2022 Formula Regional Americas Championship Explained

The 2022 Formula Regional Americas Championship powered by Honda was the fifth season of a FIA-sanctioned F3 series across North America, and the third season under the Formula Regional moniker after a rebrand in 2020. The series was promoted by SCCA Pro Racing, the professional racing division of the Sports Car Club of America. Drivers competed to win a Honda-backed Super Formula seat in 2023.[1]

After not racing for two full years, Raoul Hyman won the drivers' championship with two races to spare. His team, TJ Speed Motorsports, defended the teams' championship title.

Teams and drivers

All drivers competed with Honda-powered Ligier JS F3 cars on Hankook tires.

TeamDriverRounds
Jensen Global Advisors2 Oliver Westling[2] 5–6
IGY6 Motorsports3 Hayden Bowlsbey[3] nowrap1–3, 5–6
Doran-Kroll Racing8 Alex Kirby[4] 1–4
95 Marco Kacic[5] 1–3
96 Athreya Ramanan[6] 3–4
Velocity Racing Development10 Rodrigo Gutiérrez[7] 1–2, 4–5
22nowrap Nico Christodoulou[8] 1–2
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport[9] 14 Dylan Tavella[10] All
24 Kevin Janzen[11] All
78 Ryan YardleyAll
91 Cooper BecklinAll
Future Star Racing25 Mac Clark[12] 1–3, 5–6
Aaron Jeansonne[13] 4
TJ Speed Motorsports[14] 27 Raoul Hyman[15] All
29 Nick Persing[16] All
77 Jason Alder[17] All

Race calendar and results

The 2022 calendar was announced on 23 September 2021. Each round featured three races. A pre-season invitational non-points event was scheduled to be held on 24-27 March at Road Atlanta.[19] After a round in Canada was attempted to be held for the last two years, but was cancelled both times, the 2022 schedule once again only consisted of races inside the US.[20]

RoundCircuitDatePole positionFastest lapWinning driverWinning teamSupporting
1R1NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale9 April Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman Mac Clark Future Star RacingFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
R210 April Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
R3 Jason Alder Dylan Tavella Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport
2R1Road America, Elkhart Lake21 May Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed MotorsportsFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
R222 May Raoul Hyman Jason Alder TJ Speed Motorsports
R3 Jason Alder Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
3R1Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington25 June Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed MotorsportsFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
Trans-Am Series
R226 June Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
R3 Mac Clark Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
4R1New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville30 July Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed MotorsportsFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
R2 Dylan Tavella Dylan Tavella Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport
R331 July Raoul Hyman Dylan Tavella Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport
5R1Virginia International Raceway, Alton8 October Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman Jason Alder TJ Speed MotorsportsFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
Trans-Am Series
R2 Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
R39 October Cooper Becklin Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports
6R1Circuit of the Americas, Austin3 November Raoul Hyman Jason Alder Raoul Hyman TJ Speed MotorsportsFormula 4 United States Championship
SVRA
Trans-Am Series
R2 Raoul Hyman Jason Alder TJ Speed Motorsports
R34 November Raoul Hyman Raoul Hyman TJ Speed Motorsports

Season summary

The championship began in early April at NOLA Motorsports Park with Raoul Hyman topping the qualifying session on his return to single seater racing. Mac Clark started alongside him for race one, and was faster off the line to take the race lead. Hyman put pressure on Clark at different points throughout the race, but was not able to make a pass. Dylan Tavella completed the podium, more than 25 seconds behind. Hyman fared better in race two, converting pole to victory. Behind him, Clark and Tavella fought for second place, with Tavella eventually coming through. The third race saw Hyman once again lose his lead at the start. This time, he slipped back to third, behind eventual race winner Tavella and Jason Alder. Hyman and Tavella left Avondale equal on points, with Clark eight points behind in third.[21]

Round two of the season was held at Road America, and Hyman was on pole again by almost a second. Nico Christodoulou started second, but stalled at the start of race one and Hayden Bowlsbey crashed into him. This promoted Tavella into second place, and Ryan Yardley completed the podium after battling past Alder and Clark. Race two saw Hyman hold his lead once again, while behind him Alder, Clark and Tavella fought for second. Hyman then spun with two laps to go, gifting Alder the win but still finishing second ahead of Tavella. Hyman recovered to dominate race three. Christodoulou in second went off while battling Tavella, and Alder and Nick Persing then came through to round out the podium. Hyman's strong weekend saw him pick up the championship lead, 23 points ahead of his nearest challenger Tavella.[22]

