After last week’s hiatus, junior single-seater racing returns this weekend with Super Formula Lights racing at Fuji Speedway and Indy NXT racing at Barber Motorsports Park. Feeder Series previews the action.

By Feeder Series

The main motorsport event this weekend is Formula 1’s Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, held in March for the first time ever following its pivot to a springtime event in 2024. For our purposes, though, the big draw this weekend is Super Formula Lights’ season opener at Fuji, the former host of the grand prix, about a four hours’ drive to the northwest.

Indy NXT, meanwhile, is the only non-winter championship to have already held more than one round in 2026, and it will extend that record this weekend with its third round in five weekends at Barber in support of IndyCar. While we are not covering it in depth this year, there is also NACAM F4’s second round of the season in Mexico City, with both races taking place on Saturday.

As always, we’ve got the schedules below in each venue’s local time zone, but European readers, beware of daylight saving time for Sunday’s activity in particular!

1. Super Formula Lights: Round 1, Fuji
2. Indy NXT: Round 3, Barber

Super Formula Lights: Round 1, Fuji

Circuit: Fuji Speedway, 4.563 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+9)

Thursday 26 March

• 10:00–12:00: Free practice 1
• 15:00–17:00: Free practice 2

Friday 27 March

• 9:20–10:40: Free practice 3
• 13:50–15:20: Free practice 4

Saturday 28 March

• 10:05–10:15: Qualifying 1
• 10:25–10:35: Qualifying 2
• 14:00–14:40: Race 1 (21 laps)

Sunday 29 March

• 9:45–10:15: Race 2 (15 laps)
• 14:35–15:05: Race 3 (15 laps)

How to follow: All races will be live-streamed on the series’ official YouTube channel. Live timing will be available at sfl.racelive.jp.

Weather forecast: Rain showers are possible ahead of the first practice on Thursday, but they are unlikely any time after that, with mostly cloudy weather expected through Sunday.

What to know: Super Formula Lights enters its seventh season at Fuji this weekend, and it will likely attract more international viewers than ever before thanks to four drivers switching over from European racing – namely Evan Giltaire, Akshay Bohra, Rintaro Sato and Oscar Wurz.

And not only will their presence be a reason to watch the championship, but they are also all expected to be in the mix for the title fight. 

In the previous six seasons, only one time – 2021 with Teppei Natori – was the championship won by a driver who was not part of Honda’s or Toyota’s respective junior programmes. However, this year, all manufacturer-backed drivers will make their debut in the championship. It levels the playing field and means that Giltaire and Bohra, who had strong seasons in FRegional last year, have an especially good chance at the title. To learn more about the 2026 grid, read our season guide.

Report by Finjo Muschlien

Indy NXT: Round 3, Barber

Circuit: Barber Motorsports Park, 3.830 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 27 March

• 13:30–14:15: Practice

Saturday 28 March

• 09:00–09:30: Qualifying
• 12:06–13:01: Race 1 (35 laps) 

Sunday 29 March

• 10:09–10:59: Race 2 (30 laps) 

How to follow: In the United States, practice and qualifying will be shown on Fox Sports 2. The race will air on Fox Sports 1. All sessions are also streamed on Fox One. For international viewers, all sessions will be streamed live on IndyCar Live. Live timing will be available on the IndyCar website and the IndyCar App.

Weather forecast: Sunny all weekend.

What to know: After two races on street circuits, Indy NXT visits Barber Motorsports Park, its first road course of the season. This 3.83-kilometre track located in Birmingham, Alabama, is a favourite among drivers because of its long, sweeping corners and elevation changes.

Last season, Dennis Hauger swept the weekend by topping both practice sessions, setting pole position in qualifying and leading every lap of the race. It’ll be much harder for anyone to do so this year, however, because of the fact there are two races, with drivers getting only one 45-minute practice session before being thrown into qualifying for the double-header. 

Max Taylor comes into this weekend as an Indy NXT race winner and the new championship leader after his win at Arlington last time out. The Andretti Global driver has 92 points, 10 points ahead of Cape Motorsports powered by ECR driver Nikita Johnson, who is second. HMD Motorsports driver Tymek Kucharczyk is third with 70 points. The entry list is unchanged from the first two rounds.

Report by Vincent van der Hoek

Read the previous round’s report here, and check out today’s Feeder Focus podcast episode previewing the Indy NXT round 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: Super Formula Lights