Gastón Irazú delivered a perfect weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP), claiming pole position and winning all three Formula 4 United States (F4 U.S.) Championship races to take control of the 2026 title fight.
The Champagne Racing driver entered Round 4 trailing championship leader Caleb Campbell by 28 points. However, Campbell endured his most difficult weekend of the season, while Irazú remained unbeaten and turned that deficit into a 37-point championship advantage. Meanwhile, Cole Medeiros charged to second place in both Sunday races and Clemente Huerta returned to Kiwi Motorsport with two podium finishes.
2026 F4 U.S. NJMP Qualifying: Irazú takes third consecutive pole
Irazú immediately established himself as the driver to beat during Saturday morning’s Qualifying session. The Uruguayan set a 1:19.146 around the 2.25-mile Thunderbolt Course to secure his third consecutive pole position.
Zach Fourie provided the closest challenge for Kiwi Motorsport but finished 0.243 seconds behind. Returning teammate Huerta took third, only another 0.051s back, in his first Qualifying session since rejoining the team for the second half of the season.
Fernando Rivera put Crosslink Motorsports fourth ahead of Momentum Motorsports’ Luca Day, while championship leader Campbell could manage only sixth. Ayden Kohut completed the fourth row, while Medeiros qualified eighth but faced a pit-lane start because of multiple infractions carried over from the previous round.
Qualifying results
- Gastón Irazú — 1:19.146
- Zach Fourie — 1:19.389 — +0.243
- Clemente Huerta — 1:19.440 — +0.294
- Fernando Rivera — 1:20.432 — +1.286
- Luca Day — 1:20.449 — +1.303
- Caleb Campbell — 1:20.573 — +1.427
- Ayden Kohut — 1:20.919 — +1.773
- Cole Medeiros — 1:53.753 — +34.607
Note: Medeiros started Race 1 from the pit lane following multiple infractions.
2026 F4 U.S. NJMP Race 1: Irazú converts pole into fourth win
Irazú immediately faced pressure when Race 1 began, as Fourie attacked from the outside of the front row. However, the Champagne Racing driver successfully defended first place and then began building an advantage once he cleared the opening corners.
Behind them, Huerta and Rivera fought over third. Rivera initially gained the upper hand, but Huerta remained within range and eventually reclaimed the position, giving the Chilean a podium on his first weekend back with Kiwi Motorsport. Fourie, meanwhile, remained clear in second and continued his remarkably consistent start to the year.
Campbell’s race unfolded very differently. The championship leader had entered the weekend with podium finishes in every completed race, but contact with the barrier ended his Saturday contest early and left him unclassified. His first non-scoring result of the season immediately opened the door for Irazú and Fourie to reduce their championship deficits.
At the front, Irazú faced no further threat and claimed his fourth victory of the season. Fourie finished second for his seventh podium, while Huerta completed the top three. Rivera took a season-best fourth ahead of Medeiros, who recovered from his pit-lane start to finish fifth.
The victory also extended Irazú’s extraordinary record at New Jersey. He had swept the Ligier Junior Formula Championship races at the circuit during his 2025 title-winning campaign and maintained his unbeaten record on his return with F4 U.S.
Race 1 results
- Gastón Irazú
- Zach Fourie
- Clemente Huerta
- Fernando Rivera
- Cole Medeiros
- Luca Day
- Ayden Kohut
NC: Caleb Campbell
2026 F4 U.S. NJMP Race 2: Irazú retakes lead after Fourie’s strong start
Irazú earned pole for Race 2 after setting the fastest lap in Saturday’s opener, although Fourie made the stronger start on Sunday morning. The South African attacked immediately and swept into first place at Turn 1, briefly threatening to end Irazú’s perfect NJMP record.
However, Irazú responded on the following lap. He reclaimed first and quickly began pulling clear, building an advantage of almost two seconds as the fight behind developed.
Medeiros provided the race’s biggest charge after starting eighth. The MLT Motorsports driver steadily worked his way through the order before catching Fourie and completing the pass for second. His progress left Irazú, Medeiros and Fourie running in formation at the front.
Debris then changed the complexion of the race. Race Control deployed the Safety Car late in the contest, erasing Irazú’s advantage and placing Medeiros directly behind him for a restart with fewer than five minutes remaining.
Medeiros immediately attacked and briefly ran wheel-to-wheel with Irazú. Nevertheless, the championship contender resisted the pressure and gradually moved clear again before taking his fifth victory of the season by 1.842s.
Medeiros secured a career-best second place and his third podium of 2026, while Fourie completed the top three for an eighth podium. Huerta followed in fourth ahead of Day and Kohut, while Rivera finished seventh.
Campbell crossed the line eighth after another difficult race. Officials added 30 seconds to his result for causing a collision, meaning he collected only four points and lost further ground to Irazú.
Race 2 results
- Gastón Irazú
- Cole Medeiros — +1.842
- Zach Fourie — +3.604
- Clemente Huerta — +3.917
- Luca Day — +4.691
- Ayden Kohut — +10.001
- Fernando Rivera — +37.431
- Caleb Campbell — +1:24.028
Fastest lap: Gastón Irazú — 1:19.582
Penalty: Officials added 30 seconds to Campbell’s race time for causing a collision.
2026 F4 U.S. NJMP Race 3: Irazú completes perfect NJMP sweep
Irazú again started from pole for the final race and immediately faced attacks from both Kiwi Motorsport drivers around him. Fourie looked to the outside approaching Turn 1, while Huerta attacked on the inside.
However, Irazú covered both moves and retained first place. Huerta emerged from the opening sequence in second, while Fourie settled into third.