Next up was Lexington's Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Hyman continued his pole position streak. He and Alder kept first and second place in race one until a late caution bunched the grid back up. This enabled Persing to get past Alder for second, but Hyman could not be stopped. Race two saw a similar domination by Hyman, this time against Clark in second with Persing gaining to positions to finish third. Damp conditions saw eight drivers start race three on wet tyres. Hyman among them was in a league of his own, putting 51 seconds between him and the rest of the field. Slick tyres came into play when the track dried up, and Clark went on a charge, before it started to rain again and he went off. Tavella and Cooper Becklin came second and third. His perfect weekend with a pole and three wins saw Hyman extend his championship lead to 58 points.[23]

Teams and drivers then headed to New Jersey Motorsports Park, where qualifying was once again topped by Hyman. The first race was a simple affair for the poleman as he lapped all bar the top eight drivers. Tavella moved past Yardley at the start and the pair finished second and third. Race two proved more challenging for Hyman, as his charge was interrupted by two caution periods, so Tavella was able to keep close behind him and then pass him for the race win on the last lap. Yardley came third again. Tavella started race three from pole, and fought Hyman off in a close battle that lasted until the final lap, as the pair crossed the line 0.089s apart. The only driver that managed to stick with the duo was Persing in third place. Tavella's two wins meant he outscored Hyman, slightly cutting down his lead to 51 points.[24]

The penultimate round of the season at Virginia International Raceway began with the now familiar sight of Hyman on pole position for race one. At the start, Persing and Alder fought for second, with Persing locking up into turn one, colliding with Hyman and spinning him around. This promoted Alder into the lead, and Hyman had to climb through the order. He did so, only to hit the barriers on the penultimate lap. Alder won the race ahead of Yardley and Tavella. Race two and three were two rather simple lights-to-flag affairs for Hyman. He kept Alder and Tavella at bay in race two and defended against Tavella in race three, before the latter had to pit with an issue. That promoted Yardley into second, before he got overtaken by Becklin. With 75 points on offer at Austin, Hyman had one hand on the championship with his 70-point lead.[25]

Hyman completed his perfect qualifying record with a sixth pole at Circuit of the Americas, this time by over a second. Tavella was able to overtake him on the opening lap of race one, but Hyman was able to take back the lead on lap 13. Tavella came second ahead of Yardley as Hyman claimed the championship title. The second race saw a similar story in reverse, this time Hyman picked up the lead from Alder at the start, but was later repassed when he had a mechanical issue that forced his retirement. The podium for race two was completed by Persing and Tavella. The last race of the season saw Hyman claim his eleventh win of the season in a lights-to-flag race. Oliver Westling came second in only his second weekend in the category, and Yardley rounded out the top three.[26]

Hyman topped every qualifying session and won eleven of the eighteen races, and all his race finishes were on the podium. This utter domination showed Hyman had not lost his pedigree after not racing for two seasons. On the other hand, it also showed the slight lack of competition the series had to struggle with this season, with a field that lacked depth and was spread out very far at times. It remains to be seen if the series will be able to hold its own as an FIA-sanctioned alternative to the Road to Indy.

Championship standings

Points were awarded as follows:

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th 
Points251815121086421

Drivers' standings

PosDriverNOLROAMOHNJMVIRCOAPts
R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3
1 Raoul Hyman21312111112211111Ret1362
2 Dylan Tavella3212345422113310237281
3 Jason Alder5NC241235585Ret129516220
4 Ryan Yardley6543Ret6464336273343204
5 Nick Persing7465Ret3237547748624178
6 Mac Clark135758726454468160
7 Cooper BecklinNC810877873464562795132
8 Oliver Westling89585248
9 Nico Christodoulou469Ret4544
10 Rodrigo Gutiérrez109Ret10697Ret8910635
11 Hayden BowlsbeyRet11RetRetDNS116DNS868Ret97DNS32
12 Marco Kacic8776Ret10911929
13 Aaron Jeansonne69325
14 Alex Kirby9108981210810108Ret24
15 Athreya RamananRet9NC97520
16 Kevin Janzen111211119131110NC11RetRet10117108917
PosDriverR1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3Pts
NOLROAMOHNJMVIRCOA
Bold – PoleItalics – Fastest Lap† — Did not finish, but classified

Teams' standings

Only a team's two best-finishing cars were eligible for teams' championship points.

