Nicole Havrda to compete in F.Regional Americas, Formula Pro US

Young Canadian racer Nicole Havrda, 16, announced her 2023 racing plans which include campaigns in Formula Regional Americas and Formula Pro US.

Photo credits: Shemeem Fahath

Young Canadian driver Nicole Havrda, 16, has announced she will contest a double racing program in 2023, at the wheel of the Ligier S F3 Regional car in the Formula Pro US and Formula Regional Americas championships. She will represent Canadian-based team JMF Motorsports. "I am also proud to introduce Colonial Countertops as a new partner for 2023", Havrda stated, "They join my existing partners Farrow, Fast Time Amusements and Valley Kitchens. I am very grateful for all the support, and I am looking forward to a great season!" An all-round athlete with competitive swimming and skiing in her resumé, Nicole Havrda began karting in 2018 and was named Rookie of the Year at the West Coast Karting Club in 2019. She stepped up to formula cars in 2021, and completed a testing program in F4 machinery. Havrda was part of the W Series selections in Arizona in 2022, where she drove the F4 US-spec Ligier at Inde Motorsports Ranch. Later in the year, she contested a 3-hour endurance race in a Mercedes AMG GT4, as well as F3 races in the US. She was announced as the youngest of the nine finalists for the GT4 female shootout by The Heart of Racing and continued to collect more experience in diverse race cars at the end of 2022, when she contested the first edition of the Indian Racing League, sharing the wheel of the Wolf GB08 Thunder prototype with Parth Ghorpade. In the Indian series, Havrda highly impressed for her consistency: she scored points in every race and finished twice in the top-five, at both Chennai and Hyderabad's feature races, and was sixth in two sprint races. At the end of the three-event series, she was eleventh in the standings out of 27 drivers that entered at least one race. Havrda will be the first woman to enter the Formula Regional Americas championship since 2019, when W Series drivers Shea Holbrook and Megan Gilkes made part time appearances. She is also the first driver confirmed for the 2023 season - and only the third in the series' history. With the same car, Havrda will also enter the Formula Pro USA Winter and Western series - a platform that offers cost-effective track time to up-and-coming drivers. Havrda's schedule should include 11 races, starting from Sonoma for the Formula Pro US Winter series on 24-26 February. After the opening five race meetings of the Formula Pro US platform, Havrda is expected to join the Formula Regional Americas series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the third round of the season, on 22-25 June, as well as the remaining races.