The end of the season nears for more championships, with four of the junior single-seater series covered in this weekend’s preview racing for the final time in 2026. Feeder Series looks ahead to the action from Barber, Autopolis and Zhuhai.

By Feeder Series

The great denouement of 2026 continues this weekend as the autumn is fully upon us. Championship titles in FR Americas, F4 US and the Ligier Junior Formula Championship may mostly be decided, but there is still action to be run in Barber and prizes to be awarded afterwards – plus the Gen 2 title to be won.

Those races are not set to be streamed, but the Japanese F4 and Chinese F4 rounds will be. History could be made in the former, which holds its penultimate round, as Ryo Shirasaki stands a strong chance of becoming the first driver not backed by Toyota or Honda to win the title. In the latter, four drivers remain mathematically eligible for the ultimate prize entering the final round – the widest-open battle in nearly a decade. Keep reading to find out more about how the leading drivers stand in each.

After crowning both the rookie and gentleman champions at round four in Spa, the Ultimate Cup Series Formula Cup heads to the Circuito de Navarra for its penultimate round, returning to the Spanish venue after a two-year hiatus. Stepan Suslov of Winfield Racing heads into the round as the FR-level series’ champion, but there is a closer battle for second place behind him. Alan Orzynski sits in second with 121 points, followed by Eros Gioannini at 115.5 and gentleman class champion Frédéric Boillot at 112 – though Gioannini announced on Instagram on Thursday that his campaign had come to an early end. 

FRegional Americas: Round 8, Barber

Circuit: Barber Motorsports Park, 3.830 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 16 October

• 10:20–10:55: Free practice 1
• 14:55–15:30: Free practice 2

Saturday 17 October

• 10:25–10:50: Qualifying
• 16:55–17:30: Race 1

Sunday 18 October

• 12:00–12:35: Race 2

How to follow: Live timing will be available on Race Monitor for all sessions.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.

What to know: FRegional Americas’ season finale has arrived at last with a series champion already crowned. Brady Golan clinched the title after a stellar weekend at VIR that contrasted with championship rival Evagoras Papasavvas’ scoreless outing.

Behind the leading pair, Cooper Shipman sits third in points on 202, and Kekai Hauanio sits fourth on 186.5. Hauanio, whose last three finishes were all in the top two positions, could yet pose a challenge to Shipman.

The teams’ championship remains extremely tight, with Toney Driver Development leading Crosslink Motorsports by just 14 points with two races remaining.

All of the top three come to the physically taxing 3.83-kilometre track with pedigree. Golan enjoyed the best weekend of his rookie campaign at Barber, with finishes of first and second; Shipman finished third in race one last year on his series debut; and Papasavvas finished second on his Indy NXT debut in May 2025.

The season’s final round will feature 15 cars, an increase of two from VIR. Aiden Zelaya is missing from the Jensen Global Advisors team, who are down to a single-car lineup. 

Atlantic Racing Team and James Lawley (#88) will compete once again, having missed another round because of a conflict with the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America series. The Masters’ class will once again feature three cars, with Anthony Autiello (#07) returning with Momentum Motorsports and Whitney Strickland (#21) returning with Hillenburg Motorsports.

Report by Owen White

Read the previous round’s report here.

F4 US: Round 7, Barber

Circuit: Barber Motorsports Park, 3.830 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 16 October

• 09:05–09:45: Free practice 1
• 13:40–14:20: Free practice 2

Saturday 17 October

• 08:50–09:15: Qualifying
• 13:50–14:25: Race 1

Sunday 18 October

• 10:25–11:00: Race 2

How to follow: Live timing will be available on Race Monitor for all sessions.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.

What to know: Although Gaston Irazú locked up the F4 US championship back at Virginia International Raceway, one round still remains in the season, with multiple positions within the top five still up for grabs through the two races at Barber Motorsports Park.

With Zach Fourie not on the grid this weekend because of budget issues, Caleb Campbell, who sits 16 points behind him in the battle for second, has an excellent opportunity to steal the series’ runner-up spot. Fourth-placed Cole Medeiros will also not compete in the season finale, having opted to participate in the USF Pro Fall Combine at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with VRD Racing. As a result, Clemente Huerta, the only driver besides Irazú to score a podium in both races at VIR, now has a near-certain chance of snatching fourth in the championship.

The battle for sixth in the championship isn’t over either, with Ayden Kohut sitting seven points ahead of Fernando Rivera. In addition to Fourie, Medeiros and Luca Day, Ben Ramirez will also be absent from the grid this weekend, having competed in three rounds throughout the season. He is instead competing in the Ligier Junior Formula Championship’s Gen 2 class.

The sixth and final car on the grid for the weekend will be driven by 16-year-old American Jeremiah Thomas (#46) and fielded by Team Roberts. The team were most recently on the grid in 2024 with Connor Roberts, who won one race and finished third in the championship. Thomas, who previously tested F4 machinery with Jensen Global Advisors, now makes his debut competing at the F4 level.

