LINDENHURST, N.Y. – Group-A Racing has announced the signing of 16-year-old Long Island native Nicholas Rivers for its Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda roster.

“I am really excited about Nicholas being able to run with us in 2020,” said Group-A Racing team manager Jonathan Scarallo. “The relationship with he and his family goes way back with our operation and family so it’s very rewarding to finally see this come to fruition. He really shocked us at how quickly he came up to speed and how fast he went. We have been doing this so long that we can always closely predict the lap times the drivers will do based on their previous experience. Nicholas blew our estimated lap times for himself out of the water. On top of that, he was super pleasant out of the car, kept taking the coaching, asking questions, and applying everything he was taught to keep going quicker. I am really excited to see how much more he can develop this year.”

Rivers got his start in racing competing at the karting level. He has entered a variety of races up and down the East Coast in the GearUp Series, including locally at Oakland Valley Race Park and other venues. Competing with a father-son operation, he made the next step in his career and development by competing in F4 U.S. with Group-A Racing this year.

Rivers was born and raised on Long Island, where Group-A Racing’s main shop is located. His first contact with the team came during the inaugural F4 U.S. season in 2016. Rivers’ family members were at the shop getting service from the team’s parent company; Auto Trend Tire & Wheel. As a 12-year-old at the time, Rivers got to sit in one of the teams’ cars.

Rivers got his first taste of the F4 U.S. equipment with Group-A Racing at MSR Houston in March. Despite his only previous car racing experience coming at a race school, Rivers bested the initial goals and targets set for him.

“I am blessed and feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to compete in the F4 U.S. Championships with Group A Racing Team,” said Rivers. “I am feeling very secure and confident with the teams overall racing experience and guidance. Though this will be my debut in professional racing, I am excited to compete and ready to put the pedal to the metal.”