Yahoo Autos Stati, Musella take JS F4, US F4 wins at Mid-Ohio, Shehan wins FR Americas
Stati wins F4 U.S. Race 1
Nicolas Stati (No. 15 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422) became the first repeat winner in Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) this season, earning his second-career win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday afternoon.
Notes of Interest:
Nicolas Stati earned his second win in just four F4 U.S. starts with today’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Daniel Quimby brought home his third podium of the year. The Australian previously earned a first- and second-place result at Road America last month.
Alex Crosbie earned his first-career podium with his third-place result in Race 1 at the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour.
In just its second weekend of competition, the Ligier JS F422 chassis and Ligier Storm engine once again proved to be powerhouses, with drivers racing nose to tail and engaging in intense battles throughout the course of the event. Stati led the field from flag to flag, but his run was not without challenge. Taking the green flag with second-place starter Daniel Quimby (No. 24 Cruise America / MIR Raceline / FIJI Airways / GalvanizeIns Ligier JS F422) to his outside,
Quimby initially jumped to the point position as they entered Turn 1. However, Stati had the preferred position as they entered the Keyhole, and was able to retake the race lead as they exited the corner, while Pablo Benites Jr. (No. 44 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F422) was tight on his bumper to challenge for second. As the field spread out, Stati took control of the race, and Benites Jr. trailed in second. However, it wasn’t long before Quimby pulled back to the gearbox of Benites Jr., looking for the right opportunity to make the pass. Nearly 10 minutes into the race, Quimby finally got his opportunity, pulling side by side with Benites Jr. as they raced down the frontstretch and completing the pass as they rushed through Turn 1.
With Quimby sailing by for second, Benites Jr. was under fire from Alex Crosbie (No. 41 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422), battling for the third position. Engaged in side-by-side racing, it wasn’t long before Connor Roberts (No. 46 ApexSpeed.com / Entropy Cellars Ligier JS F422) pulled up to join the fight. The race was near its halfway point when Roberts pulled three wide, racing toward the Keyhole to overtake fourth. Still wheel to wheel as they entered Turn 4, Roberts was to the outside of Benites Jr. when the two made contact, sending Roberts rolling into the gravel trap.
After a cleanup, the race resumed for a one-lap shootout to the checkered flag. Lincoln Day (No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier JS F422) dropped two wheels off the racing surface coming to the green flag, sending him into a spin, as did Barrett Wolfe (No. 13 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F422), who had to react quickly behind him. Out front, the battle continued, with Quimby tight on Stati’s gearbox and looking for a chance to get around. With Quimby unable to complete the pass, it was Stati who led the field across the finish line. Quimby finished second, and Crosbie took third.
“It was a tough race,” said Stati. “The guys caught up to me in the second phase of the race, and then the safety car brought everyone back together. We had a one-lap dash to the checkered flag, but we were able to hold them off. I’d like to thank AGI and Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport—thanks for the awesome car.”
F4 U.S. will run a doubleheader tomorrow, with Race 2 scheduled for 8 a.m., followed by Race 3 at 2 p.m. ET. This weekend’s feature races from the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour will be live streamed at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Third win of JSF4 Series for Musella
Teddy Musella (No. 25 Scuderia Buell Ligier JS F4) sailed away with the victory in the Ligier JS F4 Series’ first race of the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour on Saturday afternoon. Overtaking the polesitter Kekai Hauanio (No. 29 N.E.Where Transportation / New’T Racing Ligier JS F4) on the second lap, Musella kept his focus forward, opening a gap behind him and driving away toward the checkered flag.
Notes of Interest:
Teddy Musella earned his third win of the season by taking the victory in Race 1 at the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour.
Kekai Hauanio’s runner-up result marked his third-consecutive podium after winning Round 5 and finishing second in Round 6 at Road America last month. In total, Hauanio has recorded four podiums this season.
Bacon Zelenka’s third-place finish marks his fifth podium of 2024. He is tied with Musella for the most podium finishes this season.
When the lights went out, the field jumped out to a clean start. Polesitter Hauanio initially led the way, but Musella stayed tight on his rear wing, looking for the right opportunity to get around. By the time they reached Turn 9 on the second lap, Musella found his opportunity, diving to the inside of Hauanio and claiming the point position as they exited the corner. The two stayed nose to stern for the opening 10 minutes of the race, with less than a second separating them on the leaderboard. Behind them, battles were on, with Bacon Zelenka (No. 45 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) facing pressure from Maite Cáceres (No. 6 Abitab / Supermatch Ligier JS F4), Brad Majman (No. 95 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F4) and Drew Szuch (No. 28 Szuch Racing Ligier JS F4).
