Two more junior single-seater champions will be crowned at the end of this weekend as IndyCar and its support series head west to Portland, while Eurocup-3 goes up north to Assen for its fifth round of 2025. We preview the action and what’s at stake.

By Feeder Series

After a frenetic yet exhilarating early-summer stretch, it’s finally time to relax a bit. As Formula 1 and support series F2 and F3 enjoy a well-deserved break, the other junior single-seater championships we cover get their time to shine.

There’s only one that we’re following in Europe this weekend: Eurocup-3, which races at Assen in what is the first junior single-seater race at the track in six years. It’s the first round the series will host since announcing its refreshed competition package for 2026, but first, drivers have a tight title battle to wage.

While Eurocup-3 will have three more rounds after this, three of the other four series we’re covering reach their conclusions this weekend in Portland, Oregon. USF Pro 2000’s title has already been decided in favour of Max Garcia, but USF2000’s Jack Jeffers has to run three more races and fend off Thomas Schrage and Teddy Musella before he can call himself a champion. USF Juniors has five drivers mathematically eligible for the crown, but realistically, it’ll be a duel between Leonardo Escorpioni and Liam Loiacono, separated by 14 points.

On their visit to the westernmost racing circuit on any junior single-seater calendar this year, they are joined by Indy NXT, which holds two more rounds later this month. All those races are in support of IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Portland, from which Álex Palou – the co-founder of Eurocup-3 team Palou Motorsport – is likely to emerge as a four-time champion after producing one of the most dominant campaigns in IndyCar history.

1. Eurocup-3: Round 5, Assen
2. Indy NXT: Round 12, Portland
3. USF Pro 2000: Round 8, Portland
4. USF2000: Round 8, Portland
5. USF Juniors: Round 6, Portland

Eurocup-3: Round 5, Assen

Circuit: TT Circuit Assen, 4.555 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+2)

Friday 8 August

• 08:48–10:18: Official test
• 14:11–14:51: Free practice

Saturday 9 August

• 08:28–08:48: Qualifying 1
• 11:43–12:18: Race 1

Sunday 10 August

• 08:31–08:51: Qualifying 2
• 11:10–11:45: Race 2

How to follow: All races will be streamed on the Eurocup-3 YouTube channel. All sessions will have live timing on Al Kamel Systems.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Friday. Bright and sunny Saturday and Sunday.

What to know: Eurocup-3 makes its first ever visit to TT Circuit Assen this weekend, marking the first time since 2019 that a junior single-seater championship has raced at the home of the Dutch Tourist Trophy MotoGP race. That year, the now-defunct W Series raced there as part of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters’ support bill. 

Ernesto Rivera goes into the fifth Eurocup-3 round as the championship leader on 136 points, just four ahead of Mattia Colnaghi. Valerio Rinicella sits third on 124 points with an 18-point gap over Kacper Sztuka, who dropped from the championship lead to fourth after a difficult weekend at Monza. 

This weekend is set to mark the last time Eurocup-3 visits the Netherlands for the foreseeable future, as the championship’s provisional 2026 calendar, unveiled last week, contains neither Assen nor previous venue Zandvoort. 

Drivex once again gives a Spanish F4 driver their FRegional-level debut, with Brazilian driver Filippo Fiorentino (#21) replacing Cristian Cantú at the team. Fiorentino, who turns 17 today, competes with the team in Spanish F4 and currently sits 23rd in the standings with a best result of 12th at Portimão.

Fiorentino will be joined by Argenti by Prema GB3 driver Lucas Fluxá (#17), who takes Wiktor Dobrzański’s vacated seat. The 16-year-old Spanish driver, who is currently 10th in the GB3 standings, competed in the Eurocup-3 Spanish Winter Championship with Campos, driving with the main team at Portimão and with satellite team Griffin Core by Campos at Aragón. He is entered under the banner of satellite team DXR.

Allay Racing replaces Owen Tangavelou with Michael Belov (#41). The 23-year-old Kyrgyz-licenced driver currently competes in FR Europe with CL Motorsport, with whom he is 15th in the standings with two best finishes of seventh. 

Report by Seb Tirado

From the press: Radical change will greet Eurocup-3 as it enters its fourth season in 2026, with a new car, new circuits and two new teams established in single-seaters set to appear for the first time. We dove into the changes and their implications for the series – and FRegional-level racing as a whole. Read the article here.

You can also read the previous round’s report here.

