ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 18, 2024) – Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) earned his first-career win in Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) at Road America on Saturday afternoon. After an intense battle with his teammate, Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3), during this morning’s race, the two once again found themselves in a heated contest for victory in Race 2. As Woods-Toth ran into trouble late in the race, it was Sherlock who cruised to victory, taking the win with an 8.073-second margin over second-place Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3).
Notes of Interest:
- Titus Sherlock won the inaugural FR Americas Invitational event at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but today’s victory marks his first official FR Americas win in a points-paying event.
- Ryan Shehan returned to the podium for the second time this season. Previously, he won in Race 3 at NOLA Motorsports Park last month.
- Nicole Havrda recorded a career-best third-place finish and earned her first-career podium. The Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) Powering Diversity Scholarship recipient becomes just the second female to podium in FR Americas.
- Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport has won four of the five FR Americas races to date in the 2024 season.
- After winning Race 1 from the pole, Patrick Woods-Toth once again led the field down the starting grid for Race 2 this afternoon. With Sherlock to his outside in the second starting position, the two raced side by side toward the first turn when the lights went out. Not to be left out, Shehan pulled up in the mix, making it three wide as they raced toward Turn 5. Woods-Toth ultimately emerged the leader, but Sherlock stayed tight on his gearbox. Driving deep into Turn 5, Sherlock overdrove the corner and went wide to give Woods-Toth a one-second advantage.
Determined to make up his lost ground, Sherlock stayed focused, hitting his marks. As the race reached halfway, Sherlock was back on Woods-Toth’s rear wing. They raced wheel to wheel headed toward Turn 5, but Woods-Toth held the advantage as they raced through the corner. As they came to Turn 6, Sherlock had the preferred line on the inside and was able to complete the pass and start pulling away. As the clocked ticked down, Woods-Toth’s pace slowed before an off in Turn 11 sent him down pit road to the attention of his crew. Removed from contention, Shehan inherited the second position, while Sherlock found himself with a six-second advantage.
As they crossed the line, it was Sherlock in first, followed by Shehan in second. Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 TLink / Allegro Ligier JS F3) crossed the line in third. However, a post-race steward’s decision determined that Ambiado jumped the start, and the driver was assessed a five-second time penalty, which relegated him to fourth in the final results. With the decision, Nicole Havrda (No. 6 Valley Kitchens Ltd / Colonial Countertops Ltd Ligier JS F3) moved to third on the final results sheet.
“[Patrick Woods-Toth and I] had a good battle at the start; I think something happened to [Patrick] after we made contact, but I don’t believe I had any fault in that. After that, I put my head down and ran the fastest and most consistent laps I could. I have to thank the whole Crosslink Kiwi team—Jamie, Oscar, Garry, Gill, Teena—my uncle Tony and my mom back home.”
FR Americas wraps up their weekend at Road America with Race 3 tomorrow afternoon. Fans are invited to join the drivers and cars on pit lane for a fan walk at 12:00 p.m. CT, before the lights go out for their final race of the weekend. A live feed from the Road America Jumbotron will continue to be available throughout the weekend at YouTube.com/SpeedTourTV. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the Road America SpeedTour will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
