Martin Kadlečík is the 2026 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series champion. The Czech Republic sim racer wrapped up the title at Circuit of the Americas on Thursday night. Matt Caruana swept both races of the finale, but Kadlečík had enough points to take the season. Six double-race events, 12 races, and $500,000 in prizes all came down to COTA. Kadlečík needed to finish no worse than second in both races to seal the championship. He did. Caruana swept the night; Kadlečík took the title.
Also See
➡️ Five Drivers Alive as Skip Barber iRacing Finale Hits COTA
🏁 Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series | Official Site
For the top-three finishers, the prizes extend well beyond a virtual trophy. The $500,000 package includes a chance at a funded real-world racing seat for the 2027 season. The seat is awarded through a Formula Car Shootout at VIRginia International Raceway later this year. Twenty drivers qualified for the championship finale. Only five were still eligible for the top prize when the cars lined up at COTA.
The Skip Barber Formula iRacing Series ran across six venues, pairing two races at each stop throughout 2026. Kadlečík won four times across the season and was among the most consistent drivers in the field. He collected eight top-fives across 12 races. The series factors in each driver’s two worst results as drops from the final standings. Going into COTA, that rule made things complicated for Brandon Hawkin in particular. By raw points, Hawkin entered the finale leading the field. With the drops applied, he fell to fourth. Adjusted, Kadlečík led Caruana by 10 points, Ayden Young by 12, Hawkin by 15, and Guglielmo Callegari by 16. Kadlečík controlled his own destiny. Finish top three in both races at COTA and the title was his, regardless of what anyone else did.
He started Race 1 from pole but Caruana and Hawkin got the jump off the line, dropping Kadlečík to third. Hawkin led briefly before Caruana made his move midway through, and Kadlečík worked past Hawkin to settle into second. That is where they finished, with Caruana winning by 0.755 seconds. Late in Race 1, Ryan Oddo overshot a corner and collected Young. The contact dropped Young from fourth to seventh. Oddo received a six-second post-race penalty, but Young’s title hopes were effectively over. The incident gave Hawkin a meaningful cushion heading into the final race.
Race 2 opened four wide through Turn 1. Kadlečík found an opening when Hawkin and Caruana scrapped for the lead, briefly leading before Caruana hunted him back down. The two traded the position through the final sector in clean, hard racing. Caruana got the door shut at the last corner to claim his fourth win of the 2026 campaign. Kadlečík crossed second, and with that, the championship was his. Final standings with drops applied: Kadlečík on 312 points, Caruana four points back, Hawkin 19 points back. Hawkin had led the standings by raw points entering the night, but the drop rule rewrote the leaderboard completely.
All three head to VIR for the Formula Car Shootout. The three-day evaluation awards a full-season seat in the real-world Skip Barber Formula Race Series for 2027. Aaron Vazquez earned the ride through this same format last year. Caruana will be competing at the shootout for the second time; Kadlečík and Hawkin are both first-timers. Young and Callegari each walk away with a 1-Day Racing School voucher from Skip Barber. Both finished in the top five in the final standings.
The series handed out Hard Charger awards throughout the season to the driver gaining the most positions per race. Max Repolust collected three of them, at Sonoma, Richmond, and COTA, the most of any driver in the field. All drivers who qualified for any Skip Barber Formula iRacing race in 2026 will also receive a $200 credit. The credit goes toward any Skip Barber Racing School program of their choice.
