Yahoo Autos Sherlock wins FR Americas Race 1 at NJMP
After missing the races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month when an off during practice put an early end to his weekend, Titus Sherlock found redemption in Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) on Saturday afternoon. Looking to regain his footing in the championship battle, Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) did just that, winning Race 1 of the New Jersey Lottery SpeedTour weekend in a race that stayed green from lights to checkered flag.
After winning the pole during qualifying earlier this morning, Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) led the field down the starting grid. However, it wasn’t an easy go for the championship contender, as his Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team had a lot of work to do after Woods-Toth made impact with the barrier during the closing minutes of qualifying, requiring extensive repairs to the car before the lights went out.
Next to him on the starting grid was his teammate, Sherlock. The 19-year-old Texan entered Mid-Ohio third in points, but ranked fifth when the championship arrived in New Jersey after missing the last two rounds. Determined to make up for lost time, Sherlock had a great jump off the starting block and made the pass for the lead as they raced toward Turn 1. While Woods-Toth stayed close on Sherlock’s rear wing during the opening laps, he was unable to make a move on his teammate to regain the lead.
Behind them, third-place starter Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 LIQUI MOLY Ligier JS F3) was under immediate pressure from Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), who lined up on the grid to his outside. With Bowling getting a solid start, he jumped ahead of Ambiado to claim the third spot. With Ambiado filling Bowling’s mirrors, the Chilean was finally able to complete the pass as they raced through Turn 1 five minutes into the event.
The four drivers raced nose to stern for the next 20 minutes, but as the clock ticked down, Ambiado started to close in on Woods-Toth. While Sherlock maintained a one-to-two second lead, Ambiado was within two tenths of second-place Woods-Toth. Stalking his gearbox and looking for the right opportunity to make his move, Ambiado finally got his chance, pulling side-by-side with Woods-Toth as they raced through Turn 8 on the final lap of the race, and completing the pass when Woods-Toth dropped two wheels off the racing surface.
When they took the checkered flag, it was Sherlock, followed by Ambiado and Woods-Toth.
“This is a hard track to overtake on, so I knew once I got the lead that I had a pretty good chance,” said Sherlock. “I just tried to do the most consistent laps I could and to save my tires.”
FR Americas has back-to-back races on Sunday at NJMP. Race 2 will go green at 9:45 a.m. ET, followed by Race 3 at 2:30 p.m. ET. A live stream of the races from the New Jersey Lottery SpeedTour weekend will be available at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV, with live timing and scoring accessed on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
