F4 US: Canadian drivers Mac Clark and Nico Christodoulou win at Road America
May 16 - 17 - At the same time as the FR America Championship, the 27 Ligier JS F4s of the F4 U.S. Championship met at Road America in Winsconsin for the second event of the season. A weekend which was dominated by Canadian drivers Mac Clark (Gonella Racing), who won the first two races, and Nico Christodoulou (Velocity Racing Development), who was victorious in the third race.
On Saturday, May 15, Mexican driver Noel Leon (DEforce Racing), winner of the last race at Road Atlanta in March, dominated the free practice session in his Ligier JS F4 #19. He set the fastest time in 2:19.253s, but was closely followed by Canadian Mac Clark (#26, Gonella Racing), who took pole position the next day with a lap of 2:18.756s.
The first race was full of surprises with a collision on the first lap between Louka St-Jean (#98, ICAR Canada Racing), Jake Bonilla (#2, Jensen Global Advisors) and Nick Persing (#11, Velocity Racing Development). After the safety car left and the race resumed, leaders Jason Alder (#77, Velocity Racing Development) and Bijoy Garg (#6, Jay Howard Driver Development) made contact with Arias Deukmedjian (#7, Crosslink/Kiwi Motorsport). This gave Mac Clark the opportunity to take the lead of the race and his first F4 victory. “It's just an amazing feeling to get the #26 Gonella Racing machine on the podium. As a new driver on a new team coming into the series, it feels great to finally get our first win. We are looking forward to continue this momentum”, said the Canadian.
The second race of the championship was held later in the afternoon. After a close battle on the final lap between Noel Leon, Nico Christodoulou (#22, Velocity Racing Development), Bijoy Garg and Matt Christensen (#5, Jay Howard Driver Development), Mac Clark crossed the finishing line in first in the #26 Ligier JS F4.
The third race was won hands down by another Canadian driver, Nico Christodoulou (#22, Velocity Racing Development). Starting sixth in his Ligier JS F4, he took the lead after poleman Bijoy Garg's span and finished on top of the podium. This was his first F4 victory. “Whenever I was battling, I was able to pull away a couple car lengths, which gave us some relief. Velocity Racing Development put together a great car that was able to get us the win today”, told the driver after the race.
The next U.S. F4 Championship event will be held at Mid-Ohio Raceway in Lexington on June 25-27.
To see the full results, CLICK HERE.
Photo credit: Gavin Baker