Gastón Irazú Goes Back to Back in F4 U.S. at Road America

Gastón Irazú scored his second Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) win at Road America on Sunday morning. Once again pacing the field from flag to flag in an all-green race, Irazú (No. 27 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F422) dominated with nearly a seven-second advantage as the checkered flag waved.

Notes of Interest:

• After getting his first F4 U.S. win yesterday, Gastón Irazú took the top step of the podium for the second time this weekend at Road America.
• Capturing a second-place finish, Zach Fourie is a four-time runner-up in F4 U.S., as he continues to search for his first win.
• Caleb Campbell beat Luca Day to the line by 0.024 seconds to maintain his podium streak. After winning the first three races of the season and finishing second yesterday, Campbell has five straight podiums in F4 U.S.
• Rebounding from a challenging weekend at NOLA, rookie driver Luca Day recorded a career-best fourth-place finish.
• In his debut weekend, Ben Ramirez finished sixth in Race 2. The Californian got his first formula car experience earlier this year while attending the Radford Racing School Karts to Cars Scholarship School, after earning a seat for the school by winning a sim racing competition.

Weather added an extra layer of drama to an otherwise calm F4 U.S. race on Sunday morning. With on-and-off showers in the area and ever-changing track conditions, drivers and teams approached the pre-grid with a bit of uncertainty about how the race might unfold. At the one-minute mark, just before the field was supposed to pull onto the track, the skies opened up. With the track surface wet, Race Director Scott Goodyear declared the race a “wet weather race,” which mandates the use of rain tires.

Once everyone switched to rain tires, the field headed out for their formation lap. Gastón Irazú (No. 27 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F422) led the group to a waving green flag with Caleb Campbell (No. 68 Steele Auto Group / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) to his outside. Behind them, Zach Fourie (No. 15 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) rolled off in fourth. While Irazú pulled to the head of the pack, Campbell and Fourie filed in behind him with the three running nose to tail for the opening laps.

On lap three, Campbell passed Irazú in Turn 1 to capture the lead, whereas Fourie made his run to overtake the Uruguayan in Turn 3. Irazú, however, wasn’t about to give up the position without a fight. Quickly making his way back around Fourie’s machine, the rookie driver for Champagne Racing then looked toward Campbell, trying to find the right opportunity to recapture the lead. Filling Campbell’s mirrors before pulling wheel to wheel, Irazú was able to capitalize when Campbell drove a bit too deep into Turn 1 with just over 10 minutes left on the clock. Back at the point, Irazú started to gap the field.

Meanwhile, Campbell started to fall into the grips of Fourie at the same time that Luca Day (No. 54 Zimperium / Momentum Motorsports Ligier JS F422) was working to pull up to the two teammates. As the white flag waved, the intensity in the battle noticeably increased. Fourie pulled side by side with Campbell as they entered Turn 5, completing the pass to claim second as they exited the corner. Hungry for his first podium, Day reached Campbell’s gearbox and filled his mirrors through the final corners. The fight turned into a drag race to the finish line with Day pulling to the outside as they exited the final turn. As they crossed the finish line, Campbell edged Day by just 0.024 seconds.

>> SEE MORE: Round 5 Official Results

“I feel great to have had a great weekend,” said Irazú atop the podium. “The last weekend [at NOLA], we had a little problem, but I’m really proud of my team. They gave me the best car I’ve ever had in my life. Thanks to everyone on my team, Champagne Racing, my sponsors, my dad, my mom, my girlfriend and everyone.”

-Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography