BOWMANVILLE, Ontario, Canada (August 29, 2024) – Formula Regional Americas Championship presented by Mosport Karting Centre (FR Americas) will make its international debut this weekend while racing at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP). Drivers from FR Americas turned their first laps on the 2.459-mile circuit today—just as the stars of F1 did in 1967 when CTMP hosted the first-ever Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.
Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) led both the first and third session of the day with a 1:17.481 and 1:16.491 lap, respectively. Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) was quickest in the second session with a 1:16.118 lap.
At the end of the day, this is what the drivers had to say about their experience:
Titus Sherlock: “The track here is awesome! It’s super fast and takes lots of commitment over the bumps. My favorite corner is Turn 2 because of the blind entry and the speed you have to carry. I think the biggest challenge will be passing during the race. It’s pretty tight and there’s not a lot of good passing opportunities. It’s my favorite track we have been to this year.”
Jett Bowling: “I’d say Canadian Tire Motorsport Park has been my favorite track we’ve traveled to so far. It’s really high commitment and high speed, and the walls are pretty close to make it even more epic. This is by far the most G’s we’ve felt in the car with all the fifth gear, high-speed corners, so that’s been interesting to experience. The biggest challenge will be trying to make moves in the races outside the first two laps, simply because the track is so high speed, but I’m loving it all!”
James Lawley (No. 77 Kartbahn Racing Ligier JS F3): “I really love Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, it's a high-speed track; it has a lot of really good flow. You're not slowing down too much, and it just kind of all blends together, that's probably my favorite part. With so many high-speed corners, it can be challenging to stay focused. Everything’s coming at you quite quickly, so you don’t really have time to sit and process, except for maybe the back straightaway. I came here last year & ran one of the first-generation JS F4 cars—it was a lot of fun. It’s a great track.”
Landan Matriano Lim (No. 73 739Racing Ligier JS F3): “This track is absolutely crazy—that's the best way to describe it. The hardest part is trying not to use the brakes into some of these corners—especially Turn 1. Having the confidence to take these corners that you can't even see as you’re coming up to them at like 120-140; that’s difficult. Passing will be tricky this weekend; that’s something our team talked about a lot today. I think it'll be a really exciting race for the spectators. It seems like the best place to pass is after the back straightaway. Us going side by side at 140 into a turn? Yeah, that’ll be exciting to watch!”
Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 IGY6 Motorsports / Save22 Ligier JS F3): “It's a nice track! It's quite fast and requires a bit of commitment. I think getting the entry right into the corners—the entry speed—is going to be the biggest challenge for us this weekend.”
Tomorrow, FR Americas will practice (9:50 a.m. ET) and qualify (1:10 p.m. ET) before the lights go out for Race 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Live timing and scoring for all sessions can be accessed on the Race Monitor app. Additional news and updates from the weekend will be posted on the series’ social channels: Facebook, Instagram, and X.
