AVONDALE, La. (April 14, 2024) – Patrick Woods-Toth earned his first-career win in Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas) competition during his series debut weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park. The 20-year-old made his transition from karts to cars just a year and a half ago by attending the Radford Racing School F4 U.S. Scholarship program, and went on to win the Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.) driver championship during his first season racing formula cars. Earning the full scholarship that is awarded to the F4 U.S. championship-winning driver, Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) is set to compete the full season in FR Americas.
Notes of Interest:
- Patrick Woods-Toth earned his first-career victory in just his second FR Americas start. The Canadian also finished on the podium yesterday with a second-place result in Race 1.
- Hayden Bowlsbey tied his career-best finish (third) while racing at his home track, NOLA Motorsports Park. A native of New Orleans, the 20-year-old resides in nearby Folsom, La.
- Jett Bowling’s fifth-place finish is the best of his career; he is also making his FR Americas debut after moving up to the series from F4 U.S. last season.
Cole Kleck (No. 11 Kleck Racing / International Mechanical Ligier JS F3) led the field off the starting block with Woods-Toth just to his outside. However, it was Titus Sherlock (No. 31 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) who got the jump from his fifth-place starting position to overtake the lead as the field raced through Turn 1. With lights out at 8 a.m., cold tires led two competitors to go off the racing surface and brought out an early safety period. With the race resuming minutes later, Sherlock locked the brakes going into Turn 1 and overshot the corner, allowing Kleck to resume the point position.
Kleck found himself under intense pressure from Nicolas Ambiado (No. 55 TLink / Allegro Ligier JS F3) and Hayden Bowlsbey (No. 22 Save22 Ligier JS F3), as Ambiado pulled next to Kleck at the start/finish line and Bowlsbey dove in next to them to take it three-wide into Turn 1. Kleck emerged as the leader with Ambiado hot in his tracks, while Patrick Woods-Toth (No. 27 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) worked to reel in Bowlsbey and overtake the third position. As the clock ticked down, Kleck and Ambiado continued to race wheel to wheel, while Woods-Toth closed in on the leaders after taking over the third position. With just a few minutes left, Kleck and Ambiado made contact, sending Ambiado off track and into the Turn 3 tire wall. Woods-Toth darted around Kleck as he gathered himself on track, just before the full-course caution was displayed. A red flag ensued as safety crews worked to retrieve Ambiado’s car and fix the tire barrier. With the clock running out, the checkered flag was displayed and Woods-Toth was declared the winner. Kleck was credited with second and Bowlsbey with third. Ryan Shehan (No. 66 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) and Jett Bowling (No. 02 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3) rounded out the top five.
“It’s nice to be back on the top step of the podium,” said Woods-Toth from atop the box. “We had a good start to last year and we’re having a good start to this year, as well. It’s all thanks to the team and my sponsors for getting us here. Thank you to Orlando, FSMQ, Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, of course, Glen and Stephen for making the car as fast as it is. There’s another race later on today and we’ll see what we can do.”
FR Americas returns with Race 3 at 2 p.m. CT. Tickets for the day are available at the gate or online at SpeedTour.net/NOLA. Kids ages 12 and under, as well as active-duty military, police and fire with a valid military or work ID, are admitted free. The race will also be streamed on the SpeedTourTV YouTube page. Live timing and scoring can be accessed on the Race Monitor app, and additional news and updates from the season-opening weekend will be posted on the series’ Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Formula Regional Americas Championship | Photos: Gavin Baker Photography
