F4 U.S.: Augusto Soto-Schirripa and Jesse Lacey victorious at the Virginia International Raceway
The end of the F4 U.S. Championship season is fast approaching and the penultimate round was held at the Virginia International Raceway on 5-8 October. Augusto Soto-Schirripa in the #24 International Motorsports Ligier JS F4 won races 1 and 2, while Jesse Lacey in the #16 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport entry scored his first victory in race 3.
• Friday, 6 October: Patrick Woods-Toth in the #27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4 set the best time in free practice in 1:57.461s.
• Later on, Michael Costello at the wheel of the Jay Howard Driver Development 's #19 seized pole position for Race 1 with the fastest lap in 1:57.134s.
Race 1:
• Augusto Soto- Schirripa started from fourth place on the grid in the #24 International Motorsports Ligier JS F4, overtook the drivers in front of him and snatched the lead from Michael Costello in #19. Soto-Schirripa went on to score his second victory of the season after that of Mid -Ohio.
“I felt confident with what I had, and knew that the key to this was to be consistent and to be smooth and not to get crazy. Even if you lost a little bit of time on some parts of the track, it was better to keep it on four wheels. We did that and we took home the W. I'm really happy.”
For the Race 1 article, CLICK HERE .
Race 2:
• Soto-Schirripa did it again in race 2! After his victory the same morning, the American driver, who had qualified sixth, gained three places on the first lap. He then took the fight to Patrick Woods–Toth in the lead and Alex Berg (Doran Motorsports Group #08) in second spot. A few minutes later, Soto-Schirripa gained another place when Berg crashed. On the restart, he shot past Woods-Toth and grabbed the lead, which he held until the chequered flag pocketing his second victory of the weekend!
“Oh, wow,” Soto- Schirripa exclaimed as he got out of the car. “I had to be patient; I knew the last lap was when to make it happen. I didn't send it in Turn 1, knowing that he was going to block. So, I tried to keep everyone behind me, knowing that my main goal was [Woods-Toth ]. We got it done.”
For the article on Race 2, CLICK HERE .
Race 3:
• Jesse Lacey at the wheel of #16 entered by Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport set the fastest lap in race 2 and started the final heat of the weekend on pole position. He dominated his rivals from start to finish and clinched his first victory in the F4 U.S. Championship
“I had a good start,” said Lacey after climbing from the car. “My main goal was just to try to keep the gap and make as few mistakes as possible. It was getting quite close at the end, but I was lucky that I was able to hold them off.”
For the Race 3 article, CLICK HERE.
The F4 U.S. Championship final will take place on 2-5 November at the Circuit of the Americas.
For more information about the Ligier JS F4, CLICK HERE.