SCCA Pro Racing

F3 Americas Championship 17-race 2018 season will conclude at F1 U.S. GP

SCCA Pro Racing announced today the dates for the inaugural F3 Americas Championship Powered by Honda season. The 2018 calendar features six tripleheader race weekends, visiting some of the most prestigious open-wheel tracks in North America with stops at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Series and Circuit of the Americas supporting the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Texas.

“At the F3 Americas Championship launch, we stated that we were searching for a six-stop, 17-race schedule on premier tracks, concentrating on the United States to start,” SCCA Pro Racing Vice President Steve Oseth said. “We’ve done that, and now can let those interested in the series know not just what they can race, but when and where.”

The F3 Americas Championship makes its official world debut at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Aug. 4-5, in concert with the powerhouse maiden event, the Keystone Speedfest, featuring Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda, Trans Am and Formula Race Promotions’ Formula Atlantic, F2000 and F-1600.

The following two stops on the schedule include the Mid-Ohio Challenge with the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Aug. 9-11, and New Jersey Motorsports Park for a formula-packed weekend with F4 U.S. and FRP, Sept. 13-14.

Road Atlanta, Sept. 21-23, will be shared with Historic Sportscar Racings’s fall vintage weekend. The F3 Americas field will travel to the Big Easy for the Xtreme Xperience at NOLA Motorsports Park Oct. 13-14 for its penultimate event. The inaugural championship will be decided during the prestigious F1 U.S. GP at COTA Oct. 19-21.

 “With more than 100 years of Pirelli motorsport experience and development for the drivers of powerful sports cars, sports coupes and high-performance luxury sedans, we’re excited to be a part of this new F3 series, which directly ties into the learning and success we’ve had at the premier levels of motorsports,” said Orazio Mastracchio, NAFTA Motorsport Manager for Pirelli NA states.

The F3 Americas series continues the evolution of affordable, competitive and technologically advanced open wheel racing which was established by the successful F4 U.S. Championship that debuted in 2016. This next level of open wheel racing meets the demands of racers and teams looking to grow their capabilities into more sophisticated, powerful machinery. Since its reveal at Circuit of the Americas last October, the new series has generated significant interest in the racing community. Seventy-two chassis purchase agreements have already been sent to teams and drivers.

Featuring an all-new F3-FIA spec Ligier JS F3 race car chassis that is built and developed by Onroak Automotive in North Carolina, the F3 Americas teams will race a chassis that meets the most current global FIA safety specification, including the first North American application of a race car halo. Compared to the F4 U.S. Championship car, the F3 chassis features more configurable aero components, increased impact safety structures and more sophisticated data acquisition.

The F3 Americas car will be powered by a 270-horsepower Honda Performance Development (HPD) version of the new Honda Civic® Type-R® turbocharged K20C1 motor (a non-turbocharged version is used in the F4 U.S. Championship). This reliable and powerful engine is manufactured in the United States at Honda’s Anna Engine Plant, and the engines are shipped to HPD in Santa Clarita, California, for racing modifications (including installation of a dry sump and other race-specific components). HPD will continue to provide on-track support as with the current F4 U.S. series.

 “The success of the F4 U.S. series is a testament to the potential for an affordable and accessible development series, and we’re pleased to continue to power the dreams of these drivers as they graduate to the next step of this series,” said Art St. Cyr, HPD President. “All Honda engines are known for their reliability and performance, and the Honda K20C1 engine is just another example of that—we’re able to use the flexibility of a single engine platform to power two series, reducing cost while meeting the performance needs for each level.” 

The new series will continue running on proven Pirelli tires (10-inch Pirelli P Zero tires on the front and 12-inch Pirelli P Zero tires on the rear), completing the F3 Americas $134,000 package, which meets the FIA price cap. The top-seven drivers entered in the championship will also receive FIA Super License points to aid in their racing career advancement to Formula 1.

 “The excitement for the Ligier JS F3 and the F3 Americas Championship has been building since our announcement in October,” said F3 Americas developer and Onroak Automotive General Manager Max Crawford. “With our extensive experience with building composite race cars and strong, lightweight composite materials for racing and aerospace industries, we are producing a chassis with the safety features of the current F1 chassis.  The Ligier JS F3 exhibits the latest in technology, safety and styling which is the new standard for the FIA F3.”

Twenty cars are anticipated to be produced by opening weekend with delivery from Onroak Automotive starting in June, and another 20 cars will be supplied by the end of the year.

For parties interested in purchasing an F3 Americas car, contact Steve Oseth at soseth@sccapro.com or David Cooper at d.cooper@onroak.com.

The F3 Americas Championship aligns 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.

F3 Americas 2018 Event Schedule:

About F3 Americas Championship:

The F3 Americas Championship Powered by Honda continues the evolution of affordable, competitive and technologically advanced open wheel racing that was established by the successful Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda that debuted in 2016. This next level of open wheel racing meets the demands of racers and teams looking to grow their capabilities into more sophisticated and powerful machinery. The F3 Americas Championship aligns 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.

About SCCA Pro Racing:

SCCA Pro Racing is a division of Sports Car Club of America, Inc. - a 60,000-member organization dedicated to motorsports events. SCCA Pro Racing provides full-service organization, operation and sanction for numerous professional racing series like F4 U.S. Championship and Trans Am. SCCA Pro Racing is a voting member of the Automobile Competition Committee of the United States (ACCUS) - the FIA delegate for this country.

About Honda Performance Development:

Honda Performance Development, Inc., (HPD) is Honda's racing company in North America and is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Founded in 1993, HPD is the technical operations center for Honda's high-performance racing programs. HPD specializes in the design and development of race engines, chassis and performance parts, and technical/race support. We also offer parts and race support to Honda and Acura grassroots motorsports racers, and are expanding our support of racing series and programs that make Honda racing products available to all racing styles, from karting and Quarter Midgets to the highest levels of pro racing.

About Onroak Automotive/Ligier:

Founded in 2012, Onroak Automotive is a race car manufacturer established in France, North Carolina, and Malaysia. Since 2013, Onroak Automotive designs and produces Ligier sports cars such as the Ligier JS P2, Ligier JS P3 or more recently the Ligier JS P217 and Ligier JS P4. Daytona 24h winner, Le Mans 24h winner and World Endurance championship winner, Onroak Automotive in North America is based in Denver, North Carolina. Supporting racing series and teams in DPi, LM P2, LM P3 and F4 in the United States, Onroak Automotive North America is expanding its production capacity in North Carolina to build the Ligier JS F3 and to reach the highest level of performance, safety and reliability for the FIA F3 Americas series.

About Pirelli Tire N.A.:

Founded in 1872, Pirelli & C. SpA is the fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world in terms of sales.  Present in over 160 countries, Pirelli has 22 manufacturing sites and employs approximately 38,000 people around the world. Pirelli is a leading producer of premium tires due to its commitment to R&D. Successfully competing in motorsport since 1907, Pirelli is currently the exclusive supplier of the Formula 1 championship, the Superbike world championship, and many single marquee championships around the world.