Shipman extends F4 US win streak to five at CTMP

Cooper Shipman won the opening Formula 4 United States Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (F4 U.S.) race of the Labor Day Weekend Sprints at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Saturday morning to extend his win streak to five. After sweeping the last two events, Shipman (No. 14 Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) has momentum on his side as he races toward the 2025 championship title and a scholarship to compete in Formula Regional America Championship (FR Americas) next season. 

Starting the race on the pole position, Shipman faced an immediate challenge from Alex Popow (No. 55 Dr. Michael Thompson MS DDS PPLS / MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422), who had a great start from the outside pole to charge around the outside and to the race lead as the field raced through the first turn. An early caution prevented Shipman from making forward progress, but a restart a few minutes later gave him another shot at the lead. Popow was initially able to hold the position, but Shipman consistently chipped away at the gap and zeroed in on Popow’s gearbox as the race neared the 20-minute mark. Overtaking Popow in Turn 8, Shipman turned his focus out front to start building a gap toward the checkered flag. Behind him, Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N-E-Where Transport / Crosslink Motorsports Ligier JS F422) had climbed to third after starting in the back following an accident in yesterday’s practice, which caused him to miss qualifying. With Clemente Huerta Raab (No. 17 Velox USA / Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) in fourth, the Chilean was focused on Hauanio’s rear wing and looking for a way around. The two had a cat-and-mouse type battle for the final 10 minutes of the race, with Huerta Raab finally completing the pass around the outside in Turn 8 with just over two minutes left on the clock. As the checkered flag waved, Shipman led the way, with Popow and Huerta Raab following him across the line. 

“I just didn’t get the jump off the line that I wanted and Popow was able to roll it around the outside of Turn 1,” recalled Shipman on top of the podium. “But I just stayed patient, stayed calm and made sure that I timed my run to where I could get him down the back straight. Once I got to the lead, I knew as long as I maximized my exit out of Turn 6 that I could control the race, and I was able to come away with a win. I have to thank both my parents, my Kiwi Motorsport team – Teena [Larsen] and Garry [Orton]. They put an awesome car underneath me, and made sure I could come away with another win.”

F4 U.S. is back on track Saturday at 4 p.m. ET for race two from the Labor Day Weekend Sprints at CTMP. The race will be live streamed on SpeedTour.TV. Additional news and updates from the weekend will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

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