PosTeamNOLROAMOHNJMVIRCOAPts
R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3
1 TJ Speed Motorsports212111111122111111652
543422235547728524
2 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport321234442211232233525
654376563334363345
3 Future Star Racing135758726693454468186
4 Velocity Racing Development46910457Ret8910683
109RetRet69
5 Doran-Kroll Racing877681098997577
91089Ret1210910108Ret
6 Jensen Global Advisors89585248
7 IGY6 MotorsportsRet11RetRetDNS116DNS868Ret97DNS33
PosTeamR1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3R1R2R3Pts
NOLROAMOHNJMVIRCOA

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wood. Ida. 2022-02-08. FRegional Americas keeps Super Formula scholarship for next two years. 2022-02-08. Formula Scout. en-US.
  2. Web site: Oliver Westling Graduates to Race in the Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered By Honda . 2022-09-18 . F4 U.S. Championships . en.
  3. Web site: Hayden Bowlsbey is the first announcement in a while for FR Americas! . 2022-03-12 . Twitter . en.
  4. Web site: 6 February 2022 . Alex Kirby has signed for Doran Motorsporr for their 2022 FR Americas campaign! . Twitter.
  5. Web site: 14 January 2022 . Marco Kacic Joins Formula Regional Americas with Doran-Kroll Competition! . 14 January 2022 . Instagram.
  6. Web site: 2022 FR Americas Championship Entry List Mid-Ohio. FR Americas Championship. 21 June 2022.
  7. Web site: January 24, 2022 . RODRIGO GUTIERREZ JOINS VELOCITY RACING DEVELOPMENT FR PROGRAM . rtd-media.com . January 24, 2022.
  8. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-01-02 . Nico Christodoulou steps up to FRegional Americas with Velocity . 2022-01-02 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  9. Web site: 28 March 2022. Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport set to attack 2022 season with multi-car program. live. RTD Media. https://web.archive.org/web/20220328201519/https://www.rtd-media.com/crosslink-kiwi-motorsport-set-to-attack-2022-season-with-multi-car-program/ . 2022-03-28 .
  10. Web site: 12 drivers make up the provisional start list for round one of FRAmericas . Twitter.
  11. Web site: NOLA-FR-EntryList 20220402.
  12. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-02-09 . James Hinchcliffe protege Mac Clark lands FRegional Americas seat . 2022-02-09 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  13. Web site: 19 July 2022 . 2022 FR Americas Championship Entry List: Rounds 10 – 12 at New Jersey Motorsports Park . 22 July 2022 . Formula Regional Americas Championship.
  14. Web site: Wood. Elliot. January 21, 2021. Racing engineer Tim Neff sets up own FRegional Americas team. FormulaScout. January 22, 2021.
  15. Web site: TJ Speed Inks Raoul Hyman to FR Americas Effort Through PMH Diversity Program . 2022-03-25 . FR Americas Championship . en.
  16. Web site: 2022-01-26. TJ SPEED ADDS NICK PERSING TO 2022 FR AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY HONDA. 2022-01-26. RTD Media. en-US.
  17. Web site: 2022-02-03. JASON ALDER LEVELS UP TO FR AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY HONDA WITH TJ SPEED. 2022-02-03. RTD Media. en-US.
  18. Web site: Media . R. T. D. . 2022-01-06 . ALLIANCE RACING RETURNS TO TRACK WITH REVAMPED AND IMPROVED PROGRAM . 2022-10-27 . RTD Media . en-US.
  19. Web site: 2022 Schedule Announced for FR Americas and F4 U.S. Championships. 2021-09-23. FR Americas Championship. en.
  20. Web site: Wood. Ida. 2021-09-24. FRegional Americas reveals 2022 calendar, new drivers join latest round. 2021-09-24. Formula Scout. en-US.
  21. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-04-10 . Hyman happy on racing return as he picks up FRegional Americas win . 2022-11-07 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  22. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-05-22 . Hyman denies himself triple FRegional Americas win with spin . 2022-11-07 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  23. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-06-27 . Hyman finally gets his FRegional Americas triple at Mid-Ohio . 2022-11-07 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  24. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-07-31 . Dylan Tavella does close FRegional Americas double at New Jersey . 2022-11-07 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  25. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-10-09 . Hyman homes in on FRegional Americas title with Virginia double . 2022-11-08 . Formula Scout . en-US.
  26. Web site: Wood . Ida . 2022-11-04 . Hyman gets Super Formula scholarship with FRegional Americas title . 2022-11-08 . Formula Scout . en-US.