AVONDALE, La. (April 13, 2024) – Teddy Musella earned his first-career victory in the inaugural Ligier JS F4 Series race this morning at NOLA Motorsports Park. New to the series, Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) started the race from the pole position and held off challenges from his competitors to lead every lap en route to the checkered flag.
Notes of Interest:
- This morning’s race was the inaugural event for the Ligier JS F4 Series, a new stepping stone from karts to racecars in the Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) open-wheel ladder system.
- At just 14 years old, Teddy Musella earned his first-career win.
- Maite Cáceres returned to the PMH open-wheel ladder after competing in F1 Academy last season. This was her career-best finish within the organization. Cáceres is also a PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship recipient for the 2024 season.
- Bacon Zelenka’s third-place finish matches his career-best effort. The 18 year old finished third while racing his first-generation Ligier JS F4 chassis in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) at New Jersey Motorsports Park last July.
Musella faced his biggest challenge from Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4), who pulled side by side with Musella during a lap-six restart. Unable to complete the pass, Hauanio made contact with another competitor a few laps later, which damaged his wing and sent him down pit road for repairs. With Hauanio removed from contention, other drivers were looking to get in the mix while fighting for a spot on the podium.
Maite Cáceres (No. 6 Abitab/Supermatch Ligier JS F4) started the race in the sixth position, and had quietly worked her way up to fourth by the race’s halfway point. With a solid restart on lap nine, she was able to overtake two additional competitors to move into second. Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) was also able to capitalize on the misfortune of those in front of him and moved into third with just a few minutes left on the clock. Behind him, Christopher Parrish (No. 83 Save22 Ligier JS F4) had raced from his 10th-place starting position all the way up to fourth, with Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) and Brad Majman (No. 95 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) battling behind him for the fifth position. Majman ultimately finished fifth on the official results, as Benites was issued a five-second time penalty for a false start without an advantage gained.
READ MORE: Race 1 Official Results
“It’s been an incredible weekend so far,” said Musella on the podium. “Being the first-ever race for the Ligier JS F4 Series, getting the pole and leading every lap—it was just an incredible experience. I want to thank my team [Scuderia Buell] that’s done so much; my family—my dad, my mom, my sister, and everyone else that’s been watching me and supporting me through my career.”
Ligier JS F4 returns to the track for Race 2 at 5:05 p.m., but first fans can meet the drivers of Ligier JS F4 and FR Americas during an autograph session in the NOLA Events Center at 1:45 p.m. CT. Tickets for the weekend are available on SpeedTour.net/NOLA. Kids ages 12 and under, as well as active-duty military, police and fire with a valid military or work ID, are admitted free.
All feature races will be available to stream on the SpeedTourTV YouTube page. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the season finale weekend will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
– Photos by Gavin Baker Photography