2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series | Preview #2 | WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca
May 21st, 2026 by Justin Melillo
The 2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series continues with the second event of the season on Thursday night, as another pair of 15-minute races are scheduled at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca.
After Hot Lap Qualifying via Time Attack from May 15th to May 17th, 20 drivers have qualified for their shot to contend for more than $500,000 in prizes and the opportunity to run in the real-world Skip Barber Formula Race Series.
Race Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. ET at iRacing.com/live and across iRacing Social Media Channels.
DRIVER ROSTER
The following 20 drivers are entered into the second round of the 2026 season at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca:
RACE NIGHT FORMAT
Every one of the six races this season will feature two races, each set for a timed amount of 15 minutes, and all competitors utilizing fixed setups.
While all 20 drivers needed to set their fastest times in the official Time Attack leading up to tonight, these pair of races will still be set by one more lone qualifying lap for the opening event. To set the second race grid of the night, the results from the first race will be how that is determined.
Every race offers up to 35 points to the winner, with that making a perfect night a 70 point day in winning both races. The Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series Champion will be determined by the total number of points earned during the season, excluding the lowest two individual race scores which will be deducted to determine the final points. The lowest individual race scores include zeros, disqualifications, and non-participated-in races.
LAST RACE
Martin Kadlečík was unstoppable in the opening round of the season, winning both races from pole at Lime Rock Park. However, following post-race review by the Skip Barber Racing School administration, the second race win was instead given to the runner-up, Guglielmo Callegari due to a time penalty assessed to Kadlečík for jumping the start in each race. The time penalty was not enough to strip his first win of the night, but it did drop him to third in the second race of the night.
LAST TIME AT LAGUNA SECA
It’s been over four years since the Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series has visited WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. 2022 was the season of Mikkel Gade, and entering Laguna Seca, the fourth round, he had two wins already, both from Lime Rock Park to kick off the season. Elvis Rankin, Deagen Fairclough, Nicolas Mateo, and Matt Adams also had wins to their name, but the first race would go to none of them, instead going to eNASCAR veteran Matt Bussa in the first race. In the second race, however, Bussa wound up last following an incident, and it was Gade holding off Rankin for the victory.
TRACK FACTS
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is one of the classic North American road-racing circuits. A serpentine ribbon of pavement winding through the hills of Northern California’s Monterey Peninsula, “Laguna” is the site of one of the most unique and famous corners in motorsport – The Corkscrew. Approached from a long, fast uphill run, the Corkscrew is a blind, plunging lefthander that is more akin to a ski slope than a piece of race track.
Originally built by the Army Corps of Engineers on a corner of what was then Fort Ord, Laguna Seca opened in 1957 and in its half-century of operation has been host to every significant North American road-racing series, from the legendary Can-Am to the Trans-Am, IMSA Camel GT and CART Indy cars. Today a part of the Monterey County park system, Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca hosts the Champ Car World Series, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, American Le Mans Series, Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races and is the West Coast home of the Skip Barber Racing School. In addition, the track hosts two of America’s most important motorcycle races, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, a round of the MotoGP World Championship and the Corona AMA Superbike Finale, the final round in America’s premier motorcycle road-racing series.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series is where future stars of real-world motorsport prove themselves in the virtual one. Using the iRacing Formula 4 machine, drivers take part in an open qualifier each week, and the top racers registered in the program are selected to compete on Thursday nights.
The top three point scorers at season’s end will receive a 3 Day Racing School and compete in a shootout later this year for a 2027 Skip Barber Race Series seat. 1 Day Racing School certificates will be awarded to fourth and fifth in points, as well as the Hard Charger Award winner from each race, and all of the qualifiers for each race will earn a one-time $200 credit towards an SBRS course.
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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