California Series Finale Wet Weather Chaos
- Eric Jensen
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
November 23, 2025
JENSEN FINISHES SUCCESSFUL 2025 CALIFORNIA SEASON WITH THREE ROOKIES AT BUTTONWILLOW RACEWAY
Sunny California was anything but for the mid-November finale of the 2025 Formula Pro USA Championship at Buttonwillow Raceway. Despite the challenging wet weather conditions, three JENSEN young drivers all enjoyed a successful climax to their rookie race seasons.
Formula PRO USA Championship is a California based regional race series where drivers compete in two categories; Formula 4 specification race cars being the entry level junior championship and Formula 3 being the next level championship with race cars capable of reaching speeds in excess of 165 mph. 2025 season featured six race weekends at iconic California circuits including Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway.
15 year old Ana Palestro from Seattle Washington saved her best for last at the season finale, with strong wet weather drives in both Buttonwillow races. Clear highlights of Ana's races were several outside passes in turn one, where she was strong under the brakes all weekend.
As a well deserved reward, Ana received her first trophy of her rookie season as vice champion of the F4 California class female championship.
JENSEN team owner Eric Jensen commented, "I've taught and developed more than 200 drivers over the past 20 years, and Ana has long since been one of my favorites. It's clear when watching her race the fire she has inside to achieve, and her smile lights up the room wherever she is. Kids like Ana add so much positivity to my life, and I will be excited to help her hopefully win races in the 2026 F4 California series, with a view to getting Ana invited to join the F1 Academy grid for the 2027 race season."
Video above is riding with Robert Arana driving the #5 JENSEN F4 race car on the opening lap of the Formula Pro USA Championship 2025 season finale at Buttonwillow Raceway in tricky wet but drying conditions. Robert made prudent decisions that saw him fall to fourth on the start, then used his correct tire decision to carve his way to first by the end of the opening lap.
An experienced and accomplished karter, 15 year old Robert made his race car driving debut by attending one of the JENSEN team's F4 Racing Camps at Fort Worth Texas in April 2025. After a series of follow up test sessions, Robert made an immediate impression winning his first race competing in the Formula PRO USA Championship F4 California series race at Sonoma Raceway in September 2025.
JENSEN team owner Eric Jensen commented, "Robert has an abundance of natural talent, and I am very proud how the fire inside him has ignited to chase his dream to become a professional race car driver. Our goal for the 2026 season is to win more races, and ultimately hoist the championship trophy together at season's end."
Aiden Zelaya likewise started his JENSEN young driver development program in April 2025 attending one of our F4 Racing Camp programs. Incredibly quick from day one, Aiden's graduation to finish his rookie season competing in the much faster F3 category was well earned.
Despite the challenging wet weather conditions, Aiden was both fast and reliable in every session. Scoring pole for both races with a significant time advantage, Aiden also had to deal with the new challenge of passing slower cars in tricky wet weather conditions on most every lap. His reward, the 1st place trophy in the Sunday F3 California series season finale.
JENSEN team owner Eric Jensen commented, "Aiden is a gifted race car driver, and young man. He has impressive pace over one lap, as well as race winning pace over long runs. He has a strong technical understanding, and this winter we will make a test program to develop Aiden's understanding of race car set-up and the science behind making fast laps. Graduating to full-time competition at the Formula 3 level is an obvious next step given how well Aiden performed at the Buttonwillow season finale."
Formula 4 is the entry level junior open-wheel race category on the FIA development ladder system intended to identify and train future drivers to compete in the Formula One World Championship. JENSEN owns four Ligier JS F4 pro spec race cars, and there are multiple championships across the USA that are terrific for new drivers to learn how to optimize their driving techniques and to gain competition experience.
Formula 3 is the next level junior open-wheel race category on the FIA development ladder system, with multiple regional championships around the world including the California series.
For more information about Ana Palestro, Robert Arana, and Aiden Zelaya; and their JENSEN young driver development programs, contact Eric Jensen via email at jensen@jensenga.com
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For more information about the Formula Pro Western Championship California Series visit the series website www.formulaprousa.com