MILLVILLE, N.J. (July 28, 2024) – Nicolas Ambiado secured his first Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) win in Race 2 at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). The 16-year-old Chilean driver finished second in the last two rounds, finally breaking through to run away with the win—and a 10-second margin of victory—this morning.
Notes of Interest:
- Nicolas Ambiado secured his first-career FR Americas win on Sunday morning. He began racing the Ligier JS F3 chassis last season at the age of 15, while competing in Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA).
- Titus Sherlock earned his fifth podium of the season with his second-place finish on Sunday morning. Once as high as third in the championship battle, Sherlock continues to chip away at the points lead after missing both races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last month.
- Patrick Woods-Toth took over the points lead with his third-place finish in Race 2. The result marks his 10th podium in 13 races this season.
- Today’s win marked the first victory for the Speed Factory / Velox USA team in FR Americas.
After finishing second in yesterday’s event, Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 LIQUI MOLY Ligier JS F3) set the fast lap of the race to roll off the starting grid first at NJMP on Sunday morning. With a clean start, Ambiado jumped out front to control the race, while the field fought for position behind him. Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) immediately engaged in battle mode when the lights went out, with fourth-place starter Sherlock challenging second-place starter Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) through Turn 1 to claim the position by the time they reached Turn 2. Woods-Toth started third, initially falling to fourth, but pulled to the inside of Bowling as they raced down the frontstretch to complete lap 1, securing the third position. From there, the race stayed fast and green.
With the perfect setup for this morning’s track conditions, Ambiado methodically hit his marks, opening a gap on the field—a full second within the first lap, nearly six seconds within the first 10 minutes, and ultimately 10-plus seconds by the time the checkered flag waved. Behind him, Sherlock felt the pressure of Woods-Toth, with less than a half second separating the two during the closing laps, but Sherlock was ultimately able to hold off his opponent, crossing the finish line in the same order they ran the majority of the race: Ambiado, Sherlock, Woods-Toth.
READ MORE: Race 2 Official Results
“I’m very happy,” said Ambiado atop the podium. “I had a very good setup today—thanks to my team, my dad, Velox USA. I had a good gap over second, and was able to take the victory. I have to thank my sponsor—LIQUI MOLY—and obviously SpeedTour, FR Americas, and SVRA.”
FR Americas wraps up the weekend at NJMP with Race 3 this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. ET. A live stream of the races from the New Jersey Lottery SpeedTour weekend will be available at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV, with live timing and scoring accessed on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
