Edward Kennedy and Beckham Jacir Sweep Saturday in Ligier JFC Competition at NOLA

Edward Kennedy and Beckham Jacir earned their first wins of the 2026 season as Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) contested Round 1 at NOLA Motorsports Park on Saturday.

Notes of Interest:

• Edward Kennedy earned his first-career Ligier JFC victory during his series debut at NOLA Motorsports Park while racing in the Gen. 2 Class.
• In the Gen. 1 Class, Beckham Jacir visited NOLA Motorsports Park’s Winners Circle for the first time. The victory marked the second of Jacir’s Ligier JFC career, with his first win coming at Barber Motorsports Park last October.
• Rookie driver Truly Adams earned his first-career podium in his debut race.
• Representing Argentina, Lazaro Bainotti finished third to lock in his first-career podium during the opening race of the 2026 season.
• Three teams were represented on the Race 1 podium with Champagne Racing winning the event, Berg Racing finishing second and Speed Factory taking third.

With the Gen. 2 Class starting at the rear for Ligier JFC’s standing start, Kennedy (No. 30 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) raced through the field, reaching the race lead just before the halfway point. Consistently hitting his marks, Kennedy drove away with the victory in his first Ligier JFC start.

In the Gen. 1 Class, Jacir (No. 7 Stonica / Bell / OMP / P1DOKS / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) led from lights to checkers in his first-generation Ligier F4 car. Second-place starter Lazaro Bainotti (No. 11 Fundacion Fangio Rus seguros Cordoba deportes / Speed Factory Ligier JS F4) held his position for most of the race, but in the final five minutes of the event, Truly Adams (No. 47 Adams Motorsports Park / Troy Adams Coaching / OSRX / Mileage Quest / Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) made his way around to claim the runner-up position, leaving Bainotti to settle for third.

>> SEE MORE: Race 1 Official Results

“Everything was really good today,” said Kennedy from atop the podium. “The car was really fast and we nailed it. We had to fight through the field, but we made it work and everything was great. I’d like to thank the whole team at MLT Motorsports, as well as my mom for being here.”

“It was a pretty good race today,” said Jacir after climbing from the car. “We got an okay start. Lazaro [Bainotti] got beside me, but then we got away a bit and they started fighting behind me. The pace was really good at the beginning, after the restart it was still alright, but then we started to drop off a bit, but it’s okay—we still managed to get the win. I’d like to thank my team, Champagne Racing, for giving me an awesome car, as well as my sponsors P1DOKS, OMP, BELL, Stonica and Behind the Wheel.”

Edward Kennedy and Beckham Jacir swept the Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) Gen. 2 and Gen. 1 Classes, respectively, on Saturday at NOLA Motorsports Park. With two of the weekend’s three races in the books, the two drivers lead their respective championship standings heading into Sunday’s final race.

Notes of Interest:

• Edward Kennedy earned his second Ligier JFC Gen. 2 Class victory of the 2026 season during Race 2 at NOLA.
• Beckham Jacir stretched his win streak to three consecutive races with a Round 2 win at NOLA. Prior to winning today’s two events, Jacir also won the 2025 season finale at Barber Motorsports Park last October. All three of Jacir’s victories have come with Champagne Racing.
• Berg Racing rookie, Truly Adams, finished second in both of Saturday’s races at NOLA Motorsports Park. Adams races for one of the largest teams in the Ligier JFC paddock with Berg Racing fielding four cars in 2026.
• Ava Hanssen earned her first-career podium with a third-place result in Race 2 at NOLA. The sophomore driver competes for family-owned team Ava Hanssen Racing, a true privateer operation with just Hanssen, her mom and her dad.
• AJ Abdullah (No. 21 Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) improved drastically from Race 1 where he was not classified to finish fourth in Race 2.

Kennedy (No. 30 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) was flawless in Race 2 at NOLA. Heading the Gen. 2 Class grid from second group of the split start, Kennedy worked his way through the field. Behind him, Jack Speth (No. 07 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) settled into second while the MLT Motorsports driver led from lights to checkered.

Beckham Jacir (No. 7 Stonica / Bell / OMP / P1DOKS / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) once again dominated the battle in the Gen. 1 Class. Leading the field to the starting lights, Jacir immediately took command and continued in the point position all the way to the checkered flag. Truly Adams (No. 47 Adams Motorsports Park / Troy Adams Coaching / OSRX / Mileage Quest / Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) started the race in the seventh position, but with a solid jump, climbed to third by the completion of the second lap. Meanwhile, Ava Hanssen (No. 26 One Powersports / Chiropractic Center of Elkhorn / NGK / Badger Mats Ligier JS F4) rolled off third, but had dropped as low as fifth before she began to climb the scoring pylon once again. By the closing laps, Hanssen reached Adams’ gearbox with less than a half second separating the two drivers. Unable to complete the pass, Hanssen had to settle for third, while Jacir and Adams filled the first and second positions, respectively.

>> SEE MORE: Race 2 Official Results

“Yeah, the race was fun,” said Kennedy atop the podium. “We stayed steady the whole time and went from the back to the front. It was fun. Everyone did amazing—the whole Kiwi Motorsport team—our car was on point.”

“It was a good race,” said Jacir after the race. “Much better than the first race. The pace stayed strong throughout the whole race. We made a couple of changes and it worked—it worked well with the new tires, so yeah, really, really good job. I’m really happy with the team, a big thank you to Champagne Racing. We’ll stay focused for tomorrow.”

Ligier JFC will contest their final race of the Racing America at NOLA weekend tomorrow at 11:50 a.m. CT. Live timing and scoring will be available on the Race Monitor app, with additional news and updates posted on the series’ Facebook,Instagram and Twitter.