Prize Fund to Present New Opportunities, Support for Talented Racers; Strengthens Ladder That Includes Scholarships for F4 U.S. and JS F4 Champions
CHARLOTTE (November 14, 2024) – Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) has announced a new scholarship program for its 2025 season, awarding up to six drivers in the highly-contested championship with cash prizes to assist in the next step of their racing career. With incremental prizes given to each of the top-five drivers, as well as the top-finishing rookie, the 2025 Driver Champion is set to be awarded $100,000 cash.
“We’re excited to launch the prize fund for FR Americas in 2025,” said Race Director Scott Goodyear. “Looking to build on a very successful 2024 season, which saw us take the series into Canada for the first time while racing in front of 35,000 fans, we feel this program will strengthen the championship even more—attracting new drivers from around the world, and giving them valuable prizes to further their career. Most importantly, the prize fund continues to increase the depth of our ladder system, allowing drivers to move from karting to cars and use our scholarship prizes to take the next step in their racing career. With graduates among the starting grids of the Indianapolis 500, INDYCAR, FIA Formula 3, Super Formula, IMSA, NASCAR, INDY NXT and more, our open-wheel ladder has a proven trajectory for success.”
The year-end awards, with a total prize fund of $160,000, will be distributed among as many as six drivers. The FR Americas Driver Champion will be awarded $100,000, while the Vice Champion will receive $25,000 and the Third-Place Champion will collect $15,000. Prizes will extend throughout the top five, as the driver finishing fourth in the point standings will be awarded $10,000 and the driver finishing fifth will receive $5,000. In addition, the top-finishing rookie will also be awarded a $5,000 year-end prize.
While the prize fund is set to reward drivers in the top level of Parella Motorsports Holdings’ (PMH) open-wheel ladder, drivers competing in the junior levels will also compete for scholarships to assist in their forward progress in a career in motorsports on the Road to F1.
The 2025 Driver Champion in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) will receive a scholarship to step up to the next level—FR Americas—in 2026. The winner will be provided the use of a JS F3 chassis from Ligier Automotive, an F3 engine developed, engineered and provided by Mountune, tires supplied by Hankook Motorsports, and race entry fees from PMH.
In the Ligier JS F4 Series (JS F4), the 2025 Driver Champion will win a scholarship to compete in F4 U.S. the following season, which includes the use of an F4 U.S. chassis and Ligier Storm engine from Ligier Automotive, tires supplied by Hankook Motorsports and race entry fees from PMH.
The scholarships, paired with additional contingency awards given to the Champion, Vice Champion and Third-Place Champion, present a significant prize package for drivers competing in both F4 U.S and JS F4. Both scholarship prizes cover the cost of the season, excluding testing, team costs and travel. With the additional value added by product and contingency prizes, the F4 U.S. awards carry a total value of $295,280, while JS F4’s prizes combine for a value of $197,680.
All three series on the PMH open-wheel ladder continue to provide the lowest cost per mile compared to other professional racing series in North America, as well as the other Formula 4 and Formula Regional championships around the globe. The low cost, paired with impressive wheel-to-wheel competition, position the championships as a superb training ground for young drivers.
The 2025 season for FR Americas, F4 U.S. and JS F4 will open March 27-30 at NOLA Motorsports Park. An integral part of SpeedTour events, the championships will compete side by side with The Trans Am Series, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), International GT and Prototype Sprint Series Association (PSSA) at some of the most iconic road courses in North America. In 2025, all races will be live streamed on SpeedTour.TV. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about each championship should visit the respective series’ website: FRAmericas.com, F4USChampionship.com and JSF4Series.com.
About Formula Regional Americas Championship & Formula 4 United States Championship: The FIA-certified Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) & Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) are designed as entry-level open-wheel racing series offering young talent the opportunity to demonstrate their skills on an international platform while keeping affordability and safety as key elements. The Championships align with the global FIA-development ladder philosophy of using common components to provide a cost-efficient, reliable and powerful racing structure as drivers ascend through the levels on their way to U.S. or global racing success. The 2025 F4 U.S. driver champion will be awarded a scholarship to compete in FR Americas in 2026, while the 2025 FR Americas Champion will be awarded a $100,000 year-end prize.
About Ligier JS F4 Series: Sanctioned by Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH), the Ligier JS F4 Series provides an entry point to the ladder system that leads to the top levels of open-wheel competition. A step between karting and the wheel-to-wheel racing of Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.), the Ligier JS F4 Series focuses on laying a proper foundation for race craft and education, as much as it does on track competition. Open to drivers as young as age 14, the series utilizes a cost-efficient model to further develop driver’s skills with a lower cost of entry. The 2025 Ligier JS F4 Series driver champion will be awarded a scholarship to compete in F4 U.S. in 2026.