Report by Owen White

Read the previous round’s report here.

Ligier Junior Formula Championship: Round 6, Barber

Circuit: Barber Motorsports Park, 3.830 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC−5)

Friday 16 October

• 09:05–09:45: Free practice 1
• 13:40–14:20: Free practice 2

Saturday 17 October

• 07:50–08:15: Qualifying
• 12:00–12:35: Race 1

Sunday 18 October

• 09:10–09:45: Race 2 

How to follow: No live streams will be available for the races.

Weather forecast: Mostly sunny all weekend.

What to know: The Ligier Junior Formula Championship heads to Barber for its final round of the season.

Even with one round still to be run, one of two titles has already been clinched – that being Gen 1’s, won by Beckham Jacir at VIR last time out in September whilst Lázaro Bainotti secured second. Third place is still up for grabs, with Ava Hanssen on 150 points occupying the position as AJ Abdullah, Alexander Savage and Tyler Wade remain in mathematical contention.

Over in Gen 2, the title is still undecided. Edward Kennedy is the title favourite having won 10 of the 11 races he has contested. Despite missing a round, he leads by 13 points over Jack Speth, his season-long rival and the only other race winner.

Two new names join the entry list for the weekend, one for each class. Gen 1 expands to eight cars with the addition of 15-year-old Zachary Lewis (#1), who joins the grid with Jensen. The Texas native has mainly raced with the team in Formula Pro USA–run championships while also participating in the competitive sim racing scene.

Gen 2 will also expand to three cars with the addition of Rase Motorsports and Ben Ramirez (#32), who moves over from F4 US, in which he currently sits ninth in points. The 22-year-old American previously graduated from the Radford Racing School and also worked as a member of the tech staff at the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association.

Report by Marco Albertini

From the press: After making history as the youngest driver to win a USF Juniors race at 14 years and 57 days, Kennedy now has his eyes set on taking the Gen 2 LJFC title this weekend. Click here to read about the Canadian’s rise through the ranks and his season so far.

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

Japanese F4: Round 6, Autopolis

Circuit: Autopolis International Racing Course, 4.674 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC-9) 

Thursday 15 October

• 12:30–13:00: Champion Class practice 1
• 13:05–13:35: Independent Class practice 1
• 14:10–14:40: Champion Class practice 2
• 14:45–15:15: Independent Class practice 2
• 15:50–16:20: Champion Class practice 3
• 16:25–16:55: Independent Class practice 3

Friday 16 October

• 08:30–09:00: Champion Class practice 4
• 09:10–09:40: Independent Class practice 4
• 13:00–13:20: Champion Class practice qualifying
• 13:30–13:50: Independent Class practice qualifying

Saturday 17 October

• 08:15–08:45: Independent Class race 1 (13 laps)
• 09:15–09:45: Champion Class race 1 (13 laps)

Sunday 18 October

• 08:15–08:45: Independent Class race 2 (13 laps)
• 09:15–09:45: Champion Class race 2 (13 laps)

How to follow: Live timing is available on Super GT’s live timing app, which is unavailable in Europe. Races and qualifying will be streamed live on the championship’s official YouTube channel.

Weather forecast: Increasing in warmth through the weekend, peaking around 30°C. Sunny on Friday and Saturday, with clouds and possible showers on Sunday.

What to know: Heading into the penultimate round of the 2026 Japanese F4 championship, Ryo Shirasaki is facing an unprecedented destiny. There’s never been a fully independent champion of this series, yet despite lacking the backing from Honda or Toyota given to others in the field, his domination of 2026 is set to flip the script. 

With a 60-point advantage over rival Ryo Sakai, all he needs to do is leave with 50 points in hand on the Toyota junior, and the coveted crown will be his.

Shirasaki may have struggled last time out at Sugo, where Sakai ended the Kageyama Racing driver’s six-race win streak, but history knows Autopolis to be kinder to the 28-year-old. He followed a fourth place in the first race of that weekend last year by winning the second in fine style. But with Masana Muto (#29) back in the picture, Sakai will also be fighting to defend the second place he currently holds by just three points. 

Buzz Racing are set to field Dougie Bolger (#6) for his first Japanese F4 outings this weekend. The 21 year-old Japanese driver’s previous experience is largely in GT racing rather than the traditional single-seater path, though he did compete in British F4 for Carlin back in 2021. His last campaign was in Italian GT in 2025, and this year he has been working as Roman Staněk’s advisor and interpreter in Super Formula.

Absent from this weekend will be three of the series’ one-car operations. TGM Grand Prix, who field Miku Ikejima, announced that they were ending their campaign early while they work to identify the root cause of the car issues they said they had been facing. Dr. Dry Racing’s Rikuto Toyoshima and Eagle Racing’s Leon Ochiai will also miss this round. 