As things got sorted, the contests appeared to be Zelenka vs. Majman for third, and Cáceres vs. Szuch for fifth. Szuch slowed on the track, allowing Cáceres to easily claim the fifth position, while Zelenka and Majman continued to race wheel to wheel in front of her. With the clock ticking down, Majman pulled to Zelenka’s gearbox as they raced down the backstretch, before darting outside in Turn 4 to give himself the preferred position to race through Turn 5. Claiming the third spot, less than a half second separated the two, but that all changed two laps later when Majman lost control and spun on the exit of Turn 9 to give Zelenka back the position.
With the field spread out, Musella, Hauanio, Zelenka and Cáceres all raced toward the checkered flag. Their pace, however, was slowed with just three minutes left on the clock when a competitor spun in Turn 11, getting stuck in the gravel trap and bringing out the full course caution.
As they crossed the finish line, Musella led, with Hauanio and Zelenka in his wake.
“That was a good race,” said Musella. “My car was better at the beginning with Kekai [Hauanio], but I tried to maintain the pace throughout the race. At the end, I saw Kekai gaining. I pushed, but he had a better pace. I just want to thank everyone—my team, Scuderia Buell, my dad, and all the sponsors for helping me get to this point.”
JS F4 will contest a doubleheader tomorrow, with Race 2 scheduled at 9:40 a.m., followed by Race 3 at 3:10 p.m. ET. Feature races from this weekend’s Mid-Ohio SpeedTour will be streamed on YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV, with live timing and scoring from all sessions on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Shehan takes third win of the year in FR Americas
Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) scored his third win of 2024 on Saturday afternoon, winning Formula Regional Americas Championship’s (FR Americas) Race 1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Beating his teammate Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) by just 0.461 seconds, the two continue to be in a heated battle for the championship.
Notes of Interest:
• Ryan Shehan earned his third FR Americas win of the season, and first at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
• With his runner-up finish, Patrick Woods-Toth recorded his seventh podium in 10 races.
• After earning his first-career podium at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week, Jett Bowling has now finished on the podium in each of the last three races.
• Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport swept today’s podium, with Shehan finishing first, Woods-Toth in second, and Bowling in third.
Patrick Woods-Toth led the field down the grid after setting a new track record during this morning’s qualifying session. With Shehan to his outside, a slow jump by Woods-Toth off the starting block gave Shehan a clear lead as the field raced toward Turn 1. Third-place starter Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 TLink / Allegro Ligier JS F3) also snuck around Woods-Toth to temporarily claim second; however, Woods-Toth got a run down the backstretch and pulled to the inside as they raced through Turn 4 to retake the runner-up spot.
With Shehan nearly two seconds ahead, Woods-Toth was in chase mode, focused on hitting his marks and chipping away at the gap. The top four strung out nose to stern, as Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd / Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3) and Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 IGY6 Motorsports / Save22 Ligier JS F3) engaged in a spirited multi-lap battle for fifth. Bowlsbey ultimately emerged with the position, overtaking Havrda as they raced through the Turn 4-5-6 complex. Justin Garat (No. 17 Speed Factory Ligier JS F3) snuck up on the two as they raced side by side during the earlier laps, and was able to stay tight on Bowlsbey’s rear wing to also pick up a position.
Meanwhile, Woods-Toth and Ambiado continued to gain on Shehan, with the gap down to just over half a second as the race neared its halfway point. A few minutes later, Ambiado began to slow on the course. The Chilean driver was able to limp around to pit lane, allowing the race to continue under green-flag conditions as the checkered flag neared. Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) had been quietly racing in the fourth position all afternoon, but was able to sneak into the third and final podium position as Ambiado came down pit lane.
“I had a really good start,” said Shehan. “I just tried to stay consistent and not make any mistakes. Thankfully, I was able to bring it home. I’d like to thank the whole Crosslink Kiwi team, my engineer, my mechanic, all my sponsors, my parents—big thanks to everyone.”
FR Americas returns to the track tomorrow at 11:05 a.m. ET for their final race of the weekend. The race will be live streamed at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV, with live timing and scoring accessible on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates from the Mid-Ohio SpeedTour will be posted on FR Americas’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
