West coast swing to Sonoma Raceway and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca canceled for F4 U.S. and FR Americas
INDIANAPOLIS (January 27, 2021)- Parella Motorsports Holdings announced amendments to both the Honda-powered Formula 4 United States and Formula Regional Americas Championships 2021 calendars today, canceling the early season west coast swing for both series due to challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
PMH will revert to a more traditional schedule for the championships in 2021, comprised of six tripleheader events at top venues located on the Eastern half of the United States and Canada.
The back-to-back events at Sonoma Raceway (April 23-25) and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (April 30-May 2) have now been replaced with F4 U.S. and FR Americas both opening their seasons at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as part of the Atlanta SpeedTour March 26-28.
The championships will then run in tandem with the Road America SpeedTour May 14-16 for the next three championship rounds. The visit to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Wisconsin road course will be a first for F4 U.S. teams and drivers.
With the reshuffling of the schedule, FR Americas will now also join F4 U.S. at Brainerd International Raceway July 16-18 to complete its revised 18-round calendar. Brainerd is currently undergoing FIA certification to become the country’s newest FIA graded circuit to host both F4 U.S. and FR Americas this summer.
Preseason testing, the championships’ visits to Virginia International Raceway and Circuit of The Americas, the tripleheader event for F4 U.S. at Mid-Ohio and FR Americas’ international street-race fixture at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières will remain on the previously announced dates.
“The decision to realign the 2021 race schedule for F4 U.S. and FR Americas was an extremely difficult one,” said PMH CEO and President Tony Parella. “We were really excited to take both championships out west for the first time this season to create a true National Championship, but with the increased number of COVID-19 cases, California has implemented gathering restrictions for events which will close the gates to fans and limit the number of event entries. Sonoma and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca have some of the best fans in the world and PMH is excited to introduce its newest junior open wheel championships to them. Our goal is to add a west coast visit back to the championships’ schedules in 2022.”
All SpeedTour events will still include a built-in track test day for F4 U.S. and FR Americas drivers, and all national rounds for both championships will be live streamed to a global audience.
The SpeedTour events at Sonoma and Laguna Seca in April will still continue without spectators, featuring SportsCar Vintage Racing Association and Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli on the program.
For tickets: www.SpeedTour.net/events
For more information: www.F4USChampionship.com or www.FRAmericas.com
F4 U.S. REVISED 2021 Schedule
- VIR: March 6-7 (Rookie School)
- VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)
- Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)
- Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)
- Mid-Ohio: June 24-27 (Test day June 23)
- Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)
- VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)
- COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov. 4)
FR Americas 2021 REVISED Schedule
- Sebring: February 18-21 (Winter Warm Up, non-points)
- VIR: March 8-9 (Official Test)
- Road Atlanta: March 26-28 (Test day March 25)
- Road America: May 14-16 (Test day May 13)
- Brainerd: July 16-18 (Test day July 15)
- Grand Prix de Trois-Riveres : August 13-15
- VIR: September 24-26 (Test day Sept. 23)
- COTA: November 5-7 (Test day Nov. 4)