After racing in the last half of the 2023 Formula 4 United States Championship, Jett Bowling stepped up to Formula Regional competition for 2024. The American had a break-out year, finishing third in the Americas championship while also making cameos in Oceania, Europe and the Macau Grand Prix.

By Marco Albertini

Having competed in a dozen races in F4 with Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport, Bowling stepped up to the Formula Regional Oceania in early 2024, staying with Kiwi Motorsport as he made his first trip overseas.

Bowling had a consistent season, finishing 12th in the standings, achieving ninth place three times and being one of six drivers to score points in every race.

Returning to the US for Formula Regional Americas

After his first full-season in New Zealand, Bowling returned to the U.S. to focus on the Formula Regional Americas Championship, where he rejoined Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport.

Starting the season at NOLA, Bowling suffered a puncture on the opening lap of race one, which led to an early retirement. However, fortunes turned around for the remaining two races of the weekend, where he stayed out of trouble to finish fifth in both races.

After a difficult weekend at Road America, where he retired twice, Bowling bounced back at Indianapolis, securing his first podiums of the season by finishing second in race two and third in race three.

In Mid-Ohio, Bowling qualified fourth and finished third in race one after Nicolas Ambiado’s car hit trouble in the last half of the race, while in race two he finished fifth after starting fourth.

Over the next two rounds in NJMP and Mosport, Bowling secured fourth place in the first two races in New Jersey before achieving four consecutive podiums, including three third-place finishes and one second-place finish.

Reflecting on the championship ahead of the finale at CotA, Bowling said: “The Americas championship has been really good, we’ve been really consistent in the last five weekends, consistently getting top-five finishes and we’re currently running third in the championship, fighting for second heading into the last round.”

In the last round of the season, held in Bowling’s home state of Texas, he qualified second and would finish in that position in race one. Race two was a different story, despite not starting the race he held on to third place in the standings, beating teammate Titus Sherlock by 1.5 points.

Stepping up to FRECA

Near the end of the Americas season, it was announced in September that Bowling would drive in the final two rounds of the FRECA season with G4 Racing at Barcelona and Monza.

In those two rounds, the American’s best showing came at Monza. A chaotic final round of the season, headlined by torrential rain which shook up the order saw Bowling go from 31st to 21st in race two in the only dry race of the season.

Bowling reflected on the differences between the Tatuus FR-19 and the Ligier JS F3, noting the difference between aerodynamics and the tire compounds: “It’s quite different, it has a bit more aero at the front, so it’s definitely faster in the corners but on the straights it’s slower. The main difference is the Pirelli tires that they use here, which are sticky, whilst the Hankooks in the US are much harder and they don’t fall off as much.”

Bowling at Monza | Credit: FRECA / Aci Sport

In November, Bowling drove in the 71st Macau Grand Prix for Kiwi Motorsport’s one-car effort.

Speaking of the event a month before the race, Bowling said: “It’ll be tough, it’s a first for everybody in the team so we’ll learn a lot, I’m just gonna have to tell them what I’m feeling and we’ll have to go with that.”

The first Macau Grand Prix with Formula Regional machinery proved to be a race to forget for Bowling, retiring on the opening lap after being caught up in the pile-up at the Lisboa Corner.

Last December it was announced that he will return to Formula Regional Oceania and Kiwi Motorsport, racing alongside Nicolas Stati and James Lawley for the upcoming season which is set to start next weekend at Taupo International Motorsport Park.

Header image credit: Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine