2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series season opens with double victory by Martin Kadlečík at Lime Rock Park
May 8th, 2026 by Justin Melillo
Once again with a real-world, full-season seat on the line, the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series returned on Thursday night with the first two races of the 2026 season at Lime Rock Park. Utilizing the Chicanes variant of the track, 20 drivers sought to start off their seasons the right way, but only one wound up leading every lap and claiming two victories, that being Czechia’s Martin Kadlečík.
From the pole position, Kadlečík ran uncontested in the first race, winning by nearly four seconds over the 17-lap affair. Again from the pole in the second race, Kadlečík had a little more pressure on him from Guglielmo Callegari and Brandon Hawkin, but still managed to lead all 17 laps once more and claim a perfect points night.
One of the regulars in the FIA F4 Esports Global Championship, which utilizes the same car, Kadlečík made his debut in the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series on Thursday night. Through two races, he’s won every pole and race, and led every lap that he’s participated in. “I’m very happy with the two wins today,” Kadlečík said post-race. “It’s a dream start.”
Defending series champion, Matt Caruana, was not much of a factor throughout the night. After an uncharacteristic 16th place qualifying effort, Caruana wound up out of the battle after just three laps, collected in a crash that took out another surprising non-factor, Ayden Young, who finished third in the standings last season. The two were both able to recover for top-10 finishes in the second race, with Young eighth and Caruana 10th, but their seasons are already off to a rough start, and they’ve only got 10 more points-paying races to recover from it.
Next up for the series is a trip to WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca on May 21st. Hot Lap Qualifiers for the second event of the season starts on May 15th, with registration closing the day prior.
RACE #1
With an additional splash of red to the front of some of the cars in this year’s iteration of the series, the 20-car field took to the grid at Lime Rock Park for the first 15-minute battle of the 2026 season. Martin Kadlečík led the field down to the green alongside Gregory Kohler, but by the entrance to Turn 1, Kadlečík was clear to the lead.
Most of the field made it through safely and cleanly, with a few bits of contact that did not result in anyone’s day ending. Ryan Oddo, from third on the grid, moved up into second place by the end of Lap 2, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. A lap later, disaster struck behind, involving the top-two ranked drivers in the field.
Ayden Young (No. 2) and Marcell Morocz (No. 15) collided exiting the final chicane. As Young headed towards the wall, Morocz attempted to rejoin the race. At that exact moment, Matt Caruana (No. 1) was exiting the chicane and made contact with the No. 15, destroying his virtual machine, forcing the No. 1 and No. 2 to finish 19th and 20th. Morocz would continue and cross the line in 12th.
On Lap 6, Oddo and Guglielmo Callegari collided for second, sending Oddo down the order, allowing Kadlečík to extend his lead. Kohler and Brandon Hawkin had themselves a battle for third, with Dylan McClements joining the battle late. Up front, it was all Kadlečík from start to finish.
2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series | Race #1 at Lime Rock Park| RESULTS
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | Martin Kadlečík | 17 | 0.000 | 17 | 54.989 | 35 |
| 2 | 4 | 3 | Guglielmo Callegari | 17 | -3.892 | 0 | 55.058 | 32 |
| 3 | 2 | 4 | Gregory Kohler | 17 | -5.822 | 0 | 55.237 | 30 |
| 4 | 12 | 6 | Brandon Hawkin | 17 | -6.204 | 0 | 55.040 | 28 |
| 5 | 9 | 7 | Dylan McClements | 17 | -6.379 | 0 | 55.091 | 26 |
| 6 | 6 | 5 | Leo Ovtcharov | 17 | -7.418 | 0 | 55.227 | 25 |
| 7 | 3 | 13 | Ryan Oddo | 17 | -8.801 | 0 | 54.772 | 24 |
| 8 | 14 | 10 | Bryce Weyer | 17 | -10.821 | 0 | 55.171 | 23 |
| 9 | 19 | 12 | Vicente Aparicio | 17 | -11.288 | 0 | 55.064 | 22 |
| 10 | 11 | 16 | Noah Osbaldeston | 17 | -11.638 | 0 | 55.190 | 21 |
| 11 | 10 | 18 | Reece RW Wills | 17 | -11.843 | 0 | 55.247 | 20 |
| 12 | 5 | 15 | Marcell Morocz | 17 | -14.200 | 0 | 54.900 | 19 |
| 13 | 17 | 9 | Max Repolust | 17 | -15.948 | 0 | 55.180 | 18 |
| 14 | 15 | 20 | Matt Bussa | 17 | -16.443 | 0 | 55.171 | 17 |
| 15 | 7 | 14 | Deklan Webb | 17 | -23.161 | 0 | 54.948 | 16 |
| 16 | 20 | 19 | Kinich Martin | 17 | -26.157 | 0 | 55.115 | 15 |
| 17 | 18 | 17 | John Melchiorri | 8 | -9 L | 0 | 58.040 | 14 |
| 18 | 13 | 11 | Brian Lockwood | 6 | -11 L | 0 | 55.267 | 13 |
| 19 | 16 | 1 | Matt J Caruana | 3 | -14 L | 0 | 55.352 | 12 |
| 20 | 8 | 2 | Ayden Young | 3 | -14 L | 0 | 54.991 | 11 |
RACE #2
Once again, Kadlečík led the charge, this time with Callegari to his side as they took the green flag for another 15-minute fight. This time, however, Callegari, as well as Hawkin, kept Kadlečík on his toes for the entire show.