Indy NXT: Round 12, Portland

Circuit: Portland International Raceway, 3.166 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−7)

Friday 8 August

• 13:05–13:50: Practice 1

Saturday 9 August

• 13:30–14:15: Practice 2
• 17:30–18:00: Qualifying

Sunday 10 August

• 10:06–11:01: Race

How to follow: All sessions are streamed live on IndyCar Live. Country-specific availability is listed here. In the United States, Fox Sports 1 will show the two practice sessions and the race, while Fox Sports 2 will broadcast qualifying. Live timing for all sessions is available on the IndyCar website.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Friday. Sunny Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 35ºC on Sunday.

What to know: Indy NXT has entered the final month of its 2025 season, and Portland is the venue for its 12th race.

Dennis Hauger continues to maintain a healthy lead in the drivers’ standings, but after the last round at Laguna Seca, a new driver has emerged as his closest challenger. HMD Motorsports’ Caio Collet took both pole positions and led from lights to flag in both contests to surge to just 42 points behind the Norwegian, the closest he has been since the season opener at St Petersburg.

Collet’s rise came at the expense of Lochie Hughes, who has fallen to 89 points behind his Andretti Global teammate. The Australian rookie has missed out on the top five in each of the past three races, ending the final contest at Laguna Seca three laps down in 15th place following a late-race collision with Hauger at a restart following a caution period.

Two drivers will make their first Indy NXT appearances of 2025 this weekend. One is Brazil’s Nicholas Monteiro, who steps up to the series with HMD Motorsports after spending three years in USF Pro 2000. The 19-year-old is currently eighth in the standings, having switched from DEForce Racing to Turn 3 Motorsport mid-season before abandoning his campaign a round early. He is entered in the #24 car, last raced by ovals-only driver Davey Hamilton, while HMD’s #18 car, occupied by Max Taylor last weekend, will not run at Portland.

The other newcomer is Andretti by Cape driver Michael d’Orlando, who has a years-long relationship with Cape Motorsports but has yet to string together a full Indy NXT campaign. The 23-year-old, the 2022 USF2000 champion, entered seven races last season with the team, finishing an impressive fourth on debut at St Petersburg and picking up four further top-10 finishes. D’Orlando replaces Ricardo Escotto, whose sudden departure from the team was announced just hours before the start of practice one at Laguna Seca two weeks ago.

Report by Michael McClure

Read the previous round’s report here.

USF Pro 2000: Round 8, Portland

Circuit: Portland International Raceway, 3.166 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−7)

Thursday 7 August

• 14:00–14:45: Test session 1
• 17:00–17:45: Test session 2

Friday 8 August

• 10:30–11:00: Practice
• 16:10–16:40: Qualifying

Saturday 9 August

• 10:20–11:10: Race 1

Sunday 10 August

• 14:50–15:40: Race 2

How to follow: Qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing is also available via the USF Pro 2000 website and via the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Thursday and Friday. Sunny Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 35ºC on Sunday.

What to know: USF Pro 2000 heads out west to Portland for its season finale.

Unlike the other two series on the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF Pro 2000 has already crowned its champion. Max Garcia clinched the title last month in Toronto by winning race one, his seventh victory of the season. Behind him, the battle for runner-up spots is still undecided, with four drivers in contention for the position.

The current second-place driver is Ariel Elkin, though his advantage is slim. He is just three points ahead of Mac Clark, the only driver in the top five yet to win a race this season. Ten points behind Clark is Alessandro de Tullio, who won race two at Toronto last time out. Five podiums in the last seven races have lifted Jacob Douglas to fifth in points, 12 behind De Tullio.

Not returning for the season finale at Portland are the JHDD duo of Nick Gilkes, whose two-round deal ended in Toronto, and one-off entrant Liam McNeilly, who had to suspend his USF2000 campaign earlier this year after facing visa difficulties. Nicholas Monteiro will also vacate his seat at Turn 3 Motorsport to make his debut in Indy NXT for HMD Motorsports. 

Joining the grid will be Brisbane-born, Melbourne-based Miles Bromley, who will race the #26 TJ Speed Motorsports entry last driven by Jace Denmark at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Bromley most recently competed in the Australian Formula Open last year, finishing runner-up in points to Ryan MacMillan in the AFO1 standings. The 18-year-old missed one round of that campaign last year to participate in the USF Pro 2000 fall combine at Indianapolis with TJ Speed, for whom he has worked as mechanic this year alongside continued testing.

Report by Marco Albertini

Read the previous round’s report here.

