Kennedy Crowned Ligier JFC Gen. 2 Class Champion with Race 2 Win, While Jacir Caps Championship Season with Gen. 1 Class Win

Edward Kennedy won the Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) Gen. 2 title with a Race 2 victory at Barber Motorsports Park yesterday. Joining Beckham Jacir as the class champions in Ligier JFC, both drivers capped their season with a race victory in their respective classes during the season’s final event. With their title, both drivers earned a scholarship to assist in their advancement to the next level, with Ligier Automotive, Hankook Tire and Racing America coming together to provide them with support to step up into the next level of formula racing next season.

Notes of Interest:

• Edward Kennedy scored his 11th win of 2026 in the Ligier JFC Gen. 2 class, winning the championship by 13 points.
• Finishing second in the race and the Gen. 2 championship, Jack Speth podiumed in every race this season.
• Ben Ramirez scored a career-best finish with his third-place result in the Ligier JFC Gen. 2 class.
• Beckham Jacir won his 13th race of 2026, capping off his championship-winning season in the Ligier JFC Gen. 1 class.
• With a runner-up finish, Lazaro Bainotti scored his 13th podium of 2026. The Argentinian also finished as Vice Champion in the Gen. 1 class point standings.
• Scoring her seventh podium of the season, Ava Hanssen finished third in Race 2 at Barber. Hanssen entered the weekend in a four-driver battle for third in the point standings, but with two podiums this weekend, the 16-year-old finished the year as the Third-Place Champion in the Gen. 1 class.
• With Kennedy’s victory, MLT Motorsports won the team championship in the Gen. 2 class.
• Champagne Racing’s two victories earned the team the Gen. 1 class Team Championship for the second consecutive season.

Beckham Jacir (No. 7 Stonica / Bell / OMP / P1DOKS / Behind the Wheel / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) led the Gen. 1 class down the starting grid, but it was Lazaro Bainotti (No. 11 Fundacion Fangio Rus seguros Cordoba deportes / Speed Factory Ligier JS F4) who led the opening laps of the race. Jacir stayed hot in Bainotti’s tracks, and the two played a game of cat and mouse throughout much of the race with rarely more than a second separating their lap times. Fighting for third in the championship, Ava Hanssen (No. 26 One Powersports / Chiropractic Center of Elkhorn / NGK / Badger Mats Ligier JS F4) started third in class and maintained her position throughout the entirety of the all-green race—a solid enough run to ensure she’d finish third in the final standings.

“Today was great,” said Jacir after climbing from the car. “It’s been honestly one of my best years in racing. I think we got 13 wins out of 15 races this year, so it’s a great record to hold. Once again, I can’t thank my team, Champagne Racing, enough for this. None of this would have been possible without them. I have to thank all my sponsors: OMP, Bell, Stonica, and P1 Doks. I can’t be more grateful.”

Entering Sunday’s Race 2, Jack Speth (No. 07 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) was just six points behind Edward Kennedy (No. 30 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) in the Gen. 2 championship battle—and with a seven-point difference between first- and second-place, it all came down to the final round. Kennedy started first in class, but Speth stayed tight on his gearbox, waiting for an opportunity to make a pass. Speth tried to make a move on the inside of Turn 5, but couldn’t make it stick. As they fought lapped traffic in the final minutes of the race, it was Kennedy who led the Gen. 2 class to the finish line, to collect the championship title. Speth settled for second in class—and in the championship—while Ben Ramirez (No. 32 U.S. Air Force / RASE Motorsports Ligier JS F422) finished third in his first Ligier JFC weekend.

“[Winning] feels great,” said Kennedy. “With it being my first year racing cars, I was not expecting to win a championship, but I’m really excited, or really happy I should say, to win the championship. The whole race, [Jack] was pressuring me from behind, and then, some lapped cars got in the way. It was a great battle the whole race. The whole year we’ve had a great fight. I’d like to thank all of MLT, my parents, Dr. Mike and my physical coaches. I’m really excited, and I’m really happy to win this championship.”

>> SEE MORE: Round 16 Official Results

With the 2026 race season officially complete, Racing America is expected to make an announcement in the coming days regarding new branding for the 2027 season. Stay tuned on the series’ social accounts and website for more details.

-Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography