INSIGHT

WORDS Philip Royle MAIN IMAGE Dan R. Boyd/LAT

4’S FIRST Cameron Das clinches the 2016 SCCA Pro Racing United States Championship inaugural season with serious dominance.

Formula 4 burst onto the motorsports on, Cameron Das, winner of Round 6 at stage in 2013, filling a gap between “The win proved to me that Mid-Ohio in August, crushed the (MAIN and ABOVE karting and Formula 3 racing around the I was capable of competing competition. Yet his isn’t a traditional story. LEFT) Once Cameron world. The FIA’s goal was to introduce an against guys with many “Racing was new to me as I didn’t grow Das unlocked the affordable stepping-stone for racers, more years of experience” up karting,” says the 16-year-old Das, who secret of winning, enabling them to climb an open-wheel CAMERON DAS plans to compete in European Formula 3 there was no ladder to the professional ranks. in 2017. “But, I seemed to have a natural stopping him, with In 2015, it was announced SCCA Pro ability to find speed as I had success in nine out of the final Racing had partnered with the FIA to bring of July, it became obvious the drivers and racing school and at a few SCCA National 10 2016 F4 United the F4 Championship stateside. Soon, teams who’d signed up were there to win. events within several different classes.” States Championship , Honda, Pirelli, and From the get-go, Konrad Czaczyk was With the ultimate goal of Formula 1 races falling to him. other partners joined in, bringing a North the guy they were all chasing, taking sparkling in his eye, Das was quickly American series to reality in 2016. three wins in the opening triple-header. attracted to the Formula 4 U.S. series. Extensive testing was undertaken with “This [was] my first time competing in a “F4 seemed the best fit, given my the chassis and Honda’s Civic Type-R- car, and my team and I couldn’t have asked experience level and aspirations to race in based engine , and the series was set to for a better start of the season,” Czaczyk F1 someday,” he says. “I saw the take the green. But, as with many new noted that weekend. championship as a great opportunity. F4 racing series, there were stumbling Unfortunately for the Polish-American was the first full season of racing I’ve ever blocks, and the scheduled opening phenom, those would prove to be his only taken part in. I hoped to be near the top weekend was delayed. However, when the wins of the season, with the next four races of the field, but being on the top step cars did hit Mid-Ohio on the first weekend won by four different drivers. But from then seemed a bit optimistic for someone of

84 WINTER 2016/17 F4 UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP

EUROPE-BOUND In Formula 4, it’s “won and done.” Series rules don’t let the BY THE NUMBERS champion compete again, but that’s fine with 2016 U.S. series For someone with barely a year’s title-winner Cameron Das, whose ultimate target is Formula 1. worth of racing under his belt, “Now, it’s time to go to Europe to join the next step on the Cameron Das dominated the ladder, an F3 series, to continue my development,” he says. 2016 Formula 4 United States Championship, showing strong from day one. But with the next step in his motorsports career taking him across the pond, will he be able to keep pace with Europe’s young open-wheel talent? His race stats from the 2016 season show that’s a definite possibility...

DRIVER WINS Cameron Das 9 Konrad Czaczyk 3 James Goughary Jr. 1 Kyle Kirkwood 1 Skylar Robinson 1

2016 F4 Drivers’ Championship POS. DRIVER POINTS 1 Cameron Das 281 2 Konrad Czaczyk 224 3 Kyle Kirkwood 183 4 James Goughary Jr. 136 5 Skylar Robinson 132

2017 Formula 4 United States Championship Schedule DATE LOCATION April 8-9 Homestead-Miami Speedway, Fla. April 28-30 VIRginia International “I could see the championship was a Raceway, Va. possibility from the sixth race at Mid-Ohio, June 8-11 Indianapolis Motor my first win,” he recalls. “The win proved Speedway, Ind. to me that I was capable of competing July 8-9 Canadian Tire against guys with many more years of Motorsports Park, experience, which included karting, where Canada they learned an aggressiveness that Aug. 10-12 Mid-Ohio Sports Car hadn’t come innately for me. My fantastic Course, Ohio coach, Rafa Matos, was convinced of my Sep. 14-17 Circuit of the capabilities before the first race, but it took Americas, Texas me a few races to reach the same thought. my limited experience.” “I would highly recommend the series Turns out, Das underestimated his own as a first step into professional open abilities, as by the end of the season he had wheelers,” Das concludes. Then, recalling accumulated 11 poles and nine wins from the F4 award ceremony he attended in 15 races. Czaczyk stayed the course for Vienna, Austria in late 2016, he adds: second in the final point standings, with “Plus, in what other series do you get to Kyle Kirkwood completing the top three. be on stage receiving an award alongside It was nearing the halfway point of the the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, season when Das began to realize the and Daniel Ricciardo? Not a bad way to overall title could be within his reach. top off my first year of auto racing...” f4uschampionship.com

RACER.com 85