Kohlbecker and Murphy claim wins and podium in F4 outing at Laguna Seca

Toyota Racing Series graduate Spike Kohlbecker and NZ Formula Ford driver Ronan Murphy have made an immediate impact in the Formula Pro USA (F4) over the weekend. Competing with Kiwi Motorsport, the US driver won both Formula 4 races while Murphy finished fourth and second.

With an almost three-month delay between the first two event weekends of the year due to COVID-19, the Formula Pro USA Presented by Exclusive Racing program was back on track this past weekend at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Taking place in chamber of commerce weather, wheel-to-wheel action was the story of the weekend as teams and competitors overcame the new COVID-19 guidelines in their first event back.

Spike Kohlbecker (Kiwi Motorsport) struck first on Saturday claiming the Formula Pro USA Presented by Exclusive Racing F4 win ahead of Spencer Bucknum (Black Sheep Racing). The Kiwi Motorsport driver drove to the win enroute to scoring the fastest lap of the race and two bonus points. Bijoy Garg (Competition Touring Cars) was able to find his place on the podium with a P3 effort while Ronan Murphy (Kiwi Motorsport) and Vincent Khristov (Kiwi Motorsport) rounded out the top-five. Point leader Will DeLaRosa had a trying day and in the end, garnered eight points to his championship total to retain the lead as a handful of drivers closed the gap while Khristov earned two bonus points for the day’s Hard Charger award.

Sunday saw Kohlbecker earn his second victory in as many days in another maximum point effort as he once again earned two bonus points for the fastest lap of the race. Ronan Murphy made it a Kiwi Motorsport one – two finish climbing his way to the second step of the podium with Spencer Bucknum earning his second podium of the weekend with a P3 effort and the Hard Charger award earning him two extra bonus points. Will DeLaRosa crossed the line in the fourth position and garnered just enough points to hold the championship points lead by one point after four events. Saturday podium winner Bijoy Garg rounded out the top-five.

Spike Kohlbecker (left) and Ronan Murphy

The Formula Pro USA Presented by Exclusive Racing F4 Point Standings after four rounds can be found HERE.

Jay Horak (Worldspeed Motorsports) racing in the Formula Pro USA Presented by Exclusive Racing FR event weekend took a pair of race wins, pole positions, fast lap honors and hard charger awards.

Morgan continued, “We invite each and every racer to our next event and even though we just got home from our most recent race, we are already planning and looking forward to rounds five and six.”

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