ALTON, Va. (October 7, 2023) – Callum Hedge earned his 11th Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) victory at VIRginia International Raceway (VIR) on Saturday afternoon. Holding the point position from lights to checkers, the New Zealander extended his points lead, allowing him to possibly clinch the 2023 Championship title in tomorrow’s race.
Notes of Interest:
- Callum Hedge has now won 11 of 14 races in the 2023 season. The only other drivers to visit victory lane this year are Ryan Shehan (two wins) and Oliver Westling (one win).
- This is the 10th race this season that Callum Hedge, Ryan Shehan and Cooper Becklin have swept the podium for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport.
- Ryan Shehan still remains mathematically eligible for the 2023 Championship, but Callum Hedge may clinch the title in tomorrow’s round.
In a race that stayed green from lights to checkered, Hedge (No. 17 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) ran a perfect race to lead every corner of every lap en route to his 11th victory of the season. Starting from the point position after recording the fast lap in Race 1, Hedge got the jump, but Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) remained close behind. With two laps complete, the duo had a five-second gap on the rest of the field and were steadily driving away. Hedge, however, was steadily outpacing Shehan, growing his lead by nearly a second a lap.
Meanwhile, drivers were jockeying for position behind them. Oliver Westling (No. 1 JENSEN Ligier JS F3) had a great jump from his fifth-place starting position to move into third by the time the field reached the first corner. Third-place starter Cooper Becklin (No. 19 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) remained close behind, waiting for an opportunity to move back into the final podium position. With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Becklin was able to make his way back around Westling and cruised on to the checkered flag.
After 30-minutes of green flag racing, Hedge led Shehan and Becklin to the checkered flag.
READ MORE: Race 2 Official Results
“This afternoon we made a few changes; had a few issues to fix in between the races,” explained Hedge. “We had a crack in the valve housing that we had to fix up during the break. The car felt really good from lap one. I finally made a good start—which was nice—and I never really looked back. I just want to say a big thank you to the Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport for the good car, and the people that make it happen for me—Giltrap Group, Tony Quinn Foundation and Tasman Motorsports Group.”
FR Americas will contest one more round this weekend with lights out for Race 3 scheduled at 11:50 a.m. ET. It will stream live on the SpeedTour TV YouTube Channel. Fans can follow @FRAmericas on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates, and use the Race Monitor app for live timing and scoring.
