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 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. 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. Team Driver RoundsFormula Pro USA 3 (FPUSA-3) entriesJensen Global Advisors1 Jake Pollack5World Speed Motorsports8 Frank Vezer513 Larry Schnur1–2, 437 Jay HorakAllKiwi Motorsports02 Jett Bowling255 Jonathan Collins3–473 Landan Matriano Lim1–4, 6Atlantic Racing Team77 James Lawley1, 6Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports131 Barrett Wolfe6Formula Pro USA 4 (FPUSA-4) entriesWorld Motorsports00 Alexander Cornfeld2–4, 6Jensen Global Advisors1 Athan Sterling4–62 Ethan Brobston47 Robert Krayevsky6World Speed Motorsports4 Valentino GarbarinoAllKiwi Motorsports74 Drew Szuch195 Brad Majman1–2, 4Sources:
Race calendar The 2024 calendar was held over twelve races spanning across six weekends. 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. Round Circuit Date Support bill Map of circuit locations1 R1 Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows March 23 San Francisco Region SCCA SeriesFormula Car Challenge R2March 242 R3 April 20 SCCA Majors ChampionshipFormula Car Challenge R4April 213 R5 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey June 8 San Francisco Region SCCA SeriesFormula Car Challenge R6June 94 R7 July 6 San Francisco Region SCCA SeriesFormula Car Challenge R8July 75 R9 Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma August 30 San Francisco Region SCCA SeriesFormula Car Challenge R10August 316 R11 Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow November 16 California Sports Car ClubFormula Car Challenge R12November 17
Season report 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Race results RoundCircuitPole positionFPUSA-3FPUSA-4Fastest lapWinning driverFastest lapWinning driver1 R1 Thunderhill Raceway Park Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Brad Majman R2 Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Brad Majman Valentino Garbarino2 R3 Landan Matriano Lim Jett Bowling Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Brad Majman R4 Jett Bowling Jett Bowling Jett Bowling Brad Majman Valentino Garbarino3 R5 WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Alexander Cornfeld R6 Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino4 R7 Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino R8 Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino5 R9 Sonoma Raceway Jake Pollack Jay Horak Jake Pollack Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino R10 Jake Pollack Jake Pollack Jake Pollack Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino6 R11 Buttonwillow Raceway Park James Lawley Landan Matriano Lim Landan Matriano Lim Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino R12 James Lawley James Lawley James Lawley Valentino Garbarino Valentino Garbarino
Championship standings 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 PosDriverTHU1THU2LAG1LAG2SONBUTPtsR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12Formula Pro USA 3 (FPUSA-3)1 Landan Matriano Lim111211111DNS2322 Jay Horak3233222322332003 Larry Schnur434432844 James Lawley2441695 Jake Pollack11526 Jett Bowling21477 Jonathan Collins334DNS428 Barrett Wolfe22369 Frank Vezer3330Formula Pro USA 4 (FPUSA-4)1 Valentino Garbarino2121211111112992 Alexander Cornfeld3312433DNS1153 Brad Majman1212551104 Athan Sterling2222221085 Drew Szuch3330=7 Ethan Brobston3427=7 Robert Krayevsky4327PosDriverR1R2R3R4R5R6R7R8R9R10R11R12PtsTHU1THU2LAG1LAG2SONBUTBold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap
References
External links
Official website: