
3 R5 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey June 8 San Francisco Region SCCA Series
Formula Car Challenge
R6 June 9
4 R7 July 6 San Francisco Region SCCA Series
Formula Car Challenge
R8 July 7
5 R9 Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma August 30 San Francisco Region SCCA Series
Formula Car Challenge
R10 August 31
6 R11 Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow November 16 California Sports Car Club
Formula Car Challenge
R12 November 17

Season report

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The 2024 season began at Thunderhill Raceway Park, where Kiwi Motorsports driver Landan Matriano Lim secured pole position for both races. Lim delivered a commanding performance in the F3 class, claiming victories in both events and recording the fastest lap in each. In the F4 class, the competition was closely contested, with Brad Majman of Kiwi Motorsports and Valentino Garbarino of World Speed Motorsports each winning a race, leaving the two tied on points at the end of the weekend.[11]

In the second round, held at the same venue as the season's opening event, Lim extended his winning streak by claiming victory in the first race, while his teammate Jett Bowling secured first place in the second race. However, as Bowling did not participate in the first round, Lim was able to further increase his championship lead over Horak in second. Meanwhile, in the F4 class, Majman and Garbarino continued their rivalry, each earning wins and fastest laps to maintain their identical points progression.

The championship proceeded to Laguna Seca, where Lim delivered a commanding performance in the F3 class. He secured two pole positions, set two fastest laps and claimed two victories. Horak finished second in both events, leaving him 52 points behind Lim in the standings. In the F4 class, Majman did not participate, allowing Garbarino and Alexander Cornfeld of World Motorsports to each claim a win. Garbarino therefore capitalized on this opportunity to build up a 47-point gap over Majman.[12]

The fourth round, also held at Laguna Seca, saw Lim continue his unchallenged dominance. He achieved another weekend sweep, securing 54 additional points and extending his lead, with Horak trailing by 73 points. In the F4 category, Jensen GA’s Athan Sterling made his series debut, immediately claiming two second-place finishes as Garbarino secured two more victories. Meanwhile, Majman returned to the competition but managed only fifth place in both races, enabling Garbarino to extend his lead to 81 points.[13]

Sonoma Raceway hosted round five, and only three drivers entered the F3 class. Lim was not among them, leaving Jensen GA’s Jake Pollack to take both race wins on his debut weekend. Horak claimed two more second places to shorten Lim’s standings lead to 35 points ahead of the final event. The F4 class also saw only two competitors, with Cornfeld’s absence allowing Garbarino to notch two more race wins and claim the F4 class title in the process. Sterling, the only other F4 competitor, took two more second places.[14]

The final round, held at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, saw Lim return to competition in style as he beat his teammate Barrett Wolfe to race one victory to clinch the championship. That allowed him to skip the second race, which was won by Atlantic Racing Team’s James Lawley, while two third places for Horak saw him finish the season 32 points behind Lim. The F4 class finished its season without any change at the top of the order, as the top two for both races were Garbarino ahead of Sterling for the third weekend in a row.[15]

Race results

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Round Circuit Pole position FPUSA-3 FPUSA-4
Fastest lap Winning driver Fastest lap Winning driver
1 R1 Thunderhill Raceway Park United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino Australia Brad Majman
R2 United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim Australia Brad Majman United States Valentino Garbarino
2 R3 United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Jett Bowling United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino Australia Brad Majman
R4 United States Jett Bowling United States Jett Bowling United States Jett Bowling Australia Brad Majman United States Valentino Garbarino
3 R5 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino United States Alexander Cornfeld
R6 United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
4 R7 United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
R8 United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
5 R9 Sonoma Raceway United States Jake Pollack United States Jay Horak United States Jake Pollack United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
R10 United States Jake Pollack United States Jake Pollack United States Jake Pollack United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
6 R11 Buttonwillow Raceway Park Canada James Lawley United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Landan Matriano Lim United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino
R12 Canada James Lawley Canada James Lawley Canada James Lawley United States Valentino Garbarino United States Valentino Garbarino

Championship standings

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Points were awarded as follows:

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   FL 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 2

Drivers' standings

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Pos Driver THU1 THU2 LAG1 LAG2 SON BUT Pts
R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12
Formula Pro USA 3 (FPUSA-3)
1 United States Landan Matriano Lim 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 DNS 232
2 United States Jay Horak 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 3 200
3 United States Larry Schnur 4 3 4 4 3 2 84
4 Canada James Lawley 2 4 4 1 69
5 United States Jake Pollack 1 1 52
6 United States Jett Bowling 2 1 47
7 United States Jonathan Collins 3 3 4 DNS 42
8 United States Barrett Wolfe 2 2 36
9 United States Frank Vezer 3 3 30
Formula Pro USA 4 (FPUSA-4)
1 United States Valentino Garbarino 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 299
2 United States Alexander Cornfeld 3 3 1 2 4 3 3 DNS 115
3 Australia Brad Majman 1 2 1 2 5 5 110
4 United States Athan Sterling 2 2 2 2 2 2 108
5 United States Drew Szuch 3 3 30
=7 United States Ethan Brobston 3 4 27
=7 United States Robert Krayevsky 4 3 27
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 Pts
THU1 THU2 LAG1 LAG2 SON BUT
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole

Italics – Fastest Lap

References

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  1. ^ BDM_FPU, Admin. "About FPUSA". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved 2022-10-31.
  2. ^ Maurini, Elena (2023-12-20). "Exclusive Racing Announces a New Female Only Racing Series for the West Coast". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  3. ^ "SFR Championship Series Regional 3&4 - Group 1 qualifying results".
  4. ^ "SFRSCCA Majors Restricted Regional 5&6 - Qualifying results for Group 4~FA,FA2,FA3,FM,F4".
  5. ^ "SFR Championship Series Regionals 7&8 - Qualifying results for Group 1".
  6. ^ "SFR Championship Series Regionals 9 & 10 - Group 1 - Qualifying 1".
  7. ^ "SFR Regional Races - Qualifying results for Group 1".
  8. ^ "California Sports Car Club Meeting 16 November 2024 - Group 2 FX,FA,F3,F4,P1,P2 Qualifying Saturday".
  9. ^ Maurini, Elena (2023-11-09). "Tentative Schedules for Formula Pro USA Winter Series and Western Championships". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  10. ^ "FPU 2024 Winter Series Schedule" (PDF).
  11. ^ Maurini, Elena (March 25, 2024). "First Winners of 2024 at the Formula Pro USA Western Championships". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Maurini, Elena (June 11, 2024). "Formula Pro USA Western Championship Sees Three Winners This Past Weekend at Laguna Seca". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  13. ^ Maurini, Elena (July 8, 2024). "Landon [sic!] Matriano Lim and Valentino Garbarino Win Formula Pro USA Western Championships at Laguna Seca". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  14. ^ Maurini, Elena (September 9, 2024). "Valentino Garbarino Earns Formula Pro USA F4 Championship While F3 Title Will Go Down to the Final Weekend of Racing". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  15. ^ Maurini, Elena (November 19, 2024). "Landon [sic!] Matriano Lim Secures Formula Pro USA Presented by Exclusive Racing F3 Championship". Formula Pro USA. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
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