“The track temperature was quite hot, and it was hard to keep the tires alive,” Kadlečík explained post-race. “It was tough. I had to focus the whole race, actually, Guglielmo behind was pushing really hard, so good job to him, good job to the guys on the podium.”
The top-five stayed the same five drivers, the only difference being a swap for third with Hawkin taking it from Kohler this time around. A few more incidents took a few more drivers out, including Leo Ovtcharov, who placed sixth in the opening race. While it was Vicente Aparicio as the Hard Charger in the first race, up 10 spots from 19th to ninth, the second race saw Ayden Young make up 12 spots, from last on the grid, to finish in eighth.
2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series | Race #2 at Lime Rock Park | RESULTS
Fin. |
St. |
No. |
Driver |
Laps |
Interval |
Led |
Best |
Pts. |
| 1 | 1 | 8 | Martin Kadlečík | 17 | 0.000 | 17 | 54.873 | 35 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | Guglielmo Callegari | 17 | -0.586 | 0 | 54.885 | 32 |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Brandon Hawkin | 17 | -1.429 | 0 | 54.874 | 30 |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | Gregory Kohler | 17 | -5.229 | 0 | 55.130 | 28 |
| 5 | 5 | 7 | Dylan McClements | 17 | -7.905 | 0 | 55.019 | 26 |
| 6 | 13 | 9 | Max Repolust | 17 | -13.547 | 0 | 55.061 | 25 |
| 7 | 18 | 11 | Brian Lockwood | 17 | -14.543 | 0 | 55.150 | 24 |
| 8 | 20 | 2 | Ayden Young | 17 | -14.622 | 0 | 55.142 | 23 |
| 9 | 8 | 10 | Bryce Weyer | 17 | -14.849 | 0 | 54.890 | 22 |
| 10 | 19 | 1 | Matt J Caruana | 17 | -15.928 | 0 | 55.116 | 21 |
| 11 | 7 | 13 | Ryan Oddo | 17 | -16.086 | 0 | 55.200 | 20 |
| 12 | 17 | 17 | John Melchiorri | 17 | -16.571 | 0 | 55.194 | 19 |
| 13 | 16 | 19 | Kinich Martin | 17 | -16.844 | 0 | 55.184 | 18 |
| 14 | 9 | 12 | Vicente Aparicio | 17 | -19.305 | 0 | 55.015 | 17 |
| 15 | 11 | 18 | Reece RW Wills | 9 | -8 L | 0 | 55.255 | 16 |
| 16 | 10 | 16 | Noah Osbaldeston | 5 | -12 L | 0 | 54.892 | 15 |
| 17 | 12 | 15 | Marcell Morocz | 4 | -13 L | 0 | 54.936 | 14 |
| 18 | 6 | 5 | Leo Ovtcharov | 2 | -15 L | 0 | ——– | 13 |
| 19 | 15 | 14 | Deklan Webb | 2 | -15 L | 0 | ——– | 12 |
| 20 | 14 | 20 | Matt Bussa | 1 | -16 L | 0 | ——– | 11 |
2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Points Standings after Race #2 at Lime Rock Park:
Pos. |
Driver |
Country |
Points |
Wins |
T5’s |
T10’s |
| 1 | Martin Kadlečík | Czech Republic | 70 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 2 | Guglielmo Callegari | United States | -6 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Brandon Hawkin | Canada | -12 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Gregory Kohler | Switzerland | -12 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Dylan McClements | Ireland | -18 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 6 | Bryce Weyer | United States | -25 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | Ryan Oddo | United States | -26 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Max Repolust | United States | -27 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Vicente Aparicio | Spain | -31 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Leo Ovtcharov | United States | -32 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
With two second-place finishes to Kadlečík’s double victories, Callegari sits six points behind after the first two races, with Hawkin and Kohler tied for third, both 12 points back. There will be two dropped races involved in the final championship standings, so while this great start from Kadlečík will carry with him until the end, it could end up the drops for the defending champion Caruana, as well as many other hopefuls in the field.
Next up for the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series is a trip to WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. Laguna Seca hasn’t been on a schedule in this series since the inaugural season, in 2022. On that day, Matt Bussa and Mikkel Gade split the victories.
The Hot Lap Qualifier for Laguna Seca is active from Friday, May 15th, at 12 a.m. ET to Sunday, May 17th at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The entry fee for each Hot Lap Qualifier is $50, and the top 20 drivers on the Time Attack leaderboard will be invited to run each race. They’ll also get to take part in an open test with Skip Barber Racing School instructors on hand to provide feedback.
The race itself is scheduled for Thursday, May 21st, once again at 7 p.m. ET. It will be live on iRacing.com/live and across all of iRacing’s social media channels.
To learn more about the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series, visit https://www.skipbarber.com/iracing-series/.
For more information about iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.
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