LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 25, 2023) – Callum Hedge is up to six-straight victories with a win in Race 2 for Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday morning. The race was filled with tight competition throughout the field, with everyone fighting someone for position.
Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) earned his second pole of the year after recording the fastest lap in yesterday’s Race 1. Shehan's teammate, Hedge (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), lined up next to him to start the race second. When the lights went out, Hedge immediately stepped on the gas to pull even with Shehan as they entered the first turn. By the time they exited the corner, Hedge had claimed the point position.
Initially pulling away to a half-second lead, Hedge hit his marks while Shehan stalked him in his tracks. Meanwhile, their teammate Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) fell 2.5-seconds back while controlling the third position. Another 2.5-seconds back was a four-way battle for fourth as Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3), Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save22 Ligier JS F3), Manuel Roza (No. 12 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Cole Kleck (No. 11 Velocity Racing Development Ligier JS F3) jockeyed for the position. Just behind them, Austin Hill (No. 8 SoOhio Equip / Alum Trailers / Ferris Mowers / Big Tex Trailers / PJ Trailers / CM Truck Ligier JS F3) and Max Hewitt (No. 39 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) raced nose to tail for the eighth position.
As the clock ticked down, both Shehan and Becklin closed in on Hedge. With 10 laps compete, Shehan was just 0.272-seconds behind Hedge. At the same time, Becklin was also closing in, pulling within a second of the leaders with less than 20 minutes left in the race.
In fact, the battles were tightening up all throughout the field. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Hedge, Shehan and Becklin were all within less than a second of each other. Meanwhile, Westling, Bowlsbey, Roza and Kleck, who is competing in his first FR Americas race weekend, were all within two seconds. At the same time, Hill and Hewitt were separated by just two-tenths.
With less than three minutes on the clock, Shehan looked to the inside of Hedge as they entered Turn 4. Unable to pull off the pass, Becklin started to look to Shehan’s outside as they entered Turn 5. The trio used every bit of their Hankook tires as they looked for the right opportunity within the final laps with less than four-tenths gapping the three drivers as they worked toward the white flag. Shehan took one last look to the inside of Hedge as they raced through Thunder Valley, and stayed on the New Zealander’s gearbox as they raced through the Carousel and toward the checkered flag.
When they crossed the line, Hedge held a 0.289-second advantage over Shehan, with Becklin just 0.717-second behind in third.
READ MORE: Race 2 Official Results
“That was a bit more challenging this morning,” said Hedge atop the podium. “Ryan had a lot of speed, so kudos to him. Hopefully, he’s used his tires up a little bit for the last race today. But he was very quick; props to him. I’m looking forward to going for another battle again later on today.”
Notes of Interest:
- Today’s 0.289-second margin of victory marked the closest finish of the season in FR Americas.
- With today’s victory, Callum Hedge has extended his consecutive win streak to six races.
- Ryan Shehan has extended his podium streak; he is the only driver to have finished on the podium in every FR Americas race this season.
- Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport earned their sixth podium sweep of 2023.
FR Americas returns to the track this afternoon for Race 3 at 3:05 p.m. ET. Follow the championship on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or watch Race Monitor for live timing and scoring. This weekend’s races are streaming free at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV.
WATCH THE STREAM: FR Americas Race 2 from Mid-Ohio
Photos by Gavin Baker Photography.
