LEXINGTON, Ohio. (June 22, 2025) – Gastón Irazú extended his championship lead in the Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC), climbing atop the podium at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday morning. In a race filled with three-wide battles and intense racing, Irazú (No. 42 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) held off hard charges from both Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) and Daniel Cará (No. 10 Tenuta Foppa & Ambrosi Wines / WorkHub / Cará Origin Motorsports Ligier JS F4) to secure his third win of the 2025 season. Starting from the pole position, Irazú was immediately challenged by Cará from the second the lights went out. Racing two-wide through the keyhole, the two began a cat and mouse game that lasted the entire 30 minutes. Behind them, Benites Jr. had jumped forward from his sixth-place starting position to claim third by the completion of the first lap. 

A restart following an early safety car gave the trio another shot at the battle for first. While Irazú initially took the lead, Cará was able to capitalize when the Uruguayan went wide in Turn 5. The next lap, it was Benites Jr. who pulled wheel to wheel with Irazú while racing through the keyhole to take second. The three raced in that order until they approached the 10-minute-to-go mark, finding themselves nose-to-gearbox racing toward Turn 3, before flanking three-wide into Turn 4, with Irazú emerging as the leader. Slowly pulling a gap, Irazú had to overcome one last challenge as the safety car was deployed for the final time, leading to a one-lap dash to the finish. Up to the challenge, Irazú led the field across the finish line with Benites Jr. in his mirrors and Cará following in third.

LEXINGTON, Ohio. (June 22, 2025) – Pablo Benites Jr. won Race 3 for the Ligier Junior Formula Championship (Ligier JFC) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday afternoon. Battling to the front from a fourth-place starting position, Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) fought his way through the field to take his first Ligier JFC win during his season debut weekend. Beckham Jacir (No. 7 STONICA / BELL / OMP / P1Doks / LC Racing Ligier JS F4) led the field down the grid for the standing start, and jumped out to an early lead. Behind him, Benites Jr. had moved into the second position by the completion of lap two and set his sights on Jacir. Championship leader Gastón Irazú (No. 42 Elia Group / Baly / Canal 4 / Ancap / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) spent the early laps running third, but with a spin just past the halfway point, the Uruguayan removed himself from contention for the podium. Rejoining the field in the 11th position, Irazú worked his way back up to ninth by the time the checkered flag waved, earning him just two points in the chase for the championship. Meanwhile, up front, Jacir led the field across the finish line with Benites Jr. in his wake, and Cash Felber (No. 11 BioLongevity Labs / TownHall / Rebol / DWT / Matrix Mind Water / Phantom Fireworks / Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) in third.
After the event, the stewards reviewed evidence for a report that Jacir jumped the start. Determining that he did make a false start with an advantage gained, Jacir was issued a 10-second penalty, which dropped him to 14th in the official results. With Benites Jr. promoted to the race win and Felber to second, Drew Szuch (No. 28 Berg Racing Ligier JS F4) secured the third and final podium position. 

WATCH THE STREAM:  Stream Race 2 from Mid-Ohio

Notes of Interest: 

• After missing the podium for the first time in 2025 during yesterday’s Race 1, Gaston Irazú returned to Victory Lane to step atop the podium for his third win of the season in Race 2. 
• Pablo Benites Jr. returned to Ligier JFC for the first time since the 2024 season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park. Today’s runner-up finish marks his first Ligier JFC podium. 
• With a third-place finish, Daniel Cará scored his fourth podium of 2025. He currently ranks third in the championship point standings. 
• It was an all-South American podium today, with Irazú hailing from Uruguay, Benites Jr. from Argentina and Cará representing Brazil.
• Champagne Racing (Irazú), Scuderia Buell (Benites Jr.) and Cará Origin Motorsports (Cará) each had drivers finish in the top three.  
  
  “I’m really happy,” said Irazú after climbing from the car. “It was a really good race, and I’m happy to win again in this competition. We had good battles with Pablo [Benites Jr.] and [Daniel] Cará. Yesterday I made a mistake, but luckily, I was able to win today. I’m really, really happy. The team—they work really hard. I have to thank them, my mechanic, my sponsors and my family for all of this.” 
  
  READ MORE:  Round 8 Official Results
  
  WATCH THE STREAM:  Watch the Live Stream of Mid-Ohio Race 3
  
  Notes of Interest: 

• Pablo Benites Jr. made his 2025 season debut in Ligier JFC this weekend at Mid-Ohio, competing in the series for the first time since last year’s season opener at NOLA Motorsports Park. His victory on Sunday was the first of his career in the championship. 
• After being declared the winner in yesterday’s Race 1, Cash Felber earned the second podium of his career with his runner-up finish. 
• Drew Szuch earned his fifth podium of the 2025 season. The sophomore driver currently sits second in the standings, just 17 points behind Gastón Irazú. 
• Beckham Jacir was the first driver to cross the finish line, but after a ruling from the stewards that he made a false start, Pablo Benites Jr. was promoted to the race win, while Jacir dropped to 14th on the final results. 
• Pablo Benites Jr. was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and presented a bespoke Omologato timepiece in recognition of a strong performance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Finishing fourth and second in the opening two races of the weekend, Benites Jr. took the top step of the podium during the weekend’s third race. 
• Three teams were represented on today’s podium, with Benites Jr. and Scuderia Buell winning the race, Felber finishing second for Champagne Racing, and Szuch taking third with Berg Racing.
  
  “After 11 months away from racing, I came into this weekend really excited to be back on track,” said Benites Jr. after being declared the winner. “I knew I could be quick, but I wasn’t fully sure what my pace would be. In Race 3, the car was on rails, and I had a great battle with Beckham [Jacir] and [Gastón] Irazú. I’m so happy to be back and even happier to be up front. Huge thanks to my team, family and everyone for the hard work, and to all the people supporting me from the other side of the world.”
  
  READ MORE:  Round 9 Official Results
  
  Ligier JFC will contest their next round at New Jersey Motorsports Park July 31-August 3. The event, like all 2025 races, will be streamed live on SpeedTour.TV, with live timing and scoring available on the Race Monitor App. Additional news and updates leading up to the event will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about Ligier JFC should visit the series’ website, LigierJFC.com.