2017 F4 U.S. Champion Kirkwood continues his success in F3 Americas. Leguizamon, Southern and Portante all score podiums on final day.
Kyle Kirkwood of Jupiter, Florida, dominated the world debut of the F3 Americas Championship Powered by Honda at Pittsburgh International Race Complex Aug. 3-5, sweeping the three-race inaugural weekend. Kirkwood capped off Sunday with a pair of wins, taking the checkered nearly 15 seconds ahead of second place in both races.
“It’s quite an overwhelming feeling to come in and win all three races,” said Kirkwood. “The F3 Americas car has been fantastic. Considering we received the car on the Sunday prior to the event, we were able to get a quick and balanced setup instantly. The Abel Motorsports crew did an incredible job and I couldn’t be happier with the performance we produced over the weekend. We’ve started on a great note and I’m looking forward to carrying this momentum into Mid-Ohio in a couple days.”
The new Ligier JS F3 Honda-powered machines rolled up to the starting grid on their Pirelli P Zero slicks, cutting through the fog that surrounded the 19-turn 2.85-mile track early Sunday morning for Round 2. Kirkwood, driving the black and red No. 8 Abel Motorsports car, sat on pole for the first time, pacing a fast lap time of 1:34.445 from the previous session. John Paul Southern Jr. of Westlake, Ohio, shared the front row. Baltazar Leguizamon of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Peter Portante of Plainville, Connecticut, started from Row 2. Grid position for the second and third rounds of the weekend were decided by the fastest lap finished during the previous race.
As the lights went out, Portante, who had troubles with the F1-style standing start in Round 1, perfectly split the competition, placing himself in between Leguizamon and Southern going into Turn 1. Leguizamon won the battle, edging himself into second place. The Global Racing Group driver set his sights on the 2017 F4 U.S. champion, trying to use his draft to pass within the first few laps of the 35-minute race. However, as the clocked ticked by, Leguizamon’s tires started to wear and Kirkwood pulled away on his new set of Pirellis, creating a sizable lead. Leguizamon settled for a second-place finish, the second one for the weekend. 
“It was our strategy to keep a fresh set of tires for Race 3 since the temperate is supposed to be extremely hot in the afternoon,” said Leguizamon. “I will be the only one to start on fresh tires in Round 3. We are happy with finishing second, but our goal is to win.”
To keep costs low, F3 competitors are limited to only two sets of tires per weekend. It is up to the teams on how to strategize tire usage between qualifying and the three rounds.
Portante crossed the line in third, earning his first podium of the weekend.
“We missed the early week practice sessions, so every time we are out it’s been like a test session trying to adjust the car to our liking,” said Portante. “For this race our set up was relatively quite decent, but relatively doesn’t win races. We’re trying new changes. Sometimes the changes aren’t necessarily making the car better right now but now we know. The F3 car is an interesting beast, unlike any car I’ve ever driven, and I’m happy with the P3 finish.”
Southern was forced to retire from the race early after a loose wire caused him to lose power.
“It was an unfortunate ending to the race, as we had good pace and a great start,” said Southern.
After further review from the stewards, Kirkwood was issued a 5-second in-race penalty for a false start, however, it did not affect results as the Abel Motorsports pilot finished the race nearly 15 seconds faster than Leguizamon.
Round 3 race-conditions varied considerably from the early-morning session, with temperatures in the high 80s and humidity levels spiking at 95 percent. Kirkwood started on pole with Leguizamon starting on the outside. Kirkwood instantly paced the field, gaining a substantial lead over second-place Leguizamon early in the race. At the mid-point, Leguizamon’s new tires started to find grip and the young Argentinian began turning faster lap times than the race leader Kirkwood. Knowing that his competition was on his tail, Kirkwood pushed in the throttle, completing the fast lap of the session and once again pulling away from the field. Kirkwood took his third consecutive checkered with Leguizamon taking second for the third time in the opening weekend.
Southern’s team, Southern Motorsports, adjusted his No. 61 Pittsburgh International Race Complex car from the previous session and the Ohio-native found a nice pace in Race 3 to finish third. Portante, who’s weekend was plagued with teething complications retired the race early with mechanical issues.
Sponsors and teams hailed the new single chassis, single engine F3 Americans Championship reginal FIA series a booming success.
“The drivers put on a great show this weekend for the fans at the Keystone Speedfest,” said SCCA Pro Racing Vice President Steve Oseth. “They really showed what the new cars were capable of. Considering manufacturing didn’t start until June due to the delay in the FIA technical regulations, the inaugural weekend was a success. As the season progresses, we anticipate our grid to also grow.”
The inaugural event counted as championship races. The top-eight drivers on the leaderboards at the end of the season will earn FIA Super License points to aid in their racing career advancement with the winner adding 16 points to his/her license.
|
Place |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
|
Points |
16 |
14 |
10 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
The F3 Americas teams have a quick turnaround for the second scheduled event, traveling to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the Rock n Roll Tequila 170 presented by Amethyst Beverage during the NASCAR Xfinity weekend Aug. 9-11. Fans can view results and photos from the opening weekend at F3Americas.com
