PALMETTO, Fla. – USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire will return to action this weekend following an almost two-month hiatus since the opening three races of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida. Another tripleheader event will unfold at the 2.279-mile, 14-turn Carolina Motorsports Park road course in Kershaw, S.C., as part of the GRIDLIFE South Carolina Festival which features racing across five different series alongside high-energy drifting plus numerous off-track activities including a car concours, displays and live music.
After winning twice for defending series champions Zanella Racing, Lebanese racer Max Mokarem, 14, from Fairfax, Va., the youngest driver in the field for the season opener, holds a slender seven-point advantage over Olivia Racing’s Karel Pasiewicz, from Lodz, Poland, who finished second in all three encounters.
Finland’s Vilho Aatola secured two third-place results in Florida for DEForce Racing and is currently tied for third in the point standings with Canadian Olivier Mrak, who finished third for Zanella Racing in the final race.
Spaniard Ivan Machado Perez also played a prominent role at Homestead-Miami for VRD Racing by Pole Position. Machado Perez, a dominant champion in last year’s Skip Barber Race Series, earned a convincing victory in Race Two and seemed set to do so again in the final race before misjudging a mid-race restart and being swallowed up by the pursuing pack.
Additional illustrations both of the series’ competitiveness and its international appeal can be gleaned from the fact three different drivers – Bex Cranston (Exclusive Autosport), from Greenwich, Conn., Denmark’s Casper Nissen (JHDD powered by ECR) and British teammate Max Cuthbert – claimed the bonus point for fastest race lap in each of the races.
At season’s end, the USF Juniors champion will receive a scholarship valued at $251,516 to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF2000, in 2027.
The 22-strong field will have one final opportunity to prepare for USF Pro Championships’ first-ever visit to Carolina Motorsports Park during a pair of 40-minute test sessions on Thursday afternoon, April 16, and one more on Friday morning. The event will then formally kick off with 30 minutes of official practice at 2:10 p.m. EDT on Friday, followed by a critical period of qualifying at 6:00 p.m. which will set the starting order for two 20-lap races on Saturday at 10:10 a.m. and 2:55 p.m. The third and final race will see a green flag at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday, April 19.
Live streaming of qualifying and the three Continental Tire Grand Prix of South Carolina race events will be available on the free USF Pro Championships App, YouTube channel and at usfjuniors.com. Timing and scoring for all on-track sessions also will be on the App and website.