AUSTIN, Texas (November 3, 2024) – In his debut weekend, Sacha van’t Pad Bosch put on a clinic in the Ligier JS F4 Series (JS F4) at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Saturday afternoon. After a technical infraction in Race 2 disallowed his time and sent him to the back of the lineup for Race 3, the Dutch driver drove through the field enroute to victory in the final race of the 2024 season.
Notes of Interest:
- At just 14 years old, Sacha van’t Pad Bosch earned his first-career win during his Ligier JS F4 Series debut weekend. Newly transitioned from gokarts, the COTA SpeedTour also marked van’t Pad Bosch’s first race in America.
- With three podiums at COTA, including a runner-up finish in Race 3, Teddy Musella earned the 2024 Driver Championship in F4 U.S.
- Harbir Dass tied his career-best finish with a third-place result in Race 3 at COTA. He previously finished third at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Round 11.
- In their debut weekend, Takumi Numata and Caleb Campbell both scored top-five finishes.
- Sacha van’t Pad Bosch was awarded the Omologato Perfectly-Timed Move of the Race and presented a bespoke Omologato timepiece in recognition of a strong performance during his debut weekend, which included his first-career win.
- Teddy Musella won the 2024 JS F4 Driver Championship with a 51.5-point margin over Vice Champion Kekai Hauanio.
- Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport won the 2024 JS F4 Team Championship after recording nine wins and 18 podiums this season.
As the field rolled down the starting grid, Scuderia Buell teammates split the field—Teddy Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) led out front, while Sacha van’t Pad Bosch (No. 27 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) brought up the rear. Musella pulled to the front of the pack through Turn 1, and behind him, Leonardo Escorpioni (No. 26 Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4) got a great start from third to immediately apply pressure to second-place starter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4). With Musella pulling away, Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4) and Harbir Dass (No. 23 Berg DMG Racing Ligier JS F4) pulled up to join the battle for second. Further back in the pack, van’t Pad Bosch was climbing through the field—up to 11th after the first lap, eighth after two laps, and into fifth as the race neared its halfway point.
Up front, Hauanio dove into Turn 11, initially outbreaking Musella to take the race lead, but leading to a three-wide battle between himself, Musella and Escorpioni racing down the long straightaway. Escorpioni held the preferred lane into Turn 12 to overtake the lead. The three continued to jockey for the top position for the next several minutes while van’t Pad Bosch pulled up to fourth. With just 10 minutes left on the clock, Escorpioni and Hauanio made contact at the exit of Turn 12 with both cars spinning. While Musella had to go wide to avoid the incident, van’t Pad Bosch was in the perfect place to capitalize on the mistake and take the race lead as the full-course caution was displayed.
A few minutes later, the field returned to green as the white flag also waved, giving competitors a one-lap dash to the finish. Van’t Pad Bosch had a great launch, solidly taking command of the race before contact further back in the field left two cars stopped on the circuit and once again brought out a full-course caution.
As they crossed the finish line, van’t Pad Bosch took the checkered flag, followed by Szuch, Musella, Dass and Takumi Numata (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4).
Following the race, a series of Stewards Decisions resulted in penalties that adjusted the finishing order. Drivers receiving a penalty, included:
Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4): five-second penalty, moving him to seventh
Conor Grant (No. 10 Champagne Racing Ligier JS F4): 30-second time penalty, moving him to 14th
Athan Sterling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F4): five-second time penalty
Parker Wallin (No. 34 SHAED Ligier JS F4): five-second penalty, moving him to 16th
“I just had a really good car—the team gave me a great package,” said van’t Pad Bosch after climbing from the car. “I had the speed and was able to overtake everyone to get P1. I’m so happy; I don’t have any words. I want to thank the team, my coach, my mom and family, my mechanic and everyone that’s supported me.”
JS F4 returns for the 2025 season at NOLA Motorsports Park, March 27-30. Prospective drivers looking to learn more about JS F4 should visit the series’ website, JSF4Series.com. Additional news and updates throughout the off-season will be shared on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
