LEXINGTON, Ohio (June 22, 2024) – 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.
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.
As they crossed the finish line, Shehan led the way, followed by Woods-Toth in second and Bowling in third.
READ MORE: Race 1 Official Results
“I had a really good start,” said Shehan on the podium. “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.
