2023 Formula Pro USA Western FR Championship

All drivers competed with Honda-powered Ligier JS-F3 cars on Avon tires.[1]

Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
Valley Kitchens	2	Nicole Havrda[2]	All
Kiwi Motorsports	02	Jett Bowling[3]	11–12
	20	Jake Bonilla[3]	9–10
World Speed Motorsports	3	Larry Schnur[4]	3–8, 11–12
	37	Jay Horak[5]	All

The 2023 calendar was planned to be held over twelve races spanning across six weekends.[6] Compared to 2022, Buttonwillow Raceway Park joined the schedule, replacing one of the three rounds at Thunderhill Raceway Park. The weekend at Laguna Seca was cancelled mid-weekend, meaning only ten races were held.

Round	Circuit	Date	Support bill	Map of circuit locations
R1	Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows	April 15	Formula Car Challenge San Francisco Region SCCA Series	Sonoma Thunderhill Buttonwillow Laguna Seca
R2		April 16
R3	Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow	April 29	Formula Car Challenge California Sports Car Club
R4		April 30
R5	Thunderhill Raceway Park, Willows	June 3	Formula Car Challenge San Francisco Region SCCA Series
R6		June 4
R7	WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey	July 1	Formula Car Challenge San Francisco Region SCCA Series
R8		July 2
R9	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma	September 2	Formula Car Challenge San Francisco Region SCCA Series
R10		September 3
R11	Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Buttonwillow	October 14	California Sports Car Club Formula Pro USA Western F4 Championship
R12		October 15

The season began at Thunderhill Raceway Park with the same two drivers that contested the winter championship. The competitive order of that championship continued, with Valley Kitchens' Nicole Havrda winning both races and establishing an early ten-point lead over WSM's Jay Horak. Horak had been faster at points throughout the weekend, as he scored one pole and both fastest laps, but had to concede both race victories to Havrda.[7]

Larry Schnur joined WSM and the series for round two at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, but was also no match for Havrda. The Canadian expanded on her success in round one to dominate and sweep the weekend, taking both poles, fastest laps and race wins. Her advantage over Horak was now 30 points as the WSM teammates both claimed a second and a third place each.[8]

A return to Thunderhill Raceway Park brought no change in the formbook. While Horak was on top in the first qualifying session and also claimed the fastest race lap, Havrda was once again unbeatable in the race. As the second day rolled around, she then took another clean sweep with pole position, fastest lap and race victory. Horak had to be content with two second places once again, both times ahead of Schnur, seeing Havrda's standings lead grow to 45 points.[9]

The race weekend at Laguna Seca was cancelled for unknown reasons, creating a gap of two months ahead of the final two rounds of the championship.

Sonoma Raceway hosted the penultimate round of the season, which saw Kiwi Motorsport and Jake Bonilla join the championship, albeit at the expense of Schnur. Here, Havrda threatened to continue her dominant form, but she was unable to start race one from pole, leaving Horak to take the win. She continued to struggle in race two, finishing third and last, while Bonilla claimed a debut win. This reduced Havrda's championship lead to 15 points.[10]

The championship returned to Buttonwillow Raceway Park for the season finale, where four cars were entered. Kiwi Motorsports' debutant Jett Bowling took pole, but Horak was on a mission to win the title as he claimed the race win. Havrda came third with the fastest lap, so her lead was reduced further to only seven points. It was all to play for in the final race, but Havrda took pole position, fastest lap and the win to secure the title.[11]

Only five drivers competed in the series, with most rounds only seeing three cars compete. Havrda was clearly ahead of defending champion Horak on most occasions, save for her off weekend at Sonoma that allowed Horak to close back into the championship fight.

Points were awarded as follows:

Pos	Driver	THU1		BUT1		THU2		LAG		SON		BUT2		Pts
		R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12
1	Nicole Havrda	1	1	1	1	1	1	C	C	DNS	3	3	1	215
2	Jay Horak	2	2	3	2	2	2	C	C	1	2	1	2	199
3	Larry Schnur			2	3	3	3	C	C			2	3	96
4	Jake Bonilla									2	1			45
5	Jett Bowling											4	DNS	12
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	Pts
		THU1		BUT1		THU2		LAG		SON		BUT2

• 2023 Formula Pro USA FR Winter Series

• Official website: Formula Pro USA