WILLOWS, Calif. — The Formula Pro USA Western Championships returned to Thunderhill Raceway Park on May 15–17, 2026 for Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2026 season, joining the inaugural Thunderhill Open as part of the Formula Awesome run group. The 3.0-mile, 15-turn road course delivered a weekend of high-stakes open-wheel racing that tightened the FPUSA-4 championship to a single point, extended one of the most dominant runs in series history in FPUSA-3, and produced a clean sweep on the top step of the Women’s Racing Series podium.
Saturday Morning — Qualifying
A single morning qualifying session set the grid for Saturday’s race. Dan Decker (World Speed Motorsports) was fastest of the entire Formula Awesome field — across every class — with a 1:48.969, more than two seconds clear of teammate Larry Schnur and a marker of the form that has defined his FPUSA-3 season.
In FPUSA-4, Erik Doan (World Speed Motorsports) put car #114 on pole with a 1:50.800, edging defending championship leader Lucas Hand (Kiwi Motorsport) by just under a second. Scott Pyle, Mauricio Robbins, Robert Arana, and Zachary Lewis filled out the top six — all within three seconds of pole and setting up what looked like a very close two-race weekend.
In WRS, Yana Kapoor (World Speed Motorsports) led the WRS qualifying order with a 1:56.489, ahead of Ana Palestro (Jensen Global Advisors) and Chloe Jade (Kiwi Motorsport).
Saturday Afternoon — Round 5
FPUSA-3
Decker controlled the race from lights to flag, posting a 1:49.858 fastest lap on his way to the FPUSA-3 win. Larry Schnur made it a World Speed Motorsports 1-2, finishing second and continuing his run as Decker’s closest challenger in the class.
FPUSA-4
Pole-sitter Erik Doan led every lap of Round 5 and added the fastest lap (1:52.515) to convert his pole into a clean victory and two valuable bonus points in the championship. Lucas Hand held second across the line, with Scott Pyle completing the podium and giving World Speed Motorsports two-thirds of the rostrum. Behind the leading trio, Mauricio Robbins, Zachary Lewis, and Jeremiah Thomas rounded out the points.
Misfortune visited the second half of the field. Austin Tiller retired after two laps and Robert Arana was sidelined later in the race, both classified well behind the leaders. With a deep field and the FPUSA-4 championship riding on every weekend, the Saturday result left Hand and Doan separated by a handful of points heading into Sunday.
WRS
One of the most entertaining battles of the afternoon played out in the WRS classification. Yana Kapoor and Ana Palestro went at it lap after lap, swapping positions back and forth throughout the race in one of the closest WRS scraps of the season so far. Kapoor came out on top at the flag to take the Saturday WRS win, with Palestro a close second after a fight that kept the class title race genuinely open. Chloe Jade (Kiwi Motorsport) completed the WRS podium.
Sunday Morning — Qualifying
A short Sunday morning qualifying session reset the grid for the final race of the weekend. Erik Doan again put car #114 on pole in FPUSA-4, with Lucas Hand alongside on the front row — a near-mirror of Saturday’s grid. The big mover was Austin Tiller, who recovered from his Saturday no-show and afternoon DNF to put his car third on the grid, signaling the comeback that would unfold in the race. Mauricio Robbins, Scott Pyle, and Zachary Lewis lined up directly behind. In FPUSA-3, Dan Decker once again topped the class qualifying order, and in WRS, Yana Kapoor led the women’s order one more time ahead of Ana Palestro and Chloe Jade.
Sunday Afternoon — Round 6 Final Race
FPUSA-3
Decker delivered another flawless drive in the final race of the weekend, leading every lap and setting fastest lap once again on his way to a Sunday FPUSA-3 victory. With it, Decker completed a perfect six-for-six start to his 2026 campaign: six races, six wins, six fastest laps — one of the most commanding runs through the opening third of an FPUSA Western Championships season the series has seen. Schnur once again finished second, locked into a class-best second place that keeps World Speed Motorsports’ grip on FPUSA-3 absolute.
FPUSA-4
Doan and Hand resumed their fight from the front row, and once again Doan would not be denied — leading from start to finish, setting the fastest lap of the race (1:51.818), and completing a perfect weekend in FPUSA-4: pole position, two wins, and fastest lap in both races. Lucas Hand again finished second, with Mauricio Robbins (Kiwi Motorsport) climbing to the final step of the podium for his best result of the season.
A late-charging Austin Tiller recovered from his Saturday DNF to finish fourth, ahead of Zachary Lewis, Robert Arana, and Scott Pyle. The result has tightened the FPUSA-4 championship dramatically: while Doan’s perfect Thunderhill weekend swept the maximum points haul, Hand’s two strong second-place finishes were enough to keep him at the top of the standings — but his championship lead now stands at a single point.
WRS
Yana Kapoor and Ana Palestro picked up their WRS battle right where Saturday’s left off, trading places again through the early laps of the final race. As the race wore on, however, Palestro began to slip back, and Chloe Jade closed the gap and made the pass for second in WRS. The final WRS order — Kapoor, Jade, Palestro — sealed Kapoor’s clean Thunderhill sweep in the class. Kapoor leaves Willows with the WRS championship lead and a marker laid down for the rest of the field.
Championship Outlook
After six rounds, the 2026 FPUSA Western Championships are taking real shape:
- FPUSA-3: Dan Decker leads with 162 points — a perfect haul from every round contested — with teammate Larry Schnur in second on 108.
- FPUSA-4: Lucas Hand leads on 121 points, but Erik Doan has closed to within a single point at 120 after his Thunderhill double. Scott Pyle holds third with 81, ahead of Austin Tiller (62) and a tightly packed group from Robert Arana and Mauricio Robbins (59) through Zachary Lewis (38).
- WRS: Yana Kapoor extends her lead to 23 points, with Ana Palestro at 19, Chloe Jade at 9, and Narcisse Triano at 1.
Thank You and What’s Next
A huge thank-you to Thunderhill Raceway Park for putting on a first-class event with their first annual Thunderhill Open — a great new addition to the West Coast open-wheel calendar — and a big thank-you to Logitech G for backing the weekend with an outstanding prize package that gave the field something extra to race for. Thanks also to our teams — World Speed Motorsports, Kiwi Motorsport, and Jensen Global Advisors — for the preparation and professionalism that produced a clean, competitive weekend of open-wheel racing, and to the families, mechanics, and crew members who make every FPUSA weekend possible.
The inaugural Thunderhill Open also introduced a new tradition with a tip of the cap to Augusta National: class winners received a green jacket — tongue firmly in cheek, of course, in the spirit of golf’s most famous prize. Dan Decker (FPUSA-3), Erik Doan (FPUSA-4), and Yana Kapoor (WRS) each take home an inaugural Thunderhill Open green jacket from the weekend.
Formula Pro USA returns to action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, June 26–28, 2026 for Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2026 Western Championships season.
