Brazilian Formula 4 and the Kyojo Cup were in action this past weekend as junior single-seater private testing reached fever pitch. Feeder Series reviews the racing action. 

By Feeder Series

Brazilian F4’s third time supporting the F1 São Paulo Grand Prix proved its most eventful yet, as damp conditions and heavy crashes disrupted the non-championship weekend. The same was true in the Kyojo Cup, where a major pile-up in race one eliminated six drivers before the wetter, calmer race two closed out the series’ first season as a single-seater category.

The Ultimate Cup Series’ Hoosier Formula Cup for FRegional-spec machinery also held its final round this weekend. Nano López sealed the championship title after race one and capped off his season with victory in the final race. Aaron Ferrazzano and Dylan Estre won the first and second races respectively before colliding at the start of the final race.

The World Endurance Championship wrapped up its 2025 season this weekend in Bahrain, with Saturday’s race followed by a rookie test on Sunday. DAMS F3 teammates Nicola Lacorte and Matías Zagazeta tested for Vista AF Corse, with their entries finishing third and sixth in the LMGT3 class respectively.

Neighbouring Saudi Arabia’s F4 series resumes this coming week with its next two rounds at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The third round of the season takes place today and tomorrow, while the fourth round will be held Friday and Saturday.

Feeder Series also kept a close eye on testing activities in the world of junior single-seaters. Our findings from a whirlwind week of investigation will come out later today.

1. Kyojo Cup: Shimono takes two more wins in season finale
2. Brazilian F4: Fiorentino and Ferreira triumph at F1 support round marred by two major crashes

Kyojo Cup: Shimono takes two more wins in season finale

The Kyojo Cup held its final round of the 2025 season at Fuji this weekend, and  Team Impul’s Rio Shimono once again scored the maximum number of points by taking pole and winning both races. 

Shimono was fastest in qualifying, 0.216 seconds ahead of TOM’S’ Aimi Saito and 0.294s ahead of Team KCMG’s Miki Onaga. 

Mihara Racing Team’s Kilei Kanemoto hit the barrier on the inside of Turn 2 after spinning on the formation lap. She was due to start fifth, her race ended before it even started. 

There were no position changes between the first three at the start of the sprint race, and Shimono built a gap to Saito behind on the run to Turn 3. 

That corner soon turned into a Formula 4 boneyard. Seven drivers spun or crashed in multiple separate incidents, and the race ended for six of them. The safety car was deployed moments after Onaga passed Saito for second.

The race resumed at the end of lap five without position changes at the front. Shimono won the race 2.276s ahead of Onaga and 3.372s ahead of Saito. 

It was wet for the main race on Sunday, and the field completed three laps behind the safety car before the green flag flew on lap four. Shimono kept her lead ahead of Onaga and Saito and had already extended her lead to 2.330s by the end of the first lap in green-flag conditions. 

There were no position changes in the front positions nor safety car interruptions. Shimono won the race 9.456s ahead of Onaga, who finished just 0.427s ahead of Saito after having kept her behind all race.

Because of these results, Onaga also secured second position in the drivers’ championship, as last year’s champion Saito settled for third. Shimono won eight out of 10 races this season and only failed to stand on the top step of the podium in round two, when her team struggled with engine issues.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying	Rio Shimono, 1:44.707	Aimi Saito, +0.216s	Miki Onaga, +0.294s
Sprint race (10 laps)	Rio Shimono, 23:24.974	Miki Onaga, +2.276s	Aimi Saito, +3.372s
Final race (12 laps)	Rio Shimono, 26:34.332	Miki Onaga, +9.456s	Aimi Saito, +9.883s

Standings	Drivers
P1	Rio Shimono, 149
P2	Miki Onaga, 98
P3	Aimi Saito, 74
P4	Kokoro Sato, 57
P5	Rami Sasaki, 43
P6	Mako Hirakawa, 37
P7	Riona Tomishita, 36
P8	Itsumo Shiraishi, 27
P9	Hana Burton, 21
P10	Ayumu Nagai, 18

Read the previous round’s report here.

Brazilian F4: Fiorentino and Ferreira triumph at F1 support round marred by two major crashes

Filippo Fiorentino won twice in Brazilian F4’s non-championship round at the São Paulo Grand Prix, while Rafaela Ferreira’s race two win made her the first woman to win a mixed-gender single-seater race on the F1 support bill in six years.