Medeiros once again provided the strongest recovery drive. Having started from the back while serving a penalty carried from Mid-Ohio, the Canadian rapidly moved through the field and reached Fourie’s rear wing. He then completed the pass and moved into the final podium position behind Irazú and Huerta.
Fourie subsequently came under pressure from Campbell during the closing stages. The Kiwi Motorsport teammates ran side-by-side down the main straight before Fourie left the circuit and spun at Turn 1, prompting Race Control to display a full-course yellow.
The intervention erased Irazú’s advantage and gave Huerta and Medeiros another opportunity at the restart. However, the championship challenger again responded perfectly, pulling clear as racing resumed.
Behind him, Medeiros attacked Huerta and completed the move for second. Irazú therefore crossed the line first for his third victory of the weekend and sixth of the season, while Medeiros secured his second runner-up finish of the day and fourth podium of 2026. Huerta completed the podium for the second time during his return weekend.
Rivera matched his career-best fourth-place finish, while Day and Kohut completed the top six. Campbell salvaged seventh, but Fourie’s late spin left him without points.
The victory completed Irazú’s second weekend sweep of the season. More remarkably, he remains undefeated at NJMP across both F4 U.S. and Ligier JFC competition after also winning every race he contested there in 2025.
Race 3 results
- Gastón Irazú
- Cole Medeiros
- Clemente Huerta
- Fernando Rivera
- Luca Day
- Ayden Kohut
- Caleb Campbell
NC: Zach Fourie
2026 F4 U.S. Standings after Round 4 at New Jersey
Irazú’s perfect weekend completely transformed the championship picture. He arrived at New Jersey on 123 points, 28 behind Campbell, but added the maximum 75 available across the three races and now leads on 198.
Campbell scored only 10 points across the weekend after his Race 1 retirement, eighth place in Race 2 and seventh in the finale. His total increased from 151 to 161, leaving him 37 points behind Irazú after entering the event with the championship lead.
Fourie remains third after adding 33 points through second and third-place finishes before his scoreless finale. He sits on 147, 14 behind Campbell and 51 behind Irazú.
Medeiros made the largest move further back. Fifth in Race 1 preceded consecutive second-place finishes, giving him 46 points for the weekend and lifting him to 102 overall. He now occupies fourth ahead of Huerta, whose return to Kiwi produced third, fourth and third-place finishes.
Day remains sixth on 70 points, while Rivera sits seventh on 66 after two fourth places and a seventh. Kohut follows only four points behind.
Drivers’ Standings after Round 4
- Gastón Irazú (R) — Champagne Racing — 198 pts
- Caleb Campbell — Kiwi Motorsport — 161 pts
- Zach Fourie (R) — Kiwi Motorsport — 147 pts
- Cole Medeiros (R) — MLT Motorsports — 102 pts
- Clemente Huerta — Kiwi Motorsport — 96 pts
- Luca Day (R) — Momentum Motorsports — 70 pts
- Fernando Rivera (R) — Crosslink Motorsports — 66 pts
- Ayden Kohut (R) — Kiwi Motorsport — 62 pts
- Robert Soroka — Vmax Motorsport — 28 pts
- Ben Ramirez (R) — RASE Motorsports — 16 pts
- Austin Kaszuba — Crosslink Motorsports — 8 pts
- Zain Khan (R) — USNG Racing — 5 pts
Kiwi Motorsport maintains commanding Teams’ Championship lead
Although Irazú dominated the individual results, Kiwi Motorsport continued to benefit from the depth of its four-car line-up in the Teams’ Championship.
F4 U.S. counts each team’s two highest-scoring drivers towards its race total. Therefore, Fourie and Huerta combined for 33 points in Race 1, while the same pairing contributed another 27 in Race 2. Huerta and Kohut then added 23 during the finale despite Fourie’s spin and Campbell’s difficult result.
Kiwi consequently leaves New Jersey with 348 points, maintaining a 150-point advantage over Champagne Racing. Irazú has single-handedly delivered all 198 of Champagne’s points through his six victories and other strong results.
MLT Motorsports remains third on 102 after Medeiros’ outstanding Sunday, while Crosslink Motorsports has moved to 74 through Rivera’s increasingly consistent form. Momentum Motorsports sits only four points behind in fifth.
Teams’ Standings after Round 4
- Kiwi Motorsport — 348 pts
- Champagne Racing — 198 pts
- MLT Motorsports — 102 pts
- Crosslink Motorsports — 74 pts
- Momentum Motorsports — 70 pts
- Speed Factory — 54 pts
- Vmax Motorsport — 28 pts
- RASE Motorsports — 16 pts
- USNG Racing — 5 pts
Conclusion
In conclusion, Irazú could hardly have produced a more decisive response to Campbell’s championship lead. After arriving at New Jersey 28 points behind, he claimed pole and won all three races to create a 65-point swing between the title rivals.
Moreover, his sixth victory of the season gave him two more wins than Campbell and extended his perfect racing record at NJMP. With only six races remaining, the Champagne Racing driver now controls the championship with a 37-point advantage.
However, the weekend also produced several significant performances behind him. Medeiros recovered from difficult starting positions to claim two second places, while Huerta immediately returned to podium contention after rejoining Kiwi Motorsport. Rivera also matched his career-best fourth-place result twice.
For Kiwi Motorsport, Campbell’s difficult weekend and Fourie’s Race 3 spin created setbacks in the Drivers’ Championship, but the team’s depth allowed it to remain firmly in control of the Teams’ standings. Fourie still sits third overall, while Huerta and Kohut also occupy positions inside the top eight.
F4 U.S. next travels north of the border for the Labour Day Weekend Sprints at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park from September 3–6. Irazú will arrive as the championship leader for the first time this season, while Campbell and Fourie face six remaining races to overturn his advantage.
