FR Americas: three different winners in New Jersey
The fifth meeting of the 2024 season took place from July 25 to 28 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. In his return to the championship, Titus Sherlock (Ligier JS F3 #31, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport) won the first race of the weekend. Nicolas Ambiado (Ligier JS F3 #55, Velox USA/Speed Factory) dominated Race 2, scoring his first FR Americas win. Third winner of the weekend, Patrick Woods-Toth (Ligier JS F3 #27, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport) extended his lead in the overall standings.
Race 1: Titus Sherlock makes a winning comeback
- Absent from the previous round at Mid-Ohio, Titus Sherlock (Ligier JS F3 #31, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport) won on Saturday afternoon. Qualifying alongside poleman Patrick Woods-Toth (Ligier JS F3 #27, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport), he got off to the best possible start and claimed his third win of the season.
- A duel for third place turned in favor of Nicolas Ambiado (Ligier JS F3 #55, Velox USA/Speed Factory) against Jett Bowling (Ligier JS F3 #2, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport). Then Chile's Nicolas Ambiado snatched second place from Woods-Toth on the final lap, who finished third.
“This is a hard track to overtake on, so I knew once I got the lead that I had a pretty good chance,” said Titus Sherlock. “I just tried to do the most consistent laps I could and tried to save my tires. […] A big thank you to my teammates for pushing me on after the Mid-Ohio crash, too.”
For the full article on Race 1, CLICK HERE.
Race 2: Nicolas Ambiado's first victory
- Thanks to his fastest lap in Race 1, Nicolas Ambiado led the field to the start on Sunday morning.
- He controlled the race and finished more than 10 seconds clear. It was his first victory in the championship.
“I'm very happy, I had a very good setup today.”
- Fourth on the grid, Titus Sherlock climbed to second place from the second corner, before coming under pressure from Patrick Woods-Toth. But he resisted. At the finish, less than a second separated them.
For the full article on Race 2, CLICK HERE.
Race 3: Patrick Woods-Toth wins intense Race 3
- Patrick Woods-Toth concludes the weekend on the top step of the podium, after getting the better of Nicolas Ambiado at the start.
- Nicolas Ambiado, Titus Sherlock and Hayden Bowlsbey (Ligier JS F3 #22, IGY6 Motorsports) went head-to-head at the first corner. This proved costly for Sherlock, who ended up with a damaged suspension after the wheels touched.
- Patrick Woods-Toth held off Ambiado to the end.
“It's nice to be back [on the top step],” said Woods-Toth from the podium. “We worked pretty hard at the last two races and had a little bit of tough luck, but we just had to put it together. Finally, we had a good race today. Nicolas [Ambiado] was super fast all weekend. When he was out front [in Race 2], we couldn't even see him anymore. This race was a tough race. I had to pull all my karting defense moves, but it turned out well for us in the end.
- Nicolas Ambiado finishes on the podium for the third time this weekend. Thanks to the incident at Turn 1, Jett Bowling finished third.
For the full article on Race 3, CLICK HERE.
The next round of the FR Americas Championship takes place from August 29 to September1 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
To find out more about the Ligier JS F3, CLICK HERE
For more information on the FR Americas, CLICK HERE
Photo credit : Gavin Baker