USF2000: Round 8, Portland

Circuit: Portland International Raceway, 3.166 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−7)

Thursday 7 August

• 13:00–13:45: Test session 1
• 16:00–16:45: Test session 2

Friday 8 August

• 9:45–10:15: Practice
• 12:10–12:40: Qualifying
• 17:50–18:30: Race 1

Saturday 9 August

• 15:25–16:05: Race 2

Sunday 10 August

• 15:55–16:35: Race 3

How to follow: Qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing is also available via the USF2000 website and via the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Thursday and Friday. Sunny Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 35ºC on Sunday.

What to know: USF2000 heads to the Pacific Northwest for its final round of the season at Portland.

Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers leads the standings after winning the last four races, which included both races at Toronto in July. He currently sits on 353 points, 51 ahead of closest rival, Thomas Schrage. Despite scoring four of the last five pole positions, the VRD Racing driver wasn’t able to convert them into wins. Though he was close to Jeffers for the whole season, Schrage’s title run took a hit in Toronto, where he retired in both races as Jeffers won.

Those two retirements from Schrage helped his teammate Teddy Musella close in on runner-up honours. The Floridian currently sits on 297 points, five behind Schrage, and hasn’t finished outside of the top five in the last three rounds, even taking his maiden series win at Road America back in June.

Rookie Wian Boshoff of South Africa will not complete his first USF2000 season with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development because of visa problems. Also not returning are part-time entrants Patricio Gonzalez, Rodrigo Gonzalez and Kaylee Countryman, who will see out their USF Juniors seasons instead. 

Returning to the grid with DEForce Racing is Mazda MX-5 Cup regular Vaughn Mishko, who made his first appearance in the series at the July Mid-Ohio round and finished ninth in race two.

Joining the grid, meanwhile, are ENVE Motorsports, making their competitive USF2000 debut this weekend with 23-year-old Utah native Spencer Hancock, a single-seater newcomer. The California-based team, affiliated with cycling brand ENVE Composites, tested USF2000 machinery with Griffin Yellin last month at Thermal Club. Last year, ENVE Composites was purchased by PV3 Investments, the family holding firm of entrepreneur and healthcare executive Mark Hancock, Spencer’s father.

Report by Marco Albertini

Read the previous round’s report here.

USF Juniors: Round 6, Portland

Circuit: Portland International Raceway, 3.166 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−7)

Thursday 7 August

• 12:00–12:45: Test session 1
• 15:00–15:45: Test session 2

Friday 8 August

• 9:00–9:30: Practice
• 11:30–12:00: Qualifying
• 16:55–17:35: Race 1

Saturday 9 August

• 14:30–15:10: Race 2
• 18:20–19:00: Race 3

How to follow: Races will be broadcast on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel. Live timing is also available via the USF Juniors website and the USF Pro Championships app.

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy Thursday and Friday. Sunny Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures expected to reach 35ºC on Sunday

What to know: USF Juniors heads to Portland for its final round of the season.

Leading the drivers’ standings heading into this weekend’s round is Zanella Racing’s Leonardo Escorpioni, who currently sits on 310 points with four wins to his name. Fourteen points behind the Brazilian is JHDD’s Liam Loiacono, who has won five of the last six races and has positioned himself as Escorpioni’s biggest threat this weekend.

Early-season contender João Vergara sits third in the points despite failing to score a top 10 in all three races at Road America last time out. He is still in mathematical contention for the title, though at 73 points behind his championship-leading countryman, he faces long odds. Also in mathematical contention but in need of miracles are Oliver Wheldon and Ty Fisher, who are 86 and 89 points behind Escorpioni respectively.

Joining the field for the season finale is 14-year-old Justin Di Lucia, who will drive Exclusive Autosport’s #94 car. The Toronto-born Floridian currently leads the USF Juniors class standings in Formula Race Promotions’ Atlantic Championship Series with two rounds left. He also competed in the YACademy Winter Series, in which he took a best result of 10th twice. Di Lucia’s car was present at the previous USF Juniors round in Road America.

Report by Marco Albertini

From the press: Loiacono built his late-season championship attack on consistency and opportunism – lessons he learned while racing in Formula Ford in Australia before moving stateside. We sat down with the 17-year-old to talk about his adaptation to American single-seaters, his title charge and where he’s going from here. Read the interview here.

You can also read the previous round’s report here.

All times and forecasts listed above are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information, follow each series’ websites or social media pages.

Header photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography