Five Drivers Fight for Top-Three Positions with Two Races Remaining
CHARLOTTE (October 26, 2024) – Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) heads to Circuit of The Americas (COTA) next weekend to close out its 2024 race season. With Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) already locked in as the 2024 Driver Champion, the battle remains close to determine who will be the Vice Champion and Third-Place Champion this season.
“What an amazing feeling, especially here at home with all my family, my friends, all the fans,” said Woods-Toth after securing the championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. “There couldn’t be a better place to finish this off. What a season it’s been; I’m so glad we’ve come away with the championship.”
The real question as we enter the final race weekend of the season is who will finish second and third in the championship to be honored during the year-end awards celebration on Saturday night. With just two races remaining, five drivers remain in mathematical contention.
Behind Woods-Toth sits a trio of Texans. Austinite Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) is currently second in points, after four wins this season, but Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) has steadily been gaining ground while he searches for his first win of the 2024 season. In just his second year of single-seater racing, the Dallas native has recorded top-five finishes in each of the last 11 rounds, including four consecutive podiums.
“I’ve been blessed to have great consistency in the last few weekends,” said Bowling. “Going into the final round at COTA, I have a big emphasis on qualifying and one-lap pace. It’s important to cap off the season with a great weekend, for which I’ll need to quickly get up to speed.”
After scoring three wins this season, Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), a native of Prosper, Texas, enters the weekend fourth in points, just 13 points behind Bowling and 23.5 points behind Shehan.
“My mindset going into COTA is just to win no matter what,” said Sherlock. “I’ve had so much misfortune this year that I really want to go out with a bang and secure second in the standings.”
With 50 points available at COTA, Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 LIQUI MOLY Ligier JS F3) has a tall hill to climb to finish second in the point standings, but with just 48 points separating the Chilean and second-place Shehan, anything is possible. Earlier this season, Ambiado earned his first-career FR Americas win at New Jersey Motorsports Park, becoming the fifth driver to visit Victory Lane this season.
In his third year of FR Americas competition, Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 IGY6 Motorsports / Save22 Ligier JS F3) remains in contention to finish third in the standings. With his best season to date, Bowlsbey has two podiums this season—including a third-place result in FR Americas’ most recent round at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park—as well as eight top-five finishes.
> SEE MORE: 2024 FR Americas Driver Championship Standings
FR Americas will conclude its 2024 season next week at Circuit of The Americas, October 30-November 2. Tickets for the COTA SpeedTour are available now at SpeedTour.net/Austin. Fans at home will be able to stream the races live on SpeedTour.TV.
