FR Americas: double win for Ryan Shehan at Mid-Ohio
A week after the meeting at Indianapolis, the FR Americas championship travelled to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington from June 20-23 for the fourth round of 2024. The race weekend ended with two further victories for the #66 Ligier JS F3 of Ryan Shehan (Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport).
Unlike the first three rounds of the championship, this fourth meeting was contested over two races instead of the usual three.
Race 1: Ryan Shehan wins again against the competition.
- Patrick Woods-Toth took pole position with a time of 1:18.643 in the #27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3, but was overtaken at the start by Ryan Shehan (#66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorpsort Ligier JS F3) and Nicolas Ambiado (#55 Velox USA/Speed Factory Ligier JS F3). Woods-Toth regained second place on the opening lap and set off in pursuit of Shehan.
- As the halfway point approached, the gap had shrunk to just half a second, but Ambiado returned to the pits in slow motion. In third place, the #2 Ligier JS F3 of Jett Bowling gave Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport another full podium.
- For several laps, the battle for the other top-five places pitted Nicole Havrda (#6 Ligier JS F3, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport) against Hayden Bowlsbey (#22 Ligier JS F3, IGY6 Motorsports), who got the better of the Canadian. She eventually finished sixth, while Justin Garat (#17, Speed Factory) completed the top five.
For the full article on Race 1, CLICK HERE.*
Race 2: Second consecutive win for Ryan Shehan at Mid-Ohio.
- His best lap in Race 1 gave Ambiado the preferred grid position. But Shehan got off to a better start and moved into the lead, followed by Ambiado and Woods-Toth. Behind this trio, Bowlsbey gained two places at the start.
- After a Full Course Yellow following the exit in the gravel of Landan Matriano Lim (Ligier JS F3 #73, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport), the race resumed with three minutes to go. The top 3 remained unchanged, separated by one second under the chequered flag: Shehan won by 0.452 from Ambiado, followed by Woods-Toth.
For the full article on race 2, CLICK HERE.
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport has ten wins from eleven races, four of which were taken by Shehan and four by Woods-Toth, respectively leader and runner-up in the overall standings.
The next round of the FR Americas Championship will take place from 25-28 July at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
For more information on the championship, CLICK HERE.
For more information on the Ligier JS F3, CLICK HERE.
Photo credit: Gavin Baker