FR Americas : First time victories at Mid-Ohio!
25 - 27 June 2021 - Third meeting of the season for the FR Americas Championship. This time, the 12 Ligier JS F3s competed at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The three races of the weekend were marked by three drivers who each scored their first victory of the season: Joshua Car (Crosslink Competition) won the first race, Jacob Abel (Newman Wachs Racing / Abel Motorsports) the second and Ernie Francis Jr (Future Star Racing) the third.
The weekend kicked off with a free practice session in which Joshua Car (#9 Crosslink Competition) was the fastest with a best lap time of 1:19.670s, followed by Jacob Abel (#51 Newman Wachs Racing / Abel Motorports) within 111 hundredths. Due to poor weather conditions, the qualifying session was cancelled and the grid of the first race was determined by the results of the free practice session.
The first race started on Saturday 26 June. A yellow flag was deployed after Ernie Francis Jr (#98 Future Star Racing) spun on lap 3 and Kyffin Simpson (#21 TJ Speed Motorsports) on lap 4. Starting in pole, the 2019 U.S. F4 champion Joshua Car finished first and took his first win of the season. "That was a great win and confidence boost for the whole Crosslink team," said Joshua Car. "Jacob (Abel) is a tough competitor but we raced clean and once I had him on the restart, I knew this was our race to win."
The other two races were scheduled on Sunday 27 June. Jacob Abel (#51 Newman Wachs Racing / Abel Motorports) put on a great performance. Starting in pole position he won the second race ahead of Joshua Car and Kyffin Simpson. The race was disrupted by a yellow flag after the #48 Newman Wachs Racing Ligier JS F3 driven by Jordan Missig and the #19 TJ Speed Motorsports car driven by Varun Choksey went off the track.
The first two winners, Joshua Car and Jacob Abel, ran out of luck and had to retire in the third race of the weekend.Ernie Francis Jr (#98 Future Star Racing) scored his first FR Americas' win of the season.
Half of the season has already passed for the championship. The fourth round is scheduled for July 16-18 at the Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota.
To consult the full results, CLICK HERE.
Photo credit: Gavin Baker