A damp track greeted the 16 participating drivers for race one Saturday morning. After two formation laps, polesitter Fiorentino led comfortably at the green flag as Pietro Mesquita and Ethan Nobels passed Cadi Baptista through the Senna S section.

At the next turn, Celo Hahn outbraked himself and hit newcomer Naim Saleh. Hahn retired on the spot, causing a safety car deployment.

At the restart two laps later, Pedro Lima closed up to Nobels and ran alongside him until Turn 4, where he secured third position on the outside. A lap later, however, he went wide at Junção, ceding third to Nobels and opening the door for Pedro Lins. The pair then touched at Turn 2 while disputing fourth, costing Lima his front wing and forcing him to pit.

Nobels, meanwhile, closed on Mesquita and snatched second at Turn 1 on lap eight. They completed the podium behind Fiorentino, who won by 5.983 seconds. Lins finished fourth, while Ferreira recovered to fifth from 13th after spinning on lap one at Laranjinha.

Two major crashes truncated race two.

Ciro Sobral held off Renzo Barbuy from pole position as the fast-starting Ferreira attempted to join the lead battle. Barbuy then ran wide at Turn 4 and rejoined alongside Nobels, who spun at Ferradura.

While stationary on track, Nobels was T-boned by the unsighted João Paulo Sanzovo. The race was suspended after a lap behind the safety car.

Nobels – reportedly unconscious at the time – was extricated and taken to hospital via helicopter. His father, Kevin Nobels, wrote on Instagram on Sunday that the 16-year-old had sustained bruises to his brain and lungs but no fractures. Sanzovo was also under medical observation as of Saturday evening. Neither driver took part in the final race.

The clock continued to run, and eight minutes remained upon the race’s resumption.

Fiorentino, who started eighth but surged to second before the incident, quickly stole first place from Sobral at the restart, with Ferreira and Lima both getting past later in the lap.

The next lap proceeded smoothly, but the lap after that, Saleh lost control entering Turn 1 and smashed into Diaz. The impact sent his car flipping over both Diaz’s and Sobral’s, which had simultaneously made contact. Saleh also did not start race three.

Fiorentino went wide at Turn 4 moments later, ceding the lead to Ferreira. The chequered flag was shown that lap as a result of the accident, handing the F1 Academy driver victory on her series return.

The circuit was damp again for race three, which – like race one – began with two formation laps. That left 12 and a half minutes for green-flag racing, and Fiorentino led throughout from Lima and Mesquita as the field took a significantly tamer approach to wheel-to-wheel combat.

Report by Michael McClure

Results	P1	P2	P3
Qualifying	Filippo Fiorentino, 1:36.299	Pedro Lima, +0.169s	Pietro Mesquita, +0.180s
Race 1 (11 laps)	Filippo Fiorentino, 26:50.895	Ethan Nobels, +5.983s	Pietro Mesquita, +6.756s
Race 2 (6 laps)	Rafaela Ferreira, 24:18.892	Filippo Fiorentino, +0.572s	Pedro Lima, +1.042s
Race 3 (9 laps)	Filippo Fiorentino, 16:05.531	Pedro Lima, +4.242s	Pietro Mesquita, +6.027s

Standings	Drivers	Teams	Rookies
P1	Heitor Dall’Agnol, 199	TMG Racing, 394	Heitor Dall’Agnol, 232
P2	Filippo Fiorentino, 120	Bassani Racing, 280	Murilo Rocha, 154
P3	Murilo Rocha, 116	Cavaleiro Sports, 208	Pedro Lima, 136
P4	Pedro Lima, 110		Pedro Lins, 120
P5	Pedro Lins, 86		Pietro Mesquita, 97
P6	Ethan Nobels, 85		Cadi Baptista, 73
P7	Pietro Mesquita, 62		Celo Hahn, 60
P8	Ciro Sobral, 61		Enricco Abreu, 60
P9	Alceu Feldmann Neto, 56		Christian Helou, 47
P10	Rogério Grotta, 54		Renzo Barbuy, 32

Read the previous round’s report here.

Header photo credit: Magnus Torquato