The two-car Zap Speed team will also be absent, with both Masakai Murata and Kota Umemoto having to skip this weekend, as will TGR-DC’s Riona Tomashita after featuring last time out at Sportsland Sugo as Muto’s replacement.

Fujita Yakyoku Racing will see a new driver added to their lineup, meanwhile, as Kaoru Yoshida (#47) deputises for Taiga Ishii. Yoshida joins the team after contesting the Suzuka and Fuji rounds for Drago Corse with a best finish of 22nd. 

In the Independent class, the main story is that championship leader “Hirobon” (#5) and his Team 5ZIGEN team will be absent from this round. Their 84-point leads in the drivers’ and teams’ standings ensure they will stay at the top heading into the final round at Twin Ring Motegi, but their absence represents the best chance championship rival Yutaka Toriba has had all season to reduce his deficit. Hiroshi Sugiyama, Shigeto Nagashima and Mitsuhiro Endo will also miss this round. 

Replacing Sugiyama in the Rn-sports lineup this weekend will be Masayaki Ueda (#11), who also took over the same car in June’s Okayama round, while Shuhei Sato (#3) joins Akiland Racing and B-Max add Yasuhiro Shimizu (#88) to their lineup this weekend. Sato competed in Super FJ’s Autopolis round last month, and Shimizu finished third in the Super Formula Lights masters class this year.

Report by Thomas Groves

Read the previous round’s report here. 

Chinese F4: Round 6, Zhuhai

Circuit: Zhuhai International Circuit, 4.318 km

Schedule: All times local (UTC+8)

Friday 16 October

• 09:35–10:05: Free practice 1
• 10:50–11:20: Free practice 2
• 14:00–14:30: Qualifying session 1
• 15:50–16:20: Qualifying session 2

Saturday 17 October

• 11:20–12:00: Race 1
• 16:30–17:10: Race 2

Sunday 18 October

• 09:10–09:50: Race 3
• 14:35–15:15: Race 4

How to follow: Races can be streamed on the Recording China Baidu account. Races are also streamed on series’ organiser Mintimes’ WeChat channel, but users require a WeChat account to access it. Livetiming is available on MyRacing.

Weather forecast: Mostly cloudy all weekend, with the possibility for light rain throughout.

What to know: Chinese F4 heads to Zhuhai for its season finale. 

Heading into the weekend, Timur Shagaliev leads the championship with 306 points, 18 points ahead of Kimi Chan. Yu Yan rounds out the top three, 67 points behind Shagaliev and still in mathematical contention for the title. So is Chen Sicong, who sits in fourth with 229 points, 77 behind Shagaliev. 

Last time out in Zhuzhou, Chan bounced back to take two wins and close the gap between him and Shagaliev in the championship. The Hong Kong–born driver will be eager to replicate those feats from last weekend to take the championship title. Meanwhile, Yu and Chen both took their second wins of the season in races one and four respectively, which helped keep both in the mathematical title hunt. 

Ten drivers who did not race in Zhuzhou will be racing at the season finale this weekend. Joining the Black Blade Junior Team is Sun Anzhe (#66), who raced in British F4 this year and finished 19th overall. Ethan Liu (#95) will also be making the switch from Black Blade GP to race under the Black Blade Junior Team banner after missing the last round. At Black Blade Academy, Yang Peng (#8) will return this weekend after skipping Zhuhai, while alongside him is Luke Qian (#12), who makes his series debut this weekend. 

Joining Asia Racing Team this weekend is French F4 driver Héloïse Goldberg (#21), who finished 27th in the series this year. Partnering her at the team is Yang Kaiwen (#36), who last raced in the series in 2024. 

WIthin the Champ stable, Zhao Zijun (#67) will return for the season finale with Champ Academy after his participation in the FR Europe post-season tests meant he missed Zhuzhou, while Yu Haoxi (#72) will be making her single-seater debut under the Kai Fei Academy banner. Last year, Yu participated in two rounds of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy in the Academy Senior class, finishing 20th at Viterbo and 16th at Portimão. Patrick Tsang, who last raced at the season opener in Shanghai, is also set to return for the finale with Kai Fei Motorsport. 

Wang Zejun (#7), who last competed in the third round at Ningbo this year, will also be racing in the season finale with Pointer Racing. Hon Yingfu (#61) will also return to the championship this weekend with Henmax Motorsport having not raced in the series since the season finale last year. 

Report by Kaylene Lau

From the press: Sitting second in the championship standings, Kimi Chan is eager to take the Chinese F4 title after finishing second last year. Chan sat down to reflect on his season so far, the Chinese motorsport scene and what it was like to race around the Guia Circuit in Macau. Read his thoughts 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