Rising British single-seater star Liam McNeilly will take the next step in his racing career this weekend (July 18-20) when he makes his USF Pro 2000 debut on the streets of Toronto.
The double-header event supports Canada’s biggest motorsport meeting, the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, the latest round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with more than 170,000 spectators expected on-site to watch the Brentwood racer, who has not been beaten on track since August last year, in action.
Liam, 19, will race for Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD), the same team with which he has competed exclusively in North America since departing the British racing scene at the end of 2023.
After finishing his first year in US motorsport as vice-champion in USF Juniors in 2024, Liam stepped up to USF2000 for this season and sensationally won the first five races in a row.
This gave him a significant early series lead and put Liam in prime position to win not only the title, but the series scholarship fund – worth over $400,000 (US) – to aid his progression into USF Pro 2000, the next level of the open-wheel ladder, next year.
Unfortunately, US visa issues forced Liam to miss several subsequent events and have since led to him calling time on his USF2000 campaign
This led to a decision instead to make an early step-up to USF Pro 2000 in Canada as he seeks to gain valuable car experience ahead of a planned full-season assault in the series that sits just below INDYCAR and INDY NXT on the US open-wheel ladder in 2026.
Such a move replicates that of a year ago, when Liam – then racing in USF Juniors – made a one-off appearance in USF2000 in Toronto and stunned the series regulars by taking a pole position and a second-place finish.
The Toronto event is the only planned event for the time being for Liam, who is supported by Acclaim Contractors and Wolf International, as preparations are made to help him return to the grid on a full-time basis in 2026.
Liam McNeilly: “It feels brilliant to know I’ll be back behind the wheel on the streets of Toronto. My triple win at NOLA in April feels like ages ago and I can’t wait to be back on track in Canada. While I’m familiar with the circuit from last year, the USF Pro 2000 car is a big step-up from the USF2000 in terms of performance with more power and more grip, so learning how to drive it quickly in the time I have won’t be easy. The aim of this weekend is to gain experience and to use it as a starting point to plan our 2026 season, but if we can come away with a couple of strong results, I’ll be very happy.”
Jay Howard, Team Principal, Jay Howard Driver Development: "I'll start by saying I am super-excited to see Liam back with the team and that I speak for everyone when I say we’ve missed him. Moving to USF Pro 2000 makes the most sense considering the circumstances as, at this point, it’s all about preparation for 2026. It has been a devastating year for him and I'm still in disbelief. However, we can't dwell on the past so it will be eyes forward from here."